the*M*A*W*M*A*blog: IRONMAN DREAM BECOMES IRONMAN REALITY!!!!!

Moments before the gun went off to start the 2007 Ironman World Championships! Over 1800 athletes treading water in Kailua Bay. A sight you have to see to believe. The moments before the race are eerie. few words are spoken. It's hard to capture the feel of the pre race anxiety. The beginning of that swim was scary. I hung back to avoid the mele of 1800 athletes sloshing next to each other in such a confined space. It's really like a cross between swimming and wrestling. I thought the first frantic moments of the swim would be over after a few minutes, but it was crowded the entire way. Regardless, I had the best swim of my life. I reached the turnaround boat in 30 minutes, and I thought I was going to post a 1 hour swim split. Unfortunately the swim was even more crowded on the way back to the pier. I had my goggles ripped off and swam the last hundred meters with salt water in my eyes. Then someone elbowed me in the mouth, and I got a major cramp in my left calf. I had to stop and tread water while I massaged the cramp out. I finished the swim, but as I entered the transition area with a fat lip and a leg cramp, I wondered if my race was over.

I thought I'd just get on the bike and see how it went. The entire bike was total agony. The cramp wouldn't leave, and I tried to stretch it out while I rode. The winds on the island are something I've never experienced before. The lava fields were brutally hot, and we had a headwind the entire way out. When I made the turn at Hawi, I had a tailwind for about 10 miles, but then the crosswinds were so strong that I was almost blown off the bike several times. I made the turn back onto the "Queen K" highway about 20 miles from Hawi, and the headwinds started up again. They were my constant companion all the way back into Kona. It was brutally discouraging. When I finally made it back to T2, my leg was still cramping, so I had to visit the medical tent before heading out on the run. The amazing medical volunteers helped some, but my leg was still killing me. As I sat down to put on my running shoes. my leg cramped up everytime I bent over to lace up my shoes. I took it slow, and I was finally able to get my shoes on thanks to a very patient and concerned volunteer. I decided to start the marathon.

As you can see from these pictures, I walked the first 3 miles of the marathon. I thought my cramp was going to force me to walk the entire marathon. Amazing that a cramp from over 7 hours before was still preventing me from running. My family was waiting for me 3 miles into the marathon, and they walked with me until I felt like my leg could handle the stress of running a marathon. Thanks to the encouragement of my entire family, I began running and didn't look back the rest of the way. The sun was setting just as I entered the energy lab at mile 16. The energy lab is a 4 mile detour off the Queen K highway which is named due to the barren vast expanse of lava fields where the the state has installed huge solar panels to capture the sun's radiation. The energy lab has the reputation of sapping the energy of the strongest athletes, but it's where I gained strength that was not my own. With each mile, I felt stronger and stronger until I couldn't run fast enough. I ran strong the final 10 miles and posted a 4:40 marathon when it was over. I was hoping to beat my first Ironman time, but I was off by just 3 minutes. Total time: 12:40:01. Running down Alii drive was an amazing experience. Surprisingly, I wasn't emotional at the finish. I carried my nephew, Simon, down the final stretch into the finish line.