Ironman World Championship - TriathlonFull Ironman

By far my slowest IM swim, but I can't really say I was "racing" this. Mainly just wanted to survive without taking in too much salt water. The swells were something else, and there was more contact than I was expecting. There were moments where I would string together a few dozen "hard" strokes, just to get jostled by a swell and have to recalibrate myself. One the way back found some drafting opportunities to help with navigation and save some energy. Got to the end just feeling happy to be done and ready to get out on the bike.

Not sure a practice swim would've helped, but prolly couldn't have hurt.

Took my time rinsing off, took a gel, and thoroughly applied sunscreen.

Nothing, not worried about the time here

Really really happy with this ride. Goal was to stay in the moment, stay within myself power-wise, and at all costs stay on top of nutrition. I ended up taking more of the on course Gatorade than planned, but it was cold and agreeable today, so I went with it. Took in salt and calories at the planned rate. Towards the end had to back off slightly on the calories and just push some fluids to get the stomach back from the brink.

Pace was solid, conservative. Power avg/NP = 150/155 which is below what I should be able to do for IM, but better to err on this side. Legs were still feeling gassed by the end, and I'm very happy with this time. The power slippage was pretty consistent, but the second half was so much faster than the first that I think it played out just fine. Did a really good job staying aero overall as well.

Talk about a beautiful course - my goodness! Some of the ocean views were breathtaking. We got lucky with a fairly reasonable day in terms of wind. It was definitely there and frustrating at times, but nothing like what it could have been. The heat and sun though - that was no joke. Around mile 90 we made a turn and began to climb and the wind flipped to behind, and it suddenly just felt so so hot. No coincidence this is when my stomach started to turn as well. Luckily I was being very mindful all day, and was able to make some minor decisions to avoid disaster and get back on track.

As always I was ready to get off the bike and get running when coming back to town. The crowds were just so amazing, still hard to believe I was doing this.

Nothing, very happy with this. First time ever skipping special needs, was doing fine living off the course for fluids, and had all the food and salt I needed on me.

Took a little extra time here getting myself ready to run. I can't say I was feeling 100%, so maybe I was trying to cool off out of the sun a little bit here.

Could've moved a little quicker here.

Stunning. Incredible. Cannot believe this run. I did NOT feel great in the first mile or two. Luckily we are in town to start and the energy was just overwhelming. There was actually a few areas of shade, and I went through every hose I could. Took fluids at the aid stations and came back to life. Now it was time to grind. The heat was unrelenting, and once leaving town on to the Queen K there was absolutely no where to hide from the sun. Every aid station I dumped water, took fluids, and ate calories when I could. Before they ran out of ice I was putting some under my hat each time as well.

As the miles went on, I found I was no longer getting passed, and in fact was chewing through people at a decent clip. In the Ironman World Championship! I finally felt like I belonged in this race. Getting to the Energy Lab caused a weird catch-22, is it worse to have to push through a headwind, or suffer the increased heat of a tailwind? I accidentally missed an aid station, thinking we were turning around right after it, not over half a mile down the road. Silly mistake but ultimately a non-issue.

Got to see Joe on my way out of the lab, was difficult to assess but I think we were pretty close together in terms of race time. Gotta keep pushing!

Getting back to the Queen K, it seemed someone flipped the road. I thought it was gradual uphill coming out, why does it look the same now? Oh well. Stay focused, hit the aid stations, and keep the pace going. Miles were ticking by and somehow I was still cruising along.

Lots of pain as I got back to town, but who cares! Just don't cramp down the hill or on a turn. Let a little juice out before getting to Ali'i Drive. Had some room to myself so this is where I would stay. Entering the finish was so incredible. More than I could have imagined. A dream come true barely does it justice.

Absolutely nothing.

Walked around in the athlete area. Rinsed off and put on some dry clothes while I snacked, reflected, and waited for Joe to finish.


Nothing. Not only did I finish Ironman Kona, but I finished strong with a negative split run, and set a new PR for the distance. Insane.


Amazing. I don't know what else to say. Blew away my expectations in every way possible. I am forever grateful.