This really was a "crazy" swim. Nothing quite like it in any race I've done to date. ~1600 people in a mass start in Kona. I swam pretty defensively for the first couple hundred, then it thinned out a bit, but never really had clear open water to swim in.

I seeded myself towards the front about 3-4 deep from the start line, but to the outside ( left ) of the buoy line.

At one point, I noticed the pack in front was pulling away a bit, so I bridged up to that group and hung there. Found lots of good draft targets and lampreyed on as much as possible. At times it was impossible not to draft it was so thick in the pack.

At one point, this guy was very determined to go off course and wanted to go through me to do it. After he clubbed me for the 4th time, I got tired of it, so I rolled over him. Ended up on the other side of him, and was free of the flailing arms. Heh. That was kinda cool.

I had one goggle mishap, and it was caused by a girl who elbowed me in the face ( quite on purpose too, nobody swims with elbows out to the side like that, so WTF ). Had to backstroke for a few strokes while I drained the goggle and reseated it. Lost my best draft target when that happened, but it was on the return leg, so there wasn't a whole lot left.

The swim seemed long. Even the pro times were "slow" compared to what they should have been.

Start closer in to the buoy line and to the front. I held out a good start with the pack and this was the best of the best. I'm not scared of the "washing machine" now.

T1 was nuts! I was smack in the middle of the pack coming out of the water. Change tent was absolutely insane.

Followed my plan, even managed to get the jersey on without assistance.

Put shoes on in T1, since there's an immediate climb up Palani to Kuakini. No need to do a crazy running mount ( hehe, I said mount ) here.

Swim faster to avoid the rush! ;)

This one is important, thankfully, hazy overcast for the first part of the bike saved me: PUT ON SUNSCREEN IN T1!!! ( I can't believe I forgot this )

The first thing you do out of transition is a 3 mile lone climb up Kuakini Hwy. Yay. :)

Coming down the hill was much easier though. Then we climb back out and hang a left on the infamous Queen K. There was not much wind on this part of the course, thankfully. And it was mostly overcast, so while it was damn hot, it wasn't a full-on tropical bake fest. Especially good since my dumb butt forgot to get sunscreened in T1.

North to Kawaihae is mostly a net climb, with a few big descents. I hit my max speed on one of these ( 37.8 mph ) descents. There wasn't much wind, just a slight cross, which made this pretty pleasant. This is the part that goes through the infamous black lava fields. This part of the course can be very very hot on a sunny day due to all the black surface. Again, being overcast, this was not too bad heat-wise. I still dumped cold water over my helmet and back at each aid station though. I sat back and let the hammerheads blow past. I had HR and watt ranges that I was trying to stay in, as well as making sure I had plenty of juice left in the tank for the the return trip from Hawi.

Once we made the turn in Kawaihae to head around the north side of the island to Hawi, the winds appeared. This is the long climb to Hawi, into a headwind. The sun was coming out here, so it was warming up a bit, and of course, we were climbing so it was starting to get warm. On this part of the course, when I was about 12 miles from Hawi the leaders came smoking past on the downhill. Normann was way off the front. Chris Lieto was giving chase, and the rest of the lead group was a bit behind Lieto. Normann was definitely flying.

I finally made it Hawi turned around and picked up my special needs bag. Houston we have a problem. I was able to get the sunscreen out and slathered myself up the best I could. I made sure to get the back of my shoulders and arms, but I could tell I already had a good bit of sun. The big issue though was my 2nd fuel bottle and gu2o bottles. They were still frozen. Crap. Not much I could do, as I only had 1/2 an aerobottle of water at that point. I ditched my two empties and headed off. Fortunately this was a long descent so not much effort was needed. I drank off the rest of the water and hoped that things would thaw more quickly being out of the bag and in the sun.

I hit aid station about 20 min later and was able to pickup some more water and a bottle of gatorade. My perpetuem was still icy, but enough had thawed that I was able to start drinking that after about 15 min. The gu2o was a lot more liquid, so it remained frozen pretty solid. I think the gatorade was the beginning of some stomach issues that hit me later on. More on that when we get to the run. :)

Enjoyed the cruise down from Hawi, as after we hit Kawaihae, we have a lot of rollers for the rest of the course back into Kailua. It was a lot warmer now, and we had a bit of a headwind coming back in our faces on the return. Had to work the backsides of the hills a bit, as I wanted to keep my speed up.

