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 Swim
Comments: Serious traffic jam getting into the water. My feet hit the water and I was about 10 feet into it when the canon went off. This caused major issues for me from the start. No acclimation period and I was instantly getting mauled by the 400 people behind me who had not even entered prior to the start. This created a major conflagration right from the start. Got punched, kicked, swam over, etc. for the first 500 yards. I was swallowing water, my HR was pegged and I was holding on for dear life. I was seriously wondering if I was going to make it through these first 500 yards. I kept thinking to slow down, get my breathing under control and concentrate on your stroke. I was able to get things under control and the swim went smoothly from there. I did have some calf cramping on the last 1/3 of the swim but nothing I couldn't deal with. My 2nd lap time was a full 5 minutes faster due to me being settled down and the lack of congestion. What would you do differently?: I would get to the water much earlier. There was actually a pro who was late and got stuck in the same congestion prior to the start, he didn't start until 7-8 minutes after the other pros had already started. My late start and the poor position really took it out of me. I can't even explain how much energy I exerted in the first 5 minutes of the swim. I have no doubt it impacted the rest of the day, but that is part of the game.  Transition 1
Comments: The transition at IMOO is unlike any others. About a 1/4 mile run up to the transition area including a 3-4 story climb up a helix parking ramp. There is not a normal transition spot where you keep all your stuff. Seperate areas for your swim to bike needs and bike to run needs with a common changin room. This all adds up to long transition times. The pros do have a special area for themselves to make it quicker. I came out of the water and took off my wetsuit top fine and got my lowers stripped. I could have been faster in the changing area but I wanted to be sure I was ready for a long day. I dried my feet and put body glide on them before my socks. Got my helmet, sunglasses, gloves and make-shift arm warmers (old tube socks) on. Temp was in the high 50's - low 60's at this point and I didn't want to freeze. I carried my shoes and ran in my socks the 300 yards to my bike. What would you do differently?: No much, I wanted to make sure I was ready to go.  Bike
Comments: Bike went well. First/last 3 miles, some of the flatest and fastest on the course, are no passing due to course width/bike trail. This does bring down your average speed as you are limited to those in front of you. I wanted to average 18-18.5 and I averaged 18 so I was happy. Nutrition went well, no problems with aid stations and hand offs. Hills do impact your average speed but they are fun as they are lined with spectators cheering. Think of the big climbs on TDF and you'll get the picture. Funny outfits people running along, etc.. Probably could have pushed it a little harder but I wanted to save some legs for the run. I kept thinking about the upcoming marathon. Felt pretty good coming off the bike, with a little bit of GI issues but nothing major. What would you do differently?: I came out of the water in 1998th place. Finished the bike with a rank of 929, so I passed a lot of folks on the bike. Transition 2
Comments: Again a little different T2 so the time seems longer than it really is. You ride up the helix and jump off your bike and hand it to a bike handler, they rack the bike for you. Run inside the convention center, go grab your bag, head to the changing room, take off your bike stuff, put on your run stuff, put bike stuff in run bag and then head out on the run. There are a lot of volunteers to help with anything and everything in the changing room. Great support. Had to make my first stop at the porta-john in T2, first sign of GI issues. Took about 2 minutes here and another minute getting sunscreen applied. What would you do differently?: Probably could have been another minute or two faster, but I applied body glide to my feet, legs, etc. I wanted to make sure chaffing would not be what slowed me down for the day.  Run
Comments: It was now about 80 degrees so the heat was impacting me some. The first half of the run well well, I was at about 2:15 at the half. Second half is where my paced dropped off. Nausea and GI issues started to impact me. I was trying some different food to see if this would help. After awhile it seemed like bananas were the key. I started to feel better and was able to pick my pace up over the last 6 miles or so. I ended up running the last 5 miles with a ROTC Navy Midshipmen from U of W. It was nice to have someone to speak "Navy" with and it made the final miles go by faster. We probably pushed each other a bit as well. What would you do differently?: Eat bananas sooner. I was good about nutrition all day, water, IM Perform drink, endurolytes but the day still tooks its toll. Can't complain to much I wanted to run a 5 hour time and I came in at 5:01:29. Legs felt like they had a little life in them at the end so I probably could have pushed a bit more. Post race
Warm down: Got all my finisher swag, met up with my family and friends and enjoyed the moment. Got a massage, picked up my gear and waited for some friends to finish. What limited your ability to perform faster: Probably an overall lack of run volume in comparison to my bike volume. However I do think there is significant carry over from the bike to run. Event comments: Outstanding support, over 3000 volunteers for the race. Great event and I would recommend it to anyone. I am still getting used to the idea that the race is actually over. I'm happy with my performance. This was my first IM I wanted to survive the day and post a good time for myself. Last updated: 2009-09-17 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironman North America
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1147/2956
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 195/399
Actually got a little sleep the night prior, woke up at 4:20 just prior to my alarm going off. Finished gathering all my stuff and triple checking that I had everything and then I loaded the car. Had a peanut butter sandwhich and then me and my Dad headed off to the race. My friend works just down the street so I was able to park in his lot, nice knowing that I had rock star parking. Helped to ease the nerves knowing I didn't have to deal with parking issues.
Got to the event, actually changed in the parking structure, which was completely empty. I figured I would be wearing these clothes all day so why wear them an extra hour? Next I headed over to the run special needs area to drop my bike and run special needs bags. After getting these dropped off I headed over to the transition area and got my bike ready for the day. Pumped up my tires and loaded my initial water/nutrition bottles.
Ran into Don, one of my local BT friends, and I inflated his tires as well. Got into the body marking line and then started to get ready for the swim. This was the last time I would see him until late on the run.
My wife and friends arrived prior to the swim start spent some time with them and started to head for the swim.
Walked down to the swim start, thought I had plenty of time but arrive 10 minutes early was 15 minutes late. Probably about 1000 people waiting to get into the water, all being funneled through over the timing mats and through the inflatable arch.
Started to get nervous about getting into the water prior to the start.