Beach 2 Battleship - TriathlonFull Ironman

Going into the race, I knew I could put down a pretty respectable time. My goal was 1:10, but with the incoming tide I though I might be able to get it down to 1:05.

I only got clubbed hard one time on the swim. The guy hit me with a forearm and it knocked my googles sideways. We both stopped and he appologized. No problem, at least we are not at IM Florida dealing with that every other minute!

When I got to the turn buoy-boat-Wiggly Man, I took a look at my watch.....35 minutes! Was I going too hard, spending too much energy? I felt good, so I continued on at the same pace, but thought I might draft some of the way back to the finish.

I found some feet to grab onto, and followed him around for a bit. I think this guy wasn't sighting too well, as I was struggling to stay on his feet. It felt like I was spending more energy trying to follow him, than I would simply swimming alone. With that thought in mind, I took off by myself for the marina.

As I climbed the ladder out of the water, I glanced at my watch...55 minutes! Ok so the tide helped out some, but I was still VERY happy with my effort and time.


Not much....maybe try ANOTHER pair of googles.

The run from the swim to T1 was long and cold. I was very happy to have my booties on. My wife was waiting for me on the side of the road, and I think she was more happy to see me (not drowned) than I was to see her!

Sure enough when I picked my spot in the changing tent there was Ernie again. Wow, was he some sort of guiding angel or what?

Things went pretty smooth in T1. I was little slower than what I wanted but overall I was happy not to forget any crucial items needed for the bike. I chose to wear a short sleeve jersey with arm warmers since the temperature was going to get into the 70's. It was cold to begin with, but I think I made the right decision. The one item I wish I had was toe warmers.

One thing that did concern me was my HRM was not registering on my watch!

DO NOT WEAR HRM IN SALT WATER!

When I started out of T1 I knew I had to use the bathroom. Boy was that a sign of things to come later (7 Times To Be Exact).

My nutrition was spot on with 2 three hour bottles of Perpetulum, 1 Gel every hour along with 2 endurolytes. There is no doubt that I drank way too much water. Better safe than sorry.

With my HRM out, I had no idea how hard to push. I remembered hearing find a gear you are comfortable pushing and then drop one more. Sounded good to me.

I was getting passed left and right on the bike. My bike computer said I was going 18.5 MPH which would put me in at the 6 Hour mark if I didn't have to stop every 45 minutes to releive myself! I held that speed througout the ride, even though I felt I could push much harder. Oh well, again better safe than sorry. Maybe I could actually save some energy for the marathon.

The most frustrating part of the bike ride was that the milage markers put out by the staff were about 6 miles off! I asked several other riders what their GPS indicated and we were all about the same. My guess was that the bike was going to be about 5-6 miles longer than planned due to a last minute constrution detour in the course!

When we got to Mile Marker 100 my computer told me I was at 107. Yep we were going to ride about 118 miles!

Then like a surprise birthday party, about 5 minutes after seeing the 100 mile marker there was the 110 marker. THANK GOD!

After crossing the bridge back into Wilmington and hearing all of the drivers curse us for closing down the right hand lane while backing up traffic for miles, I smiled and waved at them just happy to be off this bike.

I never really hit any true lows, as I expected those to come on the run. That said, somebody could have bought themselves a really nice Kuota for a steal of a price in T2

1. Have a funtioning HRM.
2. Work on hydration (too much water)
3. Push just a little harder (sub 6 hours)

T2 went much better than expected. Volunteers took your bike and helmet as you headed into the changing tent. I had planned on changing socks, jersey and shorts, but ended up just putting on some compression bottoms. Socks and jersey were still dry.

I took 1 Gel, 3 Endurolytes, 1 Five Hour Energy, and 2 Advil. My plan was to throw on my camelback for the run, but once I got it out of my transistion bag, I realized the water was way too hot to drink. No panic, with this change of plan. I think I had plenty of water still in me from the bike!

As I left the changing tent, I saw my wife Whitney again. I kissed her goodbye and told her I was feeling better than expected. One final thought to her was "Don't forget to get me the score of the UGA vs florida game when I come through for lap #2"!!!!!!!!

No much here at all. My goal for T2 was 7 minutes and I beat that time and stole a kiss from my wife all the while.

All I can say is WOW! I can't believe how good I felt starting this run. Maybe I didn't push too hard on the bike and this was my reward.

My goal was 5:30 on the run. I thought if I could at least run the first lap, then I could walk most of the second loop and make my goal of 13:00 Total Time.

As I approached the first bridge I noticed lots of athletes walking. This really surprised me and I began to question my strategy of running the first loop.

Going through downtown on Lap 1 was incredible. The fans and volunteers were cheering and screaming encouragement to everyone. WOW, talk about lifting your spirits up.

