What a swim!! There was a little bumping for the first 500 meters or so. I was trying to stay 20 or 30 feet to the right of the cable to avoid the crowds around the cable. It was impossible not to swim near the cable, it was like I was just being drawn to the cable. (Like Dory and Marlin looking at the light! :)) I was behind 3 or 4 swimmers just cruising along at about a 60% effort. Each 100m buoy I looked at my watch and we were holding between 1:20's and 1:24's. I wasn't working hard so I decided to try to go around them. As soon as I got out of the draft it was like a parachute dropped out of my a$$. I dropped back and relaxed for the rest of the first loop. As we were approaching the last buoy I glanced at my watch and thought "HOLY CRAP, this could be sub 26!!" I got out and crossed the mat as the clock turned 26:00 and did not want to lose sight of who I was following. We got right back into the second loop where we left off. As we rounded the first turn I got dropped going through a small crowd who must have been on their first loop. DAMN!! I was swimming on my own for about 100 meters before I latched on to a girl's draft and caught a ride to the finish with her. We passed by a couple of the pro women, not sure who they were, with about 200-300 meters left and crossed the line in 53:44. It actually felt like a warm-up.

Stay on the feet of my free ride that I had the first loop. :)

Took my time in T1. Nothing special happened. I was expecting it to be cold and I had arm warmers in my bag. I debated for a few seconds then threw them in my pocket and carried my shoes out to my bike. (That was racked in the rack next to the pro's thanks to the extra $775 for the CF slot!)

I should have put my shoes on while the volunteer was holding my bike instead of on the other side of the timing mat. Dummy!!

