They announced that once we cross over the timing mat that we must head straight for the water. Once you jump in, you can't stop and tread water, you have to move towards the start line. I stalled a little bit because I was already cold, but I had to pee. I jumped in and immediately I peed in my wetsuit. That was the first time I had peed in my suit, and I warmed right up :). I swam just under the Mill street bridge then moved toward the wall. I jumped up on the wall and waited until after the National Anthem before I got back in. I made sure I had plenty of space between me and the guy in front of me. The next thing you know, the gun goes off and I start swimming. I was expecting a big fight but there was room and I had to slow down only a couple of times. I didn't need to site because I was close to the wall. I stayed there for a while, then the next thing I know, I am all by myself and I start to get worried. I changed from a 2 stroke to a 3 stroke so I can look to my left. At that point I saw everybody hugging the bouys about 200 yards to my left. I gradually tried to angle myself away from the wall and before I knew it I was back in the washing machine. Just under the Rural street bridge there was a bouy and I (and everybody else around me)thought that was the turn around bouy. That area of water got really crowded in a hurry. I pulled up and my left calf cramped. I rubbed it for a second or two, then off I went really trying to not kick until my leg felt better. I got to the turn around bouy and went perpendicular to the bouy. The problem was there wasn't another bouy across from it. We didn't need to make a rectangle, it was more like a triangle so I added a bunch of yards on to my swim. Once I figured it out I was on my way back home!!! About 500 yards away, my lower back started to get tight, but what was I going to do except swim? I rounded the last bouy and hit the stairs. I, for the life of me couldn't work my legs to get up to the first step. The volunteer finally grabbed my arm and pulled me up. I got my wetsuit stripped and off to the changing tent.

Round the turn around bouy better.

Just like Phil I didn't bring a towel and both of my feet were covered with grass. I got my jersey and helmet on, dusted off my feet, socks and shoes on and away I went.

Bring a towel

I ran down the transition area and a volunteer handed me my bike. I got started, One event down, two to go! I knew I didn't want to hop on my bike and immediately start to eat or drink and they had an aid station at mile 1, so I just went past. I didn't drink any water until about 10 min into the ride. One problem I have had in the past was not drinking enough. By the time I got to the second station, I had finished off my aero bottle so I got another one. It was cool having them hand you your bottle on the fly! At 1:45 into the ride my back totally cramped up.I couldn't sit in the aero postion, great all this wind and I have to sit up. Not only did I have to sit up, I would spend :30 sec in aero, then 2-3 min sitting up then :05 sec standing up stretching. Try that in 20 mph winds. I had a very high cadence today. Everytime I looked it was over 95. At one point it was 105 so I kicked it up a gear or two back to a 90 cadence. I didn't look at speed at all on the ride. Unlike Phil, I'm not good at on-the-go math so I kept my watch on regular time. My bike computer had a clock on it but I couldn't do the math so I just rode as comfortably as I could. The good part of having my back tight was that I rode easy enough that my legs felt good. For the ride, I drank probably about 10 bottles of water, 4 bottles of IM cocktail, 2 gels and 1 banana. I peed twice on the bike. The last time at mile 95. I stopped and stretched for about 2 minutes. After that my back felt good so I rode the last 20 miles in more aero than sitting up and not much stretching :)
One wierd thing happened on the bike...About 5 miles into it I hear a phone ring, then the girl in front of me answers her cell phone. Talk about priorities.

Not much.

When I got to the transition area someone took my bike and off to the changing tent I go. I get to the tent and I am in nooo hurry to test out my back. I sit down take off my shoes and helmet. I put on my fuel belt and race number belt, IM visor and sunglasses. Then I asked a kid for a bottle of water and try to decide if I want 2 or 4 Advil. I don't usually take anything for pain so I don't know what 4 will do to me. So I opt for 2. I get out of the tent and have to "take care of business". I ask a volunteer where the bathrooms are and she points me to the men's urinals. I try to be as discreet as possible and ask where the other bathrooms are. She couldn't help me so I went back to the gear bag area and found a bathroom. After the bathroom break I got some sunscreen and off I go!

Know where the bathrooms are and maybe pick up the pace a bit :)

