EFP and LT took off from the get-go, as I would expect them to. EFP has really made significant progress in his running over the past year and LT has always been faster than me. I was glad to see them both go - EFP has a bad habit of wanting to stay with me but I finally convinced him to do his own thing.

Being at the front of the wave helped minimize some of the congestion and dodging of walkers, so that was nice. The bad part is I didn't really 'belong' in the front of the wave and kept getting passed and passed and passed and passed. Sure, I passed a few people but mainly I got passed.

This stuck in my head and the oh-so-negative demons took full advantage of this weakness to chip away at me. Often I can get them to shut up by employing various tricks but nothing was working today, the demons kept on me throughout the whole race. The only fun moment during the race was at the top of the bridge there was a woman with headphones totally dancing and shuffling and jiving her way to the finish line, arms up, snapping her fingers as she showed off her moves. This made me smile and laugh, she was great!

The smile lingered a bit then the demons snuck back in. Each time I'd try to find a 'carrot', something would happen: they'd stop at a port-a-john; they'd stop to walk. I couldn't seem to get matched up to anyone's pace to help keep me moving. The only motivation I found was to stay ahead of 'Fife Guy'. At the start of our wave, he was toward the front of the pack and eventually got away from me but at the top of the bridge he was stopped, doing something on his phone. Not long after I passed him, he resumed running WHILE PLAYING THE DANG FIFE! How? Beats the heck out of me. I can barely summon enough air to keep myself alive, let alone play a musical instrument. Impressive? Oh, for sure. Irritating? Yup, a little, just because he could do both so well, running AND playing.

At times I tried to use his tunes as a pick-me-up but most of the time I simply vowed to try to stay ahead of him. It worked, although in the final mile he came awfully close to catching me!

I was so glad to finally cross the line. Today just wasn't as fun as it had been in the past. It was my second worst time, so #3 time out of 4 races. Ugh.

Be more consistent with my running training leading up to this race. I'd been a bit spotty for various reasons, plus the off season is starting to drive my body weight up. Get the demons to shut the fug up.

Well, first I threw a pity party of one. I walked a bit, got a water, then sat on the curb and cried (for more reasons than just my abysmal performance but we won't get into that). After a few minutes, the kind lady near me gently asked me if I was OK or if I needed anything but also acknowledged that she realized I wanted a private moment. I thanked her but said no, I'm fine.

Eventually I collected myself and went to find my friends and get warm, dry clothes. We also had our customary grilled oysters (ridiculously good!), some steamed shrimp, EFP had a few beers and I had a Bloody Mary with Cuda once she got to the finish. Hung out with various friend groups a little, bought some kettle corn (also SO good), then got in line for the shuttle to the parking lot, then home. Naturally we made the traditional stop at Wegman's for lunch and a little shopping on the way home.


Weight. Brain. Weight. Lack of consistent training.


This was the first year since Ironman bought/took over the race. There were some noticeable differences but mostly it was a seamless transition; it went well.