The day started off with a sense of calmness for me.  I felt going into this race that my fitness was at a good place, and my plan if executed, will get me my goal “KONA”!  I double checked my transition and walked the 1mi hike to the swim start.  Honestly I like the walk.  It gives you a chance to settle in, and get a sense of calmness before the madness of the swim start.  As we approached the swim start my excitement grew.  I knew this was a day I had to take advantage of.  It was going to be hot and humid, and I know I can take advantage of those conditions.  It was now time for the final prep before the swim start…..2 salt tabs, gel, and 16oz water, plus the usual bathroom nerve stops. 

The national anthem begins!!  It doesn’t matter where I am, this gets me.  It basically puts me in the right frame of mind to realize how fortunate I am to have this opportunity to race today!!  They rush us into the water no wetsuit if you want to be eligible for Kona slots or age group awards.  I am pumped.  As I swim to the start I notice there is 20mins until the gun goes off, and I don’t have a wetsuit on.  Plus I am very lean, meaning I don’t float well.  I quickly notice a spot on the dock by the shore.  I swim to the dock to claim my spot.  That was a good find.  I sit on the dock until 4mins until the start.  I swam right to the front line of the thousands of swimmers. 

The gun goes off!!  It was pure chaos!!  I battle through and held my line knowing it is only going to last for about 400-500m then I will be out of the mess.  Boy was I wrong!!  The combination of non wetsuit and wetsuit swimmers left swimmers of different abilities swimming all together.  I battled swimmers all the way until the first turn.  As we made the turn headed to the canal I thought here we go.  It will finally open up.  Wrong again!  I continually was getting hit by swimmers wearing wetsuits.  I stayed calm, and knew I was in good position by my garmin, which I had set up to beep and vibrate every 15mins to give me a reference of time.  As I approached the canal I was ready to get this done, but there was one problem.  The canal was so small it brought all of us back together, which meant more bumping!!  I mentally said, it is what it is, and focus on getting to the swim exit.  I saw the last bridge and made sure I swam around the final buoy.  I exit the water to see my time.  1:05:00, which my goal was 1hr-1:05.  Perfect, I am where I need to be.  As I begin to run through T1 I quickly realize my legs are full of life.

T1 my goal was to be efficient and focused.

As I ran out of T1 the crowd instantly gets you going.  I run by the dismount line to see Rob Black a Team Imagine Sports athlete mounting as well.  I quickly give him some advice as I get going.  I had a watt/heart rate goal for the 112mi bike.  Plus I wanted to make sure I managed my nutrition for a quality run.  As I got a couple miles into the bike I had no problem holding my watts and my heart rate was low, which are both good signs.  I had a handful of athletes passing me early in the bike, but I resisted the temptation to go with and stayed to my plan.  I knew nutrition was going to be key!!  20mi in I am ahead of schedule, heart rate is still low, and watts are dead on.  We had a strong tail wind so it makes sense that I am ahead of schedule.  40mi in and I am still way ahead of schedule.  I knew even though I felt strong that I had to be patient and stay to my watt goal.  My heart rate was telling me I could push harder if I wanted, but Ironman is about the marathon not the fast bike split.  I am about to hit the 56mi half way point knowing in 1mi we will be riding straight into the tailwind that pushed us out there.  At 56mi I was again ahead of schedule.  Made the turn and instantly I was pulling 30-40 more watts on average then I had been all day, and now was traveling 3-5mph slower.  In my mind I said not a problem.  I knew this was coming, and that is why I stayed patient.  Here on out I was steadily passing riders on the road.  I felt strong, and I kept telling myself “be steady not fast.”  I must of repeated this saying a 1000 times on race day.  I forgot to mention the first part of the bike we had overcast, which was great, but now that we are riding back towards T2 you could tell it was going to be hot.  I knew things were going well because I was riding alone for long stretches while I would slowly catch riders.  Plus the refs were all over us.  I came around a corner around mile 85 when one of our teammates Ed Echols was out on the course supporting the 10 Team Imagine Sports racers.  He yelled to me “What are you doing here already!!”  He may not of known this, but that gave me an edge.  I knew that meant I was going fast, and in a high position overall.  I hit the 100 mile mark from here I knew I had just under 30mins of riding.  I was going to hit my goal dead on 5:15:00-5:25:00.  Now it was time to finish any nutrition that I think I will need going into the run.  I stayed patient and relaxed to allow my legs some quick downtime before the marathon.  I hit T2 at 5:21:00.  I knew I was in a good position. 

T2 my goal was to be efficient and get my mind ready to run.

