As I passed by the first corner, I approached the bottle neck of the swim. I managed to conservatively claim my spot by allowing a few swimmers to overtake me. No worries, I caught and passed them as they fumbled all over each other in the bottleneck. The second corner appeared quickly, it is only about 3 minutes away, so this sequence of events happened all over again. Ha ha. At this point, I realized that I was at the head of the lead pack. As we lined up for the long stretch, I made the decision to hold my space and pace as long as possible. I completed the first lap in 32 minutes. Wow, that's a little fast, so I decided to back off a little in order to let my heart rate drop. The water was warm - 76 degrees - and I knew that burning too many carbs and possible dehydration could really kill the beginning of my bike ride.

I tried to focus on my own swim and drafted as much as possible while athletes in the second lap spaced out more and more. As I got to the end of the third long side, I decided it was time to hydrate with a 4oz shot of gel and water. I felt awesome after that kicked in, and managed to finish the swim right where I wanted: 1:09!

T1 - "I am a coach - go help someone else!! "
After the swim, I made my way over to the strippers - 50+ volunteers who are very excited to rip the wetsuit off your body. I found that some of my clients were volunteering as strippers, but before they could get the chance help me, another enthusiastic volunteer jumped in and ripped my wetsuit off. Oh well! I grabbed my stuff and ran up the circular parking ramp called the Helix. It wasn't so bad, but my HR was through the roof at this point. I grabbed my bike bag and headed to the men's changing room to get set for the long bike ahead. I was greeted by a man that laid all of my stuff out for me and helped me out until I was almost ready. I wanted to tell him go help someone else! It felt so odd, but he just stayed by my side laying out my gear to help speed up my process. Much thanks to him and all the other volunteers that day. They all went out of their way to help us!

Bike - 112 miles
My best sport! I had a plan and knew what it was going to be like coming out of the 2.4 mile swim. My HR was already elevated, so I fueled up as much as possible. It took a good 15 miles to get the HR down to where it actually matched my effort. The hot and fast swim had burned a lot of carbs, and I was surely dehydrated, so getting my HR under control took a little time. It took a lot of discipline to control my pace as so many other athletes passed me during this time. No matter - I knew I would get them in the end. I felt great through mile 56 and decided to stop at the special needs station. I was looking forward to using the bathroom and having a quick visit with spectators. One of my clients was kind enough to

wait on me like a waitress! It rocked having someone to talk to and receive such great care. As I set up for the next 56 miles, I grabbed some fuel from my special needs bag and a Red Bull. It tasted so great and really woke me up. Between 56-90 miles I was passing people like crazy. My HR remained in my mid Z1 to low Z2, and I felt like I was flying. As I worked through the course, I saw so many clients and friends. Wow, this got me so pumped, and I kept looking forward to the sights of them. Thanks!! As I got through mile 90, some cramps and a stomach ache began knocking on my door. So, I decided to visit the bathroom near mile 95, and slowed my pace a bit. Despite the set back, my easy pace was still faster than I guessed. Amazing. I checked my computer and with two stops I averaged 18.5mph. This made me very happy considering that my best 40 mile ride on this loop was 18.4mph. I credit the combination of a new helmet, new wheels and tapering my workouts. I got to the transition area and we got to ride up the Helix again. Not so bad. I had legs so I was happy to know the run would be ok.

T2 - Energy, energy...
At the top of the Helix, my bike was grabbed by the volunteers. I so wanted to get the extra electrolytes I asked Michelle to hold for me, just in case. I was crampy and knew a long run was ahead of me. I grabbed 6 e-caps right away and took 10 more with me for the rest of the run. I changed clothes, lubed up, and ran away.

Run - 26.2 miles
I felt tired leaving the transition, but I was able to run just fine. As I worked through the first half marathon, I was a bit crampy and my stomach was irritated. However, I managed to keep everything in check, for the most part. I passed a ton of people on the run and really didn’t have anyone passing me. However, I did have to hit the bathroom twice and kept experiencing stomach upset. So, I decided to grab some cola. It tasted great, but then I drank too much of it and continued to experience some GI issues. No matter - I reached the turnaround at 2:03. I was very happy with that, given my stomach pains and the number of stops I had to make.

The second lap started out well, given that I was so pumped to see so many clients, friends, and family throughout the first lap. I looked forward to seeing them again as I cruised through the run. Well, unfortunately, it didn't quite happen that way. For the next 4 miles or so, I started to slow down and even walked a little bit. Then, for about 2-3 more miles, I could only walk and not very fast at that! My stomach had developed into a full-blown ISSUE and I was concerned that it might even cost me a DNF (I was trying to keep its contents from coming out the wrong end!). Walking, even if it would be for 8 more miles, was really the only safe way to finish. I could suck up the feeling of being passed by all of my clients. This is Ironman! Just finishing is amazing in itself.

After another mile of walking, one of my college race buddies ran by and asked if I needed some oxygen. I jokingly called out that my stomach was blowing up. He, not so jokingly, said, "Fix it." I wanted to punch him! Click to continue to Page 3