Pacing went well, as did nutrition, as I had plenty of energy to pick-up the effort on the return to Kailua. I wasn't running out of energy, I was gathering steam. It felt good. :) Once past the 'Scenic Point' overlook, it's still rolling, but a net downhill back into town. I was able to hold a good average speed on the cruise back into town without pushing very hard. This was good.

My main goal was to ride steady/conservatively on the climbs. I stayed aero nearly the whole way, only coming up when speed dropped under 12 mph, which it did on some of the climbs.

Nutrition on the bike:

2 bottles of perp mix ( 7 scoops perp(plain), 2 hammer gels(add flavor), 3 endurolytes )
2 bottles of gu2o ( 3 scoops each bottle )
8 hammer gels from flask on top tube ( changed out flask in special needs )
1 clif bar
1.5 edge bottles of gatorade
Water to drink as needed

I had to pee once on the bike, and that was it. Hydration was spot on. Nutrition was good, as I was able to get it all down. I felt okay coming off the bike.

Push it a bit more. I rode very conservatively since this was my first IM and I wanted to make sure I could run well off the bike.

I wore socks on the bike, as it's more comfortable on my feet that going sockless. However, they retained moisture ( sweat, pee, water ) and my feet were a little pruny coming off the bike. I would probably go without socks, to not have to deal with pruny feet at the start of the run.

T2 was good. I pulled my feet out of the shoes at the top of Palani. Surprisingly, legs felt okay on the jog through transition. I jogged the whole way, didn't walk as my legs felt good to keep moving.

I got my bag handed off to me by my Mom ( who was working in the transition area ). Gave her a high 5 and a huge smile and headed into the change tent.

Dumped my stuff out on the ground, and started getting ready to run. Got a cold towel draped on my shoulders. OMG, that was pure heaven.

I took off my socks from the bike, body glided up my feet, put on my running shoes, grabbed my coin purse of endurolytes and tums, took my gel flask with 6 gels in it and headed out the door.

I remembered to get sunscreened this time, and made sure she took time to get my slathered up good.

Not much. I could have gone a bit faster maybe, but I didn't rush it, and I didn't forget anything.

The run. Ahh, this is where the rubber meets the road. I set out feeling pretty decent. Just grabbed water at the first mini-aid station in transition. Then headed out the run chute and onto the run course. There were tons of fans here and hearing them all cheering and shouting and making noise was incredible. Truly I felt like the king of the world just then. My legs felt good, and I didn't really feel the crazy legs I usually get on bricks. All of that brick work paid off. I just kept a nice steady pace going. I didn't want to push yet, as there was plenty of time left in the day to raise effort.

My plan was run about RPE 15, and to walk every single aid station. I know that heat on the run is where I'm the weakest. Getting behind on hydration on the run would be my downfall, and I didn't want that to happen. So at the first table in each aid station, I started walking. When it hit the end of the last table, I started running again.

I was surprised to see my first run split, it was faster than I expected. I made a concious decision to back off the pace a bit. Save it for the last 8 miles I told myself. Stomach went weird on me at the first aid station. I grabbed only a water as nothing else sounded/looked remotely appetizing. I still had plenty of nutrition from the bike to carry me a bit further so I figured I've give my stomach time to come around.

By mile 4 aid station, stomach still not happy. Had only taken in water to that point and knew I needed to get something in me. I pulled out my gel flask, and got a shot of gel in my mouth, but couldn't swallow it. Body was just saying no. Oh crap. There's no way I can run 26 miles on just water. I kept calm and decided to try Plan B. At the next aid station I grabbed a coke along with the water. Had a sip of that and it tasted good and my body said "Ok". I drank the rest of it and kept going. At the next aid station, another coke, more water, and this time, the oranges looked good too. Okay, so coke and orange slices were working. I knew I needed some electrolytes, so I popped 2 endurolyte caps.

