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I was surprising calm the morning of the race.  Probably due to the fact I knew that I already had my trip to Kona secured and partly that I've learned that nervous energy is wasted energy.  

Race moring was clear and quiet and 56 degrees just perfect conditions or so it seemed.  I was up at 4am and went our for my customary 10 minute jog to awaken the body.  Then I forced down some breakfast it was the last solids I'd have for 12-13 hours, but this is always tough for me.  I went through my race morning ritual and then was off to make the 10 block walk from my rental house down to the race start.

I arrived at the race start and went through my normal routine of getting body marked, dropping special needs bags and getting my tires pumped and my nutrition loaded on my bike.  Being that I was #81 my bike was on the second rack so it would be easy to find. After all that was done I headed to get into my wetsuit and begin a little dry land warmup, by now the wind had come up and was blowing directly onshore as well there was about 200 boats milling around either as race support or out to watch the race which were also creating some chop it was going to be an interesting swim.

I was positioned off to the far right of the beach in hopes of staying out the major melee that happens right up the buoy line.  Finally the cannon sounded and we were off.  I immediately found some nice clean water and was swimming pretty well considering the swells and confused chop we were swimming directly into.  About half way to the first turn buoy I started to mix in with lots of other swimmers and things were physical. Despite being a lake there is some current  As we approached the first turn buoy I took an elbow right to my goggle which slammed my google into my eye socket and the then my goggles were ripped off my head.  I waved my hand blindly through the water and by luck or chance the goggles were in my hand.  I paused and managed to get them back on but the pressure from my goggle really hurt the eye socket that got hit.  The rest of the swim was tough, it was physical the entire way and never really spread out it was made worse in the rough water as people are being jostled into one another and with all the boats there was a constant smell of diesel.  I exited the water in 1:05 a bit slower than I had hoped to but I was very happy to be out of the water.  

My first transition was uneventful.  I've found that you just go about your business with steady intent and don't forget anything and it will be a fast transtion.  I made the long run from the change tent to my bike and heard a few shoutouts from friends who were out to watch the race which is always awesome to hear.  

Out on the bike my plan was build as the bike goes,  this is really tough to do as you get caught up in the frenzy of racing.  I was quickly passing people and I was really moving despite trying to keep my effort under control,  this race is 112 miles I kept telling myself.  In my head I had a bike split of 5:00, but this course is a beast and if history was any indicator this would be one of the fastest times of the day overall if I could manage to ride that time.  I was riding well and feeling good but the wind was blowing and and it didn't seem to matter where you were on the course it felt like you were riding into a headwind.  I managed to survive the hills on the first lap out by Hayden Lake and as I came into town and hit the halfway mark I noted my time of 2:31, just off the 5 hr goal pace, things were going well.  I continued to push on the second lap but the winds had acutally gotten stronger and I finally dark point where my energy and power seemed to dip a bit and I had some cramping in my quadricep,  this is pretty typical but this lasted longer than it normally does.  I was really glad to be off the hills again and pushing into the headwind on the flats and I headed for T2.  I hit T2 in 5:13 with a 21.43 average speed

I hit T2 and managed a nice rolling dismount and immediately had to visit the porta potty to pee.  I just can't seem to pee while riding so I always have to make a stop before exiting T2.  I headed over and grabbed my bag and headed to the tent.  Again I was relaxed and steady making sure I had everything then I was on my way.  

My legs felt a little heavy as I headed out and I was worried that I had shot myself with that hard ride in the wind.  I hit the first mile marker and my split was 7:51 and I thought there is no way I'm running this slow, At mile 2 my split was 5:35, ok the mile marker was off I was running 6:42 mile pace, whoa too fast.  Again I had a number in my head 3:10.  I was currently running at 2:54 pace, I wasn't going to hold that so I eased up the pace.  The next 11 miles went by in between 7:00 and 7:10 per mile and I was feeling as good as one could expect given hard swim, hard ride and heat. I had a number of people say I was one of the strongest looking runners all day and I was catching many of the competitors who were ahead of me.   I hit the half marathon in 1:34, I was holding a 3:08 marathon pace, which in my heart and mind I felt I could hold.  

At mile 15 I started to fall of the pace just a bit with a 7:20 and my legs were starting to feel the efforts of the day.  At each aid station it was always the same routine, cola as much as I could down, ice and water, drink some water and then dump the ice into my jersey to try and keep my core temp down.  You're body only sore so much energy and once you deplete those stores it's tough to replace what you've lost so it becomes a battle to sustain energy.

At mile 19 things began to look and feel a little bleak.  My hamstrings were tight and a little crampy which begins to have a serious effect on you're ability to extend and push off and this killing my speed.  I was still moving but I was slowing pretty badly I had also started walking the aid stations.  My goal is always to walk as little as possilbe in the aid stations, I've learned over a few of these races that walking is a time killer.  So I was religious about walking while I was drinking and icing then immediately start running again.  I limited my walking to about 20-25 seconds per aid station.  In my first Ironman was was walking 2 minutes per aid station starting at mile 15 for example and this will kill you're time.  

Once I got to mile 24 I knew I was home I had to just keep trying to go as fast as my legs would allow.  It was really hard to tell who you are racing on lap 2 of the run as all the lap 1 and lap 2 runners begin to mix together.  I felt like I was well up in the overall standings and in my AG but really had no idea.  As you come to the top of Sherman Ave. you have a 500 meter straight away to the finish with both sides of the street packed with spectators.  At this point my hamstrings were barely functioning and and the tops of my calves were starting to cramp as well.  I wanted to push and finish with a sprint but it wasn't happening, at this point I just kept telling myself don't cramp and fall on your face.  I ran down the finish chute and saw 9:50 on the clock.  I hit the line in 9:50:39 in 45th place overall and 4th in my age group.  A 16 minute PR on what I can only describe as a tough day. 

Now for a little recovery time and then we'll start the build for Kona.