I know some of you think I am crazy for doing an Ironman, but check out what these people are doing or have done…

Run across America

Astrid Benöhr (she has a great idea on how to make sure you get a good night sleep the day before the race)

This past weekend we headed to Besancon, France to watch the 19th Stage of the Tour de France. This was the 2nd to last stage of the race, and was basically the final hoorah for those trying to catch the infamous Lance since it was a Time Trial (ie. you ride by yourself with no drafting), and also because the final stage is normally just a victory ride for whoever is in first.
I had originally planned to go see the Tour de France last year, but with the Ironman race, I had basically put off anything that was after it until after the race. Hence, by the time I got around to trying to schedule a hotel for the Tour, they were all booked. Luckily I am married to Barbie, and she was able to find us a hotel within about 10 minutes of starting her search. Originally it was just going to be Barbie, myself, and Steffen from work, but on Friday afternoon, another colleague decided to join, and he brought his friend, so we now had a crew of five. Unfortunately they weren’t all Lance fans, but instead were pulling for the Germans Jan Ullrich and AndrĂ©as KLĂ–DEN…who were in 3rd and 4th place.
We arrived Friday night around 1am after a miserable, traffic filled, 6.5 hours worth of driving…should of been about 5 hours. Well, the hotel was basically a hostel, and left much to be desired. At first I thought Barbie was going to go sleep in the car, but she was a trooper and didn’t complain…although she did keep saying “If I have nothing nice to say, then I shouldn’t say anything at all.”
Saturday morning we all got up and headed down to the city of Besancon (about a 15 minute walk), and began searching for a place for breakfast. The first rider was scheduled to start around 11am, then every two minutes, another rider would start. Basically, there would riders departing every 2 minutes for about 5 hours straight…Lance being the last since he was currently in first. Anyways, we ended up finding a nice little outdoor pastery shop and had some excellent Croissants (actually 2 for me), then headed back to the starting line to watch the first rider.
While we were waiting for the first rider to depart, mother nature decided to step in, and the rain started coming down in droves! It was literally pouring! Luckily we had our ponchos, and some of us bought some umbrellas, so we didn’t get soaked, but we sure weren’t dry either. The first rider finally took off around 11:25am. We stayed watching the first 10 or riders depart from the raised platform, then headed down the street by about a mile so we could watch them climb a hill…which is really good since they are going a little slower and you can get some better photos. We basically hung out there for another 30 or 40 minutes watching the riders go by and taking a ton of pictures, and basically just enjoying the day…especially since it had stopped raining.
After this we headed back into the heart of the city for some lunch, and then back out to the race course to hang out and wait for Lance. We probably finished with lunch and back out to the hill by around 2ish, so we still had a good two and a half hours before Lance would come by. After a while, the other guys decided they were going to head down to the finish area…which is basically very uncharacteristic of the Tour de France to be able to go from the start to the finish line just by walking. This is what made this stage of the tour very appealing because it was a time trial, so riders were constantly going by every couple of minutes, and you could also see your favorite riders start the race, then walk about 30 minutes down the road and see them also finish!
Anyways, Barbie and I decided to stay near the starting line and wait for Lance on the hill. Luckily we found a lady who had all the starting times for the riders, so we were able to plan out our photos to try and get the main guys, as well as the US Postal team riders. After a couple of hours the main riders started coming by…the polka dot jersey rider (which is the guy who is the best on the hills), some US Postal guys, then the top 5…Jose Acevedo, Jan Ullrich, Klöden, Ivan Basso…and finally Lance Armstrong!! Since Barbie was taken the pictures, we got an excellent shot of Lance…of course she had tons of riders to practice on, but still…it was a split second that she had, and she nailed it. It was great being able to wave our American Flags and go nuts when he came by…just an awesome experience.
After Lance went by we headed down to the finish line to try and watch the riders come in, but the place was absolutely packed, so there wasn’t much chance of actually seeing the riders. Luckily they had a big TV projection screen so we could see how everyone was doing. About 20-30 minutes after we arrived the top guys were flying through the finish line…and sure enough Lance had beaten everyone…besting the runner-up (Jan Ullrich) by 1:01. We then got to watch the traditional awards ceremony where they honor the winner of the stage…then hand out the different color jerseys (yellow for the leader, green for the best sprinter, polka dot for the best climber, and white for the best young rider). This was just cool to see, although we were packed in like sardines and having to balance ourselves on a hill.
After all the fun and festivities we headed back to the hotel, showered and went out to dinner. Volkmar and Olivie headed back to Munich that night, but Barbie, myself and Steffen decided to wait til the morning because we were all pretty tired and didn’t feel like making the drive. All in all it was a great weekend, and definitely have a look at our Tour de Frande photos…thanks to Barbie of course!

