I had an awesome swim. When I got out of the water for the first lap, I was amazed that it took me 46 minutes. I thought for sure that I would be pushing the swim cutoff.

I wouldn't do anything differently.

Transition was just normal. Nothing spectacular. Made sure that I was good to go with everything.

The bike pretty much killed me. The hills were not the problem, but the headwind and cross winds when the full separated from the half gave me the most issues. I was certainly getting enough nutrition in, but could not battle the winds. Plus...I noticed that the air in my rear tire was a little low. I wasn't sure if I was beginning to get a flat or what. Since it was getting close to cutoff time for the bike, I improvised and used a CO2 cartridge and filled up the back tire to full capacity. Than, I heard the air coming slowly from the tire, so there was a leak. I only had about 30 miles to go, so I risked it. I figured if the leak is slow moving, I should be able to make it back in time.

I don't know what I would do differently. Honestly, I was not ready for the headwind. If I had to do anything differently it would be to spend more time in the saddle and get better at my cycling.

No issues with transition. Except when I sat down in the changing tent, I did not want to get back up.

My run was just alright. The first lap was going fine until about mile 7. I started to get sick and I honestly felt like throwing up. Plus the idea that I had two more laps to go, did not play well mentally.

Once I hit lap 2, there were less and less spectators, but the view from the lake with the sun setting was beautiful (I had to find one bright spot). The people that were still out there from the volunteers to just random people were very supportive. I had one person giving me a huge pep talk about being an Ironman. It was very helpful, especially at a time when I was starting to crack.

Once lap 2 was done, I had 2 hours and 30 minutes to go (I wanted to crack 17 hours). I shuffled along the best that I could and my feet were killing me. I could tell that I needed new shoes and this was the last race that these Nikes were ever going to be in.

Around mile 23 I met up with one of the other runners. He was shuffling along as well, and as we approached one of the aid stations, he joked with the volunteers about getting us some pizza. To our amazement, the volunteers pulled out slices of pizza for us. I can honestly say that it was the best pizza that I have ever had in my life.

Once I got past mile 23 and approached 24, I knew that I had to move along if I wanted to crack 17 hours. I shuffled along as much as I could and it was going to be evident that I was going to crack 17 hours.

When I hit mile 25 it was awesome. I had 1 mile to go and 20 minutes to do it in. I was there. Crossing that finish line was one of the best feelings in the world!

Crossed the finish line and had a Yuengling Lager.


This race was a comeback race for me. Back in 2007 I was signed up and ready to go for Ironman Coeur D'Alene. Unfortunately the race didn't go my way and I was pulled from the water, but because the water conditions were so bad I was allowed to do the bike and the swim. Even after doing the bike and the run, it sill wasn't the same.

Coming back from Idaho, I registered for the Great Floridian in 2007 hoping that it would be my race. Again, my luck didn't go my way and while doing my last 100 mile ride, I crashed injuring myself a month out from the race.

This year, I didn't even intend on doing an iron distance race, but after doing long workouts with a friend of mine that was doing Louisville, I decided to go ahead and do The Great Floridian. I made sure that I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, stayed healthy, and avoided any chances of getting in an accident on a bike. Crossing that finish made all the trouble I had last year of doing an iron distance race go away. I guess that last year was not the time for me to do one, but instead this year. The wait was well worth it, and best of all, I placed 4th in the Clydesdale division at The Great Floridian and got some hardware.

I honestly have to say that this race was amazing. I had a great time, and it was certainly challenging for me. From the organization to the volunteers, it was top notch and my hat goes off to the race director and his staff. Of course there were some glitches but when you put a race together of this magnitude, you are going to have that.

I highly recommend this race, and there is no doubt you will have a great time and I look forward to doing this race again in the near future.