First, I'm taking a page from my friend Cory's report, and want to thank everyone
who supported me through this journey this year.  It's not possible to do one
of these races without a good support crew, and I had a great one.  My wife,
Steph, and my son, Chandler, were both incredibly understanding the last
few months while I would disappear for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday
to train.  Thank you.  Bob Rudolph, my mentor, coach, training partner, and
friend.  Without your encouragement, I never would have attempted this
distance this year.  Thank you.  The rest of the people I trained with
throughout the year.  Thank you for providing encouragement, and another
reason to train when I wanted to go home, sit on the couch, drink beer,
and eat junk food.  All the rest of my friends and family, who probably
wondered at times whether I'd been kidnapped, because we didn't see each other for
months.  Cory Esworthy and MaryAnn Kennedy - It was great sharing this
journey with you guys.  All the way from the cold runs on Tuesday nights
last winter to the finish line in Panama City Beach.  Congratulations, and
thank you for being there!  It was good to have each other to share doubts
and pick each other up when we were down.  Thank you.

Ironman Florida was last Saturday, November 6, 2010 in Panama City Beach.
The distances were:
Swim 2.4 miles
Bike 112 miles
Run 26.2 miles (A marathon)
This was the first time I've attempted this distance, so I was a little
intimidated, knowing all the things that can happen to cause a long day of
suffering, or a "DNS" (Did Not Finish).

I arrived on the Wednesday morning before the race.  Thanks to Steph, I
managed to score a room at the Shores of Panama with a full kitchen, and a
balcony on the 20th floor overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  I checked into
the room, then walked the .3 mile to the Boardwalk Beach Resort where the
race was headquartered.  The weather was cold and rainy - somewhere in the
low-to-mid 50's)  There were only 2 or 3 people in line to check in, so I
got that out of the way, collecting my timing chip, swim cap, and the
other goodies (IMFL bag, poster, and misc swag.)  Then I checked out the Ironman
Store next the check-in.  You can buy literally anything with the Ironman
logo on it.  They even had dog food bowls!  After that, I went exploring PCB in my
rental car, grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant - yum!, shopped for groceries
at Wal-Mart, then went back to my room to rest.  I started loading up on
calcium via chocolate milk, and anti-oxidants through fruit smoothies,
sipping a little of each every few hours.  I continued this for the next 2
1/2 days until Friday night.  I was in bed asleep before 8:00 that night.

Thursday morning, I was up by 5:30, ate some oatmeal, and was down at the
Boardwalk resort before 7:00 to meet a group of people from BT for a 30 minute swim.  It was good to meet some of those people in person.  The rain had mostly stopped, and the waves weren't too bad, but
the temp was still in the high 50's.  This was the first time I've ever been
in salt water in my wet suit.  Holy crap, that's fast!  Between the added
buoyancy of the wetsuit and the denser salt water, it lifts you up so far,
you feel like you're skimming across the top, instead of swimming in the
water!  I started feeling pretty good about my race prospects, at least
regarding the swim.  That day, I met the BT people for lunch at Liza's
Kitchen, picked up my bike from Tri Bike Transport, then napped in the
afternoon.  On the way back to my place after lunch, I saw that the line
for athlete check-in had hundreds of people in it, and was at least 500 feet
long.  I was so glad that I got that done the day before!  In the evening,
there was a pre-race dinner put on by the race, but MaryAnn, her sister
Elayne, Cory, his wife Kim, and I opted to go to Pineapple Willys next to
my resort for their athlete's special pasta dinner.  It was delicious,
especially paired with a beer to help calm those pre-race jitters.
Afterwards, we walked back down to the Boardwalk resort for the mandatory
athletes' meeting.  Once again, I was in bed about 9:00 to get another
good night's rest.