I came up on an athelte with a prostetic left leg. The young lady looked strong and this provided me with some very positive energy. Just thinking what it took for her to be out there was something else. Her husband/boyfriend was riding a bike behind her and seemed to be helping mentally support her. WOW....that really was uplifting. I spoke to her for a minute and told her how great she was doing.

About this time I remembered how I had read on BT that if you continue to thank the volunteers and encourage the other athletes you will stay in a positive state of mind. I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO ADHERE TO THIS STRATEGY!

I walked through every other aid station and tried to eat some oranges, drink a couple of cups of water, and muscle down a Gel every hour. The nutrition I took in on the bike seemed to be really paying off.

About 8 miles into the run, I met a very nice lady who had completed several IM races. As we ran together I told her how good I felt. She warned me that at some point you will hit a wall and just to push through it. I thanked her for the advice and kept on running.

Around mile 11 I started to get some pain in my right knee. This was nothing new to me on long runs. That said, the pain in my left achilles had me worried.

I made my way back to the finish area to start Lap 2. I was well ahead of schedule at this time. I realized that if I could run the second loop under 2:30 I could break the 12:00 mark! Well, I felt good at this point and there was no reason not to go for it and see what happens. If I felt like things started to go bad, I could always finish walking.

I grabbed my Runs Special Needs Bag, and the only thing I needed from it were my Red Gummi Bears. Wow those really hit the spot.

Because I was ahead of my time schedule, Whitney had not made it back to the T2 Area yet, and I wasn't able to see her as I started my second lap. More importantly I wasn't able to get an update on the UGA vs. florida game (THANK GOD!).

So up the big bridge again I went. Still feeling really strong at this point I began to pass runners/walkers at a pretty good rate. Hearing the positive feedback from them and the volunteers just fueled the fire.

I had plenty of friends and family praying for my health and safety this weekend, but I had no idea that these prayers would translate into speed on the run! Seriously, this was beginning to get weird.

The miles just kept clicking off on Lap #2. I didn't feel like I needed too much nutrition but I kept to the 1 Gel per hour and some Endurolytes with water. I tried some of the Chicken Broth around mile 16 and decided that was not for me. I thought that stuff was going to be warm....this was more like Gazpacho.

Around Mile 20 I saw the lady with the prostetic leg again. She had slowed down to a walk and looked to be hurting some. Once again, I stopped and encouraged her and her husband for their effort. Truly amazing what some of these athletes go through during this day.

Alright just 10K left to go. I stopped at this Aid Station to use the rest room and stretch my achilles heel again. It was hurting pretty bad at this point, but I was determined to finish this race under 12:00 now. The Comodore 64 Computer in my head was constantly calculating average mile times needed to reach this new goal.

With three miles to go, I was still waiting on that wall to hit me. Nothing! I still felt great, and was actually talking with each and every person that I passed along the course.

The Commodore 64 told me to average 10:00/Miles from here on in and we can break 11:50:00.

As I climbed the last hill onto the bridge I began to reflect on all the training I had done on this "walk about". When I started back in November 2006 I could hardly run 12 minutes on the treadmill. The human body and more importantly the human brain can accomplish so much more than we think possible. That said, the crucial link between the brain and the body is your heart and soul, and without committing to both comletely, these impossible achievements can not be reached.

I passed a small group of runners in the final mile just to make sure that we all had the finish chute to ourselves. I heard the crowd about 1/2 mile away and I began to get really excited. I wanted the final mile of the run to be my fastest of the race. Mile 26 was 8:56.

The volunteers asked me if this was my first or second lap and I was more than happy to tell them this was the end of the adventure for me. They pointed me to the finishing loop and I saw Whitney cheering me on. I had envisioned this sooooo many times and the one thing I remembered was not to look down at my watch as your picture was taken......Unfortunatly Whitney was having trouble with her camera, so I turned around to face her just as the B2B cameraman was taking my picture. Needless to say my offical finishing race picture may be of my better side (back side)!


Absolutely NOTHING!

Get my free BEER!

Whitney met me at the finish line, and I really didn't do much of anything. I tried to stretch my left achilles some more, but other than that nothing. I got my finishers medal and some pizza and we decided to gather up my gear and watch some others finish the race.

After about 15 minutes of walking around I had some minor GI issues but nothing too severe.

I didn't want to do much more, but if someone had a gun to my head I think I could have made another loop on the run course?

As we got ready to board the Ferry back into town, guess who shows up in line right behind me: Yep its Ernie again. Either this man is stalking me or someone paid him to watch over me all day long! Thanks again Ernie for all of your advice and encouragement.

Oh yeah.....What was the score of the UGA vs florida game? florida 49; UGA 10......GOD I am glad I didn't hear that any sooner!


I think I could have cut some time off on the bike leg if I had my HRM on. I bet my AHR was in the low 140's or high 130's.




Great race again by Setup Events. The only minor complaints were the mileage markers on the bike course and the Ferry line at the finish.

Other than that, I HIGHLY reccomend this race to someone as a first time Iron Distance Race.