As I headed out for the marathon again I knew quickly my legs were good.  I got into a groove looked down at my pace, and realized dude you need to relax.  You are not going to hold a 6:25pace for 26.2mi coming off the bike.  I also realized that it was way hot and humid and this was going to be a beast of a run.  1st mile split 7:15, and my heart rate was way low, which was a great sign.  My goal was sub 3:20:00 marathon.  I knew if I ran that marathon split I had a shot at qualifying.  I stayed to my nutrition plan.  We were cooking out there so every aid station it was a buffet of water, ice, sponges, and whatever else you could do to stay cool.  From the moment I stepped on to the marathon I was passing people at a fast clip.  I knew the first lap was the only lap that I would have any type of clue of who I was truly racing against because of the 3 loop run.  1st loop is done, and I was on pace to go 3:15:00.  I knew I had some breathing room, but I was feeling good.  My 14mo son was at his first Ironman race.  My wife and son were set up to where I could get a quick high five as I finished the first loop.  The look on his face and the continued support from my wife was enough to keep me moving for days!!  Loop 2 my goal was to stay to the plan and pass as many runners I could.  It was getting hotter, but my mind was set to stay to the plan.  At mile 15 I knew I would run out of the nutrition that I was carrying.  I grabbed two gels and put them in my pocket.  Lap 2 was done, and I was on pace to go 3:18:00.  Last lap!!  It is time to get this done.  I was running mile by mile knowing each step was one step closer to the finish line.  At mile 21 something wasn’t right!!  All the sudden I wasn’t feeling well.  Not only was I starting to feel real bad, but my mind started to tell me that you might not finish!  I could not figure out why my energy had just fallen off a cliff.  My pace went from 7:15-7:30 all day to 9min miles.  I began to mentally tell myself this was not going to happen!  I have worked too hard for too long to have this happen right now!  It was now time to go into another place mentally.  As I hit the next aid station I took in as much as my stomach could handle.  Mainly coke!!  I needed sugar and caffeine.  I was desperate.  I kept fighting, but nothing was changing.  Mile 23 was right around the corner.  I looked at my watch and knew I was in jeopardy of going over 3:20:00.  I had to get it together, but my legs were toast!!  I had no push.  I kept pounding the coke at each aid station.  Sooner or later it would kick in.  The last turnaround was at mile 24.  I took in my last glass of coke, and said here we go!!  I got into a rhythm, and noticed I am moving pretty good.  Sure enough I was running back at pace.  I couldn’t believe it!!  I had run by a couple of Team Imagine Sports athletes that were on lap 1 and 2.  There comments as I passed really helped!!  I just needed to hear another voice that said I could do this.  My mind was done!!  I hit mile 25 and I was still running strong.  I couldn’t run any harder, but I knew the finish line was right around the corner.  As you approach about .5mi from the finish line you begin to hear the roar of the crowd.  You begin to hear Mike Riley.  You suddenly begin to feel no pain!!  You are lifted.  The energy that overcomes you is priceless!  I made the final loop trying my best to find as many familiar faces as possible along with my family.  It is a great feeling to hear all the spectators congratulating you on your accomplishment!!  I made the last turn, and I have watched the Tour De France enough to know to zip up my jersey, show off the team colors, and look like you enjoyed the day!!  I have raced Ironman before, and even if you are happy inside, it doesn’t always show in a finish line picture.  You are a little tired at that point.  The race is done.  I have no clue where I finished.  I was met by the catchers and Dr. Maloy.  I must of looked pretty bad because the basically rushed me to the medical tent.  I do think it helped that Dr. Maloy shared with them that I have Crohn’s disease.  As I set in the med tent getting an I.V.  The doctor asked me how did you do?  I told her I have no clue.  She said all we have in here is Pro’s, top age group finishers, and DNF’s.  Did you finish?  I said yes ma’am.  Now she has my attention because now I want to know where I finished overall.  I got released from the med tent, and immediately found my family.  As I was hugging my wife trying to find out where I finished a friend comes running up to congratulate me on my finish.  He looks at me and says you son of a b**** you are going to KONA!!  I looked at him stunned.  Where did you read that??  He grabbed his wife’s Iphone, and there it was 6th in my age group!!  11 slots for Kona!!  I am in!!!  It was surreal!!  I have been working for this for 3 years and it happened.  Unbelievable!!

All and all I am obviously happy about my race because now I have the opportunity to race in Hawaii!!  The best part about triathlon is you will always have another chance to make a change.  You can look at your day to see what worked and what can be tweaked.  Ironman lets you go to a place mentally and physically that you didn’t think was possible.  It lets you challenge yourself on a level that most people can’t even imagine.  You have to embrace the challenge!!  “Motivate your mind to achieve your goals.”