April 2006 - My Wife & My Qualifying Certificate

This was my first full IM. I did 4 x 1/2 IM last year (my 1st yr of tris), then got a coach, set a goal - complete an IM - and signed up for IMAZ. In my previous races I had tremendous problems with keeping food down on the run, and finally figured it out after reading numerous slowtwitch posts on the problem. Saw my first Ironman in Kona in 2004 and that's when I "signed up" for this journey.

Pre-Race Meals - nothing but pasta for lunch and dinner for the week before. Lots of liquids when I arrived in Tempe in order to anticipate the heat.

Morning Meal - 2x powerbars, 1 gel, 24 oz accellerade, nervous energy.

Swim - I got beat up on the mass start. I placed myself poorly, got kicked in the face (with goggles stuck so I couldn't see - not that you could in the murky water anyways), zigged and zagged everywhere, kicked some more, finished in 1:07.

T1 - 4 min. Don at austintricyclist says this is "free time" so I tried to rush. Volunteers were on top of things. This is the first time in the race when I began to appreciate them. They placed everyone from Austin in the front bike racks. Great to be from a town that is ahead of Boulder.

Bike - 5:21. The third loop was painful in the groin worse than any previous long ride. Saw a few crashes, one real bad one leaving the race start on the 3rd loop. To avoid my GI problems (e.g. previously throwing up) I alternated between gatorade and nuun. I tried to keep track of calories and carbs and liquids and the heat and the other bikers. Someone on a Felt saved my butt from one crash by signaling quickly before we both plowed into a guy laying spreadeagle on the course. My neck had been killing me from previous rides and Cassidy at TPMassage worked wonders the day before with his "magic" balls.

T2 - 2 min. Free time. Volunteers in the tent were more excited than I was at this point. On to my first marathon. I didn't know if my body could do it.

Run - 3:34. I was cruising the first loop. Saw my coach, Jamie Cleveland (Pro, 9th place), and was pumped. Second loop went well. Here's where I truly appreciated the volunteers. By this time they were the real pros; passing out water, gadorade, coke right where it needed to be placed. I was popping thermolyte pills every other mile. Third loop, about mile 17, my pace dropped. I began drinking Coke at every station...what a miracle drug. On I ran without any cramps.

The End - 10:09. Cheering was awesome across the Mill Ave. bridge. Lots of Austinites to cheer everyone. It was good to have a jersey that said where you were from. Immediately saw my family who had to bear with my training. Qualified - I got a slot in my AG (35-39).