Friday morning, I was up early.  The rain finally seemed to be gone for
good, but the temperature was dropping even more, and it was starting to
get windy.  The view from my balcony was of white caps on the gulf.  I headed
out for a 30 minute ride / 15 minute run brick after my usual oatmeal.  I
had forgotten how flat Florida was.  Just an easy ride a short distance on
part of the bike course resulted in an 18.4 mph average, and the run was
at a 9:30 pace, which felt ridiculously easy.  Now I definitely felt ready
for Saturday, and started thinking I might have a shot at beating what I
thought was my best case goal time of 12:30.  (I usually have 3 levels of goals
for a race.  In this case, my first goal was just to finish and enjoy the
experience, my second goal was a time of about 13 hours, and I thought if
everything went perfect, 12:30 might be within reach.)  I felt really
good - rested, strong, and fast!  Late that morning, I dropped my bike and gear
bags off at the transition area.  The rest of that day, I just chilled out
in my room and napped a little, other than going out for lunch at a local
restaurant called the Mellow Mushroom.  It was awesome, and the hummus
really hit the spot.  Hummus may be my new pre-race tradition, because I
had it the night before Musselman in July, and had my best race ever.  That
night, I found Carrabba's, and ate at the bar, just like Steph and I did
about once a month on Friday nights before Saturday morning trainings all
this year.  By this point, I really felt primed for the race, both physically and mentally!

I managed to sleep well Friday night, but my 4:00 a.m. alarm came quickly.
For breakfast, I had...yes, oatmeal and black coffee.  I was down at
transition around 4:45 to put my aero bottle and back up bottle on my
bike, plus tape 4 Gu's to the top tube, swap out my running shoes from my feet
to my run gear bag for the cheapie flip-flops that Steph bought me for races,
and dropped off my bike and run special needs bags at the designated
areas. Brrrrrr!!!!  It was freezing cold!!!  Around 40 degrees!  I put on my
wetsuit around 5:45, and walked out to the beach, where the sand was so
cold it made my feet burn!  I found Cory and sat down at a picnic table to wait
for the start, and shivered until we decided to head down to the start
coral.  I couldn't wait to get into the water, because it was about 30
degrees warmer than the air!  Normally I line up in the inside front row
for the start, but that's in races where there's a wave start with only 50-120
people starting at once, plus, I knew that these races bring out faster
athletes than shorter and smaller events.  This race has a mass start with
approximately 2,500 people starting together when the cannon fires.  I
eventually decided to line up toward the inside, but several rows back,
but this turned out to be a mistake.  It was a very surreal experience to
stand there on the beach with a couple thousand people, rock music blasting, and
a helicopter circling low overhead with the sun still low and orange in the
eastern sky.  When the cannon fired, we all took off into the waves.  It
was like moshing inside a washing machine.  Within the first 200 yards, I was
kicked in the left eye, knocking my goggle off.  I pulled up to fix the
goggle, while still trying to move forward so I didn't get run over by
other racers.  I got cruising again, and tried to relax despite the waves, which
seemed to be 3'-6' high, and bouncing off of people.  The swim was a 2
loop rectangle.  I thought things were rough, but they got worse when I got to
the first turn buoy.  Everyone converged, so there were actually people on
top of each other.  I managed to get through the turn in one piece, no
worse for wear except a kick under my jaw that slammed my mouth shut.  The rest
of the first loop was pretty much the same, trying to find clear water and
feet to draft off of, but instead, I'd get on someone's bubbles for a few
minutes, but then find myself in a gap that inevitably closed up on me.  I
finished the first lap with only one more kick to the jaw, and came out of
the water feeling ok.  I glanced at my watch, and saw it had been about 34
minutes since the cannon.  1.2 miles done, and I was right on pace!  I
crossed the timing mat, and angled back down the beach to re-enter the
water for round 2.  The second lap went a little better than the first, because
by this point, the majority of the racers were behind me.  Final swim tally:
1 kicked off goggle, 1 punch to the side of the head, 4 kicks in the jaw,
and a split of 1:10:10 (An average pace of 1:41 per 100 yds, 148th out of 403
in my age group and 752nd out of the 2,300 people who would ultimately finish
the race) Here's a video of the start:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oExifgoOSpY