The day finally arrived…D-Day…or should I say Iron-Day. It had been over a year since I first decided that I wanted to do Ironman Germany, and over 3 years since I first started doing triathlons. My first triathlon was way back in August 2000, and it consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run…and now I was about to do a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.1 mile run…amazing how things change. So…on to the Race details…everything from Thursday through the finish line. I hope you have set a little extra time aside for this, and hopefully it is worth it.

Thursday
Thursday is what I consider the start of my Ironman weekend since this is the day that I have to get all my triathlon gear packed and then head to Frankfurt. Of course, nothing goes as planned when trying to pack, and you feel like a scattered brain trying to remember everything you need. However, contrary to my normal procrastinating, non-planning self, I decided to print out a “Race Checklist” a few days earlier so that I wouldn’t forget anything. As I went through and slowly checked off the list the nerves of course began to build up as I was thinking how close the Sunday 7am start actually was. The only real struggle with packing came with trying to get my bike inside the trunk of the car, which is not normally a problem, but I was taking Kymba, which meant I couldn’t put both back seats down. After managing what seemed like a hundred or so different positions, I finally got the bike frame in the car, and the rest of my gear packed. Kymba was of course anxious to go (as she always is), and I was too since I hadn’t seen Barbie for a few days. Well, as the old saying goes…”Haste leads to waste”. After finally leaving and getting about 2 hours outside of Munich, I realized I had not gone through my race checklist one last time…hence I had forgotten my Bike Helmut. I wasn’t about to turn around to go back and get it, and I had been thinking about getting a new helmut anyways, so I figured this was the sign. After an unenventful ride up, Kymba and I arrived at the hotel. Barbie was there to welcome us with open arms, and it was quite a thrill to see all the other athletes checking in also. Race weekend was starting!

Friday
Friday morning Barbie had scheduled for a massage for me in order to get the muscles loosened, and probably to also relieve some any stress. My parents were arriving from the States, so Barbie went and picked them up while I got one of the best massages ever. The lady knew all sorts of styles, and knew not to kill for the race. Apparantely she had done a professional triathlete in the past, so I felt fairly comfortable and could just relax and enjoy.

Friday afternoon Barbie and I went down to the sports expo to try and find me a bike helmut. Barbie had wanted me to get a red, white and blue helmut, but none were to be found. I ended up with what I consider a fairly nice helmut for a good price, and as my friend back in Munich would later tell me…”It’s about time you got a proper road bike helmut.”

Anyways, after the helmut search we went and got my Race Packet, which included all my stuff required for the race (race number, stickers for the bike, race chip, etc.), but it also included a very nice Ironman workout bag with the Ironman logo on the side! Afterwards we were needed to go to the pre-race briefing, and luckily I asked one of the helpers where it was, because they had actually moved the location from what the brochure had said. Anyways, the briefing was pretty uneventful, other than being able to laugh at some of the stupid questions that people would ask. You would think that for some, this was their first triathlon ever. I mean some guy actually asked if the drink bottles for the bike would be glass instead of plastic!

