Sliced the top of my foot open jumping in the water. I guess I hit some sort of hidden bank near the shore. I tried to warn everyone else jumping in. It bled all day.
The water was cold, so I started swimming right away to warm up. Before I knew it, I was at the front. Screw it, I'll draft on these fish. Well, those fish beat the shit out of me for 2.4 straight miles. It wasn't boring, that's for sure. I could really feel the current created by all those swimmers. I think I'll always start in the front; it's the fastest way out of the water.

If I had it to do over, I'd beat Elliot by MORE than I did. I mean, I beat the hell out of his swim time, but I'd like to have beat him more thoroughly.

Totally changed clothes. Someone took my can of Fix-a-Flat that I brought to put in my jersey pocket. It was on the ground, and then it wasn't. I assume a volunteer put it in someone else's bag.
Becca and Bruce slathered me up good and I was off.

1. Wear bike shorts and jersey under wetsuit. It wasn't cold enough to warrant dry clothes for the bike.
2. Put Fix-a-Flat and sammich on the bike and not in T1 bag. T1 is hectic enough.

Stuck to 140 beats/minute on the HR watch. The watch didn't work for the first hour. It was too cool/dry for the strap to get a good contact on my skin, I think.
The wind really killed my descents. After mile 60, I was really uncomfortable on the bike. I don't usually stay in aero this much. My lower back was on fire. The rain and hail were a nice distraction, to be honest. I don't think they slow you down on straight routes like this, but they sure make you laugh. It's ridiculous to race in a hail storm.

Full change again. I don't like running in tight shorts, so it was nice to get some jogging shorts and a t shirt.
I saw Tanya and Jerry. It was like BT in 2008 up in there.

First marathon ever.
When I came out of the change tent I was cracking jokes to anyone in ear shot. I saw the "Mile 1" sign and almost crapped myself. "What did I get myself into?"
This run was a phenomenal success and here's why:
Nutrition: At every aid station (without exception) I had a cup of Perform and a cup of water. Every 3 aid stations I ate a Gu as well.
I started at a 9:45 pace and tried to sneak in some speed when I could. I kept my head up and made jokes when people were around. That got me a lot of laughs and some friends in loop 1 and 2. By loop 3, people had lost their sense of humor.

Beating 12 hours: Coming out of T2 I saw a race clock "7:50" it said. So I'm thinking "I need to run 4:10 marathon to break 12 hours. No chance, so let's just have fun." Then Dean tries to tell me I can totally break 12 hours. I told him he's wrong; we argued a bit. Then Elliot lapped me. Ugh. Flash forward to mile 23. Someone tells the guy behind me "You have 30 minutes and 3 miles to get 12 hours." So start sprinting.
It turns out that sign at T2 must have been "7:50" for the pros but "7:40" for us mortals. Hooray for that shit.

Anyway, the last mile was a smile fest. I was fist-pumping and jumping up and down for about 5 minutes before the actual finish chute. What a great day.

1. Not a damn thing.

I have no idea what happened after I finished.


Awesome event, obviously. Thanks to everyone who was out there cheering. I saw Elliot, Kim, Mel, Will, Dean, Kerri, Tanya, Jerry, Sally, Bobby, Becca, Todd. I heard Tom stripping his heart out. I'm sure there are others I left out.

Also, sorry for the racial slurs, Elliot. That was uncalled for, but you deserved it.