Hey guys, I thought I would share a picture of my friend Barry “Konaexpress” Dmitruk from the lava fields along with a word or two. Barry is one of the most aero guys I have the pain to ride with regularly…and he can hold the position without leaving his saddle and back it up with an awesome run.
Barry started doing Ironmans in 1991. He is a 46 year old policeman in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police…the guys that wear the Red Coats and ride horses :-). Anyway, I first met the guy in the 1999 Toronto Marathon. We were pulling through 10K just under 40 minutes and I see this big HUGE 200 lbs guy amongst the masses of pencilneck runners including myself. Barry is running with a polar heart rate monitor on, and has the cosmetic bulk of a body builder.
I’m thinking, “no way this dude is a real runner…he must be a triathlete or cross country skier”. So I run up to his HUGE draft (and I mean huge…this was one windy day), and say, “OK man, you can’t really be a runner”. He replies, “No, I’m a triathlete”. Over the next 5K we find out that both of us had done Ironman Canada 5 times, I’d just done my 7th Ironman at Lake Placid, and he was signed up for 2000. Best of all, he lived in Ottawa…same city as me. Before you know, it we are making plans to train together for IMLP 2000. All of this is going on while we are running a touch over 4 min per k.
Having found out a bit about his triathlon studliness by then I’m thinking, “This is the guy to run with. He is the real deal. The rest of the dudes around us who are sucking wind will blow, but if I want to be with anyone at 23 miles, this is the guy!”. So from then forward we trade pulls. Unfortunately, this is not a fair deal as I get a huge draft off this 200 lb clydesdale while my pull offers him limited protection behind all 138 lbs or aerobic nothingness…in the end, we pulled in at 2:56 and 2:57 respectively in the top 25 or so. In fairness to Barry, the only reason that I managed to beat him was because I got a better draft off him.
OK, fast forward 7 years. Since 1999, Barry and I have some pretty awesome battles at the half Ironman distance. Just this year, he beats me at Tupper Lake by 8 seconds, I beat him at the Canadian Half by ~4 seconds…the finish was like a track meet! We’ve hammered each other countless times in training and elevated each other’s game big time over the past 7 years.
But when it comes to Ironman racing, he’s always hammering me big time usually by 15-45 minutes. I come out of the water before him and wait for the eventual pass. Its just a matter of time before he blows by me and literally bodychecks me into the ditch with the huge votex that follows in his wake…OK, I am exagerating a bit…then he back it up with one solid run after another.
Barry’s lost over 20 lbs in the past few years and in the process has gotten faster and faster. At age 46, he got his first IMNA podium by winning the 45-49 age group at IMLP in 10:05. At Kona, he sets an all time PB in 10:04. So if you are a big guy, don’t believe for a second that you can’t compete with the lightweights. All you need is the work ethic of the “Konaexpress”. If you open the dictionary to the word WORK, you’ll see a picture of Barry crushing your head in biceps if you have been weak and slacking off that week 
After the Kona awards ceremony I asked him, “When do we start training for next year”. He answered, “Tomorrow…see you at the Pier for swimming…”. I used the convenient excuse of having to catch a flight the next morning, but believe me, its this committment to training, diet, focus and equipment that has allowed him to shave off 25 minutes off his Ironman times since we first met in 1999…all of this while moving through the 39-45 age bracket when most simply get slower. Hanging out with this guy I cannot use the excuse about getting older!
So Barry, I just wanted to say thanks for kicking my ass around all kinds of training rides and being there for the crazy training that I dream up for the past 7 years. If it was not for you and believing that I had the ability to get to Kona (when I had given up myself), I’d never have goten there. And by the way, congrats on a PB in your 17th Ironman at age 46 and at Kona to boot…awesome!
RACE DAY IN KONA…I THINK THE QUADS CAUSED THE QUAKE THE PREVIOUS WEEK!!!
TRAINING ON SUNDAY POST QUAKE… LOOKING INVISIBLE TO THE WIND…YOU CAN BARELY SEE HIS LG ROCKET HELMET