Chesapeakeman Iron Distance Triathlon - TriathlonFull Ironman

Mass start, and if you consider there was the triathlon, an aquavelo, and a swimfest, we probably ended up with 250 or so in the water. Biggest start I've ever been in, but I was fine. In fact, dealing with other swimmers was a piece of cake in comparison with the wind and chop we were dealing with. Leading up to the start, all of the talk was about the current that we'd be swimming with. Suffice to say that the surface "current" due to wind and waves definitely outweighed anything that the moon could produce. The buoys were far apart, and because the waves were so big it was really a struggle to sight.

I just started swimming, mostly following those around me. I really enjoyed the first part of the swim, I think because I have become very comfortable in open water. I was holding my ground when bumping into other athletes. I didn't need to pull up to breathe. Everything was going well. Of course, this was all within the first few hundred meters.

It is true that I felt good the whole time. My shoulders didn't fatigue they was the sometimes do and I didn't get any foot cramps like I sometimes do, but I never felt like I was going anywhere. After about 20 I got the lyrics to Roxette's "Dangerous" stuck in my head. Don't ask me where that came from. I couldn't tell you the last time I even heard that song. But there I was, practically swimming in place, telling myself over and over that "You know she's a little bit dangerous, OOOOOOoooooh, just a little bit dangerous."

Secretly I was hoping to get out of the water in 1:15 (this of course prior to knowing what I was up against). I got to the bridge and my watch said 00:56.xx, and I knew it was more than halfway but didn't know by how much. Either way, I didn't want it to take that long to get there. Had to tell myself that everyone else was swimming in the same water, and they were all fighting the same battle. And by this point, she was still a little bit dangerous. Oohhhhhh, just a little bit dangerous.

I kept seeing Rick on the swim, and he was doing a lot of breaststroking (smart, as opposed to my approach, which I'm not even sure at this point what my approach was) to sight, so I figured if I could stay near him I should be on target. I was trying to focus on my form, but I found it impossible to get into a good rhythm because the chop just tossed me around so much. At one point, as I turned my head left to breathe, I actually looking right into the eyes of a guy who was on top of a wave and swimming right across on top of me, from left to right. Judging from the look on his face I think he was just as surprised.

Anyway, even with as long as the swim took, I felt strong getting out of the water. Happy to be done swimming of course, but not tired like I would be after that long of a workout in the pool.


Not much. I think in a situation like this, if you are a really good swimmer then you are just that, a really good swimmer, and the conditions won't affect you as much. Times were slow across the board, and being 15 minutes slower out of the water wasn't going to break my day.

Was handed my Bike Gear bag, and I headed into the tent. There was no place to sit, so I looked for an open spot on the ground and dumped out my bag. Then started to peel off my wetsuit and go really dizzy. I was waiting for it to happen, it just took longer than expected. I just took a knee and tried to wait it out. I managed to get my suit off before the dizziness went away completely, but I knew why I was dizzy and knew it would subside, so it wasn't a concern. As long as I wasn't standing up and risking falling over, it was okay.

I was just going to do the whole day in my tri shorts and tri top, so I didn't have to change. It was a relatively fast T1. Put my helmet on, tucked my sunglasses into the vents, put a Clif bar and two gels in my pocket (already had 4 tapes to my top tube), stuffed all the wet stuff back into the bag and carried my shoes out to my bike.

This was my first good look at Team Bailey. My family and friends are awesome, and really helped me get through the day. I put my shoes on, got my bike of the rack, walked it to the mount like and started the next step of my journey.

Nothing. I don't feel like I wasted any time, but also didn't see the need to make it a full sprint.

The wind was really rocking. Steady 12-15mph from the NNW, with gusts over 20mph. The first section of the course involved a few turns getting out of Great March Park, then basically an out and back before starting two big loops. On the out part, the wind was basically blowing in from my right shoulder. Nothing like starting out in a headwind.

Usually in my races, especially sprints, there is only about one minute or less from the time I exit the water until I'm spinning on the bike and I struggle getting my HR down or being able to catch my breath. The best part about a slower and more relaxed T1 is that right from the start I was comfortable on the bike, and able to eat a gel and start drinking water right away. I settled in best I could, and then had time to start thinking about things. There were two timers running on my watch. One goes off every 5 minutes, which is when I drink. The other goes off every 45 minutes, which is when I eat a gel. I would also take two Endurolyte capsules every hour throughout the day. I started the day with one bottle full of water, and a second bottle with just cytomax powder. The plan was water only until the first aid station, at which time I would fill the cytomax bottle, and then start alternating every five minutes. At this rate, and based on the spacing of the aid stations, I should only need to grab one bottle at each.

