My slowest ironman swim to date. Very glad I did not wear a wetsuit. The water was warm. Very shallow. My hand would drag the bottom in several locations. I was swimming into the back of people that were standing up and walking. I didn't have much contact with other swimmers fighting for water space. I paced myself nice and felt good.

No assigned racks or spots. Muddy and sandy. Pulled on my tri top over my wet sports bra and my shoes, helmet, and away I went. I walked the big hill out of transition.

I told myself I would ride a 6 hour bike course. I had no plans to push it. Good thing, since the bike shop guy told me to be careful on the hills because that is when I will be putting the most stress on my broken frame. I felt great and kept and even pace. My splits were almost exactly the same during the entire ride. This was a great ride. I would love to do this again.

Sat down in the grass to pee while I changed shoes and put on my hat. :-)

I have not ran more than a 15 mile long run since before my injury in mid June. I know this was not going to be easy. I wanted to keep a pace that would not cause lots of recovery time post race. i started off feeling great. I actually felt decent during most of the run. I walked the big hills and walked most of the aid stations. They had the BEST peaches. WOW - they were good. I loved going back to the start/finish line to start a new loop. you were given a plastic bracelet when you completed a loop. I thought that was fun! Also, Abbie was volunteering at the aid station right there and would give a nice "love pat" on my ass each loop. Thanks, Abbie! ;-) On my third loop I stayed with a guy doing his first ironman that was really struggling. It was also his final loop. He was cramping and loosing motivation to continue running/jogging. I stayed back with him and kept him company. With about 2 miles left he convinced me to go ahead. Abbie was volunteering at the finish line and gave me my medal and a big hug when I crossed the line. It was great! The guy I stayed with on the final loop found me in the post-race area after he finished and thanked me for helping him get though his "dark time" out there on the course. Abbie and I enjoyed some food, gathered, my gear, and headed back to the city.

Abbie and I had a rough day on Friday. I have a broken bike frame and she lost her wallet. :-(

I had a wonderful day at the Vineman Ironman on Saturday. I really liked the course. Great volunteers. Lots and lots of fun. This was a fun day for me. Now, back to lots of training.

Thanks to Abbie for being a great race Sherpa and a wonderful friend!