The swim was great. I stayed about 150 yards back from the start and away from everything. I had clear water the entire way. The highlight on my swim was seeing two pods of dolphins. The first was a group of five babies who were swimming right under me. I stopped for about 2 minutes just to watch them swim. The second group I saw on my way back -- this time there had to be about 20 of them and they were jumping and playing all around me. There was also a group under me. There went another 3-5 minutes. Needless to say my swim time indicates that I spent quite a good deal of time just enjoying the dolphins. I actually forgot that I was doing an IM for a time. It was truly amazing!

Learn to swim faster. But if I had swam faster I never would have seen those dolphins. For for the first time ever, I'm really glad that I suck at swimming!

T1 was fine. Sunscreen application left much to be desired, though. I paid for not putting it on myself later on.

Bring my own sunscreen and use it everywhere, especially on places where my shirt rides up!

I got on my bike after a great swim and felt empty. I didn't want to race at all. The first 10 miles were just gutting it out, trying to think of a reason to stay on my bike and not go join my family for a late breakfast. My heart completely was not in it. After we got out of Kona I found my groove and I felt pretty good for about 30 minutes. I ate, drank, and was having a lot of fun. I even passed a few people. Then the stomach issues hit and I really never felt good again the rest of the day. Fortunately they were serving cola on the course and I knew from experience that drinking that should help. So I literally did the whole day on cola, small sips of gatoraid, and an occasional pretzel. On the way back from Hawi, the cross winds were really strong and I had to work hard to stay on my bike and off the pavement. I was really glad that I had ridden this part earlier in the week and practiced staying upright in that kind of wind. I also really used Karen Smyer's advice about good places to eat and drink on the course (not that I was doing much of that anyway).

The worst part of the bike was from mile 70 on. I talked to a friend who is a fast biker later and found out that he didn’t have to deal with this so conditions must have worsened as the day went on, but the headwinds were terrible heading back to Kona. I mean working really hard going downhill and reaching max speeds of 14 mph (DOWNHILL) bad. I went from thinking that I would have a PR on the bike to wondering if I would actually make the bike cutoff. I was hot, tired, and dehydrated. Surprising, though, it was during this section of the course where I passed the most people. At least I wasn’t alone out there. I guess my experience really helped me to gut it through and push when I least felt like it. As much as I hated feeling sick this summer on the bike, those experiences taught me ways to get through the difficult moments that came fast and furious during this bike. Without those hard times I never would have known what to do on day where I spent most of the time with awful stomach cramps.


Figure out my nutrition so that I wouldn't feel like throwing up for 8 hours. Bike even more into the wind during training (although I did a lot of that).

I was a little slow here. I tried taping my knees, but couldn't get my legs dry enough for the tape to stick. So I left, stopping by the bathroom on the way out, hoping that I wouldn't regret not taping my knees (I didn't!)

So, I made the bike cut off and headed out onto the run. My stomach was still bothering me, so the run was done on ice chips, coke, and eventually chicken broth. The best thing I can say about the run is that I stayed consistent throughout all of it. My pace was the same, if not a tiny bit faster, at mile 23 as it was at mile 3. I ran some, walked most, and tried to focus on not passing out or throwing up. It was hard. Really hard. About mile 17 right before the turn around in the Energy Lab I tripped and fell off the side of the road right into the lava. That was one of the few times that I was actually running near anyone and he wanted me to get medical help. I was fine, bruised and bleeding, but fine. And really mad. I didn’t want anyone telling me that my race was over. So to prove it to myself and anyone watching, my fastest and longest run of the day was the ½ mile after I fell. I even finally caught and passed the German couple that I had trying to catch up to for the past 10 miles. On a positive note my IT Band didn’t hurt until mile 23, and my right foot never hurt at all. The next day the only thing that really hurt was the sunburn I got (it eventually blistered and ranks up there with giving birth in the pain factor).

It was beautiful running down Alii drive to the finish. I was so happy to have made it through such a difficult day. I got my medal, t-shirt, picture, and massage. Then I threw up. A nice capstone on a difficult day.

Now, no more of these until I can reasonably expect to finish in 12-14 hours. I promise. Not that speed is everything, but I really do want to push myself in that area. I got in on a lottery spot. I entered, not really thinking I would get chosen. I actually forgot that I even entered (one of those past IM Wisconsin things I did when I was depressed). I was so grateful for a chance to race among the best, although once the cannon went off I didn't really see these people except in passing as they were heading in and I was heading out. As I was racing, I thought many times about my son and his battle with cancer. Thoughts of his treatment kept me going when I really wanted to quit. And I was reminded on a regular basis of those kids that didn't make it: Noah, Katyln, and Gabby. My life is richer for knowing you, even for such a short time. You taught me that I have so much to be thankful for.