Chris, Jim and I started inside the first buoy about 30ft back. I think we seeded ourselves pretty well. The canon went off and everyone started swimming. It was pretty crazy throughout the whole swim. I got kicked in the face (thankfully by the soft part of the bottom of someones foot), elbowed in the bike, elbowed in the goggles so my goggle sucked onto my eye pretty much sucking it out my eyeball, punched in the back of the head, and almost kicked in the man-parts. Fun, eh? Actually, I was expecting a lot worse. There was times where people would get too close than comfortable for me so I kept my elbows up and let them know I was there. I just swam along and did my thing. I drafted the best I could and it was pretty easy with so many people around. The first lap was something around 36', which was right on pace for me. It finally cleared up a little on the second loop and I was able to get some open water on the inside and more feet at my pace to draft from. I think that helped out a lot. Finally reached land and ran to T1.

I don't think I would change anything on this swim. I swam the best I could and am happy with my time.

Ran out, pointed to some wetsuit stippers, layed down and let them do their thing. Thanked them and started to run towards the helix and ran up it. Saw Amy and my parents and tried to give 'em 5. I ran easier up the helix as my HR was around 160s, but I still passed a ton of people going up. Ran towards the changing area and started to yell out my number. I got to my bag before the volunteer so I grabbed it and ran towards the changing area. Ran in...crap...no chairs open. I finally found/stole one towards the back side of the room. Dumped out my bag, helmet on, race number on, took a Gu, grabbed a PowerBar and shot bloks and put them in my pockets, grabbed my sunglasses and the lense popped out. Cursed. Put the lense back in, sunglasses on, stuffed the wetsuit and swim stuff in the bag and ran out with my shoes unstrapped and in hands. On the way out I got lathered in sunscreen and headed towards the bikes. When I FINALLY reached close to my bike I started yelling out my number. Volunteers passed it down the line and grabbed my bike. I stopped, put my shoes on, got my bike and ran to the mount area. Mounted and away I went.

Probably not put the death grip on my sunglasses so the lense pops off. Other than that I think T1 went well.

As soon as I got down the helix I started eating a PowerBar, forgetting that I took in a gel 5' earlier. After I realized it, I drank a little more water than usual to help it digest. My pre-race plan of going into the race a little hungry was working perfectly. I could tell my stomach was empty, but I wasnt starving or anything. This is perfect in that as soon as I would eat something it was starting to get digested and absorbed. Anyways, my HR was a little high coming out of the swim so I took the first mile and the "no pass" zone on the trail pretty easy. Since my bike computer was broke, I couldn't tell my speed or cadence. The whole ride was based off HR and RPE. I kept it mid Z2 in the flats (140-145), Z3 in the climbs and I coasted or soft pedaled all the downhills for recovery. The first part of the loop was tough as the north wind was blowing in our faces. Once we reached the hills I started passing people left and right. Passing a ton of people - actually 817 of them over the course of the whole ride. It started out that we would climb, I would pass people, they would hammer the downhills and pass me, we'd hit another hill, I'd pass them and they would eventually fade.

Had a little scary moment in Verona. I was pushing around 25 mph or so and coming up on a intersection. For some reason, the cop waved this lady through, she went and I had to lock of the rear tire. I though I was going to hit the lady's car. Thankfully, she didnt stop and kept going. All was fine, but I still yelled at her. Once I got to the hills on the second loop you could tell everyone was getting tired. My legs were feeling pretty good so I kept doing what I did on the first loop. My times were slower the second time around though.

On the second climb of the three main hills where people crowd the road I had this dude pretty much cut me off and push me into the crowd. I was still passing a lot of people on the uphills as they would get out of the saddle and try and climb them like that. I would get an easy gear and sit n spin. Anyways, I'm about to pass this guy on the left and he keeps fading over to the left. I start yelling "Left Left" and he cuts over to the left. We bump and I get pushed into the crowd. People are pawing me to keep me from going in any further. I shift up a gear, get outta the saddle the burn the dude on the hill. People were screaming. It was great. I get back in my rhythm and finish out the climb. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Just sticking to the plan.

Hydration: Pretty much drank a full aero drink bottle between each aid station and filled it up again at each one. Some Gatorade every now and then.

Nutrition: Gu in T1, PowerBar at the beginning of the bike, 2.5 pkgs of margarita shot bloks and 6-7 Gu alternating every 25', 90% of a bottle that consisted of 2 servings Perp and 4 servers Gu2o. S-Cap every 35-40'. Approx. Total Cal.: 2400. 430 Cal / hr.

I would have like to have my bike computer on ride, but other than that, nothing.

Once up the helix I unstrapped my shoes and rode with feet on top. Hopped off my bike and a volunteer took it. First impression after touching ground was "Whoa, stiff legs." As I ran into the bag area they loosened up pretty nice. Started yelling my number and got my bag. This time around there were lots of open chairs. Sat down, took my helmet off and a volunteer came over and dumped out my bag. Socks on, shoes on, hat on, took a Gu, grabbed my Gu flask and container with S-Caps and I was out the door. On the way out I got lathered in more sunscreen and hit up a port-a-john. This was the only time I peed all day. If you ask me, I was dead-on with hydration. I could hear Amy and my parents yelling my name while in there. I got out, saw them and headed over to them to give them 5. Kept running and out the gate I went.