I was coming back into town at this point, and the crowd was again pretty noisy. Lots of cheering lifted my spirits, and I was having a blast reveling in it all. Made the turn to finish the climb up Palani to the Queen K. I was still running, though a lot of people around me started walking immediately. I passed them, and just kept moving, if slowly, up the hill. When I realized I wasn't closing on the people walking in front of me, I decided to walk the rest of the hill too. I kept up a very fast walking pace for the rest of the hill. Neared the crest and then started running again.

Now we're on the shoulder of the Queen K and heading away from town. There were far fewer spectators on this part of the course. The mental effort increased, as I had to keep myself going. There were no spectators here. I gave encouragement to everyone I passed. A few of them latched on and started running again at that, so it was good. I was walking a bit more of each aid station now. Out to the last garbage can now, but I was still getting in water, coke, and orange slices at each one. A couple cold sponges to rinse the sweat and salt off. Surprisingly, I wasn't having a lot of trouble staying cool. Body temp was doing alright. I cupped ice in my palm after each aid station, so perhaps that helped a lot.

I puked twice about midway through the run. It was just after an aid station both times. The water/coke/orange that I'd just had simply didn't want to stay down. A couple steps after I started running again, they came right back up. It didn't slow me down much, and I got some comments about it. "Dude, you're insane!" "Now that's hardcore". Hehe. I didn't feel sick, I felt good, my stomach just wanted out. :)

Finally we made the turn into the Energy Lab. This was a long downhill. Peter Reid was working the aid station here, which was really cool. Special needs was at the end of the Lab, and I desperately wanted my fresh socks. My feet were wet, and squishing, and I needed the change. I hit the turnaround ( and timing mat ), then made a 4 min pit stop in a porty potty. Ahh. :) Feeling a bit lighter, I picked up my special needs. Nowhere to sit except the ground, so I just sat down, and started changing my socks. I had one toe that was being a problem, so I taped it up first. My hands/fingers were not working very well, so it took a bit longer than it should have. I kept folding the tape over on itself instead of getting it on my toe. Finally get it done, get the socks changed, shoes back on, and I got up. Holy cow. Getting the legs moving again took some effort. They did not want to start running again. I pushed the issue, and after a few minutes, fell back into the groove.

The climb up out of the Energy Lab was really not bad at all. I was mentally prepared for much worse. It was about a half hour before sunset, so the sun was not bad at all, and there was a nice ocean breeze that felt really good. Made it out, and back onto the Queen K.

Every step at this point was bringing the finish line closer. Horsey could smell the barn. :) I still had over an hour to go but I was already visualizing the finish line. It was a beautiful sunset, as we saw the sun setting out over the ocean as we ran back into town. I commented to the girl who was pacing off me that at least we got to see a beautiful sunset. She laughed and said 'Yeah, it's hard to beat that'. We paced each other, as we were both running about even pace and walking the aid stations at that point. It was good to have someone else there, as this was probably the toughest point mentally. Being about 6 miles from the finish, and knowing you have an hour to go still.

The sun went down, and then it got dark fast. There's no lights out on the Queen K, so it was hard to see. I kept moving, and got a glow stick necklace thing at the next aid station. Just keep moving, just keep moving. This was my mantra. A couple climbs were hard, then before I know it, I'm at the mile 24 sign.

Holy crap, this is it. One more hard mile, then one easy one. I was able to lift the effort a bit. My pace partner dropped back, but I couldn't wait. This was the last climb and then I was home. The last hill was hard. It's kinda long, though the grade is gradual. There were spectators at this point, so their support helped me keep going up the hill. I made it to the top, and there's a bit of downhill before the turn onto Palani. The crowd started getting bigger here, as there were more people.

I cried a little bit here, as I knew I'd made it. I'd run the whole damn thing, at an even pace, and I didn't crack. There were street lights here, so I peeled off the reflective dots from my front, and handed off my glowstick to some kids. I high fived tons of people, and I cruised on home. I hit mile 25 marker just before turning off Palani for the last time. Pumped my fist in the air, and the crowd cheered louder. This was awesome. Saw someone with a cowbell and yelled at them "More Cowbell!!!". They laughed and started clanging away. I was absolutely giddy at this point.