Transition 1 went ok.  Somehow I missed the wetsuit strippers, so I pulled
it off myself in the changing tent and dried off a little with my towel.
I wore my tri shorts and tri top under my wetsuit, so I didn't need to
change anything.  The only things that slowed me down were trying to unroll my
arm warmers on my still slightly wet arms, and grabbing my bike from the rack,
because the volunteers didn't find it fast enough, so I had to get it
myself.  On the way out, a quick pee stop in the port-o-potty, and I was
good to go!  Total T1 time:  11:28

My strategy on the bike was basically if it didn't feel too easy, then I
was riding too hard.  It was only a little chilly for the first half hour or
so, then I was warmed up.  I had a little trouble settling in for the first
hour or hour and a half, because I don't get to train on roads this flat, and
I'm used to moving around to climb small hills in PA during training.  There
was a slight elevation gain for the first 60 miles or so, and we mostly had
steady cross winds.  I blew through the first 56 miles in a little under 3
hours and an average speed of 19 mph.  Around this time, I arrived at the
special needs stop where they had the bag that I gave them earlier.  I
hadn't flatted, so I didn't need my spare tube and CO2 cartridge, and I
felt good, so I didn't need extra Body Glide for my undercarriage or the PB&J
sandwich I'd stashed there just in case, so I just rolled right past.  I
had been sipping my water and Gatorade throughout the ride, and steadily
consuming my supply of Gu's, Clif Bar, and Shot Blocks.  By this time, I
felt good, but this is when the ride got hard.  For the next 40 miles, we
had a head wind, and got into rolling hills.  My average for this stretch
was around 18 mph, but I still felt good enough to keep riding strong.
When I hit the turnaround on the out-and-back at 95 miles, I knew I was going
to have a good bike split, because it was a net elevation loss from there to T2, and we
had a tail wind!  I tried to relax and save my legs for the run, but still
flew through the last 17 miles at over 20 mph.  The final bike results
were a time of 5:52:01, an average speed of 19.1 mph, 223rd out of 403 in my
AG, 951st out of 2,300 overall, and approximately 1,500 calories consumed.

T2 went perfectly!  I unclipped from my pedals as I rolled up to the
dismount line, started running with my bike, but a volunteer grabbed it to
re-rack it for me.  Another volunteer handed me my run gear bag as I ran
into the changing area.  Again, I stuck to the original plan of running
the entire race in my tri top and tri shorts, so it was just a quick change
from my biking shoes to running shoes, taking off my cycling gloves, grabbing
my Garmin GPS/heart rate monitor, and swapping my helmet for a running cap.
I left my arm warmers on the entire race.  T2 time:  4:13!  This was fast
enough for 56th in my AG!  Woohoo!  Gotta love passing people in
transition!

