Lined up to the right to start the swim which worked out pretty well. There was some bumping going on out to the corner buoy but not that bad. The water was crystal clear so I was able to find a good pacer and followed those feet all the way through lap 1. Finished lap 1 at 35:02 which was about 3 minutes faster than I had planned. Lap 2 was much less bumping but also not as much drafting opportunities. While I had seen many jelly fish most had been too deep to touch until about 300 yards from shore when all of a sudden I see a huge pinkish jelly about 6 inches below my face! My heart skipped a beat as I could feel my toes gently touch its squishy top....luckily I wasn't stung. 2nd lap was 37:58 for a total time of 1:13...about 6-7 minutes faster than what I had planned.

Not much. Maybe start even further to the right to get more clean water.

It was a long run to the changing tent and complete chaos inside. There were no chairs available when I arrived so I just started changing in the aisle. I did a complete change which cost me some time but I wanted to make sure I was comfortable over the next 6 hours.

I might consider wearing my bike shorts under my wetsuit to save some time but I would be weary of chaffing.

Realized in the first mile that my bike computer was off considering it was showing my cadence was 290 and I was going 28 mph. This threw me off a bit since I really like to keep a narrow cadence range. Luckily after about 20 miles the course turned and instantly all the numbers became normal. I think the sensor was off just slightly. Stayed right on schedule with my nutrition and coming out of aero to stretch my back and neck. There were times when I could have put it in a higher gear to pick it up about 1.5 mph but I wanted to make sure not to overcook it on the bike and have it cost me on the run. It was also great to see my family cheering me on several times along the route....it really gave me something to look forward to about every 20 miles.

Volunteer took bike right away but I did have to find my own bag. Tent was much less crowded and less frantic. Full change again since I again wanted to make sure I was comfortable for the next 4 hours.

Maybe just move quicker but then again it's just nice to relax for a minute after 6 hours on the bike.

Started the run 7:40 into the race and quickly did the math that I would need to run 10 minute miles to finish under 12 hours. Ran the first mile in 9:45 while trying to see what my legs had left in them. Felt pretty good so I decided to pick it up and ran around a 9:30 pace for the next 6 miles. Legs kept feeling better and better so I dropped the pace again to 9:20. Ending the first lap with everyone cheering and seeing my family got me pumped up and the adrenaline was flowing which had me running a 9:10 pace all the way out to mile 20. At this point my quads started cramping so I started putting enough electrolytes in me to fuel a horse hoping my quads could just hold on for another hour. I backed off the pace a little bit until mile 24 at which point I could see the hotel lights and knew there was no way I was walking at this point. The last 2 miles flew by and before I knew it I was headed down the finishing chute with a huge smile hearing "You are an Ironman!"

Nothing. I ran a great race and pushed it just enough to not cramp up but still run at a fast pace.

Sat on a bench and ate some pizza while talking with my family. Quads were really starting to hurt so I went and got a massage which helped. Got back to the condo and took and ice bath and some Alleve.


My goal time was 12:30 but in the back of my mind knowing that I could go under 12:00 if everything went well. Swim and run went faster than expected and bike was right on target. Came in at 11:46 with a huge smile and really couldn't have asked for anything more.


The volunteers were really amazing at this race. Several times they stepped in and helped and did everything with a smile and great attitude. They really made it an overall great race experience.