Prior to dinner, I got a big surprise as Barbie was checking her email in her room. Apparantely my mom had gone through the great effort of creating Team Graver shirts, and had sent them to everyone in the families (Barbie’s and mine), and had them take pictures of themselves wearing the shirts so that they could email them to Barbie so she could create a big collage. I wasn’t supposed to see them til race day, but it didn’t matter, I was thrilled. The shirts had the words “Team Graver” on the front, along with the USA flag, and “Miami, FL” under the flag. On the back was “Ironman”, “July 11, 2004…Frankfurt, Germany”, along with the olympic logos for swim, bike and run. The shirts were just awesome! Check out the pictures to see them. That evening my parents, Barbie, and myself went to a nice little Italian restaurant that the hotel recommended. Unfortunately I think I got the worst plate…some sort of Tagliatella. In case you didn’t know, I had to “Carb-Load” for the 3 days prior to the race to make sure my glycogen levels would be full for the race. If your glycogen levels get depleted, then you “Bonk”…which basically means you are completely exhausted, and walking is even a chore. This is what happened to me in my first marathon. After dinner, it was bed time.

Saturday
The only thing on the schedule for Saturday was to buy a spare tube for the bike, and also to check in my bike at the race start. So, after breakfast Barbie and I proceeded to go through the race checklist once again and make sure all my necessities were put in the right bags. For the race, you had three different bags. One for Transition 1 (swim to bike), one for Transition 2 (bike to run), and finally one for after the race…basically warm clothes and such. I had to check in both transition bags as well as the bike, so everything needed to be in order. After going through the checklist, I realized I had also left my race belt (which holds your race number on your waist) back in Munich. Luckily I just happened to have a spare, although it was blue, and not nearly as nice. Once again…”Haste leads to waste.”

Eventually we were done and headed down to the Race start with my parents. My dad and I were dropped off, while Barbie and my mom went to pick up Betty and Rick (aunt and uncle) from the airport. Surprisingly enough, they had bought their plane tickets only 2 days before, and were heading to see the race as well as part of europe. It’s great to have a supportive family! The bike and bag check in was pretty much uneventful…check in the bike, put your bags in the right spot, then pray you didn’t forget anything. I did get to see Tim Deboom (2-time Hawaii Ironman Champion) check in his bike and bags, so that was kinda cool, especially since he was the only professional American in the race.

Afterwards my dad and I headed back to the hotel to meet up with everyone, and to have an early dinner. Unfortunately I didn’t take Barbie’s advice to get reservations, so the italian restaurant at the hotel was completely booked, so we had to eat in the lounge and didn’t get finished until around 8 or 9pm. Of course, since I had to get up at around 3:30am the next morning, I went to bed, and prayed that I would be able to get to sleep and wouldn’t be like a kid the day before Christmas. Luckily it only took me about an hour and half to fall asleep, so I still got about 5 hours of sleep.

Sunday (RACE DAY)
Pre-Race
Race day began around 3:30am with about five different alarm clocks going off…Barbie was insistent that we didn’t oversleep. We then headed down to breakfast, and were greatly surprised to see my parents and Betty and Rick also awake and downstairs…you have to remember they were still fighting jetlag. After breakfast, I went back to the room to gather some final things, and get some much needed support from one of my biggest fans! Afterwards, I headed back down to catch the athletes shuttle to the race. Unfortunately there were tons of athletes, and no buses to be found anywhere, except a bus for the media, that wasn’t letting any of the athletes on even though it was going to the same place and was almost completely empty. They tried to ease our minds by saying the athletes buses would get there sooner since the media bus would not have access to go through the detours…which would later found out was lie. After waiting about 5-10 minutes, and no buses still in sight, I jumped in the cab with my mom and Barbie and headed to the race start. Unfortunately the cabs had absolutely no privileges around the detours, so we ended up having to walk about a mile to the swim start…I guess you could call it my warm up. After finally arriving at the swim start, I was able to put the finishing touches on my bike (air in the tires, brake check, speedometer reset, etc.) and begin my mental preparation for the race…of course, I did have to say my final goodbye’s to my fans first and let them know the best spots to be since I had been there last year and knew what to expect.

