The best part of the swim was getting in the water, we spent a good twenty minutes standing in line waiting for the previous waves to start. I was actually shivering! Going from 53 degrees air temperature to 61 degree water temperature felt like getting into a warm bathtub! Or maybe that's when I pee'd in my wetsuit...

The start of the swim was a battle. I got beaten and battered. It seemed that all I did was move from one beating to another - and that ain't no joke. It was kinda neat though as I ended up catching the previous two waves. The problem with swimming through the earlier waves is that you end up getting hit more. When I did seperate at times, the swim was awesome. It makes me wonder how I could have done if I started in the first wave.

Move to the front. I don't know why all those jokers position themselves up so far to the front. Who are they kidding?

It was cold and raining. I didn't just want to wear my tri shorts and top, so I put on some socks, leg warmers, arm warmers, and I figured since I was gonna blow this transition, I might as well put on some cycling shorts for comfort.

Not sure. I would have liked for it to go quicker, but you really can't prepare for the rain. I worked out of my bag instead of having everything laid out so I could keep my stuff dry.

Not having ridden the course before, I really didn't know what to expect. I was told that the big hill was at mile 26. When we passed mile 26, I thought to myself "boy, those were some easy hills", but those weren't the hills! So I went a little hard a little soon as a result. The hills themselves weren't too bad, and if I could do it again, I think I could shave a five to ten minutes off of that ride.

I got passed by pretty much everyone. I didn't expect to do so poorly, but then again I'm a swimmer and not a cyclist ;) I was amazed to see the number of $3k+ bikes. I was also amazed to see the definition in the legs of the guys passing me, they clearly workout in the gym. In the end, the 5-10 minute gap I opened on most competitors in the swim was eaten up in the bike. What's a guy to do?

I should have drank more. I normally drink two 20 ounce bottles on a three hour ride, but for whatever reason, I only drank one and half bottles. This turned out to be a bad thing.

My toes and feet were numb from the bike. They were feet and cruising at 17+ mph in 55 degree temps only turned them into stumps attached to pedals. So when I first got off the bike, I almost ate the asphault. I had to run about 100 yards to get to my bike rack and it turned out I needed the entire run to get the feeling back in my feet.

I stripped off the arm warmers, leg warmers, cycling shorts, cycling shoes, glasses and helmet (not in that order) and put on my visor, glasses, and running shoes. I was going to put on a dry set of socks, but apparently I didn't zip my bag up on the last transition exit and they ended up getting soaked in the rain. squish squish squish!

Zip up the frickin bag! Man I'm a dork.

Well, I'm not sure who I beat on the run. Amazing that I beat anybody at all. I was only able to run twice in the four weeks leading up to the race as I had the plantar fascia tear. The good news: I was able to finish the run. The bad news: I didn't have run endurance, running felt awkward, I was very tentative to put any weight on the foot. Honestly though, I feel lucky to have been able to run at all. When I first tore the muscle, I gave consideration to not running the race at all.

So, all that crap being said, I pretty much run/walked (I walked all the incline/declines and each of the aid stations) the first 9 miles. The last three miles I got fed up and said to myself, if it was going to reinjur it, then no better time than now! So I opened it up and all went well. I honestly think I could have started running harder sooner, but why? I pee'd twice on the run.

Maybe start running sooner, better yet, not tear my plantar fascia 4 weeks out from the race ;)

Does passing out count as a warm-down? j/k j/k


My limiter was the injury. I went from easily maintaining < 9 minute miles to running > 11 minute miles. In addition, running was the core of my workout routine so I didn't know how to work around the injury and that's where coaching definitely would have paid off. I ended up having basically a four week taper.

My goal before the injury was 5:30, and with the injury I wanted to get 6:00. I can't really complain with a 6:17, but I can't say that I'm happy with it.


The race itself was well organized. All the volunteers rocked. Lots of enthusiasm, and when I crossed the finish line, they made me feel like a million bucks. They had bathrooms everywhere and were smart enough to have bathrooms that only the athletes could use. They had plenty of post race food (pizza and fruit). The wait for the massage was a little long, so I passed. I was rather shocked at the lack of freebies, but we don't race for freebies, so it was all good. The finisher's medal is pretty sweet. Ironman put on a great race, my hat is off to them.