Ironman North American Championship - TriathlonFull Ironman

This swim went very well. I knew I had a long day ahead and didn't push it. My tempo was steady, sighting went very well. Probably sighted more than I needed because I was usually on target. Drafted a little but not much, usually passed the guy/gal. This was a rolling start were you placed yourself in line according to your speed. I probably should have placed myself closer to the front but no biggie. Some bumping but not much with a rolling start.

Maybe pushed a little harder? I was one minute faster than my goal so I can't complain.

I really didn't know what to expect. We grabbed our T1 bags and ran into a big tent to change. HOT in there and it was 8:15 in the morning! I had a towel so that helped. I put on my socks, shoes, skull cap, helmet, sun sleeves, and gloves. Most didn't wear all this but I didn't care. I was going out protected!

Nothing really. It was difficult getting everything on while wet and sweating!

My Garmin died around mile 35 or so. Imagine my shock when I realized I had no timer for nutrition/hydration, no pace/speed monitor, no HR monitor, no cadence, etc., etc. I saw a mileage marker and had an idea. I knew I was averaging 18 mph on the bike so I calculated my nutrition/hydration by mileage. I knew I had to have X amount ingested before the mile 50 marker but not more than X or I would have to take off from the next segment. Rinse and repeat at mile 60, or 70, or which ever marker came next. Darn if it didn't work out! I did realize that my one hit of Base Salt every hour was not going to cut it. Towards the end of the bike my quads started feeling crampy (if that's a word). I doubled up the salt and even increased it more on the run. I still managed to keep my 18 mph pace so I'm happy!

I did use RaceDayWheels.com and rented some Zip 404's. NICE!

I can't go buy a new watch before each race so I can't really fix that. I probably could have rented 808's with the little wind we had but no biggie.

I kept my shoes on and stepped off the bike. The helpers took my bike finally after a short run. Further down the trail in my cycling gear I saw someone stop to take off their shoes so I did too. It was a long run to the T2 bags and into the next tent. HOT!! Guys were handing out ice water in the tent which helped. I had a little confusion getting everything out of the bag so I could put all my cycling gear back in the same bag. Then put on my running gear. I took my time and made sure I got it right! Oh, and the ground was wet, wet, wet where I was so I didn't want anything to hit the floor.

Spent a little too much time in the tent and probably should have left my shoes on the bike for a quicker run. It's all good.

On the run we had a storm blow in from the north with rain, lightning, high winds, and some racers got hailed on. The race director stopped the race at all the timing mats and/or aid stations until it cleared. Of course some people weren't stopped so it didn't effect them, some it effected a little, and others (including me) it effected greatly. A small group of us, out of 200-300 or more standing in the trees, huddled up in a group hug to keep warm. The rain and wind temps dropped rapidly and left us all shivering with really tight legs. One person said it was 41 minutes that we stood there. How they sorted out the 75 slots for Kona I have no idea! I'm still waiting for my time to be adjusted and even sent an email today.

I approached the run the same way I did the bike. I wanted to run a 10:30 - 11:00 m/m pace for the first lap and maybe a little faster on the second (depending on how I felt) then negative split the third and last lap. There were aid stations about every mile so I started doing the math. I only walked through the aid stations to drink and grab gels/blocks/etc to eat in between and I ran the rest of the time. I finished strong and had a fantastic race. I can't explain the emotional rush I had that last hour of the race knowing I had it right where I wanted it. No one passed me in that last hour, everyone was walking or doing a run/walk. I yelled, cried, did a little dance, celebrated, then turn the last corner and ran up the Ironman ramp and across the finish line in the rain!

If I would have had a watch I could have pushed myself a little more on the run but I'm happy!!

The volunteers at the finish were fantastic!! Not much cool-down though.


No timing device!!


I'm giving myself a 5 on mental effort for figuring out my nutrition and hydration on the fly and making it stick to the end.

I swear I felt better after this race than my marathon, lol.