I got to the first aid station at the out-and-back turn around, grabbed a water to fill up the cytomax, and headed back the other way, this time with the wind blowing more from my left hip and helping to push me along. I started seeing a lot more bike going the other way than I had seen on my way out, which meant I was much further up in the field than I thought. Not that it really mattered too much to me on a day like this, but after the swim I didn't really take a look around the transition area, and really had no idea how many people got out of the water before me.

About 20 miles in the course makes a right turn onto Rte 16 and begins the first of two loops. All of Team Bailey was on the corner, screaming and yelling and basically causing a big raucous. I thought it a perfect opportunity to point at my crotch and tell them that I just got done peeing on myself. I promised my sister that I would do so, and I didn't want to let her down.

The first part of the loop was more or less riding with a crosswind, Right to Left. Based on how things turned out with the wind, I was very glad that I made the decision to ride the bike course 3 weeks earlier. I knew the basic direction of all the roads, thus I knew how many miles until the wind would be at my back, or how many more miles fighting this crosswind, etc, etc. I was still fighting off the Roxette lyrics, and decided I couldn't go an entire day with what had become an extremely annoying song. I told myself to think of something even more obnoxious. A few seconds later, I hear "Hey hey you you I don't like your boyfriend. No way no way I think you need a new one." Well thank you Avril Levigne. Suddenly I went from just being annoyed to being a teeny-bopping wannabee punk rocker, and possibly gay to boot. (Not that there's anything wrong with that :) But ya know, those lyrics were confusing me)

My nutrition was working well. My stomach was happy and I felt really strong. I was passing a lot of people, which isn't unusual for me on the bike. Not necessarily because I'm fast, but because I get out of the water behind a lot of people, and relatively speaking I am faster. With each person I would wish them well, or comment on the wind, or give them the finger (okay actually I never did that but it probably would have been funny, at least for me). At 40 miles I ate a Clif Bar, and it was timed well because the wind was at my back so I was able to sit upright to try to help it go down a little better. When we finally made the turn onto Andrews Road I knew it was only a few short miles until the wind would be directly in our face, and it would be a solid 13 or so miles until the High School where we start the second loop.

It was brutal. I peed again, but the wind was so strong that I would stand up, pee a little, then have to pedal to get some speed up, pee some more, etc. When I would stand up it was ridiculous how quickly I would slow down. At one point I was passed (the only person who passed me on this section actually) and he was being followed by another guy who was blatantly drafting. He would actually stop pedaling every few strokes he was so close to the guy in front. It made me so angry to know that everyone else on the course was busting their ass into this wind and he was just sitting there being a huge douche bag.

A few miles farther up the road I was passed by a white mini van. Right behind it was a course marshal or draft marshal on a motor cycle, and he pulled up along side the mini van and they both came to a stop about 50 yards ahead of me, completely blocking the right lane. Now, in my head I'm thinking "I know this guy just passed me, he knows I am here, why is he stopping and blocking the lane???" I get closer and they still haven't moved, so I gradually pull to the left, eventually all the way across the yellow. Just as I get even with the motorcycle they both start moving again, and he starts to swerve right toward me!!! I had to jerk to the left a little bit, and then I was past him, but it was a scary moment. I kept thinking about that guy in Kona a few years back who got hit by a camera crew on a motorcycle.

Right near the end of the loop, within the last mile or so, I caught up to the father of a friend of mine who was riding the bike as part of a relay (my friend was doing the run, and her sister had done the swim). We rode the rest of the way to special needs, then I let him go on ahead of me as we turned into the parking lot.

Shoved half a banana in my mouth, put another Clif Bar and some gels in my jersey pocket, as well as a can of Red Bull, and grabbed another water bottle with Cytomax powder. Saw Michelle and Dan, said something like "here I go again," and then took off. Passed all of Team Bailey again, smiled and pointed at some cameras, took an opportunity to stick my tongue out at my brother, and then it was off for another 45 miles.

