Seriously, Mike Caiazzo is awesome. Has slowtwitch done a “getting to know” on him yet? If not, they should. 8:59 for first IM at tough Lake Placid course with a 2:56 run and 4th OA? All with the job and kids.
Agreed, I’m constantly amazed at his ability and really glad to have him on our team. Not only was he 4th OA but also 1st American, yes in his first Ironman.
Particularly for a guy who openly admits to training anywhere from 5 to 15hrs per week maximum, usually averaging ~10hrs. Goes to show that you can still do well on lower volume, while still having your job/spouse/kids as your #1 priority!
"All with the job and kids. "
Not to mention getting his achilles chopped up and repaired last fall.
Agreed. I’m a huge fan of Mike.
ha! if only you guys know.
The guy is a classic.
I "coach’ (aka say “mike dont burn out before July and maybe you should try a ride over 100 miles once before you do the IM”)
I also stayed with he and his family (parents, wife and 2 kids, mom in law and uncle) in Placid. What a fun time, the dude went and took his 2 kids out to the playground and beach Sat PM. Ate a huge thing of Chix Parm for dinner then ALMOST came to the LP brewery with me Sat night (i told u I am the coach, and I said that would not be too smart). Oh and he had to run out to the store to buy something to eat race morning…the guy is a planner right?
His Placid prep was 4 weeks long, and he does lie as he did do one week of 13 hours but that was with 2 workouts that accounted for 9 of those hours.
I think if we (us hack AG folks) can learn 2 things from this : a)i/we did not win the genetic lottery and b) race execution sometimes trumps pure fitness.
So yes…congrats to Mike it was a fun trip and maybe I can talk him into another IM in 2010.
Agreed. I wish him nothing but the best, and I’m happy to see him have a great performance at what is pretty much a “hometown” race, at least as far as the fans would have been concerned. His kids are cute. After Rev3, it was great to see him playing with them at the beach, nevermind that he’d just done a hard race.
Thanks guys! It is good to hear from you all. It was a pretty good day. I was physically a bit under prepared but made up for it by having Kurt Perham (trukweaz) prepare me for everything else. I really never thought about doing an Ironman until about 4 weeks ago. I had only ridden over 65 miles twice my whole life and both times were 2-3 years ago, before my 4 week Ironman training block. Kurt gave me a few long rides/runs to do the last couple of weeks to give me the confidence that I could ride over 100 miles. More importantly he helped me dial in my nutrition. In a half I normally don’t take much, but knew that would have to change in an Ironman. I definitely would not have been able to finish without the help of Kurt!
Thanks,
Mike
Congrats Mike! You are amazing!!!
I got a similar thing with the job, kids, low miles, and hanging with the family before and after races. I even have the pro card and some people used to think I had talent. But my IM time? 10:49 at ez Arizona in the fall. Mike leaves me with no excuses.