I wore my sweats over my wetsuit to the beach. I also had my slippers on. Yes slippers. I got to the beach and watched the sunrise as I ate a stinger and drank the Gatorade.

I waited as long as I could to take my sweats off and walk to the start. I was so cold and nervous...

When I got there I mingled with other BTers and stood proud as they played the National Anthem. After that they played an Eminem song...at least that is who I think it was...

As we were all jumping up and down trying to stay warm the gun went off. We ran thru the inflatable arch and someone next to me said..."Relax…You’re not going to win...so have fun!"

and I did!


New goggels....not sure.

They take your wetsuit off at the water side and you run with it (300-500 meters they kept changing it) to the changing tent. Lots of sand in the changing tent. Otherwise the volunteers were great. The girl in the tent helped me with my bra and put my nose stud in for me. She said it was her weirdest request all day. But you do what ya gotta do....

bring an extra towel

I had all kinds of food with me and I dressed in layers. I slowly took my layers off. I used knee high socks to keep my legs and arms warm. I have ear warmers and knit gloves. All disposable so I would throw it off at a water station if I needed to.

I passed a couple who was racing together. The man said...You the THIRD FEMALE....made me laugh since I knew I wasn't. But it was a nice comment. I think I was just the third to pass them!

I rode next to a guy who told me it was his FIRST tri, he had only been training for 2 months and he was borrowing a Hybrid bike. Needless to say he had one water bottle and didn't bring food with him. I didn't see him after the first water stop so I hope he made it ok....

I saw some road graffiti that said...."WATCHOUT FOR GIANT CHICKEN"...and right around the corner was the huge giant chicken statue....funny!

I listened to my audio book for the whole ride. Unfortunately I have it on shuffle and the chapters were all messed up but since i wasn't really focused on the book I didn't notice until I was about 30 miles from the finish.

At the half way point where they special needs bags were, they had a scout on the road radioing in race numbers so the volunteers could get your bag...one guess whose was lost..........Yep...mine. I had a change of shorts, socks and a jersey. Almost a whole picnic in there with a coke, sandwich, snacks....some of those hot muscle sticky pads that smell of medication. Needless to say the volunteers were sorry and I loaded up on the treats they had there. I put my warm layers in a spare bag and off I went.

There was a horrid headwind on the back 30 miles....ugh! Totally killed my time.

On a cool note....I stayed in my big gear the whole race! And it felt great!


hmmm....make sure my special needs bag is there! :)

The volunteers take your bike and rack it and give you your changing bag. I really just jumped off my bike and went into the tent.

Saw Donald waiting for me. I had a huge smile on my face and was so excited to see him. I changed quickly and ran out to see him. A volunteer made sure I didn't forget my Garmin on my bike.

I was off on the run feeling good. I saw some BTers on the run which was awesome! I got to the half way point and turned around to see Donald waiting for me on his bike! He biked next to me the whole way! I was smiling and feeling awesome. I stopped twice for the bathroom. I had a TON of hot chicken broth. By the 20-24 mile make I didn't want chicken broth anymore. Nothing was sounding good.

I wouldn't have been able to run the whole thing if Donald hadn't been biking with me. He kept my spirits up and my legs moving. We chatted about everything: the race, the wedding, the honeymoon, our time together, our future.

When I was about 2 miles out he went ahead and got ready for the final finish! What an amazing feeling running town the last few 100 meters. There was still a crowd out there and people were still cheering for me. I heard my name as I ran down the shoot and they said "Sarah Butcher YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"

I only cried once...when the volunteer game me a hug and said I looked great!


nothing!

PIZZA!!! and we called the parents!


Nothing really. There was a headwind on the bike which sucked but whatcha' gunna do?


What a great race!!! FLAT as FLAT can be! Great first IM for anyone!