On this loop my sister, brother, and my friend Erin drove out onto the course. They'd see me, take some pics, then get back in the car and drive up ahead of me and do it all over again. This was so awesome. Knowing that somewhere up ahead I would get to see some happy faces, even though it was only for a few seconds, really helped me along. We get to mile 80ish and the cop directed traffic yelled, "Course change, 2 miles ahead." Hmmm, okay, this must have something to do with the two fire trucks that just FLEW past me and the big plume of smoke I can see off in the distance. (This brings me to my next point. Being buzzed on a lonely country road by an asshole in a pickup truck is one thing. Being passed by a fire truck moving at least, in my estimation, 80mph, sirens blazing, on a narrow two road, is WAAAAAY scarier no matter how prepared you think you are)

The course change turned us onto part of the Eagleman course, then cut across back out to Maple Dam Road. Ironic that along this new route you pass some of the Park Offices, and the big sign out front that says "Fire Watch: High Risk!" Yes folks, there was a big old fire on this day. The course change also meant that we missed an aid station, so by the time we got to the turn (and an aid station) I was all out of water and Cytomax. I had been drinking some Red Bull, but without water to chase it, it was tough getting down.

This was the final stretch, at least I thought it would. The change in course made it shorter to this point than what it would normally be, so I didn't know whether we were going to be routed past the high school, and then have to come back in, or whether they cut it short. (As it turns out, they cut it short by about 5 miles. Go ahead, tell me I'm not an Ironman, I'll kick you in the nuts). I was definitely happy to be getting of the bike. The wind really took its toll and I was glad it was over. For the 107ish that we rode, my average was actually right about 18.6, which would have kept me on track for a 6 hour ride. In that wind, I was satisfied.

Disc cover on? Maybe, maybe not. I didn't give it much thought. I'm sure I would have handled it okay, but then again you never know if I would have been hit with a crossing gust that put me into the brush. No need to second guess. I think I played my cards right.

I almost rode right past the dismount line. It was like I forgot that I was going to have to dismount. Actually, it's more like I had no idea where the dismount line was until I heard the guy yelling "Dismount here. Dismount! DISMOUNT!" They took my bike, I was handed my bag, and into the tent. These transitions really make you feel pampered when someone takes your bike and hands you a bag with all of your stuff. I took my time on this one, sat down on a cot to get my running shoes on. A volunteer brought me a cup of water, which I promptly spilled all over the place, so he brought me another. Tucked gels into my shorts. Put on my visor, took grabbed the ziplock baggie with Endurolytes, and decided it was time to go.

Put my gels inside my shorts from the bottom (inside the legs). I don't know why I tucked them in around the waist. I never do this. I learned my lesson in a HIM last year. For some reason I ran 15 miles before I figured it out this time, and got a few cuts from the packaging on my left side.

1 - 9:27
2 - 10:00
3 - 9:00
4 - 8:59
5 - 8:52
6 - 9:15
7 - 9:38
8,9 - 18:15
10,11 - 23:06
12 - 15:19
13 - 10:27
14 - 10:39
15 - 11:04
16 - 10:30
17 - 10:22
18 - 10:08
19 - 10:38
20 - 11:31
21 - 10:30
22 - 11:01
23 - 14:44
24,25,26.2 - 41:00ish



As I set out my plan was to increase gel consumption to every 30 minutes and drink water at each aid station. I would walk the stations, and each the gel at whichever location was closest to the 30 minutes. Within the first mile there was a guy running along side me. He started to carry on a bit of a conversation, which I really wanted no part of. Not because I'm unfriendly, but because I just wasn't in the mood for a conversation. Before long he was complaining about his heart rate being too high and needing to slow down and blah blah blah blah. Fine dude, go away.

After the first aid station I stopped in a portajohn to go wee wee, and then started up again. The first lap was relatively uneventful. I'd walk through each aid station, drink most of a cup of water, then run again. Coming through the parking lot after my first loop Team Bailey was their typical awesomely obnoxious selves. I saw my Dad and he asked how I felt, I said "so-so" and made that hand motion that means "so-so." Well, so-so didn't last very long.

Shortly after starting the second loop I hit a rough spot. I remember taking a split at mile 9, and reading 18:15 off my watch which was still a good time because it covered the last two miles. But my stomach didn't feel so great. I kept going along, not feeling so great, but not really having to slow down too much. I got to the aid station, had some water, tried a cookie because I felt like I wanted something solid. No. Stomach did not want a cookie. Hit the portajohn again just after the aid station and I think a dragon came out of my ass. This is in the midst of the 10-12 slow down that you see in the splits above. Definitely the low point of the race for me. After going to the bathroom I felt better, but still not good. I struggled for awhile on the road. This is when all the thoughts of my training came to mind. Yes, quitting crossed my mind. I knew that I wouldn't ever actually do it, but I certainly thought about it. Maybe it was my mind tricking me into continuing. Because I thought about everyone who came to see me race today, and how I couldn't let them down by quitting. I had to keep going, and I knew it. I just wanted to feel better.

