my first mass swim start. i loved the challenge of it but it was hard to swim smooth as 2 swimmers kept cutting me off and hitting and kicking me. I knew it was the same 2 people (a guy and a girl) because after it happend so often i looked at their race number. I don't think they knew how to sight properly and i wasn't fast enough to get away from them.
Considering that i didn't do much swim distance practice it went well. my longest swim was 3000 and i only did that once. i mostly only swam 1000-1500 in practice.

nothing really. I enjoyed it.

my transition was faster than i thought. i thought i took my time. i must just be familiar with the routine.

absolutely nothing. perfect for me.

the heat got to me by mile 30. i had to get off the bike at each aid station in order to douse myself head to toe with water in order to cool off. I EASILY could have shaved an hour to an hour off my time.
i stopped at every aid station from mile 30 on. roughly 7 stops that i took anywhere from 5-10 minutes ea.
i couldn't breathe in the heat. every long ride i did in training was done in 30-40 degrees, and to ride race day near 100 was pretty hard to handle.

considering the heat i think i just accepted things as they were but if i knew how much time i could save maybe i would've shortened my stay at the water stops.
nonetheless, i just let the day come to me and i had fun. i enjoyed it.
those things are not normally said in an ironman, that's also how i know that i just took it easy.

volunteers took care of everything, as i came into t1 they take the bike, helmet and shoes
in tranistion again as with t1 i thought i was just relaxing and taking time. ended up being faster than i thought.
i did forget my race belt with the gps tracker!!

not forget my race belt. i felt bad because thats how my wife knew where i was on the course. also, because it was a 3 loop course i figured on the second loop i could retrieve it from transistion but that ended up costing me at least 15+20 minutes as i waited for the volunteers to try to find it. They didn't.

i hated the first loop and pretty much just did whatever i had to get through it. on the second loop i wasted time waiting for volunteers trying to find my race belt, no luck. and the third lap i crushed it!!
I did have to stop at every aid station to douse myself with water in order to cool my body temps. i literally soaked myself head to toe like i did on the bike and ran as wet as i could. luckily my shoes and socks held up, no sloshing and no blistering.
as running is my weak spot i am amazed that i actually could have run this under 5 hours under normal conditions. i kept good form and stayed within myself in order to just enjoy myself and finish with a smile as well so i didn't hurt myself with a pulled muscle or cramping or some sort of injury.
i got alot of compliments from the crowd on my form and my pace.
the run course was my favorite part of the day, great crowd support!!!

not forget my race belt. i felt bad because thats how my wife knew where i was on the course. also, because it was a 3 loop course i figured on the second loop i could retrieve it from transistion but that ended up costing me at least 15+20 minutes as i waited for the volunteers to try to find it. They didn't.

just walked it off with Imelda and Isabella (she was asleep). Not one cramp, no i.v.'s needed. I did stop by med tent just to put ice on my knees to help in recovery.



the heat. going from training in 30-50 degree weather to upwards of 100 was tough. definitely would have made the bike and run faster as well as more enjoyable but since i stayed in my box i was able to finish happy and with a smile.


prior to race day there you couldn't tell there was an event happening that weekend outside of ironman village where most people stayed.
we stayed at a hotel 15 minutes away but it seemed like another time zone due to no race day influence.
the actual race course was a course to set a p.r. with the right weather conditions and the volunteers were awesome.