Went into this race with no taper and the idea that it would be an IMAZ training day as much as possible. Goal was to keep the HR in the 120's for the swim and work up as the day progressed. Entire swim felt comfortable, I was just trying to imagine doing it twice, and I feel that I could have done that pace or probably faster for the full distance. Came out of the water feeling great.

go faster, but swim portion worked out fine for me and I went as planned here.

Transition times were long because the run up was long. Only thing I was really disappointed in here was that another racer decided to steal my sandals that I placed near the water to run up the rocky 200yds or so boat ramp.

Pack more nutrition for the bike (just in case)

Leaving transition I had 2 bottle holders w/ 1 bottle Gatorade, 1 water. The first 1hr of the bike was nice, not too hot out. Then around mile 18 I was out of fluids. I managed a Gel (tough to do with no fluids). and waited for the turnaround at mile 28. Finally, I made it alive to the turnaround but was spent. SO thirsty I stayed there for about 3 minutes, slammed a bottle of water, took 2 more Gatorade and applied sunscreen. I realized this was the only stop and it scared me a bit. I was so thirsty already and now it was getting hot. On the way back I I was getting passed . Ran out of fluids again around mile 40 and that last 16 miles home was very tough. I felt like I had no energy. I was either at 8-10mph going up, or 30+mph going down. Very frustrating for me.

Nutrition Nutrition Nutrition. The only other HIM I did was IM branded and the aid stations did not compare. This destroyed me as I didn't have a back up plan.

Looking at the time my brain was saying stop at T2 and take the DNF. I knew going 35 longer than last HIM on greater fitness was a sign something was not going well. I decided to press on and see how I felt running.

take the DNF. Better decision making

Within 2 miles I was done. I kept going back and forth with quit vs just continue. There was an aid station at the start of the run, I took down about 3 cups of water and hoped it would hit me. Next thing you know I was at the 3mile mark and I figured it would take me 6miles just to walk back so why not finish? Another racer came up on me and we stayed together the rest of the day. Had he not came up I probably would have stopped, yet him staying with me later may have saved me from peril. We trotted/walked for most of the course and got very discouraged when after mile 6ish there was no one at the aid stations. I was very surprised there was no SAG wagon or anything. I would have much preferred to have my chip pulled and race over than to not have support (seemed a bit dangerous) It was over 100 in blazing heat and no nutrition...only water stops about every 2.5 miles. I was in such bad shape at one point I had no more Gels only chamoi Butr left. I flipped it over to look at the ingredients but decided against taking it orally :-). Around mile 9 I told the other racer (Adam), "just continue on, I'm just gonna sit here for awhile". He highly recommended we continue on and find water. no matter how slow we went. At this point we realized everyone behind us had bailed out, we were the only racers left. We finally came upon another aid station around mile 11. No more cups at this one just a trash can full of water. We picked up some cups on the ground and used them. I dumped some water on my head and was getting nervous because I realized I had made some poor decisions (mainly the one where I thought sitting on the ground in the dessert to try to cool off was a good idea). Finally around mile 12 a truck comes up (participant possibly) and asked if we needed anything. He had a cooler with Gaotrade so we drank that and it hit the spot. Eventually we crossed the finish and I was amazed to see 8hrs on the board. I was actually shooting for a 6hr day. I acutally felt no pride in the finish. Not sure what it accomplished.

I should have never started that run with that nutrition. Learn to make smarter decisions. Long term health much better than pride. Pride can destroy you. Waht did I really gain from grinding that out for 8hrs...clearly 3hrs beyond when I was "done".

There was no post race. No Gatorade, no bananas, nothing. Not even any people really. There was a bunch of ice in the back of a truck so I pored 4 or 5 bags on the ground and laid on top and had someone poor another 2 bags on top of me. A staff member finally came up to me and asked if I was alright and if I wanted to see the medic. She said the medics were already gone but she could call an ambulance. I said "no, it's OK, I am fine".


Nutrition, lack of heat acclimation.


Leaving the race site I had a 4hr drive in front of me so I stopped off at the race site hotel. I decided to sneak in and use there pool and shower considering I was there the night before and used nothing. I ended up sitting in the pool for about 20 minutes and then as I started to get cold I took a shower and then went to the bathroom to change. Once I got to the bathroom (near the casino floor) I was changing into my clothes when my entire body seemed to cramp up. I went from being cold to now sweating again and I had a massive headache. I told myself I was starving and was getting ready to get some food finally. Went I bent over to tie my shoes I fell onto the floor of the bathroom. I wasn't sure if I blacked out or not but I couldn't get up just yet so I stayed on the floor. Eventually a guest came in and saw me and soon a hotel employee arrived. They thought I was drunk and were talking to me like I was drunk. Apparently my nose was bleeding. They did help me up to a bench outside and got me some water. I told them I wasn't a hotel guest today that I was just using the pool and they quickly overlooked any medical condition to say something in regards to "for guest only" yada yada yada. Thing is, had they been a little more helpful I would have just got a room and stayed. I eventually left the hotel and found a burger king. I swallowed fries, a chicken sandwich, a choc shake (like crack at this point) and two cold waters. I had a massive headache and just rested in the cold ac of the car and called my wife. She begged me to go to the hospital but I knew at this point I was just severally malnourished and needed calories. Lacking any infection I decided I could nurse myself back quicker than what it would take to wait on a IV (best case scenario...more likely just sit there while they watch you drink fluids) After about 30 min I started feeling better and was on my way. Within a few hours I was feeling much better. AS I write this the next day I feel more drained than any race before. After all the burger King and a later Taco Bell Stop I was still down 10lbs this morning, the day after. After a short time of reflection I realize I was more malnourished during that race than I was in a 7 day survival school back in the Navy. While poor race set up has some blame...there were 88 other participants that made it through OK (26 were DNF out of 115 to start). I guess what doesn't kill makes you stronger...just not sure how this accomplished that. A bit discouraged now going into the final 2 months prep for IMAZ.