Swim: The swim start was preceeded by a little BT get together (about a dozen of us putting our hands together and shouting) followed by the Virginia Tech tri team chanting for about five minutes it seemed- they really put us to shame . Then, the National Anthem, and I had about all I could to not cry. I was thinking about how bad I wanted to get home and see my wife and my three girls, and I could just about cry right now thinking about it. Emotions were definitely running high. Next, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” started blaring over the speakers and we were off. Over 700 people in a mass beach start is pretty intimidating, but I was so hyped up and confident that I had little issues. The first 60 yards or so were straight out to a bouy then a U- turn around it which was VERY congested. After that is was a straight shot down the channel to some turns and before you knew it the finish. I was kicked in the right ear about 200 yards into the swim and that really motivated me to get moving and get out of the crowds. I started finding the feet in front of me, catching them, drafting off them for a few seconds, passing and finding more feet- repeated this dozens of times. I knew I was moving, but when I got out of the water and looked at my watch I was shocked to see under 50 minutes for the 2.4 mile swim. We did have the current pushing us along, but nonetheless I was very excited. Later found out I was top forty in the swim!



Not much.

T1: It was a LONG, COLD run for about a quarter mile to transition one. We even had to cross a four lane road. It was low 40’s air temp, and my feet felt like tree stumps. But, the thrill of being out of the water and the hundreds of people cheering us on pushed me to run the entire way. Got my bag and headed into the craziness of the changing tent- naked, wet chaos. Coming out of T1 with my bike I heard someone yell “hey, your helmet is on backwards!”. I thought, what a moron, until I figured out it was me! Took some time to put it on right and I was off.

Put my helmet on right the first time!

Bike: The first 60 miles or so Todd (CincyTodd) and I leapfrogged back and forth, and I knew that I was pushing it a bit hard, but felt great. I saw some pretty interesting things out there, from an old man trying to round up his bird dogs as we dodged them on the road to a guy in full camo sitting right next to the road in a chair with a shotgun on his lap (must have been “enforcing” the no draft rules ). Todd was right behind me when we passed that dude, and we both yelled “WTF was that!”. Stopped at the 60 mile mark and lubed my rear (chaffing had begun) and went potty quickly. The remainder of the bike was into the wind, and it was demoralizing to say the least. I really tried to push it during the last 30 miles or so and the finish couldn’t come fast enough. People always ask “what do you think about when you are on your bike for that long?”. Well, just about everything. I thought a lot about my wife and children, about the marathon ahead, and just tried to keep assessing how my legs felt. I also thought about all of the support that I had received from people during my training, especially my wife, who has really been my biggest fan and supporter through the last several months. Thank you so much Monie! I love you and couldn’t have done it without you. I also kept repeating the words that she had emailed me the day before the race- “be stubborn, find a way”. So cool! The last mile or so on the bike, I was in heaven. Once I spotted the USS North Carolina and started heading down the last hill (bridge) I was flying (38+ MPH). Also, the signs along the way cracked me up- “Taint Sore?” and “Smile if you peed on your bike”- hilarious!



push harder in the first half of the bike

T2: Handed my bike off to a volunteer, grabbed my bag, and headed into the chaos of the changing tent. It was CROWDED and the only place to do another full change was right in front of the door- hope nobody was offended by the gratuitous nudity, but I wasn’t the only one. In my haste I ripped off my timing chip and didn’t realize it until I ran out of the transition area and didn’t hear a beep. It ended up costing me at least 7 minutes as I had to go back, locate my bag, unravel my socks and restrap my chip! Oh well, this was my first Ironman and a few minutes wasn’t going to kill me!

Not lose my chip temporarily!

Run: Coming out of T2, finally, I felt great. I was flying- way too fast, but just wanted to knock some miles out as quickly as I could. I knew that I would have to walk some along the 26.2 miles so why not get as much of it in as possible. The bridges were a BEAST to say the least. The first four miles flew by, and only at the 4 mile aid station did I begin to walk through the aid stations. Miles 5-13 ticked off, walking only a few times for a minute or so outside of the aid stations, but my pace had fallen big time. I did see Steve, Todd, and some others on the run and I knew that my “goal” time of 14 hours was easily in reach. I kept running as much as I could, but knew I was losing speed quickly. I finished the first half of the marathon in around 2:20:00, but the second was slower. The support on the run was great, lots of people cheering, very well run aid stations, etc. I remember smelling Grape Bubblicious gum around mile 15, and wanted some SOOOOOOOOO bad. By mile 20 I was still running but was mixing in more and more walking. The last mile or so I really just tried to soak it all in. I was again very emotional, crying some, thinking about the long day that was just about over, and trying not to think about how bad I hurt. I ran the last half mile or so into the finishers chute, crossed the finish line at 12:31:38 and was just relieved that the day was done.



not much

Post Race: I found Cash- he was right there waiting for me, got my finisher’s shirt and medal, and went and sat down. I quickly called my wife, and will never forget the excitement in her voice that I was done and was ok. We went back to the hotel and ordered Domino’s Pasta Bowls- YUM!