Silverman Triathlon - TriathlonFull Ironman

Started with a head cold. Loaded up with Dayquil, Sudafed... all sorts of things to help the cold, but it felt like I was going to have a heart attack during the swim. This caused great anxiety.

Avoid the pre-race medication. Calm down. Spend more time swimming open-water rather than just pool.

This was very well organized by the race director. Very smooth. Ton of volunteers to help with wetsuits, suntan lotion....

Put the sun screen on a little better if I had remembered clearly that I would be riding a bike for the next 8 hours.

This was a monstrous hilly bike ride. Had a good feeling that anyone blasting through this thing was going to have a pretty unpleasant run later in the day.

I wouldn't change anything, per se, but I would certainly train to be able to get through the bike segment faster. 8 hours on a bike is brutal, no matter how you slice it.

The longest pre-race ride that I did was 92 miles. I felt pretty good about the race, however, as several of my rides included three Colorado mountain passes.

I had to pee so bad at this point that I was jumping out of my skin. Also, confusion had begun to set in after the long bike ride, so it was a bit difficult to get organized. The volunteers at this stage, like everywhere else in this event, were amazingly helpful.

Stop to honor nature before pulling into the crowd.

By this point in the race, people were really beginning to feel the toll that was taken by the bike ride. It was amazing to see so many people working through serious pain and agony to cross the finish line. The volunteers kept everyone in great spirits, and the participants were whipped, but upbeat.

Hugged my family, limped to the hotel room across the street, and soaked in a tub. The day following the race, I had a massage that saved my bacon.


A really strong bike rider would really enjoy this event. I need to improve every aspect of riding a bike.


Along with 60% of the field, I believe, this was my first full-distance triathlon. In fact, it was my first-ever triathlon. Prior to this event I had completed the NYC Marathon in 2004, but had not otherwise exercised in over 20 years.

I followed the "Beginner Ironman" training program on BeginnerTriathlete.com, read a few articles, and accomplished my goal: to finish. The Silverman event was extremely well run, with wonderful volunteers and participants. I don't doubt the event's billing as "the most grueling full-distance triathlon in North America," but even so I highly recommend this event for anyone who really wants to test their training and character. Only about 150 individuals now own a beautiful Silverman finisher's medal, something that I believe over time will become one of the most coveted pieces of triathlon hardware out there. Get yours next year!