I was terrified to get into the water.

I went to the course on Thursday and found a few brave souls swimming. I spoke to a few locals who gave me some advice. One was to get in the water as often as possible and the other gave me directions to a store to buy some booties. As you may imagine, booties are hard to find in AZ. The weather on Thursday was similar to race day. Cold and overcast with dark clouds.

Jerry and I went to the practice swim on Saturday. The water was about 59 degrees with a sunny sky. The air temp was warm at 11:30. I had a terrible swim. The hood was irritating my neck, my googles fogged up AND the water was freakin cold. We swam about 650 meters.

Race day - The bus dropped us off at 0600 about an 1:45 prior to my start. The air temp was cold and windy with gray skies. I saw 3 people get pulled/quit at the start. Jerry, Brent (friend from Ca) and I waited calmly for our start. Our wave was finally led to the water. I stayed on the boat ramp prior to the start and waved my hands in the water to get acclimated. I also splashed water on my face.

The horn went off and we were off. I started and did not look back. I quickly forgot about the cold water and simply focused on moving forward. The first bouy came up quickly. I rounded the corner and started to swim to the second bouy and the waves started to hit me. I tried not to let it bother me and kept swimming. I started to notice that there was several different caps in the water with me. My goal was to stay within myself and stay on course. The second bouy, I swear was moving. It took forever to get there. I then turned the third and headed for home. On the final leg, we had the jet skis and boats creating wakes which made the water choppy. During this leg, I recall thinking that I was racing and was right were I wanted to be. I made it out of the water and Shelley and Emily were right in front of me. I stopped to chat for a second with them before heading to T2. I did it. 27 people did not make it out of the water.

I feel pretty good about this. I was able to swim the entire course without stopping or using different strokes. I was also very calm in the water.

I will work on speed now that I am comfortable with this distance.

This was a so called clean transition. We were provided bags to put all of our belongings in. Nothing except one bike wheel was to touch the ground.

Prior to the race, I set up T1 the best I could to conform with the rules. On the way to T1, the wetsuit strippers did a great job of getting me out of my suit. I surely would have taken a few more minutes to do this. The trouble started when I went to put on my shirt and things fell out of my pockets. So I had to pick them up. Then I forgot, my heartstrap. I lefted my shirt to put it on and the things fell out a second time. I finally got my act together and put my swim gear in the bag provided and was off.

I experienced a first here. Some dude stripped bare a$$ naked to change. Right in front of female volunteers.

I dunno, move a little quicker.

The bike is my weakest of the 3 weak sports. I drove the course a few days prior to get a feel for what was ahead. There were plenty of hills throughout. None to steep but two stood out. One is up to the Birds of Prey and the other was a lengthy hill that lasted about 2 miles. I was pleased that I was able to slowly spin all of the hills. I was cruising along after the long climbing hill when at about mile 30, I started to slow. I then heard someone from behind say that I could not slow down because I was pacing him. Ha! Funny, I was pacing someone. It worked though, I quickly got back to work. I had to stop for the second time to go potty at about mile 35. This was my second stop. Ugh!

It rained on me from miles 30-45. Not too bad. I had some arm warmers on which kept me from getting cold.

All right enough messing around out here. I really started to push the pace from 45 to the finish. The streets were wet and I passed several people. I thought that I would avg b/w 15-17 mph.

I need to get some more time in the saddle. The only time I have ridden more than 56 was at the Tour de Tucson. I will work on getting more power in my legs.

Nutrition- I need a better consistent plan. This is two races in a row where I had stomach issues.

I took my time here. I had to stuff everything into a bag again.

Shelley, Emily and Jerry's family was at the T2 exit. I stopped for a moment to talk to them.

Move quicker.

I started the run with an upset stomach again. I stopped at the first aid station to go potty again. I got out and started to run the wrong way before quickly realizing it was wrong. I headed onto the greenbelt and spoke to a few guys as I moved forward. I was running and walking to get settled into the run.

I almost made a potentially fatal (in race terms) mistake. I wore two watches. One was a stopwatch that had my total time and the other was the Garmin that had pace, HR etc. The problem was my watch had Arizona time not Idaho time. Hour difference. I was not sure if I had the extra hour or not. I did know that I would finish the race so that allowed me to remain calm and not panic.

I stopped for a second time at the potty at about mile 3. This seemd to do the trick along with the coke, orange slices and water I was getting at the aid stations. At about the 3.5 mile mark someone caught up to me and said he had followed me on the bike. This also was funny. We started talking and I learned his name was Colin. This was his second 70.3 and he was using it to prepare for IMAZ. This gave us plenty to talk about as we mostly ran but walked the aid stations and some in between. The end of the first lap kind of s*ucked. We ran within 25 yards from the finish. The crowd support was fantastic. They cheered everyone on laps 1 & 2.

Colin and I headed for lap 2 in business like fashion. We were both feeling pretty good. I really could care less about my time today so I took it easy on the run. Colin was trying to improve on his time from his last 70.3. He left me at about 11.5. I continued to run and walk with a little more walking than before. At around the 12.5 mark I got a little emotional because I knew that I had completed this amazing goal.I made the final turn off the greenbelt and raced towards the finish. Jerry's brother met me and ran with me a bit. In the finish chute, I high fived Jerry and then Shelley on the way to the finish line with a fist pump and a smile.

At the finish, I received a blanket, medal, water and picture. I even got the surprise of some silly string courtesy of Emily and Trey (Jerry's son).

Now that I know I can do this distance, I will push the pace more. Although, I am not overly concerned about time, I would like to finish more closer to the middle of the pack.

I walked across the street and sat down on a bench for a little bit while Shelley retrieved my gear and bike. I was fine, just chillin. I ended of cchatting with some older locals that were there for a funeral of JR Simplot. I guess he is responsible for making Idaho potatoes famous. The funeral was during the race. There were people dressed well and atheltes mixed.

I then got a massage, some pizza and chatted with Katie Ellis for a few minutes. She placed 5th overall in her first race as a pro. What was nice is she approached me.


I'm old, slow and new to this distance.


I would reccomend this race to anyone. The course is beautiful and the city seemed to really embrace this race. The volunteers were great and plentiful.

I am grateful to have so many friends and family that have supported me in this effort. I was apprehensive about this distance and frankly unsure if I could do it. This is a dream come true. I have always wanted to give a triathlon a try throughout the years. Last July, I did my first sprint and was hooked. Now, I finally feel that I am a triathlete.

Thanks to Jerry's transport service for making a smooth delivery of the Masi bike.