I have been reading this forum (I guess you would call it lurking) for a while and have never posted. Tonight I thought I would make my first post and give my race report for IMF. I have been doing triathlons for about 2 ½ years now I am in my late 30’s and I do not have any natural talents in any of the three disciplines so I have to work at all three.
I will skip talking about the cold and wind since that has been discussed in other posts and will get to my race.
This was my first IM and the swim is what I was the most nervous about. I noticed most of the people lined up either at the far left, close to the markers, or far right close to the outside so I got right in the middle and that worked for me in the first loop. Rounding the orange markers was a little tough in the crowd but the swim went well (I think my split was 31 minutes). Well I should have done the same thing the second loop but after a rough start swimming into the current to get around the Ford Buoy I decided to stay to the outside and avoid the pounding. Around the orange markers and I was getting slapped around by the chop and drifting to the right in the current. My wetsuit started digging into my neck and rubbing the skin raw and I ended up swimming back into the group. There was more contact but the drafting really helped. My total swim was 1:11, still a great time for me.
T1 was interesting in the change tent. I never saw so many people in one small area trying to change their clothes. I did the best I could and got out as soon as I was dressed.
I felt good on the bike. I was for-warned not to hammer the bike too early but to watch my heart rate and save some energy for the run. I kept my heart rate in the mid 130’s for the entire bike which meant slower into the wind but made up some time with the wind to my back. Made a few pee breaks. Wanted to try to pee on the bike but decided not to because of the temp and thought I would be more comfortable staying dry. Saw lots of flat tires and bike problems (thank God I was not one of them). I saw one guy riding with one leg and another looked like he had messed his pants which were completely covered on his back side. A guy crashed pretty hard in front of me and I had to slam on my breaks to keep from running his water bottle over, just missed it. I stopped to make sure he was all right and stayed with him for a short while before heading back out to finish the ride. One thing I noticed was the spectators and volunteers on the bike course gave me a huge lift and I appreciated every one of them. Thanks if any of you read this. I came in at 6:16.
T2 was much better than T1. Not the crowd in the tent and the volunteers were great helping me get my stuff together and get a dry shirt on.
Off for the run. I am not a fast runner and the first loop at 10 minute miles was enough to get me through the first loop in daylight. I enjoyed watching the pros out on the course, a first for me. Bella passed me on her second loop and that was cool. I was really getting chilled at the end of the first loop as the sun was going down and was glad I packed another shirt in my special needs bag. I was able to give my wife a hug as I came in to the turn around, put a dry shirt on and head out for my last lap. The second loop was getting tough. The turn around in St. Andrews seemed to never come. I made it to mile 22 before I hit the wall. Miles 22-25 became a walk run effort and at 25 I decided as I almost fell over in a port-a-john that I needed to keep running or I wouldn’t be able to much longer so I ran to the finish line for a sub five hour marathon. The last little bit of the run in the chute was amazing and made all of the pain I went through through-out the day worth it.
I finished my first Ironman in 12:36. I gave myself 13:00 to finish and I beat it by over 20 minutes. I know that time is not very impressive for most of the people on this forum but I am very happy with it and now I have a time to try to beat for my next one. The volunteers and spectators were awesome and I truly appreciated every one of them. I will not be racing next year but will be up there cheering for a couple of friends who cheered me on this year and I cannot wait.
Enjoy some time off though and thanks for sharing. I love reading RRs.