Things didn't go so well on this swim. I started off fine....but some poor navigation had be ~25meters wide at the first turn buoy. We turned directly into the sun...and I started to feel all disoriented as sighting was difficult. Another left turn had us heading home. I was out of the water around 36min...slow but not horrible IMO given the conditions. By this point I was freezing...the temp felt fine for the short swim on sunday, but now the added time had me chilled.

I dove back in for lap 2. I thought some more open water, a weak first lap, along with some better sighting would give me a chance at a negative split. Not on this day. Weirding thing started to happen...my hips got all tight and I couldn't really kick. I have had calf cramps before while swimming (and again had them today), but the hip think was weird. I just kept telling myself to pull these two anchors attached to my waist and I'd be out of the water soon enough.

Wear a long-sleeve suit...don't really care that it'd be faster, but really would have liked the added warmth. My body doesn't like the cold.

Got my stuff and noticed Brad's bag was gone since our numbers were next to each other. I did nothing but dry off and try to get warm for the first couple minutes. Just took my time as I knew jumping on a bike while wet in cool weather wasn't going to be fun. I did get to put on my crazy arm-warmers...didn't pack any, so our group ended up buying some loud girls knee socks...mine were striped with bright colors. Hilarious and I rec'd at least 30 comments throughout the day.

Pack a regular bike jersey so I had the option to change into a dry top. Plus it'd cover my shoulders.

Overall I was very happy with my execution on the bike. Although I didn't negative split as I had hoped, I did put up a solid split. I made 4 stops along the way..twice on loop 1 to use the port-o-potties (~miles 20 and 40), and twice on loop 2..once at SN (mile 63) and once for a port-o-potty (~mile 80). Bike computer had moving avg ~17.8mph. I definitely could have biked harder, but I was focusing on a steady bike with the goal of a strong run.

The bike was fun as I got a chance to see our group. I knew brad was ahead of me and I could safely assume craig was their too. Had no idea about the others. I saw Kristin, Heidi, and Craig on the out-n-back towards Higgins point and we exchanged some encouragement...I missed Laura and Brad but I thought I heard brad call my name. Turns out I was 5th onto the bike for our group, but I kept telling myself to "race my race" and not try and chase any of them down. It took me a good 45min before my body warmed up and I really started to feel comfortable.

I finally saw Laura and the out-n-back in Hayden and I first saw brad walking his bike. Apparently I passed him while he was changing a tire. I asked what happened and he said something along the lines of "I totally destroyed a tire", but I knew he'd perservere.

Second lap was more of the same. I had a lot of fun on the hills this time around as my even pacing allowed me to pass tons of ppl..several of which prob passed me on the first loop. I caught up to craig and laura on loop 2 so that gave me a couple good minutes of a mental break as I chatted with each a bit. I also spent a good portion of the hills with a woman, #2300. We chatted back and fourth before she took off when the course flattened out.

My parents and Laura's parents had a good spot so I was able to see them 3x per loop. Not knowing where Nate would pop up with his video camera was nice too!

NUTRITION:
5.5 275cal servings Perpetuem
0.5 275cal of HEED
3x 90cal Hammer Gel

Nothing much...maybe push a little harder.

Grabbed my bag, changed my shorts, read a card from Kristin (thanks k!) grabbed my gel flasks and water bottle and headed out.

Nothing really.

The run started off OK but by mile 6 I knew I was in trouble. Each mile was getting progressively slower and my HR was starting to drop. At this point I had to walk every 20min to get my gels down. They just were not cooperating. I was also taking short walks (10-15s) at different points...sometimes to refill my water bottle..other times to give the muscles a break.

It was at shortly thereafter (around mile10) that Laura caught me. I told her to not slow down on my account and that I would do my best to keep up. Miles 11-16 were not too bad. I stopped at SN at mile 13 to get some HEED as I felt the different calorie source couldn't hurt. I stopped gels completely at this point. By my calculation I took in about 150cal of HEED on the second loops and my only other calories was the cola I started drinking around mile 18. Luckily Laura was there to help me keep in together and offer me encouragement. When we approached the finish I gave her the option to finish first since she undoubtedly (in my mind) saved me 30min on the run. I owed her. She opted for us to finish together...and it's a memory I'll never forgot.

Even though I shaved just over 1hr off of last year's run, I still felt my performance was below average. Nutrition was definitely an issue...maybe I should have stayed with a more liquid diet or maybe I needed some more protein (Perpetuem), and I certainly should have had more calories, any calories, on the second loop.

Do a better job with nutrition. Besides, that I think most of the changes I need to make are during training, not racing.

Shuffle my way over to the food and massage tents.


* Too cold during swim
* Poor nutrition on run
* Need to be mentally stronger on the run


For as much as I think "ironman" is a bunch of hype (ala the overpriced merchandise) and they may be the best case study in marketing/branding history, they (or NA Sports rather) truly executes in creating a top notch race. The venue and volunteers are both awesome. They do everything perfectly (except maybe not have enough mechanics on the course) to make the day about the athletes and their individual stories.

Bottom line, what really makes the race great for me is sharing it with a close group of friends. On this day our group of six, endured mutiple flat tires, a destroyed tire, and a broken seat post clamp to bring all 6 of us to the finish line. You can't choose what happens to you out there, but you can choose your attitude. Watching each group member overcoming obstacles, whether mechanical or not, and forge ahead is priceless and in the true spirit of ironman.