I am so sorry that you did not have the day you wanted, Fred.  As some of the posters have mentioned, you are one of the people whose posts I read with interest on here.  

I don't know if this means anything coming from me, since I am not competitive at the level that you are, BUT good on you for not giving up and for sharing your day and your kind words with other racers.  I was that guy at Louisville last year and I gained much from the experience. 

Thanks for the honesty Fred.  I have been following you building up to IMWI (not in a creepy way).  I was pulling for you and watching you progress as well during the race.

All I can say is you've been an inspiration to me as well as many others, so enjoy your time off and heal up.

I also want to say that your RR is a good reality check for many of us newbies who dream of KQ'ing one day.  It's not as simple as training for a year and doing it, there's a lot more to it than that.  

I loved this report, Fred. Like others have said, the honesty is much appreciated and even when we have a great day in Ironman, it's a really difficult day filled with obstacles. I'm nowhere near your athletic ability, but in 2009 when I trained for my first Ironman (IMWI), I did everything right. I made tons of sacrifices - took vacation time to train in the middle of the week all summer, had minimal social life in a year I was going through a divorce, made big financial investments in coaching, equipment, etc. My training was perfect for my goals, I was fit, I was strong, I was ready. Then 14 days before the race I woke up and couldn't walk. 10 days before race day I was diagnosed with a torn PF and couldn't race. I had an absolute breakdown. In the end, I found myself walking out of T2 against doctor's orders and I walked an entire marathon with a severe limp after doing the best-ever swim and bike I had ever done at that point in my tri life. I walked for over 7 hours with a lot of other really broken souls and I crossed the finish line at nearly 11pm, over 3 hours past my goal time. I know how hard it is to be forced to readjust goals and push through immense pain. While my goal wasn't the caliber of Kona, it still meant a lot to me and I was disappointed. But in hindsight, I learned more about myself, this sport and the incredible people we share it with on that day and I will never consider it my "worst" race. In some ways it was my best because I took so much away from it.

I think you'll take a lot away from this too, and the example you set for your girls about never giving up is priceless. Because of you, they will think anything they dream is possible. That is a really incredible gift.

You're a great athlete. You'll bounce back, I have no doubt. You said to me at the athlete's dinner that some days we wake up more fit than other days. For whatever reason, Sunday was a less fit day. You'll have better ones and I'm sure it will be very soon. Heal and enjoy your family, see you out there next season.

Fred,

An outstanding story and one for which you owe no apologies. Learn what you can from the experience, both from a sporting and a personal level, and move forward.

Kiss your wife and girls and remember what is truly important in life. If you never put your wetsuit on again, your greatest accomplishments are sitting with you around your dinner table.

Best of luck in the future. I echo the comments of others that your posts are among those that I feel I need to read because there will be something of value in them.

There is a compact crank on my tri bike, and my legs have you to thank for that.

Russ

The most inspirational race report I've ever read. 

Adrian

Fred, sorry to hear about your tough day.  I too was really struggling, the run was kind of a blur for me as well.  I do remember seeing you along the path along the lake front.  The heat and course really took it out of the entire field.  There was no comparison between the amount of folks walking the run in comparision to last year.  This year IM WI took it's toll across the board.  I saw both the #1 and #2 pro males walking the marathon, this speaks volumes. 

Way to gut it out and finish after a long day. 

It was great finally meeting you and your wife at the dinner banquet.  Hope to see you being a great mentor again in the future.  I know I have learned a lot from your advice.

Greg

As ChrisM mentioned, I found this report rather easy to read and I found myself cheering you on as I read it....lol.

You're a great man....in many ways. This is just another example of that. I would have quit after the pedal fell off. Inspirational stuff my friend.

Rest up....for god sakes eat something and let us know what the plans are for the future. Whatever you decide, your friends will be there supporting you....I know I will.

Fred, I wish I knew you in real life.  You are an inspiration not because of how fast you are (but man, are you fast) but because of how you pushed through on your worst of days.  Thank you for sharing your most humbling experience with the most honesty I've seen in a RR yet.  Enjoy your time off and remember that your daughters will know you did. not. quit.  You will be an inspiration for me, and possibly many others, when I get to that dark place.  Congrats, Fred.

Fred, I don't know you personally but enjoy your comments on the threads and the advice you give.  I agree with the others that this wasn't a tough read and I did find myself hurting with you and cheering you on.  It is sometimes more beneficial to read reports from top athletes about things going wrong and how the overcame and conquered.  I look forward to you coming back to BT after your Hiatus and contributing again.  Congrats on finishing and if you learned anything from this it is that you are tough as nails.  Best of luck in the future.

Matt

Fred, I read this when you first posted it but have struggled with finding the words to say what I felt.

For me, and I think many of us here on BT, we wanted you to achieve your goal as we have watched your training and development from a FOP triathlete to a IM podium KQ contender.  As the day progressed and Ironman live updated your splits, I knew something was wrong and all of us in my family were pulling for you hoping things would improve.

You are bold for going after a very challenging goal, sharing it publicly, putting in the hard work training, preparing to have the fitness to reach your goal. As others have said I think your fitness was there, you just had a bad day.

Dark places and being tough mentally to push through something extremely painful knowing your goal has slipped away shows a depth of your determination and reflects your character.

Ironman is never easy....race day can throw at you many cruel obstacles that you have to overcome and this one had a lot.

I hope the 'wondering what the heck happened on race day' doesn't gnaw at you over time but instead you become proud of what you did and how much effort on many levels you put into finishing this IM.

I'm very proud of you and what you accomplished.

I think you have a KQ in you in you want to pursue that. My hope is that you find joy again in the sport and follow your heart where ever that takes you.

Fred you Rock!

Fred,

You had a tough day out there for some reason but it certainly wasn’t because of lack of training or prep.  You’ve been an inspiration to many of us and have provided me with a ton of help and information in your mentor group.  It’s obviously painful that you didn’t reach your goals, but I'm sure you will bounce back stronger bc of this experience.  You definitely didn’t recognize me and my wife on the run when we yelled out to you (we were working the State St aid station).  You also didn’t look real good, but somehow you looked over and gave us a smile and that says a lot about your character.  Hold your head high and don’t beat yourself silly because of this race because it can happen to anyone, anytime.