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 Swim
Comments: I swam well for my standards for over 3000m. Then, I got a bit disoriented and found myself too far left of the buoys; I corrected too much, and went too far right. I probably ended up swimming about 200m more than I should, but I was happy to finish within time. One note-I did not see the advantage with the current, but I am not be the best gauge as my swimming skills are marginal, at best. What would you do differently?: Calm down. Sight better. Train harder. Pray less, cause trust me, I prayed ALOT for success on the swim, and I am guessing that the main IRONMAN upstairs has way more important things to worry about than my swim.  Transition 1
Comments: Volunteers and organization of the changing tent was very good. Since I was one of the last out of the water, there was plenty of room to get geared up. What would you do differently?: Have a better plan to shave off at least 8 minutes. I changed into bibs and a cycling jersey, but next time, I will stay in my skin suit for the whole race. I also took a few minutes to read a card that Leisa (my gorgeous, sexy woman) gave me the night before  Bike
Comments: For a stretch of 12.5 miles (3 times) I am guessing that the winds had to have been 20-25 mph, and much more a head wind than a cross wind. I really struggled here, but continued to pedal and got through it. I did want to note that the strong competitors were so supportive and encouraging out there. I was passed by a majority of the group and often. And several times, especially by the female pros, I was given many words of encouragement and complements-I cannot tell you how great that feels! Thank you everyone that did that! Also, the local support from the kids and parents was great. It is amazing how much we take for granted. Many of us were throwing our empty water bottles to the kids and they were so happy-it was a great feeling and a nice boost when I got to see their faces and smiles. What would you do differently?: Invest in a Tri-bike and train more in the aero bars. Also wear the skin suit from the swim instead of changing into bibs & a jersey. Transition 2
Comments: Easy transition. Jumped off my bike and once again the volunteers were great and very supportive. Found my bag easily. There was only 2-3 other guys in the tent with me so it was easy to get ready for the run. What would you do differently?: Not alot-happy with my time and felt good getting changed and out of the tent.  Run
Comments: Good run. I was just happy I got the chance. I know it was going to be close at the end. Once I turned that last loop for my final 4+ miles, I knew that I was in and started to celebrate early. I got to see Leisa on the course 4 times and she was amazing. She was very emotional and stressed but because of her love & support I made it through-thank you my beautiful! What would you do differently?: Not alot-thankful I got so much support and glad I got to provide some back to the few that were behind me. Post race
Warm down: Crossed the line and felt pretty good. Nothing special on the warm-down. Got a slice of pizza and that towel they provided was great-nothing special, just a great feeling to towel off. Made it to the exit and found Leisa. Had to warn her about hugging me since I was filthy (no telling what I had on me, but for those with weak stomachs, I will spare you the details). Got my bike over to TriBike and found a cab driver that was very helpful and accomodating. What limited your ability to perform faster: Winds on the bike course. Event comments: Great race and thank you for the opportunity & support. When I crossed the line I swore to Leisa that this was a one and done experience. Well, by about Thursday I was back on the Ironman site looking for the next race. Unfortunately The Woodlands is sold out so I need to decide if I will do one in 2015. Don't think I will make it back to Cozumel, but I am looking closely at Louisville or Cour d'Alene. I just need to find a way to sell her on the idea. Last big decision is where do I want my tattoo? Leaning toward the standard M-Dot on the right calf but still open to ideas. Last updated: 2014-10-27 12:00 AM
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Mexico
Ironman Mexico
72F / 22C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1648/2295
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 299/402
I wanted to give you some background about what brought me to IRONMAN and I hope you find this somewhat interesting.
Needless to say, you can see from my times, speed is not one of my strengths. Going into this race, I was competing against 17 hrs. That's it and that simple-17 hrs, and my goal was to finish. If I rank my strengths, if you can call them that, is run-bike-swim. I was very nervous about the swim, I figured that if I could get out of the water in time, I was confident that I could get through the bike and run with plenty of time to spare.
A little background before I go on. Before IRONMAN-Cozumel, I had ran several marathons, and spent even longer on my bike, however, I could not swim 25 meters without using a swimmer's snorkel-obviously I had a lot of work ahead of me. I made a commitment some years ago that if I ever broke 4:30 on a marathon, I would sign up for an Ironman-more on that shortly. So one day in late 2012, I get this email that said "INVOLUNTARY RECALL TO ACTIVE DUTY-MOBILIZATION TO AFGHANISTAN." And yes, before you know it, I found myself out of corporate America and into Active Duty service for 13 months in Kabul, Afghanistan. While I am extremely thankful for the privilege and opportunity to serve our great country, I never really thought I would get the recall when I did-but I was honored to serve, and had a very successful and amazing tour. So, while overseas, I had the opportunity to run the Marine Corps Marathon-forward event. I trained hard, and was thrilled to turn in a 4:28 performance! And then, it hit me. Damn. That promise to myself about the Ironman. Damn. So, needless to say, I did a lot of research and found that Cozumel sounded like a good fit, especially with that current-aided swim. Unfortunately, either I missed it, or it was never mentioned about the strong head winds on the bike course. Wow-big miss on my part huh? So, about a year later, after Afghanistan via Qatar, Germany, North Carolina, and Texas (home), we landed in Mexico on Thanksgiving evening.
So onto the pre-race routine. We went to bed about 8pm on Saturday. While I don't ever thing I totally fell asleep, I was in and out of consciousness and very anxious until early the next morning. After waking up, had a simple breakfast of a croissant, a banana, a granola bar, and Gatorade. I also took a water and another granola bar with me for prior to the swim
Nothing special except for the walk up to the swim and the short few strokes to the start line. Treaded water for about 5 minutes before the start horn.