My legs felt great!!!I was about 200 yards from the run start and someone said "great smile and awesome pace" I turned to them and said "yeah, I am only 100 feet into this run" After that evrybody started laughing and cheering for me. What a rush. After the turn around I had to run past that area again and again all of those people were yelling "yeah Tom keep it up!!!" I know I had a faster pace in that area than any other spot on the course. My plan for the run was to go sub 5 hours and to eat some gels, gatorade and water for the first loop and try some Coke and chicken broth for the second loop. I tried to stick to the plan. I got to the first aid station and get a vanilla Gu and water. Perfect. the next station gatroade and water...just as scheduled. The next station, "No we don't have Vanilla, we have chocolate". No big deal, I will skip the gel and take my new IMC. So far so good. Next station. right on, next station, "No we don't vanilla ...or chocolate, we have raspberry (or something like that)". No big deal, I will just skip the gel. Now I am at mile 7 and at the big hills that Phil decribed. My plan was to run it the first time and figure it out the second time. I ran it and felt good. Now I am in a grove and try to do the math (again not my strong point) and figure that a 5 hour mary is out of the question. I was wrong about that but didn't figure that part out until the next day. Now I continue on and get to mile 12. I see the signs along the path that say all sorts of inspirational things, including "Go Tiger Phil and Madcow". That brought a smile to my face, but after that I saw a lady. She looked me right in the eye, reached down and grabbed a sign that read " BELIEVE For whatever reason that got me choked up and knew right then, that I was going to finish. At that point my new goal was to run the whole course. No walking except the aid stations. At mile 13 it was like a whole new race. I bailed on the Gatorade/ water thing because I can now add Coke and broth as per the plan. So at the first aid station I grabbed a Coke, Ahhh delicious. Now backing up a little. I have a tip for everybody. No matter how much you love beef jerky, Do not put this in your run special needs bag. It sounded like a good idea on Thursday but try chewing beef jerky after 11.5 hours of racing...no good, no good :(
At every aid station I alternated between water and broth and water and Gatorade. I also thanked as many people as I could and their cheering was contagious. The more you thanked them the more they cheered, then you smiled more and more people cheered and this cycle continued the whole race. One of the best feeling was at mile 20. I was expecting to feel bad, but I still felt good. I got to the hills and everybody around me walked ...not me. If anything I picked up the pace a little more there just because they weren't doing so good. At mile 21, I wasn't sure if I was fading. It was dark out now and the lighting wasn't great in one area. I ened up catching this guy and we ran shoulder to shoulder, stride for stride for about .5 miles, not looking at each other and not speaking, but literally 6 inches apart. We were keeping each other company in this dark and lonely place. Once we hit the light, the guy said "who would have thought that I would be running a 5+ hour marathon". All I could say is "Yeah but the hard part is over" After that I caught my IM training partner, Deb. We were runnig together and again not talking. At some point I looked at my shirt and said it was covered in salt. She had said that she didn't sweat at all today. We hit the downhill and off she went. I continued with my pace and I looked at my HR. It was 119 and I still felt great. At mile 23 I ran through the aid station. The people there asked if I needed anything and I said "Nope, no offense but I am soo happy I won't see any of you any more today".We all laughed and off I went. I had peed 4 times in the first 12.5 hours and 3 times in the last 1.5. I think that had the biggest effect on my second half run time, because I felt like I was running the same pace, but it was slower. I still felt good, so I'm not complaining. At mile 24, my wife and kids were there (I didn't see them). Now a little back tracking. Last year at my half IM My wife and kids were at the finish line. My daughter said she had to use the bathroom. My wife took her to the bathroom and when she came back, I had finished and she missed it. She took it harder than I did. Now this time I wanted to run with my kids. At the race, there was a spot for your kids to wait until you get there and you can get them and run down the shoot to the finish line. I got to the last block and rounded the corner to the finish line. I get to the kid pen and I don't see my kids. I stopped and looked back because maybe I missed them. There was a lady there with this panicked look on her face as she tried to help me find my kids (even though she didn't know what they looked like) I figured they were in the stands. I continued on to the finish line and they were no where to be found. When i finished, I was torn between being happy to be done and sad because my family wasn't there. The guy whose job it was to make sure I was Ok asked how I was feelng. Just then I see my wife and kids behind him! I just looked at him and said "I am great!" My wife and kids were around mile 24 when my daughter needd to use the bathroom again, this time my wife waited outside, She saw me run by and said I made it look so easy.She then tried to beat me to the finish line but couldn't get there, until I got there.
I still can't figure why I felt so good. If they were to add another loop to the course, I think I could have done it. It would have been slow but I was on auotpilot and as long as they had Coke and broth I could keep running.

Absolutely nothing. I am the only person that I know that ran the whole course. My friend Deb passed out at the finish line and was taken to the emergency room with severe dehydration and hypothermia. She had a temp of 92! My buddy Shawn spent 2 hours in the med tent, getting 2.5 bags of IV fluid. My coach passed out at mile 6 and taken off the course in an ambulance, and my other buddy Matthew walked every hill. For being a non-runner, I did great!

Ate some pizza, got a massage. went to McDuffy's for a $.50 beer, then went back to the finish line to cheer in people for the last 40 minutes. Other than the Believe sign, the only other time I got choked up was when I went back to the finish line and I asked this lady who was holding a baby if she was waiting for someone. She looked like she was there all day and she said she was waiting for her son and the baby's father. She said "I hope he's not hurt. And if he doesn't finish I will kick his butt" After that we kept checking to see if she would get up and cheer when someone would go by. It was now like 11:50pm and he was running out of time. All of a sudden she came running down with a big smile on her face. I asked "was that him?" She said "Yes, thank God, he made it" It really hit home how much this race means, not only to the athletes but to the families and friends as well!


Big fat belly, slow ass legs :)


The volunteers and race supporters were insane! I can't begin to say how much that helped my mental well being. I don't know that even they know much they help. This race is mostly mental and having them out there makes or breaks you.

As a side note. For as happy as I was to have finished this race. My wife dropped a bomb on me. She said she wants to do a triathlon!!!! She has been thinking about it for a while and now she is really inspired. She doesn't want make a big deal about it until she is in better shape, but I am STOKED!!!. I told her that she should come to BT, but she doesn't want to be known as Tom's wife. She wants her own identity. So I probably won't say anything when she comes here :)