Ironman St. George - Utah - TriathlonFull Ironman

I was still hanging out in T1 when one of the volunteers said it closed and we needed to get moving. I joined the herd and made my way down toward the water. I was still on the shore when Mike R. said we had <6 minutes to go. I immediately started cutting through folks and got down to the water's edge. I made my way out to the start line and was about in the middle of the field. I was definitely cold waiting for the cannon to go off, but when Mike was talking to us and Ironman started playing I never thought of the water temp again.

I was actually surprised how open the swim felt. I had a few of the normal collisions, but generally felt like I had a lot of room throughout the course. I really didn't feel like I got into a good rhythm until we made the first turn. The sun was so bright I couldn't see a single buoy on the eastern leg. I just kept myself in the middle of the swimmers and continued to chug along.

The turn north was great. The views from the water were amazing and it was cool to watch the red rock island get closer and closer. The field looked pretty thin at that point so I was concerned that I was too wide, but I was spotting the buoys fine so I just kept moving. I pulled a lot and didn't really kick much throughout the swim.

As I sighted the last turn buoy I checked my watch and saw 51 minutes. I was right on time and thought I might be able to make it in under 1 hr. When we made the turn for shore I couldn't believe how many people were out there. It was awesome. As I hit the boat ramp and made my way up I was surprised how fresh and amped up I felt. That feeling only went up when Mike R. announced "and Joe Manning from Fort Collins, CO is out of the water". Totally awesome!

Not a thing!

I didn't realize till I sat down in the change tent how cold my hands were. It was really difficult to get my socks and arm warmers on. I chose not to where my tri top during the swim, expecting to be cold initially on the bike. I also opted for full finger gloves which took me a while to get on. Once I got out of the tent things were smooth and I was off on the bike.

First time with a wet suit stripper. Note to self, let them do the work and wait till your suit is off your butt before you sit down.

The Tuesday before I left for IMSG I talked to a guy at my gym who has done IM's at every north america site accept SG and Louisville. His tip to me was this should be the easiest bike you've done all year. If it doesn't feel like that, you are going to hard and you will pay on the run. I had that message in the back of my head the entire ride.

The ride out of Sand Hallow was great. It was good to see so many people out so early on the bike course. I saw a lot of people going hard early and I was nervous for them. I remember one woman in particular who looked like she was trying to tear the cranks off her bike. I would see her later on the run and she looked like she was paying for her early aggression.

The ride over Red Cliffs was great. The older ladies in the grass skirts were a riot. Incredible that they were out there all day long. It felt good to get out into Ivins and start to cruise. I had to pee so bad at this point, but with only 30 miles into the ride it was way to early to stop so I held it. The turn north into the reservation was as expected. The road surface was rough, and the wind started to pick up. I felt great all along the first loop accept that I had to pee SO bad. I saw other guys stopping at the roadside, but was nervous about getting a penalty so I held it up to Gunlock.

It was interesting to see peoples strategies on the big climbs. Coming from CO I'm used to the hills and my whole goal was to keep my HR down below 150 on the two big climbs. I managed to stay below 150 till the top of the Veyo wall and only came above 150 for a minute or two. The ride down from Veyo to the second lap was in a word AWESOME. With the roads closed it was a blast and I bombed the decent all the way. I had feared the climb out of Veyo, but thankfully we had tail winds and it never presented itself as a problem all day.

I started to feel a little crappy around mile 90. My nutrition plan was to stick with water, e-Caps, and Perpetuem. I believe I was a little dehydrated so I forced myself to drink a full bottle of gatorade prior to the rest area in Gunlock and I had been sipping gatorade a bit throughout the ride. After downing that bottle, and taking in a couple of advil at the top of the the Veyo wall on lap 2 I felt a lot better. The two older guys at the base of the Veyo wall were great. On the first lap I told them they should be up higher to watch the carnage and on the second lap the one guy said "Hey, it's that way". . and pointed up the hill. Classic.

The ride down from Veyo was great. The crowd on the way into town was amazing.


I put a Reese's Fast Break and a Mt. Dew in my special needs. Hindsight being 20/20 I would have opted for a V-8. I only managed to get down a bite of the Fast Break and a couple of sips of the Mt. Dew.

I think I also would have worn my TT helmet and maybe gone with my disc.

