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Knuckey and I awoke at 4am.  Played Ozzie ‘I am Ironman’ on the laptop, ate oatmeal, and drove to the venue.  Dropped off the last of our 4 gear bags.  Put water bottles on our bikes, used the WC for the 6th and 4th times respectively.  Trudged down to the water to start putting on our wetsuits.  There are people everywhere, but I don’t really see them, or talk to them.  I’m on my schedule, and focused.  In the water warming up.  Away from everyone else so I don’t bang heads.  pros start, 10 minutes for me, I go to the start line, get to the front, where the line is shortest.  The people on one side keep pushing forward…

Swim

Boom, cannon, gun off.  I am riding the wake of the guy beside me, and we’re taking off.  100m in I’m in 3rd spot.  (thanks again to my magic V:1 wetsuit.)  But I am going hard.  At the left buoy 700m in, I drop back and get into a pack… so much easier with 12 people in front instead of 2.  A lap later (thinking bike tactics) I move up a few positions (seconds later the guys behind are dropped), then we catch some slow pros, and I accidentally draft the wrong feet for a few seconds, and loose my pack, and 18seconds.  I’m in 18th place overall, from over 2200 people!

T1

The transition bag room is 2200 + bags on the floor, I grab mine, and vault row after row to the change tent (some guys is naked).  Helmet on, glasses on, food and salt in the pocket, I sewed on my compression top last night, and I’m off to the bike (it’s a 600m run).  Pocket too wide & loose (oops) food and salt down, go back.  Get the bike, shoes on.  food and salt down.. again.   I keep running.  Some volunteer chases me down with the food and one salt container (dude you rock).  Down the ramp 5 seconds behind some guy, and on to the bike.

Bike how I love my Specialized Transition

Coach Barrie tells me that I am 3rd amateur (wow).  By mile .75, I’m second, mile 8 I’ve passed most of the women and who ever had the 4 minute lea

d out of the swim.  Mile 40 (I’m steaming along) and I’m 9:45 behind the leader.  Wait that’s 15s up, wa-hooo.
Stay calm there buddy.

Cadence high, wattage in line.  By half way I am over 40 km/h (2h14:15), but have made a small mistake.  I haven’t slowed down enough to pick up any food.  KM 120 still smoking along, get a split that I am 2 minutes up on the top pro, but I’m out of food.  Systems stalling.  My wattage drops 20%.  Cadence drops 20%.  Danger Danger.  Lights.  Sirens.  Dude keep going.  That stretch to the feed zone is long.  I get there, stuff an entire bar in my mouth, suck water, stuff gels in.  Breathing is up.  I have a headache.  Climbing my legs feel like jello.  Maybe peeing will help.  I coast down a hill and pee (no I didn’t pee on anyone).  Slowly the legs are coming back.  KM 140 I’m tied for the lead, cadence is half way back, and so is the power.  Km 160 tied for the lead.  There is a technical ‘go slow’ section.  I rail it on my Hed C2’s.  Go to the finish.

It was really really fun passing all, but 2, of the pro men including past champions on the bike.  One guy raced me up a hill.  Dude, you may have beat me to the top of the hill, but really I’m 10 minutes in front.

T2

Sneakers, Hat, more food, more salt (stick it in my short leg not the ‘pocket’), go.  I’m 15 seconds in first.

Run

I have a TV camera, and a lead bicycle (hey I like this).  However I realize that I need 5min at least to pull this race off.   As we planned, if I’m not winning I’m only doing the 1/2 marathon.  3km in a guy tells me that I am 2 minutes down.  Though I doubt that I have lost that much time already, I am out of ‘drive it like you stole it’ mode.  The run is the only leg of the race that I haven’t pre-viewed.  We had no free time any of the last 5 days, it’s been going going going.  Near the end of the loop I am directed off course (or rather they try sending

me where I have already gone once, thinking that I am not this far in front).  It’s funny that I don’t care.  No, no, it’s OK man, don’t’ worry.  I run through the 1/2 marathon.  Pick up my feed bag, and walk off the course.

Post Race

My clothing won’t be available for another 4h.  The food tent won’t be set up for another hour.  I eat in the volunteer tent, wrap up in tinfoil, and decide to go and walk around the course.  Eventually I get my clothing, and start seeing the joy on the faces of my friends as they make it to the finish.  Terry and Bob are the best.  Bob, is a great guy, and was under the knife for surgary a few months ago.  He’s hardly run, and has only 3 long rides under his belt since then.  Yesterday we raised his handlebars so that he can stay in them more comfortably.  Today he is giddy like a kid when he crosses the line.  He also ran a negative split in his marathon because he just wanted to be done.

Congrats for all the rest of the Personal Best posy - Trent, Caron, Sarah, Anne, Carrie, Miguel, especially Mike (dislocated arm held on with a bike tube), Bob (decided to do the full think the night before) and Sheila.  Not to mention Coach Barrie Shepley for pulling the whole thing off.