Race Day

Race day morning, up at 3:30 am. Bagel, oatmeal, coffee...nerves. The same as always. Nerves mean bathroom. A lot. I felt like we were leaving late, worried we wouldn't be there on time...but when we arrived everything that we normally do in smaller races was done...transition bags - check. Bike - check. We dropped off our special needs bags for the day, got numbered, got sun-screened. Everyone was meeting at the "silver" trailer near Gatorade Bottle Hill...but I had one more thing to do.

For those of you that don't know...Josey, one of our two rotties was supposed to be in CDA with us, and even though osteosarcoma took her almost six month earlier ...she was there. Her and I had a quiet moment before I got the wetsuit on for the swim. I knew her strength would give me strength when I needed it.

The last to head down to the water, I didn't get a chance to warm up other than a quick dip n' pee in my wetsuit to get things going. The Star Spangled Banner...chills and a small cry in my goggles. The canon fires. Its on! The swim start is described best as being "trapped in a washing machine", which is for the most part an accurate assessment. For the first length of the two-loop course I was jammed in with the masses. The first turn was like a 50 lane highway merging into one lane, FAST...Relax. Breathe. As soon as I rounded the corner, I got hit in the chin with an elbow...wake up time....game plan changed. Instead of being defensive, I swam more offensively and moved to the inside of the buoys where there was less congestion. I had even splits on the swim and headed into T1 at 1:22.

Coming out of T1, I saw our CDA cheerleaders in force, pom-poms and all...and probably every other inhabitant from within a twenty mile radius of CDA cheering us all on. I haven't said it yet, but the support at this race is incredible...CDA loves its Ironman!!!

The 112 mile ride consisted of two loops, most all of which were breathtaking. Rolling hills, climbs, fast windy descents. I saw Craig, Brian and Jess on the ride, which is always nice....knowing that your pals are not too far out of reach...there is some sort of comfort in that.

Back thru town, on to the second loop. Shortly after the half way point of the ride we grabbed our special needs...A welcome treat of ginger snaps and gummy bears...and a handful of chamois creme to shove down my shorts. Lovely!

The energy coming thru the crowded streets of downtown CDA was indescribable as I headed out for the second loop. Second loop definitely tougher that the first, those pretty rollers seemed steeper and a little more aggravating as the day rolled on. The last turn into town, a steady descent, was met with a headwind each time, for which I am pretty confident in saying, we were all well prepared. Overall, the I felt good on the ride, never getting out of z3, trying to keep something in the tank for the run. 6:43 ride time.

Chairs in transition....how cool is that? I had a seat, a snack and a cold towel for my neck. Collected my thoughts, changed my clothes and headed out of T2, was rubbed down from head to sock with sunscreen by some "tender" volunteers. Only 26.2 more miles of this 140.6 mile day.

The run for me was two halves....the good half (about 2:15 for 13.1, if my crap math was anything close to accurate) and the not-so-good half...which consisted of a visit to most of the porta-potties...pleasantly called "Honey Pots" in Idaho and lots of walking. At mile 15-ish, I saw Craig Wilson...he said one thing..."keep your head in the game". As I headed out of town, Kristina, Luna, my mom & dad, and the rest of the entourage cheered me on and gave me the focus that I needed to HTFU.

Shortly after leaving town, the wheels came of the wagon a bit and things slowed down a lot. Run turned to walk-run to just plain old walk...The turn-around hill - take 2 was a beeatch! At mile 18, I did some more race course math...only 6 more miles...you're there dude...50 minutes on a normal day. Mile 19. Mile 20...6 more miles again. Shit I thought I had 6 miles to go 2 miles ago. Lesson - race day math is seldom right.

From here on out, no more math...and lots of broth, pretzels and coke...an unbeatable combo...now I too, am a believer. The dynamics of the race is always changing at this point...you pass the guy whose sitting on the curb, 30 minutes without a coherent thought passes, you look up and he's in front of you...how the hell does that happen? Some people you see for a second and then never again. The group on the run is different than the group on the bike...how's their race going?

With about 2 miles left to go, the coke must be doing its thing...I felt like running again and did...In the distance, as we wound thru the neighborhood streets of CDA to see some people for the fourth time, ...you began to hear the roar...Mike Riley's voice...One more hill and a split in the road...to the right the arrow says "2nd loop", to the left "to Finish". There were still athletes on their lonely way out to the 2nd turnaround... eeks!

A right and a quick left onto Sherman Avenue...and there it was...the Ironman Arch...I was so fixated on it I ran right past Kristina, Luna and Craig, who were screaming at me in the street! I felt so strong....I kicked it...my eyes welled up...people lined the street cheering...under the arch onto the carpet...bleachers full of spectators and Mike Riley letting me know that my day was done...I am an Ironman!