Soon enough it happened. The last mile up to the turn around felt good. Suddenly I had my rhythm back and I felt really strong. I was back in the mid-10s, walking aid stations, and feeling great. My dad was waiting along Egypt Road before the turn into the high school. I talked to him for a bit as he ran along side me. I told him that I was feeling really good, and he told me that I looked really good too, which was nice to hear. Went through to special needs, grabbed 3 gels and this time was smart enough to put them inside the legs of my shorts, grabbed some water, started to walk along with it. Saw my mom, tossed my sunglasses in the grass, asked her to pick them up after I went by. My thought process was that I didn't want someone to be a dick and penalize me for outside assistance if I handed them off to her. A few minutes later I realized that if someone really wanted to be a dick, I could have been penalized for abandoning equipment anyway, so what was the point? I digress. Team Bailey in full effect once again. Wow I can't say enough how grateful I am.

Loop three was a lesson in mind over matter. The out part was fine. I had ditched the Endurolytes because someone I got water inside the bag and they basically dissolved. It was gel and water. I was thinking that I should probably take something else, but I couldn't I would take a cup of water, drink a few sips, and then stop drinking when it made me think I would throw up. That's when I knew it was time to start running.

The turn around is where it started to fall apart for me. My knees were killing me. To put it in perspective, my entire body hurt like hell. My knees hurt just a little bit more. I kept passing people who were going the other way, and they looked worse off than I was, and I knew they still had further to go. I was walking a lot at this point. I had wanted to finish under 12 hours, and up until I reached the turn around it was realistic. But now it wasn't going to happen. And you know what, I really didn't care. I knew I was going to finish and that was more important. Earlier this year I missed my goal time in a Sprint by 40 seconds and I was pissed off for 3 weeks. On this day, I was looking at my watch, knowing I wouldn't make it in time, and it was okay with me.

I stopped to pee one more time, then started leapfrogging the telephone poles as a means of making it to the finish. Run, then walk. Run, then walk. Run, then walk. Before long I was at the final aid station, a rowdy bunch wearing grass skirts, passing our leis, and basically doing exactly what I would want to do if I wasn't there to race. A lady asked me if I would be coming back out (need a glow necklace) or if I would be finishing. I told her I was going to be finishing. She yelled "Scott is going to be our next IRONMAN!!" Everyone cheered, she put a green lei around my neck and said "Don't forget to tell them that you got laid!"

Continued to leap frog, ditched the lei after about 50 yards because it was more annoying than those damn Roxette lyrics earlier in the day, and the next thing I knew I was making the final turn into the high school parking lot. There was a lot of people around, cheering and yelling. This part was pretty cool. My head was definitely with me. I wasn't loopy or anything, but there is still something surreal about coming down to the end of the race. In my opinion, it wouldn't matter if there was only one person standing there cheering, or if I was running into a crowd of 30,000. I saw all of Team Bailey, they were being so loud, they took pictures and then started to run into the stadium so they could see me at the finish. I ran up ahead, followed the cones into the stadium, and then onto the track, where the final 200 meters up to the finish. I could see all the red shirts across the stadium, running, trying to get there. I think I heard someone yell "He's going to fast!" I was moving. Nothing hurt anymore. I remember looking over my shoulder a few times to make sure no one was there.

Then it happened. I heard my name on the PA system, I raised my arms, came through the shoot. And that was it. I finished.

Run faster. Duh. ;)

A lady was there and put a wet towel around my neck. Then held on to me as another guy came up and said he needed to take my chip off, would it be okay if he took my chip off. I'm thinking to myself "dude, you can do whatever you want." They asked me what I wanted to drink and I remember saying "Anything that won't make me throw up." They both laughed, and then were like "No really, what do you want to drink."



Got my sweet tin-foil cape (as Erin would later call it) and then walked over to see Team Bailey, the most awesome group of people ever. Someone asked me what I wanted to do, and I simply said "I want to stop moving." Then it was picture time. Sooooo many pictures. I think a guy from ASI was taking pics too, so hopefully Team Bailey ends up on the website.

I went into the gym to get a massage. Of course, in my dreams there is a hot chick in a bikini waiting to rub me down and tell me that I am such an amazing athlete. Instead, I got a lovely bearded man, whose name I cannot recall. In retrospect, and I will never say these words again, that lovely bearded man made me feel wonderful.