The craziest, hardest swim of my life, which includes many ocean swims.

I started off to towards the right, but in the front row next to Sean. People were edging up as the start of the race got closer, but it wasn't all that congested at the start. There was a clear shot to the first buoy you needed to turn at so sighting was very easy for the first length. I did get a few bumps from people on the way to the first buoy, but for an IM, it was pretty minimal. I did notice that there did seem to be some chop/waves coming from behind me as we neared the first turn.

As I made the first turn, the swim got interesting. The wind was generating some substantial waves. The sun was still at my side so it wasn't too bad, but the waves definitely affected your body position in the water and I could feel myself bobbing up and down a bit. However, the next turn wasn't too far so I don't recall this section getting too crazy.

As I turned that buoy, that is when things got totally insane. The sun was directly in your face and there were literally 4 to 5 waves heading straight at you. By this point, the field had separated and you couldn't pretty much anything due to the sun and waves coming right at you. Typically the nice thing about a mass start is there are always people around you so you are a little more confident that you're on course. However, with the sun, the waves, and the probably no one having a clue what was going on, it turned into an extremely stressful, out of control swim. The turn buoys were red, but the no turn buoys were orange so with the sun and with the waves, it was very challenging for me to tell the difference. I did know that you needed to go around the island in the middle of the lake, but I never really felt confident I knew what was going on. I did more breast stroking than I have ever done in a race in an attempt to figure out where the heck I was. When I finally passed the island, I knew I was close, but it wasn't until I got very close to the red buoy that I knew I could make the turn and head for shore.

I was relieved to say the least when I knew I was heading for the shore. It was much easier to swim in that direction and was able to freestyle most of the way. As I was nearly to the shore, I was thinking that my swim must have been at least 1:20 because it felt sooo slow. So when I saw 1:07 on the clock, I was quite happy. I wanted to be under an hour, but in those conditions, I'll take it.

Be more confident that I was on course. The waves and sun made this extremely difficult, but I wish I had done a bit more freestyle and just kept going instead of doubting where I was.

Relatively uneventful T1. I used the wetsuit strippers to get my suit off and that worked well. I got into the changing tent pretty quickly and got my shoes and helmet on without any problems.

The only bummer is my swim cap and goggles didn't seem to make it to my bag. Oh well...

Not much.

The hardest swim off my life was definitely followed by the hardest bike ride of my life. It didn't start well because as soon as I got my bike, I could hear my rear wheel rubbing. I thought about stopping to mess with it, but I didn't think it was do me much good. Unfortunately on the first short hill heading out from the lake, I dropped my chain. I was able to put about 125 miles or so on my bike before the race, but it still obviously wasn't exactly dialed in. When I stopped to put my chain back on, I tried to miss with my rear brake a little, but it didn't seem to do much good.

The wind was generating one serious crosswind at this point and you had to lean into the wind to stay on course. However, it did turn to a tail wind as we headed up the first climb which was nice. I focused on keeping my power down and staying hydrated. The winds were very consistent, but they really didn't seem to be out of control until I got onto the loop that we would be doing twice. From this point on, the winds were basically laughable. I did actually laugh out loud a few times and just did my best to keep a positive attitude as I was putting out about 350 watts and doing 7-8 mph. It was extremely discouraging, but I knew I wasn't going to do myself any favors if I just tried to muscle through the wind and blow myself up. There were a few substantial climbs, but they really didn't seem like they would be bad if it weren't so windy. But with the wind, it was really tough. Once I got to pass "the wall" climb, the winds did become tailwinds which was very nice. I averaged around 30mph during that section. However, as the first loop ended, I realized I was looking at a bike split of around 6:30. I felt rather embarrassed by that and it was no where near the 20-21mph I was planning to average. But as I mentioned above, I focused on my power and just did the best I could. There was some pain in my hip, but I did not my best not to let it affect me.

