Words of encouragement or advice appreciated here

Go Jon go!

If you've done most of the training, you're as ready as can be. This nervousness/anxiety/straight-up PANIC is actually a vital part of the physical and mental preparation for the race, so ride it like pre-dawn Christmas. (Unless you're Jewish, in which case ... substitute whatever exciting gift holiday you like).

If you eat halfway decently and stay well hydrated until Sunday, you're in great shape for this race. Doing a little SBR to keep the ol' limbs firing is good too.

As for the dark places ... THIS WILL PASS.

How you feel at any given moment during the race is not how you're going to feel 10min, an hour later. So no matter how yucky it may (or may not) get, THIS WILL PASS.

If you can just hang in there another 15min or so, you'll probably feel differently.

If you can make it through that hell ride at the Cider Mill Century, you're good to go.

Just keep yourself paced right and don't race outside of what you trained for.

I'll be waiting to see your Facebook picture changed to your finish line picture!

GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN!

HTFU!!!!!!!!!

When in doubt . . . HTFU

That is all.  You will kick a$$ and you know it.

Just remember you put in the time and effort and are ready to go.  Just starting one puts you well ahead of most people.  And just think when you finish you can post on facebook "Oh you ran a marathon?  How cute so did I!!... after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles"... or go simple and say "I AM IRONMAN"  

I recall petering out on a run after a bike with you in Lee's Summit (ugh) --- then bypassing the run part of a brick completely with you in favor of beer at Clinton (yay).

Oh, and also heading straight for the food after the century ride instead of doing the 150yard run with you in the parking lot at the Cider Mill.  ;-)

Yep!  That is a fair statement.

In all seriousness, go kick some butt.  Whenever you get nervous, just remind yourself that you are prepared and . . . more importantly . . . tell yourself, "I belong here."

Hey Jon,

You got this.  Just pace yourself.  That run will suck if you're out of gas.  Stick to your nutrition plan,  You are fit to compete this distance, you just need to keep the energy coming in at the right rate, not to mention the proper hydration.  Try not to go out too hard in the first half of the run, you may feel good getting off the bike, but 26.2 is a long way.

I will be watching Ironman live and look forward to hearing the words "Jon Bohnsack, you're an IRONMAN".

Take it easy and enjoy the experience- you put in a lot of work, so you will do fine. 

I like to have 2 beers the night before a race to help me sleep.  Good luck trying to sleep though.

GET TO BED!!!!!!!  YOU NEED YOUR REST!!!!!!!!!!!!  OMGGGGGGGG!!!!!