That was a truly inspirational race report.  Sorry you didn't realize your dream this year, but you will get there one day.  I have no doubt about that.

Take your time off an heal...BT will be here when you're ready.

Truth....it hurts and heals, you love it and you hate it.  You spoke it, an that speaks volumes about you as a person. If i had not read hundreds of your posts before, this report would have told me all i needed to know about you. That my friend is honorable.

Enjoy your time away, we will all look forward to your return.

Fred, great report.  I disagree with you, this report is for a lot of people.  A lot of people that are targeting their first IM and want to know that the pain they may feel is the same as others.

Really enjoyed the report, very sorry you had an awful day.  As you know, many of us can relate to a horrible day on race day and for an IM has the be the worst since you sacrificed so much time with family to get there... and then failed to execute.  

But that's the good part about it, when you come out of the funk, you'll likely be more mentally strong and better prepared in the future.  Stay strong, and great report.  Enjoy your time off.  

I agree with the above. This is for everyone. Thanks for putting up a RR for a race that we all know didn't come near your expectations. Perspective is an amazing thing and people remember the mental and physical grit that it took to make it through the race. I'm sure your family and friends are all the more proud to call you an Ironman after what you put yourself through.

Great job getting to the finish line. Thanks for being such a valuable contributor to the BT community!

I appreciate all of the disclaimers, but it is what it is. Triathlon is not always a happy happy joyful experience. $hit happens. (figuratively and literally, in this sport) Your report was honest and that's what matters most.  

Anyone can type a bunch of bull $hit talking about how great they did, how fast they ran, how well they recovered, etc etc. What people are really interested in, and what people really respect are the challenges a well trained and talented athlete experiences during a race. Honesty. Vulnerability.

Did you have excellent preparation and some fabulous training leading up to this race? -- Yes.

Are you bulletproof? -- No.

Nothing is a given, despite immaculate preparation and huge sacrifice. It sucks.

Congratulations nevertheless. We learn the most about ourselves from the times we are the lowest. Nothing to learn and nothing to gain from smooth sailing happy time. (Although I will argue that smooth sailing happy time is much much more enjoyable.)

Regardless, nice job conquering your mental demons. Talk it thru with Tracie and see what she thinks in regard to your future plan. Figure out what's best for your family together and move forward.

You're simply a class act Fred. 

Congratulations, FRED!!!

Don't think you would have remembered, but I was the tall lunatic in the yellow shirt telling people to bike mount at the line before going down the Helix, then I was in Camp Randall just you enter - I was telling people to watch their step as they came down and made that right-hand turn onto the turf.

Too bad I didn't get to see you.

YOU. ARE. AN. IRONMAN!!!

Sorry you didn't have the race you planned on.  Things don't always go as planned, and yet you still have to push on and never give up no matter how crappy you feel.  You did that, be proud of yourself.  I'm sure your wife and kids will be.

It was nice to meet you briefly at the swim on Friday morning with the Brown Dogs.

I am in awe.

You took multiple knocks on the course of the day and yet dug deep within to will yourself to finish.  I'm sorry that the day fell below your goals and expectations.  That kind of thing is sucky to deal with mentally.  But, you kept going and refused to quit. 

Enjoy your down time, and your family. 

I look forward to sidelining the process again.

Amazing, Fred.  I don't think you were broken - I think you had an amazing day, and dealt with the hand given to you.  Nie job.

IRONMAN.....again.  !!!!!!!

I finally had the time to read this before my wife would get on the 'puter for work.

THIS report is the truth.  THIS report acknowledges the inner-depth of your thoughts, actions, and emotions.  THIS report is as truthful as it gets.  Jokingly, the only thing missing is a few references of bodily function actions.

In all seriousness, this is one of the better RRs that I have read - it's true to the core, raw, and open.

I'm proud of you, F.D., even if I didn't have that chance to truly meet you out there.

CONGRATULATIONS on your extremely deserving performance, especially in those weather conditions.

From what I suspect, if you took in ANY Lake Monona water from the swim, and then adding on that sun, THAT is what affected you.

Take care and enjoy that time off.

Wow. This is an epic race report, and an amazing effort. Especially with all those warnings, I just had to keep reading.

Congratulations for making it through, despite all that you were experiencing. I'm sure you will have learned a lot from your day. And years from now I expect you'll be telling more stories about this day than about the days when everything went great. 

I did wonder about one thing that came up repeatedly in the report: the notion that it's bad to quit, and that it not a good example for our children. Is this something you really believe, and that you'd also give as professional advice? I'd like to think that the most positive things that our kids can take from the effort that we put into this crazy hobby are: the importance of working hard and consistently towards a goal through training; the fact that doing your very best can involve risk-taking, sometimes with great success, sometimes without; the value of a healthy lifestyle; etc. I imagine that your kids will have clearly seen these lessons, regardless of what happened in the race. There's a machismo that has grown up around the notion of not quitting. It makes for some great TV drama, but ...

Enjoy the break. We look forward to when the hunger returns.