Standing on the beach I had a direct line to third bouy. I told myself this was the way to go. At the start I stayed in the middle and waded out. Not much contact in the beginning. As I got to the third bouy it got crazy, it was like salmon trying to swim upstream. Evryone was splashing around and it didn't seem like we were moving. I swam over a few people amd got into some open space. I looked for any feet that I could follow and latched on to someone until the first turn. I felt great but lost him at the turn. I had some space to my self as I made the turn back in and found someone else to draft off of. I stayed with this person all th eway in and felt great coming out of the water.

I thought I was looking at 1:20 or 1:30 for the swim so the swim went well for me. From reading different sites I was stressing about the water temperature, which led my to rent a sleeveless suit. I went with my full fuit after swimming on Friday and Saturday at the lake.

13 minutes?? I don't know what the hell I was doing for that long. I did make a stop at the porta pottybefore getting my bike. I knew it would be a long day and wanted to make sure that I had everything.

Got on the bike and told myself to take it easy it was going to be a long ride. My plan was to drink every 15 minutes and have a honey stinger waffle every hour and a gel every half hour. My nutrition was good because I felt like I had ebough energy during the ride. I may have drink too much because I had to stop and pee 4 times. Got to the firstturn around and felt good as we headed back. I was getting passed by everybody and their mother. I didn't let it get to me, I kept telling myself you have to run a marathon and finish this race. Made it to the second turn around and still felt good. Stopped to pee at the aid station before heading towards Lac Superior and the hills. Finished the first loop in about 3:30 and thought I could maintain that oace. I was wrong. I stopped at special needs to have an uncrustable, delicious. My family was waiting there for my and it was huge boost to see them. Stared to head out on loop two and stopped to pee again. I could feel it in my legs that this loop would be a lot different than the first loop. What had felt easy before was geeting a little difficult. When we turned back onto RTE 117 the wind had picked up from the morning and was in your face as you made the turn coming back. I got tired of the waffles and went with bannanas and perform, which worked out fine. Maded it to the second turn around and started doing the math and figured this loop would be around four hours. I just put my head down and kept pedaling knowing that I still had to climb into Lac Superior. I got to last portion of the course and told myself you have less than an hour to go. Worked hard up the hills thinking about the trip down going close to 40 miles an hour. Got to the turn relieved and stopped to pee again. Got back on the bike and had fun going down towrds T2.

Add more long ride to my training. The bike is always my weakest leg. I got passed by 1100 people.

Got off the bike and gave it to a volunteer and tols them "i never want to see this bike again!!" My bag was handed to me as I entered the changing tent which was not as crowded as the last time and got changed into my sneakers.

Not much. I took a bunch of gels and wafffles which I didn't really need as the run aid stations were stocked with stuff.

I decided to keep my arm warmers on from the bike but rolled them down after the first mile. My legs felt good off the bike and wanted to keep my pace around 9:30 minute miles. I walked to aid stations and managed to get to the first turn around in about an hour. The stretch of run on the bike path was boring because there were not any spectators just the people at the aid stations. I finished the first loop just under 2 1/2 hours. The run went right by my hotel and was able to see my wife and kids. I stopped to give them a hug and a kiss and told my wife I'll be back in three hours. Before you head out to loop two you are a few jundred feet from the finish line and you can hear Mike Reilly calling out names. Very Cruel. Just as I start the secong loop it starts to pour, I mean thunder lightning, the water is rushing down the hills. I am thinking that this should be interesting. This only lasted for about 15-20 minutes and stopped. Just as it stopped I look to my left and see a beautuful double rainbow. The sun is starting to set and its a bit chilly. I tell myself you can do this it's almost over. I am able to run until about mile 18 when I can feel my heart rate getting high. I try to maintain a five minute run two minute walk. I pick up a foil blanket at an aid station to keep warm and roll my arm warmers back up. I keep trudging along just telling myself to make it to the next aid station. I start to go with chicken broth after the rain which is fanatstic by the way. The last three miles I start the run with Candance from Florida, which helps the time go by. I cannnot believe that I am almost to the finsh line after almost 7 month of training and getting up at 4:30 all winter to run and ride the trainer. I make it to the top off the hill in the pedestrian village and run back down towrds the finish line. People are lining the course high fiving me as the feeling of elation overcomes me. I made the final turn towards the finish and know that this is it. I hear Mike Reilly say, "Hear comes Ralph Tocco from Long Beach, You are an Ironman!"

This is the first marathon for me. Maybe push a little harder on the run next time.

Grabbed by a volunteerat the finish, got my shirt, medal and hat to take my picture. Had some chocolate milk and a slice of pizza. My family was waiting fro me at the end and gave them a bunch of hugs and took some photos. Headed back to the room to shower and pass out.


I wasn't trying to go fast, my only goal was to complete the race and I did.


I can't say enough about Mont Tremblant and the race. The place is awesome, I asked several people who have done IM's if they are all like this and they all said not even close. This was my first IM so I have nothing to compare it to. The whole community came out to supprt the racers and people were still congratulating me a few days after the race. My wife and kids ran a 1K and 5K race on Thursday, there were a ton of activities for the kids. None of us wanted to leave. It was a bit expensive but we treated it like a vacation. My one regret is that I couldn't make it back down to the finish to see the last racers cross the line.
I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without the support of my wife who had to sacrifice a lot so I could get my long rides and runs in on the weekend. Thank You, Allison. An ironman is an awesome experience but one that I will not attempt again until 2014. It is too much every year with two young kids and a wife that also does tris.