Swim: (1:14:32) Even though it was a time trial start it was still crowded, but I was told it was not near as bad as other IM swims. Being a point-to-point swim, most of the swim was with the current. I could tell there was a current while swimming which was nice. Overall the swim was uneventful.
T1: (6:55) The swim exit and the large transition area was about ¼ mile apart. I jogged to my bag, went into the tent, put on my tri top (with some help since I was wet), stuffed my nutrition in my pockets, stopped by the porta-potty to pee and then ran to my bike.
Bike: (6:12:32 avg 18.1 mph) First of all no flats on the bike which was awesome. I removed the rear bottle cages on my bike to save a little weight as the aid stations were well stocked and usually about 10 miles apart. There were lots if hills which I prefer since I could rest on the downhill. On the course there is a short out and bike which has some of the worst hills. At one point some guy was dressed as the devil with pick fork running along cyclist encouraging us to get up the hill. Next is the 2 loops around a small town in Kentucky. About half way through the first loop I was passed by the leading pro on his second loop. This was very cool and I used the moment to speed up to stay with him just to enjoy the race atmosphere in of its self. Of course that last about 30 seconds. On the second trip through the town I spotted my wife and friend waving me along. That was very cool and gave me a bit of an energy boost. Eventually the energy tapered, but before I knew it I was passing the 70 mile mark. It is funny how long 112 miles seems, but looking back it went by so fast. I tried to enjoy each and every pedal stroke. I was good until about mile 80 when I started to get stiff from being in the aero position and on the bike for so long. At that point I wanted off the bike. The last 12 miles into transition seemed to last forever. Overall I am very happy with my bike.
T2: (7:52) I got off the bike and handed it over to the volunteer. I thought about yelling at them not to worry because I didn’t pee on my bike, but before I knew it was gone. In hindsight, I should have left my shoes on the pedals because the trot down to the bags and changing tent was slower than I would have preferred. Once I was in the tent I switched over to my run gear. Once again I had to pee, but this time it seemed to last forever.
Run: (5:50:52 avg 13:23/ mile) The run started with a short little out and back half way down a bridge. From there we went on a 2 loop course which was really another out and back twice. The run is by far my weakness, and this run course was boring. I ran straight for the first 3 or so miles (except walked through aid stations). Then the dreaded run walk process started. I made constant deals with myself that if I ran to some sort of marker down the way I would walk. Somewhere around mile 10 or 11 my stomach felt upset. I started taking in water, pretzels, and chicken broth. That made a world of difference. At the turn around I saw my family. I kissed my wife and my daughter. They were so happy to see me. A friend of mine ran with me for about a mile. It was nice to have someone I knew with me. That gave me a bit of energy that lasted until close to the turnaround. For some reason I became obsessed with finishing the marathon under 6 hours. I started calculating where I needed to be and when. A one point I struggled to run, but I didn’t want to slow down to a walk. So I resorted to power walking…. Like a mall walker. I was passing people that were walking. That was funny. Finally I hit mile marker 26. I looked behind me, and there was nobody there. Just in front of me was one runner. I wanted to cross the finish line by myself. Yes I wanted the stage to myself. So I sped up and ran (almost sprinted) and crossed the finish line by myself basking in the glory of finishing the Ironman.
Below is a picture of me just after I finished with my daughter. She was very excited about the whole atmosphere and kept calling me an Ironman.
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