IRONMAN 2007

Preparation

Thursday Night Lasagna, Friday Chix

Good

Got to bed early and slept for about 5hrs straight

Nervous and Anxious

4 - Very Physically Charged

3 - Excited

Focus on Race

I really only warmed up by getting in the water to feel the water. I dont like to "warm up"

As with all of the races I have done, once the cannon goes (gun in most cases) and I enter the water the nerves all seem to go away. The swim (2.4 miles) was a two loop course and I positioned myself to the right and toward the back of the pack. I try not to pay attention to the distance and swim buoy to buoy making the swim small little segmented races for myself. Another difference here is that with all Ironman races everyone starts at the same time, so it’s up to you to position yourself according to what you believe your ability is. Imagine 2200 people entering the water at one time, all trying to get to the same buoys that you're, it’s a mess. A mass of people kicking and grabbing, at one point one person grabbed my ankle and pulled me back, real sportsman like. This made it very hard to get into a rhythm but when I exited the water after my first loop, I must have gotten into some rhythm as I looked down at my watch and it said 37 minutes +/- a few seconds. I was in amazement as that even beat my fastest time, that I had thought. I re-entered the water, yes we actually exited before taking on the second loop. The second loop was a bit less cluttered and no sooner then I had entered I was exiting the water in a time of 1:18:51, again faster then what I thought would be stretch goal.

I moved toward the strippers (wetsuit strippers), they help you remove your wetsuit so you can waste less energy and allow you to move up the beach toward transition, where there are tons of volunteers helping locate your Swim to Bike gear bag. I wore my actually biking shorts so that I could avoid the changing tent, per the advice of my coach; I just changed outside the tent and ran through it to get to my bike. This was a fantastic call as the tent was not only a mob but a sauna.

As you got closer to a bike there were more volunteer’s screaming out your number, and others grabbing your bike to make it easier for you.

Here I was hoping for no more then 7 hours, as my best training ride was 102 in 6 hours. Part of me thought I could do 6 hours here as Atlanta is fairly hilly and the courses highest point was 161 feet above sea level. I was hoping the hills of North Atlanta would pay off in my favor and as I moved through the ride the certainly seem to be. I can’t recall my time at 56 miles but I believe it was sub 3 hrs so I knew I was moving at a very good pace, much better again then I had anticipated.

I felt really good, even with the wind that was blowing. It seemed to almost always be in your face no matter which way you’re a turning but likely it was a cross wind in most cases. I kept monitoring the time so that I kept myself feed appropriately so that my energy would not be completely zapped. The mile markers were every 10 or 20 miles I don’t remember, but I do recall that I was managing about 20 mph for at least the first 60 miles.

When I finally got close to the finish of the bike I realized that I was doing very well and that as long as I did “bonk” on the run I should break my 14 hour goal. I was not sure of my actual bike time till Sunday morning as I did not use the lap function of my watch as I did not want to fuss or ruin my nutrition plan. Bike time was 5:52:22, much quicker then anticipated, the hills paid off.

As you dismount your bike there again were those volunteers this time taking your bike so you did not even need to re rack the bike, and another one to guide you to your bike to run gear. Here I did use the changing tent so I could get out of my bike shorts and in to nice clean dry running shorts and socks. My transition time did not matter to me, as I wanted to make the run comfortable, as possible.

The run was a two loop course, which was great because it made it more enjoyable for spectators and at that point of the race they are all great to see, as people you don’t even know are cheering you on to your goal. The first loop put me ahead again of my goal for the marathon. The loop took me right by the Condo we were renting, there I got to see Katrina, Caitlin, Jan, Steve and Marilyn, (Aidan and Norm were knapping) as well as other friends from the Atlanta area. They were all spread out in front of the condo, and it was great to see them all. They all gave me words of encouragement each time I passed (4x total). I knew I would slow on the 2nd loop but I really just wanted to keep moving forward toward the end, and hell I was ½ way done with the Marathon portion of the race and on my way to becoming an IRONMAN! The wind had finally died down on the second loop as I made my way back into St. Andrews state park, and to the final turn around. The sun was going down now, and I was hoping I would not pay for not having grabbed my long sleeve shirt.

About mile 17 my right shin started to hurt but funny thing is it actually hurt more to walk then run, so I would do a little walk and run slowly mile to mile marker aid station to aid station. 17 and change was my longest run during the year but again I knew I could make it. I would run with folks some doing their first, others doing third, fourth or fifth Ironman, and the time just passed.

I got to mile 25 were there was a group of lets say ladies who still thought it was Halloween, they made for interesting views each time I passed. 1.2 miles to go and I would cross the finish line an Ironman and I surprising still felt as good as I did when I watched the sun rise that morning, well maybe not that fresh but still good.

I passed the condo, and realized that everyone had moved toward the finishing chute, and as I found out apparently I am one of those really really crazy people as I crossed the finish line with my beautiful wife, Katrina, in a Total time of 12:34:37. We had talked about me carrying Aidan or Caitlin so when she jumped in the finishers chute with me, I was surprise but happy she did. My finishing photo was not so great but I finished and that was the goal.

My Marathon time was a very respectable 5:10:55

5 - Completely Overachieved

Everything, I could not have asked for a better

I would like to be a better swimmer, but overall i am happy with all of my events. I would also like to be a faster runner, and that will come with some speed work, i hope.

Absolutely!

Good

Good