The second lap was just more of the same. I did drop my power down a bit because when I had realized that I was going to be out on my bike for about an hour longer than I expecting to be. Besides that, the other difference from the first lap was now every miles there would be races sitting on the side of the road that decided to call it quits. I also started lapping people which totally baffled me. I was curious how the heck I could be on pace for a 6:30 bike split and be lapping people. That's just not right. It was amazing to me how slow I was going at times. Normally when I'm racing, I don't check my distance all that often and usually 4-5 miles will pass between checking. However, I remember times where I would check my Garmin and only had gone less than a mile. It was just crazy.

Nutrition wise, I was lucky that I brought some extra nutrition with me because I almost didn't. I switched between 3 and Clif Blocks every 45 minutes while drinking around 25-30 ounces of Perform per hour. I also took two prerace tablets at 2hrs (total race time) and 6.5 hours. I did run out of Perform about half way through the second lap and just drank water until the next aid station.

There was a big sign of relief when I topped the wall for the second time as I knew the tailwind was coming. I put the hammer down and kept just about the same pace as the last loop. I hit a little over 52 mph on a hill with a very minimal decline both times. That was pretty fun, but again reminded me of how crazy these winds were.

Not trust weather.com that there are only going to be 10mph winds. :)

Despite that being my slowest IM bike split by about 45 minutes, I am actually pretty happy with the composure I kept on the bike. I wouldn't wish those conditions on my worst enemy.

The only thing I will do different is make damn sure I don't have any issues with my brakes rubbing.

Very good T2 as well. For the first time during an IM, I actually stopped to have sun screen put on by the volunteers. Still ended up with my "wings" on my back getting burned, but I can't imagine what they would have looked like if I didn't stop.

By the time I got out the run, I was pretty drained mentally. My legs felt pretty good, but I have to admit, I just wasn't really looking to running a marathon. My day was totally off from what I shooting for and I did have a side stitch on my right side when I was getting off the bike. Nonetheless, I knew it was going to push though! I did however start out very easy because I knew I had to get rid of the stitch. Kristen and the other wives were waiting just outside of transition and it was VERY nice to see her and the other wives. I was able to lose the side stitch within a couple miles which was good. As planned, I did pick up the pace a bit at mile 3 and was planning to settle in at around a 7:30 pace, but that just didn't happen. I did the first few miles at around 7:45 pace, but it was hot and I just couldn't find the motivation to push myself. I was a bit worried about blowing up due to the heat, but I kept my heart rate way too low.

I also didn't really care for the layout of the course. It was way too many out and backs for a 3 loop course. The volunteers were great and they helped me along, but I couldn't find it in myself to dig deep, which I'm a bit embarrassed to admit.

My pace stayed quite consistent throughout the rest of the run and I just kept chugging along. I really looked forward to seeing Kristen each lap and she really kept me going. Besides that, the run was really pretty uneventful. I kept my HR down and my pace was pretty steady until the last 3 miles or so. At the point, I really started to fatigue and started walking a bit longer at the aid stations. My hip did start to hurt a bit more and more as the race went on, but I wasn't going to let it stop me.

For nutrition, I did stick to my game plan of having a GU every 5 miles and having some coke and sometimes some water at each aid station. I also dumped water and ice over my head as often as I could.

Once I made the final turnaround on the last out and back, I did get a surge as I knew it was pretty much all down hill from there. I picked up the pace a bit and put on a good smile for the rest of the run.

I was extremely relieved to cross the finish line and was really glad the race was over.

Push myself harder

I felt pretty crappy after the race. I went to the med tent and just laid down for about 10 minutes. I was pretty hungry, but I didn't feel like eating. I eventually got some chocolate milk and some juice in which made me feel a lot better. I also got a massage and got to hear about how one of the ladies giving massages was in a kayak during the swim and she capsized 3 times! She reiterated how crazy the swim was. The massage felt great and I was doing much better by the end of it.

After that, I waited around for a while to watch some of my friends finish. It was great to see them cross and exchange war stories with the other competitors.

I'd like to spend a special thanks to my wife Kristen for being such a trooper during her first IM experience. She basically had just as long of a day as I did and it was great having around.


The conditions were definitely the largest factor and I sincerely hope I never experience those conditions again. I'm also going to do my darndest to make sure my wheels aren't rubbing at all. The only other limiter was myself and not pushing harder on the run. This will NOT be an issue in NYC!