Nothing.

The plan was to keep this run totally Z2, and that I did. Z2 for this day for me translated into 7:10-7:40 miles, depending when and where on the course. As I started, I noticed Jim ahead of me so I caught up to him and we chatted a bit. I continued on and kept running. Mentally, I took this run as "1 mile down, 1 to go, 1 mile down, 1 to go, etc." That worked really well for me. I took in a Gu every 25' and water at every aid station. Also grabbed gatorade at every other aid station. To keep cool I grabbed at least 2-3 sponges at every one and squeezed them over my head. That felt really good.

Slow n steady I kept the pace just chugging along. Lots of people out there yelling for Team Donkai and the crowds were amazing. The first miles were fairly easy running and I kept them that way as I knew they were going to get hard as the mary went on. This one guy from Gear N' Up (a team local to me) passed me. This was the guy that won the Green Bay Sprint. I kept with him for a while and I found my HR getting a little higher than I wanted so I eased back, knowing that I'd smoke him in a few miles. I could tell he was tired. Once we reached Observatory hills, he stopped to walk. I thought thats not such a bad idea since these are really the only two short, steeper hills on the course and there's no point in going anaerobic on it. I passed the Gear N' Up guy and power walked about 50 ft up the first one, and started running again at the crest and repeated the same on the second. That worked out perfectly as I didn't even feel those hills when I started running again.

Mile after mile I kept on running along, sticking to the plan. At some point on the end of the first loop I saw the Gear N' Up dude after a turn-around. He was done. I had about 2 miles on him at this point. I don't know why I was so obsessed with smoking him - maybe it was because he was the only person that got ahead of me for a little bit. Yup, NOBODY passed me on this marathon. Around mi 10-12 my arms started to tingle. Almost like the feeling you got hit in the funny bones. I got a little worried about this thinking that something worse was coming on. Thankfully, nothing did. Side aches started to come on and as soon as I hit the next aid station I popped two S-caps which soon took care of those. Soon enough I hit the turn around and headed out for another half-marathon.

At this point I was feeling pretty good. Legs were getting heavy and I was fighting fatigue, but I wasn't hurting or in any pain - sans arm tingling. I kept the mantra on of "1 mile down, 1 to go" and just kinda zoned out for the run until mile 20-21. I repeated the same power walking for the Observatory hills, which was an excellent idea.

Around the 21 mile mark I started to get really excited and push a little bit harder. I felt like I was pushing more, but the HR was lower than what it should be and the littlest hill was taking its toll on me. My body was reaching its threshold. Now was the time to whip out the Ironman mentality and stop for nothing. Pushing on I kept passing people (though most of them were on the first loop, it was still a confidence builder) all while ignoring the tingling in arms and lips and the fact that when I straightened out my arms I would get some shooting nerve tingles. Nice. I saved my final "kick" until the last 3 miles, knowing that the last mile was going to be tough as it was a gradual ascend to the finish. Around mi 25.5 I saw some BTers and looked over. Trixie and Regimom have their shirts over their heads. I probably didnt show it, but I was laughing histerically inside while finishing off the last block of the ascend. Once I got up there and turned the corner by the special needs bags a huge smile came across my face. I'm finishing an Ironman. I could hear the crowd yelling at the finish. I started throwing my arms up and yelling. I had the whole chute to myself. Total elation came over me as I ran down the chute. Unreal. I crossed the line with my arms up, yelling and listening to Mike Reilly announcing "Rob Yamry, YOU are and IRONMAN!" with the crowd going nuts.

Hydration: Water at every aid station. Gatorade at every other one.

Nutrition: 5 Gu, 2 PowerGels, S-Cap every 30'. Approx. Total Cal.: 900-1000. 300-330 Cal / hr.

Nothing.

After I crossed, the catchers grabbed me and kept saying that Im still walking on my own and how surprised they were at how much strength had left. I told them about my arms and lips, but declined medical treatment. The tingling stopped about a 1/2 hr after I finished. Got my finishers medal, found Amy and my parents and gave them huge hugs. Went back in and got my finishers photo. Drank my Endurox and ate some pizza and other food from the tent. Shortly after I decided to go get a massage before it started to fill up. After that, we walked back to the hotel, showered up and went back down to the finish area to watch other people come in.


The wind played a little factor during the bike, but other than nothing. I layed out everything I had on the course and am absolutely ecsatic with my race and results.


Does it get any better organized than at an Ironman event? Absolutely perfect in every aspect of the race organization.

I had a plan, stuck to it and everything layed out nicely through the course of the race for me. I beat my goal time of 10:17:00 and am unbelievably excited about how everything went. Absolutely perfect and total elation at my first Ironman is all I can say.