Since this was my first IM I wasn't used to having a bike catcher and then not having access to my bike after. When I got into the igloo, I left my E-caps on my bike and didn't have any in my T2 bag which totally freaked me out. I sweat a ton and was really worried about dehydration and cramping without them. Luckily I had put some chicken noodle soup broth in a gel flask and downed that in the tent. I futzed around a little too much with my watch, hit the porta pottie again and headed out on to the run course.

Have an extra e-cap case in my T2 bag.

My first thought coming out on the run (after I finished futzing with my watch) was "Where is my family?!?!?!" My wife broke her hip, pelvis, and wrist on Valentine's day and had just started walking again only a few weeks ago. I hadn't seen them since Sand Hollow and was nervous something had happened to her and the kids because I didn't see them at Ivins or at T2 as we had planned.

My next thought was that it was hot. My legs felt OK as I was running up Main Street and the crowd was awesome, but I was definitely worried that if the temps stayed as they were I would be in trouble (ESPECIALLY WITHOUT MY DAMN E-CAPS!!!). I felt a little better when I hit the first aid station and got the cold sponges. Everything changed when I got to the out and back to the Elks club and I spotted my wife and girls. I never doubted myself throughout the day, but at that moment I absolutely new I'd be an Ironman once I saw them.

I ran up the hill onto Red Cliffs without a problem and felt awesome all the way through the first 1/2 mary. My V8 in special needs was heavenly. As I came back up Main Street I was feeling pretty tired. The run on Diagonal was horrible for me during the second lap, it was just so long and so straight. I honestly had an easier time mentally on Red Cliffs. I saw my wife and girls for the last time, told them I'd see them again when I was an Ironman and drew some final motivation from my wife's "There is no spoon" sign.

The last trek up to the Elks and then over and back on Red Cliffs was tough. I never hit "the wall" or doubted I would finish, I was just beat and ready to be done. I had a few weird knee pains and took it a little easier on the hills because I was afraid that if that pain came back to stay it would make for a long night.

With a little less than 10K to go I had realized I was running farther than I ever had in my life, and couldn't figure out whether I was hungry, dehydrated, or both. I finished my last fuel bottle, and had a few chips and chicken broth the rest of the way. I didn't think I could stomach anything sweet. The wind was really picking up at this point and I remember thinking about my friends who were a ways behind me. . .it was going to be a chilly finish for them.

The run back down Diagonal was not how I expected. My legs were really fatigued and I was hoping to have some more pep left. I picked it up after the last aid station and hit the round about onto main. The finish down into St. George was amazing. It felt so good to hit those last timing mats coming across the line.


Definitely have a separate container with E-caps in my T2 back. Maybe a little more strength training or time running hills during my base phase, but that's it.

Jill and the girls were in the stands so it took me a little bit to get to them. They had a huge sign that said Joe Manning is an Ironman which was very cool.

I was pretty dehydrated and didn't feel like I could eat without getting sick, but other than that I felt really good. I wasn't in pain, just tired. We gathered up all my crap, and then linked up with my training partner who finished a little behind me to see how he was doing. After that we made our way back to the hotel and hit Smashburger where I was able to choke down a burger. I was too amped up to go to bed so I downed some Gatorade, water, and hung out with Jill watching IronmanLive and reliving the day before we all passed out about 1am.

Overall an absolutely awesome day, great course, and fantastic volunteers.


I had three goals going into the race: 1) Finish 2) Enjoy the day and finish the run strong 3) Do it in <12hrs. It became apparent to me on the run course that 2 & 3 had become mutually exclusive and very counter to my normal tendencies I chose #2. I'm still coming to terms with why I made that choice. . .and although I said I wouldn't do another one, that choice will probably be the reason why I take a crack at this in a few years. In the end I'm happy that I went with #2. Watching the race unfold, looking into the face of each competitor, chatting with my friends and family on the course as I passed by. . .it was totally worth it.




I think one of the best moments came this morning when I broke down crying like a baby in the kitchen and got a huge group hug from my wife and daughters. One of us said this before, but we don't do this alone. I am SO thankful for the support I've had and the gift of having the opportunity to compete at IMSG that my family gave me.


. . .and SERIOUSLY, I thought exercise was supposed to create testosterone. . .when does the crying stop. Congrats to everyone who took the start line Saturday! I need to go get another tissue.