I cruised the flat along Kuakini. The crowd was great. I could hear Mike Riley and the finish line music. Made the second to last turn to head down to Ali'i. I was on familiar territory now. I saw Ali'i drive in front of me and the crowd was even bigger down there.

I made the final turn, and my heart was in my throat. There were people 4 deep on both sides of the street, into the street. I ran through the middle, let out a huge whoop, and gave out tons of high fives. I had a huge smile on my face, and I felt no pain at all. I came under the banyan tree, and saw the start of the finish line chute. A quick check over my shoulder, nobody behind me for a while. I had it all to myself. I hit the chute and I'm completely overwhelmed. You're finally back in bright lights, and there's a sea of people on both sides cheering their heads off. I couldn't make out any single sound, so I didn't hear my name being called, but it didn't matter. I saw my Dad off to the right so I drifted over to give him a high five. I was almost in a state of shock I was so deliriously happy. I crossed under the arch and I was DONE! I was an IRONMAN! I DID IT!


Time, AHR, MHR
Mile 1: 8:16, 145, 152
Mile 2: 9:25, 145, 157
Mile 3: 9:55, 148, 157
Mile 4: 9:24, 147, 152
Mile 5: 9:49, 146, 153
Mile 6: 10:22, 142, 150
Mile 7: 10:32, 143, ?
Mile 8: 9:24, 146, 153
Mile 9: 10:01, 145, 153
Mile 12: 31:11, 144, ? ( Apparently I missed hitting the lap button )
Mile 13: 9:31, 147, 154
Mile 14: 10:21, 145, 153
Mile 15: 10:10, 144, ?
Mile 16: 10:44, 144, ?
Mile 17: 10:04, 143, 151
Mile 18: 10:36, 141, 148
Mile 20: 28:29, 134, 149 ( Special Needs + Porta Potty Stop )
Mile 21: 10:39, 141, 145
Mile 22: 10:31, 139, 141
Mile 23: 10:53, 138, 143
Mile 24: 10:45, 139, 146
Mile 25: 11:15, 141, 148 ( last climb up to Palani )
Mile 26.2: 10:50, 148, 165

Nothing. I overcame adversity, adapted my nutrition plan on the fly, and I didn't crack. I kept it going strong from start to finish.

Surprisingly, I didn't keel over after finishing. I got my lei. It was awesome feeling that being placed over my head. I was able to walk under my own power to the post-race area. My Dad found me first, then went to find my Mom and my cousin. My Mom and my Cousin found me, but hadn't seen my Dad. Finally we found everyone.

I got medal and finishers bag, had my post race picture taken. Then meandered over to the massage tent. It started raining at that point, but we were under a tent so it was okay. I'd finished just in time, as the slight rain became a torrential downpour a few minutes later. Wind was whipping rain inside the tent, so they even stopped using the outside row of tables in the massage area. If I'd been 10 minutes slower, I'd have been finishing in the rain instead of in the dry.

It turns out the guy who gave me the massage was the Director of the Massage School that was doing the work. Wow. That felt great. After the massage, I made my way inside the King Kam hotel, after picking up half a pizza. Sat inside on the floor as it was out of the rain at least. Ate a couple pieces of 'za. I was still feeling great at this point. The endorphin rush hadn't subsided, but I knew it wouldn't be too long.

Finally the rain let up, and we went out to the car. My Dad had my bike ticket, so he picked up my bike and met us at the car. Drove back to the condo, and took my ice bath. It was cold. I was laying in the tub shivering and my teeth were chattering, but it felt so good on my legs. Finally got out, and made my way to bed. Everything was slightly sore at this point. Made it to sleep finally, replaying in my mind the last few hundred yards of the finish.


Nothing more than time in the sport. This is only my third year of triathlons, and building up the aerobic and muscular capabilities to really be able to race this distance takes years.


It's Kona. What more needs to be said?