It's over!

I FINISHED!!!


What a horribly brutal day. IM is hard enough, but throw in 95 degree heat and 22mph winds and it just sucks.


I'll write up a detailed race report soon, but here's the trailer:

Swim - Roughest swim yet! Lots of hand-to-hand combat, all with guys. I hate swimming with guys. I like it when the gals are separated from the guys in swim waves. Got kicked in the stomach a few too many times.

Bike - First loop was good, as the heat wasn't bad yet. Headwind going up the beeline, tailwind coming back down to town (opposite direction from last year). 2nd loop the heat set in. People were passing out everywhere. I got real sleepy on the bike and had to concentrate to follow the yellow line. One aid station ran out of water (!) and I got a bit dehydrated because I lost a water bottle and was hoping I could pick up water with them. 3rd loop the wind slowed a bit, making the heat more intense. I made it through all of the cutoffs.

Run - People were getting medical attention everywhere. The wheels fell off the wagon on the first loop, in the heat. Puked at Mile 6 from the heat and was walking by then. That worried me because all of my water and nutrition were now feeding the plants and not me. Got a pep talk from the Tri Girls at the TriSports aid station and continued to walk. It was so hot out! Got to the second loop and puked again at Mile 10. Yes, I have officially puked at Ironman! But the second time was because I tried to take a salt tab. My first clue should have been when I gagged swallowing the pill. It came right back up, along with everything else. Made it to the next aid station and tried Coke. Coke seemed to stay down, so that's all I had for the rest of the run. Finished the second loop and realized I'd have to pick up the pace on the 3rd loop to make the midnight cutoff. I've just spent the last 4 months training my butt off, so there's now way I wasn't going to finish! I started running and made it between all of the aid stations by running. Got to the aids and took Coke and water to pour on my head. The sun was down, but PHX stays hot for awhile after sunset. Ran it in and finished somewhere around 16:31, with around a half hour to spare.

This morning I feel like I've been run over by a Mac truck. There's no way I'm signing up for IMAZ 2009. At the finish line I kept saying "Ironman sucks. I'm going back to Xterras."

Thanks for follwing along online! I'll write up my race report, and post the pics Zac took on race day.