We were about 7:20 into the race, and I still felt really good!  I tried
to take it easy, but when I looked at my Garmin, I was running at a 9:30 mile
pace.  I kept trying to slow down, but just couldn't seem to get my legs
to listen.  I was through the first 7 miles in less than an hour and 10
minutes.  During this first section, I was suddenly hit in the face with a
smell that was like a skunk drowned in a sewage treatment plant.  When I
started looking around, I realized I was being passed by a guy who had
diarrhea running all the way down his legs to his ankles.  I'm frequently
chicked (passed by a woman), and geezered (passed by an old guy) during
races, and I think I've even been strollered (passed by someone with a
running baby stroller), but this is the first time I'd ever been Taco
Belled!  I managed not to vomit.  I later found out that this guy was on
his second run loop, and finished the race in just over 9 hours, winning his
age group, and earning a spot in the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.  On
the internet, he is now known as "Poopman".  I'd love to race Kona eventually,
but if that's what it takes, I think I'm ok with being average.  After the
first half loop, I settled in through the rest of the first 13.1 miles,
running from aid station to aid station, which were about a mile apart.  I
grazed on oranges, grapes, and ate a few pretzels, while sipping on cola,
water, and Powerbar Ironman Perform drink.  Turning the corner at the end
of 13.1 miles, 2:20 had elapsed since T2, and I knew if I could hold it
together, I could finish in about 12 hours flat!  Things were starting to
hurt bad at this point, but I still felt ok, so I skipped my run special
needs bag.  This is when the wheels fell off.  By around 15 miles, my
quads felt like someone had been beating them with a meat tenderizer for the
last 9 1/2 hours, I was starting to feel a little strange in my head, my
running pace had dropped off to about 11 minute miles, and my walks through aid
stations were extending a hundred yards past them, but I continued to push
through it.  Somewhere around mile 17 or 18, it was almost dark, and I was
entering the state park for the second time, when I came into an aid
station, and realized I was very disoriented.  A volunteer tried to give
me a drink, but I just looked at her, not understanding what was happening.
I got a cup of hot chicken broth, and made a stop in a port-o-potty for a
pee, while I tried to collect my thoughts to decide what the best move was.  I
decided to walk for a while and try to recover for a push to the finish
line.  I struggled to walk at a 19 minute mile pace.  After about a mile
of walking in the dark, I saw a woman walking past, and realized it was
MaryAnn.  She was hurting a lot too, and questioned whether she was going
to make it, because she was on the first run loop.  We encouraged each other,
and walked together for about another mile, before I tried alternating
running and walking again around mile 20.  Walking for 2 miles in the dark
and cold (The temperature had dropped back into the 50's), had left my
pummeled legs stiff.  After a while, I came back up on MaryAnn!  Somehow,
she had passed me in the dark again, and we didn't see each other.  I just
gutted it out from there on, finally getting my legs turning over ok again
with a little less than 3 miles to go to the finish.  Now I was close
enough to the finish line that I could hear the announcer, and I knew adrenaline
would get me home.  I was back on lighted streets now.  I looked down at
my Garmin, and realized that I was running at about a 10 minute pace again!
I entered the finish chute, lined with spectators on both sides.  I looked
at them cheering for me, and just took in the experience.  I reminded myself
that I didn't want to have a horrific finish photo, so I adjusted my tri
top, made sure my race number was laying flat in the front, forced a
bounce into my step, my shoulders back, a smile onto my face, and remembered NOT
to look at my watch as I crossed the line, listening to the announcer say
those words I've dreamed of hearing since I was a teenager watching the Hawaii
Ironman on Wide World of Sports..."Dan Larkin, You are an
Ironman!!!"...Wait!...Did he call me "Dan"?!!...He did!...WTH!!...Then He
corrected himself..."Don Larkin, You are an Ironman!!"  My final run time
was 5:16:21.  This was about 1/2 hour slower than I would have liked, and
was 283rd in my AG and 1,509th overall, but for my first IM, I'm ecstatic!
I didn't really care what the time was, because I'd finished well under
the mandatory cutoff of 17 hours, and it was an amazing experience.  My
official race time:  12:34:11.  Good enough for 247th out of 403 in my age group
and 1,141st out of 2,300 overall!

After receiving my finisher's medal, shirt, and hat, and having my picture
taken, I devoured 4 slices of pizza before hobbling the .3 mile back to my
resort for a shower and phone calls home.  Then I limped back down to the
finish area to try to catch Cory's and MaryAnn's finishes.  I never did
see Cory, and found out later that he finished in about 13:30 while I was in
my room.  It was a huge party around the finish line with the announcer and
spectators cheering for finishers, and rock music blaring!  Whew!  What an
experience!  As I walked around the back of the bleachers, I got talking
to a guy carrying a 6 pack of Yuengling Lager.  After I got into the stands,
the guy with the lager and a buddy came up to stand next to me and offered
me a beer for finishing my first IM.  After talking to them some more, I
found out they were professional triathletes, and the guy with the beer
finished 12th, while his buddy was James Cunnama, who had won the race!!
It was cool hanging out with them, because they seemed like just regular guys
who enjoyed the sport.  The first guy, Scott, said they always come back
to the finish line for the last 2 hours out of respect for everyone who
races. A few minutes before the 16 hour mark, I saw MaryAnn coming down the
finish chute.  Here's some video I caught of her finish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4RprCfVoGI  What an experience!!!!

Don