Hopped on the bike and made it through the hills and turns that led out from the oval and headed out of town. My plan was to keep my HR low and take it easy on the first loop and not pay attention to my speed. I was hoping for 2:45 - 2:50 for the first loop and knew that I was going to be feeling it after 80 miles because I only did 1 century ride leading up to the race. The climb out of Placid was fine. I got passed left and right but did hear a few comments about being the only person so far enjoying myself out here. :-) Loved seeing the clowns at the first aid station! Grabbed a Gatorade and water at the aid station and added water to the NeverReach for the descent to Keene. (Like I need more weight!) The girl I was drafting in the swim passed by and I congratulated her for a great swim thanked her for the lift. Hit the descent and absolutely flew by people on the rollers and had clear sailing down the hill. Stayed in aero and saw 52.1 mph as I yelled WHEEEEEEEEE as I passed by some riders heading up the hill. Turned on to the flat section heading to Jay and told the cops how much fun that was. Stayed very within myself on this section and actually let my HR drop in the 120's for a while to prepare for the climb out of Jay. As I turned up the climb I just threw it in granny gear and started to spin. I know my biking legs are non existent and I just had to grind on up and try to keep my HR down. I knew I was hydrated when I already had to take a pee. I have yet to be able to pee on the bike and did not want to stop to pee so I waited. About 1/2 way up Paul Fronhofer passed by and asked if I needed a push. I wanted to ask him what took him so long but just said I wanted him to pass everyone on this hill! As I came down the backside of the hill into Wilmington I really had to pee so I decided to give it a try. I took a quick glance back, sat back in my seat and let it go. What a relief!! Now I need a water station to flush!!The out and back went pretty fast. I unloaded my bladder again, flushed at the aid station and before I knew it I was on my way back to Placid by way of Whiteface. The volunteers were great as always and the crowds were enthusiastic but I do have to say that the crowds in Madison are much louder!! As I crested the hills I asked any spectator if I could please borrow their legs for about 3 hours, it got some chuckles. Heading into town on the first loop there were a lot of people but I had to sit up in my saddle and wave my arms to get them to make noise! I heard Riley say my name as I turned the corner to start lap two, looked at my watch and saw 2:45! I felt great and was looking forward to the second loop. As I started out of town I had to pee again, damn!! I didn't want to pee in front of spectators so I pulled over to a porta john. Back in the saddle for the climb, said hello to the clowns again and trudged up the hill again getting passed like I was standing still. I kept making comments about being gravity challenged going up but watch out coming down the hills! Made it to the top and started the descent passing many of the guys that had just gone by me. As I got to the steep part I saw something in the road and saw a few bikes ride by. As I got closer I saw it was a bike, looked at my speed and saw 52 mph and as I passed by I saw a lifeless body under the bike. "Oh crap!!" I thought, "I HAVE to stop!". I slammed on my brakes spun around and climbed up the hill. As I got closer I saw the person moving and was somewhat relieved. (I later found out that the rider was Travis Earley from Rochester who has kicked my butt in numerous races)I directed a rider going uphill to call 911 and tried to get Travis to stay down and not move until the ambulance got there. He was in shock and had a gash above his eye but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. He couldn't or wouldn't say his name and was very disoriented. Another rider had stopped and he was a physician. We were both trying to get him to lay down but he kept on trying to sit up. The Dr could feel that his clavicle was broken and it looked like his ankle and knee were pretty banged up as well. By this time a race vehicle was parked behind him so he wouldn't get run over by another rider. We finally got him to the side of the road and sent the truck down to get an ambulance. The person who called 911 was with the Travis and tried to get us to go on while she stayed with him. We were both reluctant to leave but after a few more minutes it looked like he was calm and would wait for the ambulance to get there so we said our goodbye's and left. I passed by the ambulance heading up the hill as I got up to speed and said a prayer for him. It was a little nerve racking seeing 50 mph again after seeing what Travis looked like after crashing at the same speed. I don't remember much of the ride to Jay as my thoughts were still with Travis hoping he was going to be all right. The second climb up the hill from Jay was not as easy as the first. I just wanted it to be over so I could go downhill. The Dr that stopped passed by going up the hill and I thanked him for stopping. The out and back this time just plain sucked. I was ready to be off the bike and didn't realize that there was a nice tailwind pushing me out until I turned around and felt the headwind! Oh boy, this last 20 miles is NOT going to be fun!! The drafting that was happening on the out and back was just rediculous. There were packs of 15 or 20 riders that were not even trying to spread out. Started the climb back up to Whiteface and Placid into the headwind and just thought it would be forever before I could get off the bike. At one point I was seeing 6.5 mph and I had 9 miles to go and I thought to myself "THERE IS NO FRICKIN' WAY THAT I AM TAKING OVER AN HOUR TO GO 9 MILES!!!!" I took some gel and found some more energy someplace and was able to pick up the speed a little. There was a guy on the side of the road that told me to stay relaxed and keep it smooth. He was right on the money with that advice. I focused on smooth pedal strokes and relaxed my upper body and the effort got much easier. Thank you to whoever that was!! Up and over the Bear hills and turned onto Northwood to head up the last hill before hitting town. I still had to pump the crowd up to get them to cheer but it was great seeing Kevin and the ADKers as well as the ITCers in their tent. BT really needs a tent at these Ironman races!! Came around the corner to the transition area, handed off my bike and went in to change. I was very glad to be off that bike!

Train more century rides. I guess if I hadn't gone to the bathroom heading out of town I would have been ahead of the crash ...... but I really had to go and at least I was able to help Travis.

I just took my time here. My legs were feeling okay and I had 4 hrs to break 11 hrs!

Nothing really

Once again the run started off feeling pretty good. The first couple miles were 8:30 and 9:00 but my bowels were acting just like IMKY last year. When I ran it felt like I had to go but when I stopped the urge went away. Here we go again with the port-o-johns. After a few miles I realized that a 4 hr marathon wasn't going to happen so I started walking when I felt like it and running when I felt like running. I ran with another Aquaphor teammate for a few miles but had to make a bathroom break. The out and back course is great to see friends out there. PennState was looking great as I saw him a few miles into his second loop. TwinRacer on the other hand was looking a little like dog crap. He was not having a good time out there but still managed to "clobber" me! Hillary Biscay absolutely made my day when she saw me before I saw her and yelled out "Come on Bob, hang in there!!" I was walking at the time and automatically started to run with a big smile on my face. (Imagine that) Another pro that just amazed me on the run is Caitlin Snow. She was chatting away encouraging the AGers with a big smile on her face WHILE RUNNING A 2:57 MARATHON!!! Unbelievable! I love this sport!

Figure out my bike nutrition. One of the good things about this race is that I realize that it wasn't the Ohio River that caused my GI problems at IMKY last year. Now I can go back there and tear that course up!!

Lots of pizza, beer, ice cream, hot dogs and walking around.


8 hrs a week just isn't enough training for an IM!