In the weeks leading up to the big day we also ran the Hawaii 70.3 Ironman.  I finished with a personal record there of 5:10, the run was brutal there.  I used that as a prep race to test nutrition.  I also made some effort to gain weight leading up to the race.  I went from 148 to 153.  In my past races I lost too much weight during the races.

We drove our RV to the Northern Idaho with my mom and Earl.  My Aunt and uncle met us there later in the week.  Elliott and his family arrived on Thursday.  Amy arrived on Wed.

When we arrived in Coeur D Alene, the first thing I wanted to see was the swim.  It was windy all week in the mornings.  It looked scary to say the least.  The pictures do not do the swim justice, look at the flags.  I also rode the bike course on Sunday.

During the week I did some light runs, swims, and bike rides.

Friday-Trinity did a kids run and ran a 7:45 mile.  Great job little girl.

Saturday- turned in my bike and transition bags.  Just tried to relax and eat.

Sunday (race day)- up at 4:30.  Ate a medium breakfast, eggs, wheat muffin with almond butter/honey, and an Ensure.  Went down and turned in my special needs bags (never used).  After watching the pros start I put on my wetsuit and went to the beach.  I was surprisingly calm considering there were 2200 athletes around me.  But hey not like you can change anything now! 

Swim- It was rough.  Not only the water with the waves, wind, chop, and helicopter splatter, but there was contact the ENTIRE swim.  Second lap the water was even rougher.  1:21 on the swim and I’m happy with it.  My secret goal was 1:15, but heck with the conditions…

Transition 1- 6:28.  Ok I was slow here.  I did not know that there were people to help you put on the cold weather cloths required for today’s freezing ass weather.  So I sat down and calmly got dressed.  Arm warmers, vest, socks, etc..

Bike- 112 miles.  It actually went pretty easy considering there is 6000 ft of ascent.  I had to take 2 stops to use the port o potty.  I left my vest in one rather than getting a littering flag.  I was warmer now because of the hills.  Head wind back to town.  I liked blasting through town.  The support was great.  Second loop was uneventful.  Just put my head down and stayed steady.  I must admit I was a little disappointed with 5:26 on the bike.  I thought I had a 5:15 in me, but I tried not to push when my stomach acted up.  But I did move from 1100 out of the water to 300, passed 800 people on the bike.

T2- 3:54 much better, I had help getting ready and stopped to use the toilet again.

Run- The first 2 miles I was moving at about 7:45 clip.  But that did not last long, there is a steady hill out of town.  My goal here was under 4 hours.  But I soon realized I wanted to be comfortable running so I stopped 5 more times to use the toilet, a few times waiting for up to 2 minutes.  But the important thing was I was comfortable.  My magic elixir for fuel at each aid station: cookie washed down with coke.  I had a few bananas as well.  It was cold, cold.  I felt bad for people walking it was so cold and rainy.  Anyway I finished the marathon in 4:11.

It felt good to cross the finish line.  When I saw my family and Elliott at the finish line, I almost got emotional.  People were high fiving down the stretch.  It was very cool.  It was very cool to have the whole thing live on the internet and on the jumbo-tron as well.  Makes you feel like a star.

Finish time was 11:10.  Good for 78 out of 362 in my class and 382 out of 2300 overall.  No I did not qualify for Kona, but I still have the 70.3 Worlds later this year.

I could not have done this without the help and support from my wife, Debbie. The support of my family and work were very important as well.  Elliott and Paul Thompson are also responsible for pushing and training me.  Thanks everyone