Started the mass swim and just enjoyed the day. It was not nearly as bad as I expected. There was some contact, but no one was mean about things.

I just kept swimming and swimming. The swim went by really fast.

Nothing. My expected swim time was 1:40 and I was out in 1:23

Wetsuit strippers rock and the swim out crowd was awesome. I was stripped and on my way in no time.
As I ran up the Helix in bare feet, my plantar faciaitis began to hurt. I usually don't run without shoes.

T1 was packed and it took a minute to find a chair. I swam with contacts, but did not want to keep them in all day so I took them out and put on the glasses. This only took 45 seconds but it's a good excuse for my long transition time :). Put on the bike shoes and helmet, hit the port-a-pot and picked up my bike. The transition area is a few hundred yards long I was at the second rack so I had a long run with the bike.

Considering that 18 months ago I could only swim 25 yards without stopping I was pleased with this swim.

Thanks to PeterAK and 1stTimeTri, I've ridden the course multiple times this summer and knew what to expect. The plan was to keep it easy the first loop and adjust from there. However, my mind did not communicate the plan to my body :)

HR was in the 150-160 range and would not drop to the 130s that were planned. I felt great and decided to go on effort and not HR.

The nutrition plan that worked all summer was 2 bottles of Hammer Perp per loop with 2 aero bottles of H20. The plan was to pee 3 times per loop, and I peed 4 times on the first loop and felt good. At the beginning of the loop I began to get hungry and realized I should have eaten a larger breakfast. No problem... I'll grab 2 gels at the aid station. The aid station was nice enough to open the gels before the handed them off. If you don't expect and open gel it makes a large, sticky mess. The entire cockpit was covered in gel!

Tried to spin the hills but was lacking energy. I don't think this was nutrition related, but more being tired from the swim. The crowd support was great and I saw many BTer on the course.

The last big hill before Verona took its toll and the quads locked up- the worst cramp ever. I could not pedel and quickly lost forward momentum. I almost re-joined the club because I could not unclip, but got out just in time. A few minutes of streching and I was back on my way feeling better. Rode back into town excited to begin my first marathon.

Note: if I would have peed on the bike instead of stopping 6 times my average would have been over 15 MPH! :)

Not cramp. I expected a better bike time, but based upon multiple training rides on this course I should have known better.

Came into T2, handed off the bike and saw the kids. Gave the kids a big hug and off I went.

Due to time constraints and PF, my run training was not what I had hope for. I knew this was going to hurt.
I started running (at least that's what I called it. I'm not sure outsiders would consider it "running") and actually felt good. It was nice to be off the bike. Ran the first 3 miles and decided to mix a run- walk. Just keep moving forward was the thought of the day. Lots of encouragement from spectators. They kept saying " you look great", "you look strong"- liers, each and every one of them.

At one point 3 college aged females were cheering on on the side of the road and yelled "nice ass". This was a great confidence booster until I realized I was wearing a donkey tri top with a donkey on the front and the comment was related to the tri top and not my back side- bummer.

Quads and feet were hurting but I was moving forward. Around mile 10 I ran into Trixie and Regimon. They were nice enough to rub the quads for a minute. Hot women rubbing ones thigh is great motivation!!! Off I went with a big smile. Mile 13 runs into the finishing area, only to hit the turn around knowing there are 13 miles left- kinda a let down. I looked at the watch and knew I would finish, so that felt good. I don't remember too much of the last 13 miles except drinking lots of broth seeing Jszat on State street. He finished, showered, ate (and probably took a nap) before I saw him. I ran around the Capitol and look behind me- not a soul for 200 yards in either direction. Hit the last turn and the kids were waiting for me. My son talked about running in with me for the last year, and he was so proud to cross the finish line with dad.

Have trainig runs longer than 13 miles.

Being caught by BTers was great. Got the medal and shirt and took the finisher photo and got some pizza. I wanted a massage but they were closed :(
Actually felt ok, picked up my gear and bike and headed to the hotel with the kids. Had a severe case of the chills, not sure why but sat in the shower for 30 minutes until I warmed up.


Although I finished BOP, I finished an IRONMAN. This journey started 2 years earlier smoking a pack a day and 30 pounds heavier, so I'm pleased with the results.


IMWI is well run. They know how to put on a race and, with the exception of not getting a massage, everything was top notch.

All summer I kept saying that I would do an IM every 5 years. For some reason I'm signed up for Moo 08...wonder why?

BT and BTer rock. I could not have done this without your support.
Thank you.