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 Swim
Comments: About the same time I was coming to the realization that my day had been permanently altered by the winds, I also realized I couldn't see anybody. No swimmers, no kayaks.... not even the buoys. It was eerie. I'd heard a mass start was fighting for position start to finish, yet I was all alone. I knew the swim course passed behind the big island in the middle of the reservoir so I aimed for it and just swam. Swimming directly into the waves I found it worked best to keep my head down and go as far as I could before coming up for air (half the time I rolled for air it was a big drink of water). Sighting was tricky because you had to be on top of a swell to catch a glimpse of the island, only to be dropped to the back side of the swell with a face-planting smack. Finally I rounded the last buoy for the last 600M home-stretch. No longer fighting the wind, now I just felt sea-sick and bloated.  Transition 1
Comments: I went about my T1 business methodically - didn't rush it - besides I was still trying to get my head settled down from swim.  Bike
Comments: Leaving the reservoir I pretty much knew what was in store for the next 112 miles (it was my deja vu from my Feb trip). It went as expected. Reservoir to St George: Fast (except for the first few miles getting off of the reservoir rd). Then the loops: Ivins to Veyo - a sloggy climb with a constant headwind topped off with some strong gusts. From Veyo to St George, fast as hell... Repeat. Nutrition was spot on: I began training with Perform (not my favorite) to make sure it worked for me. I ride with the double bottle holder behind the seat, only. Every aid station I swapped out for a Perform and H20. So I took H20 on the 10's, Perform on the 12's and a chunk of "heavily" salted baked potato on the 15's. About 2 hrs in I began to introduce gu and salt pills to the equation that eventually replace the potato. Halfway through, a strawberry waffle deal (Mmmmm. Dessert). Came off the bike feeling very good. Transition 2
Comments: I usually do the swim/bike/run with my garmin 310xt, but I cracked the screen so I wasn't able to use it on the swim. I found a clever way to mount it on the handle bars and then I would just take it off the bike and put on my wrist for the run. Coming into T2 I was kind of caught up in all the emotion, hype, crowd, volunteers etc, and about 10 steps into the run I realized I had left my garmin back on the bike. Suck. I saw Andra on the side of the road and told her I had left it there. My sister who was standing next to Andra took off her watch and threw it at me to use. It was literally a watch......time of day, that's it. Oh well better than nothing I guess..  Run
Comments: My run turned into a 4 hour mathematics homework assignment as I used Steffs watch to figure out my mile splits and my average pace based off the total run-time divided by the mile number I was at. I could only calculate my mile split after the mile was in the books. In a way it turned out to be a blessing because I tend to get to consumed with watch numbers... a slave to the garmin screen. I found it nice to just run and do periodic checks and calculations to see where I was at. As I started loop 3, I figured that if I could hold close to my loop 1 and loop 2 pace I would finish well before 7PM (sub 12HR). Up to that point I was taking something in at each aid station. Just mixed it up with everything they had. I did take a salt tab every 3 miles. I was nervous about the final loop - during training I was hit with some IT BAND issues right about the time I was supposed to be building/peaking (didn't effect the bike at all) so my longest run in training (in forever for that matter), was 18 miles. At the start of loop three my IT BAND was fine, but I felt I was just one push-off away from a full on cramp, so I kept my turnover quick and my steps short. I took in chicken broth from about mile 18 on, and it must have worked. By the time I hit the final climb up Diaganol about mile 23-24 I had my legs back. A girl that was clipping along real good passed by me and I figured I would use her as my rabbit and have her pace me all the way home. I stayed with her stride for stride up the final hill and back down to the roundabout where I was able to pull away from her. The last 100M I felt like I was on a dead sprint. I wanted to be in the chute by myself. I took time for high-fives, fist pumps and to soak in those words I've waited to hear from Mr. Reilly. YOU....ARE.....AN......IRONMAN. Post race
Warm down: All my muscles gave out. I fell to the grass and pretty much stayed there. I spent the next hour or so with family (had about 20 people come to support me) just talking about the day. They were great. During the race I could hear them yelling from a block away. (Ryan, my oldest brother rode his bike up to the Eagle Ranch climb early on race morning and was there yelling words of encouragement as I slowly made my way up that lonely hill.) Once I was able to stand, I went to the hotel for a 20 min ice-bath, and then off to dinner with the whole family. Event comments: I am very happy I was able to do St George before they moved it to a 70.3. It was a great FIRST. The day wasn't perfect but it WAS everything I hoped it would be. Last updated: 2011-10-26 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
64F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 125/1462
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 27/243
What an incredible day! My first ever FULL IRONMAN. When I started this quest back in November I figured that based on some past 70.3's I should be able to finish in the 11:something hour (11:59:59). As the season progressed and my fitness improved I began to think I could BREAK the 11HR mark and do a 10:something. Fast forward 6 months..... 1000M into the swim... as I made the first turn of a rectangular course, I was completely caught by surprise as blasts of air began to kick up the water, with chops from two to four feet complete with white caps.
I knew at that moment a sub 11HR was shot and the sub 12HR was questionable. Not for how it affected the swim, although that was bad enough but how it would affect the bike. I've done this ride several times. I knew from where these winds were coming (From the North and hard) it was going to be a long day. This is exactly how it was the first time I rode the course back in February. This was the worst possible scenario.
Back to the night before race-morning: I was very relaxed. Afterall, I was very familiar with the course, the weather was forcasted as light winds from the South (good news) and temps in the low 80's. I'm usually a nervous wreck the night before but I had a great night sleep.
Race morning: Up at 3:30AM. The hotel we were at served a full breakfast early for Ironman. Waffles, eggs, Minimuffins, fruit, cold cereal and coffee. Off to Town Square where we would catch busses that would shuttle us out to the reservoir. Bikes and bags were checked in Friday so I just kinda wandered around talking with friends and making visits to porto-potty.
Just floated on my back out at the start buoys in the calm water, staring up at the clear morning sky thinking about all the logged hours that were in the past and the day ahead "I am here... this is it".