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2010-07-06 3:30 PM
in reply to: #2935931

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Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: IM CDA
Thanks for the thoughts, well wishes, congrats and interest in the race. It truly was a great experience.

CdA certainly lived up to all the hype and more when it came the scenic beauty of the course and the volunteer and community support were hard to describe. I unfortunately had a flat tire about mile 60 of the bike and I had volunteers calling in tech support within 2 minutes and doing everything they could to try and help me. I asked one lady for a paper towel to wipe my eyes on the run and she took off running 100ft to get me one. Everybody was just awesome and at times it was like racing in a parade. People had house/yard parties going with music, microphones yelling out your name, sprinklers for misting and that doesn't even include the really well stocked aid stations & entertainment that the race provided.

The swim was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I've gotten kicked/pushed around in a swim before but it was never full on war for over an hour like this. It got real choppy on the 2nd loop so it was just survival out there. Done in about 1:17 so considering my inexperience in swimming, especially race OWS, fine, get me out of there. I watched the swim start on You Tube last night and I couldn't believe I was in that mess.

The bike was a really nice ride with a lot of it along lakes both in CdA & up in Hayden. I sort of underestimated the hills out there. It wasn't awful compared to my training rides but it is all packed in about 20-25 miles of the northern section & you do it twice. So the elevation gain isn't spread out over the whole 112 miles like some rides. The wind is pretty rough coming back into town and even though it was downhill, it didn't feel like it. I just followed my plan of spinning up the hills and keeping decent pace on flats and overall bike time would have been about on goal without the flat...but such is life.

The run was very well supported and you just had to keep moving from aid station to aid station. Even at a shuffle, I was passing people the whole way. It was pretty hot for CdA (80s) and the sun was blazing. I'm sure that effected folks from other regions more than us from Hotlanta. I took extra time in transitions and during ride & run to keep sunscreen on and kept hydrating to the point that I had to use the facilities lots but I'll still take the final result vs. risking sunburn and dehydration. Also, I just don't know or really want to know how to pee on the bike or as it should be called, peeing on yourself. 5-10 minutes of bathroom breaks over 13 hours just wasn't worth that.

I did fade around mile 10-13 of run so I took a 5 hour energy drink that I had in my SN bag. I broke a cardinal rule as I hadn't trained with this at all. It was for emergency only and I figured it would make me puke (since I was a bit bloated) or make me feel better. Either way, I was willing to risk it at that point. It actually pepped me up and even though I still walked at times, I ran way more than I could have without it. I had planned on a 5 hour marathon and that is what I did so no complaints there. I felt bad for the folks who looked way fitter than me that were walking due to injury or blowing themselves up. You see all kinds of carnage on that run course. People shivering, laying down, puking, stumbling, getting in ambulances, you name it.

The finishing chute was just surreal. I was slapping fives & hugging my family & egging the crowd to cheer and as I crossed the line I just did the full jump and I swear my hand was up near the finish clock. The energy that crowd gives you is just a rush. I was pretty much fine after the race and walked around the triage area, I mean the finishers area (people were laid out everywhere, our own Brian Rell got 3 IV bags but I'll let him tell that story), got my swag, my pic, my massage & pizza and took it on home as family was bushed by the time I got my bike & gear bags.

One tip: Practice changing a tire. I know we all know how to do it in our garage or even on a training ride but REALLY practice it. Do it during a ride when you are tired and have somebody yell at you while you do it and time you with a stopwatch and make the sound of hundreds of people racing by you as the pressure was unbelievable. Especially since I was using rental Zipps with valve extenders and had never used those before. I got it done but wasted a few minutes at first trying to use that spray fix a flat stuff but had never practiced with that so that was a bust.

Overall, it was a really good day for me. I didn't push myself to destruction as I just wanted to finish and have the experience of an Ironman. So glad I did it and I learned a bunch from all of you here and your tips and ideas. Thanks so much! Good luck with all your training and future racing!



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