In the past, the swim was the scariest part for me, but today I felt confident despite how far away the buoys appeared. When the horn went off, I allowed most of the 200 in my wave to get going and then I took up the rear. No sense in taking feet and hands right out of the gate. I polo swam the first 50 yards to get the HR up a little then started my stroke. About 100 yards in, I felt the OW panic monster rear it's head; I started breathing fast and lost my stroke. I gritted my teeth and kept thinking about all of those laps in the pool and how hard I've worked to get here and that I didn't want to give it all away after 3 mins. It worked and I fell into a nice steady stroke. I focused on kicking since it was one of the things I have not done well in OW. I had a few problems staying on a straight line and I think it cost me a good 5 minutes getting back on course. Marvanett blew by me half way through and I heard him call out to me! What a great guy to yell out encouragement during a swim!! I finished strong and even ran most of the way to T1. I was stoked with the swim. I wanted sub 50 and got it.

I was a little surprised with 49' since I thought I was doing much better while in the water. I attribute the slower time to getting off my line and spending time getting back there. That must have been it because I swam strong; my stroke and kicking was definitely sub 2:00. I chose not to hug the buoys to avoid others, but next time I will to ensure no lost time getting off my line.

Took my time in T1 since I did not want to forget anything and ensure I was prepared for 3 hours in the saddle.

Nothing.

This was a tough course. The first 15 miles were great and I was close to a 20mph average. I started thinking that this may be a PB for the bike, but as soon as the course turned north, the wind kicked up in my face and lasted for the next 35 miles. That middle 35 miles meandered north-east kind of like a stair step and the winds were 10-15 from the north-east so no matter where we turned, it was in our face. Also, ROLLING HILLS! Jesus, at one point I thought the entire course was on an incline. Tough, tough. The last 10 miles I was in and out of aero often and my lower back was killing me. This is the longest ride I've done without stoppin even for a few minutes. My previous 60 mile training rides I always stopped at mile 30 to refresh my water, but the aid stations were on the fly so no stopping. At mile 45 I REALLY wanted to stop and stretch, but I figured it would be that much more time before I got to the finish and by then I wanted OFF that bike. I took a gel every 30 mins. and at mile 30, ate an uncrustable that I had in my bento. I drank 4 bottles of Gu2O.

Nothing. I was hoping for 17 avg and when I finished with 17.5 considering the wind and hills, I was happy.

Walked my bike in as my legs were stiff. Drank some more, took 3 advil, strapped on my stuff and head out.

Nothing

This was uncharted territory for me. Prior to today, my longest race was 3:15 last November. I had no idea how my body would respond after 4+ hours. The first mile was wobbly and I could not get my legs under me. I decided to run/walk because at this point, I just wanted to finish and I had enough time to walk the whole thing so I did not want to have heat or cramp issues that would prevent me finishing. After the first mile, I got my legs back and ran 5-6 minutes then walked 1-2. I took water and gatorade at every aid station whether I wanted it or not and continued my gel every 30 minutes. I hear someone yell, "I think I see SEXY!" and turned to see my buddy Marvanett go by me. We high-5 each time we passed each other. At the end of my first loop, Q, Jess and Trixie were yelling for me and I did a "cheerleader jump" for them as I passed by. I felt great. Second loop was not so good. About half way through I felt my body give out. My legs started to cramp and I felt some chills. Just past mile 7 it became "let's just finish" and scrapped my run/walk plan and mostly speed walked. I just didn't want to crash to the point I couldn't finish. I did manage to run/walk the rest, but more walking then running. The third loop was sheer determination as I was beat and just wanted this to end. I checked my watch and realized that if I didn't tank, I could finish close to 7:30. I pushed myself to race walk; pumping my arms and moving my legs. My left knee cramped with each step. I stopped and put some Biofreeze on it which helped for a mile or two. I'm glad I had some in my belt pack. I was starving on the third loop and ate food at a couple aid stations; bananas, half a power bar. I remembered I had some sample packs of sport jelly beans in my shirt pocket and downed those too. When I hit mile 12, I knew I was going to finish and all I could think about was calling my son to tell him that "Daddy did it" and it was hard to fight back the tears. I had .3 miles to go at the 7:25 mark and started to run with what little I had in me to hit 7:30. I hit the chute and was flooded with so many thoughts; the 5 months of training that I never gave up on despite all of the difficult circumstances in my life this past year. It was the greatest 50 yard run of my life. I crossed the line at 7:29:07, put my hands on my head and then my arms in the air. Holy shit, I did it...against many odds.

Nothing.

I can't remember...I was in a fog. Got my medal and shirt, grabbed a slice of pizza and some water. My dream race given my ability was sub 7:30 and I finished 7:29:07! :)


Who cares. I finished!