In the transition area I was able to find Stefan (training partner, friend, and colleague), so that helped ease the nerves a little, especially since he was able to translate what the guy was saying over the loud speaker. After getting our wetsuits on we headed to the lake. This is the part where the German organization failed. For some reason they race organizers thought that having 2000 athletes file through a chute about 8 feet wide would be a good idea…you know, go under the big Ironman banner, great photo oppurtunities, everyone has to go over the timing mats, yada-yada-yada. However, it ended up being a big bottle neck as 2000 athletes ended up standing there waiting to get into the water because the starting chute was jammed pack. As Stefan said, we probably looked like a bunch of penguins all wearing black wetsuits, slowly waddling down to the waters edge, then falling in the water. You’ve all seen this scene on the discovery channel…the only difference is that it wasn’t snowing. Well, this delay ended up causing the race to start about 10-15 minutes late…so hopefully they will fix this next year.

The Swim (3.8km / 2.4 miles)
The swim is a two loop course with a mass start, in other words, all 2000 athletes start at the same time!! The only people that get an advantage are the pros…they get a 50 meter head start (like they need it!). The reason for the mass start is so that there is one cut-off time for everyone, and it makes it easier for everyone in the end, but it sucks for us in the beginning.
I was literally in the water for about 2 minutes when the starting gun went off, so I didn’t really have a chance to fortify (I don’t use that word lightly) a position for myself prior to the start. I figured the beginning of the swim would be rough with people pushing, kicking, pulling, yelling, etc. for the first 500-1000 meters, but then I thought it would thin out….boy was I wrong. The first 500-1000 meters was everything that I expected, and I did my fair share of all of the above, and definitely received the same in return. At one point a caught a full kick in the face….luckily it caught me where my goggles were and not across the chin, so I just had to stop for a second and readjust my goggles. The swim was mainly about finding a position, then getting overrun by other people swimming crooked (or was that me?), then trying to find another position, only to repeat the process over and over again. After about 800-1000 meters or so I noticed there were a bunch of people on my right swimming the other way. I knew that I was supposed to go to a buoy and turn around, but there didn’t seem to be a bouy anywhere ahead of me anymore, and everyone else started turning around and swimming the other way, so I did so also thinking we were supposed to turn around at the buouy before. The guy in the canoe/kayak wasn’t telling people not to, so I turned around, and headed back to shore to finish the first lap. Come to find out later, I ended up cutting the course short by about 100-200 meters. Apparantely the final buouy was a boat, not one of the big yellow buouys that were used previously…oh well. Well, the fighting and struggling did settle down a little bit, but it was still a battle with people all around you. At one point on the swim back I was bringing up my left arm in my stroke, and another guy next to me just happened to be bringing his hand down, which ended up hitting mine…talk about too close for comfort. Well, normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but it dislocated my left pinkie again! I spent the next 20-30 seconds trying to pop it back into place, but my hand kept slipping, and there was no canoe or kayake to be found. Then I gave one quick jerk and it just happened to pop back in…for now on, I am taping my finger, as this is becoming a regular habit during my races.

After a while I saw the big yellow exit on the shore and continued to swim in its direction. After a while I noticed people kept cutting me off and swimming at about a 45 degree angle to my right. First I thought that they had no idea how to swim straight, but when I ran into my third guy, I thought I better see where everyone was swimming to. Unfortunately I was headed to the exit for the 2nd lap, and the first lap exit was to my right. Luckily I didn’t go too much out of the way, so it didn’t cost me much time. I ended up exiting the water and looking for “Team Graver”, but to no avail, as they were fortifying (there’s that word again) a spot at the exit chute for the 2nd lap.

So, back into to the water, and back to the battle. The first part of the 2nd loop was relatively simple as there was a big yellow buouy to head aim for. However, after the second buouy things got fuzzy again. I was able to stay along the “lane lines” after the first buouy for a while, but then they stopped, so I was stuck looking at a red buoy on the right, and blue one on the left. This guy and I both happened to stop at the same time and ask “Where do we go?”, although mine was in English and his was in Deutsch. I said let’s head for the red buouy, and so off we went. However, in the words of the guy from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”…’I chose poorly’ since we should have been heading to the blue buoy. I don’t know when the other guy figured it out, but hopefully he wasn’t too upset with me. After the blue buouy we headed to the infamous boat/buoy that I missed in the first lap. If I didn’t have to go around it the second time, I don’t think I would have really known that I cut the course short…although I definitely wasn’t the only one, as I later would see the video and the huge mess that the boat/buouy caused on the first lap. I think there were just as many people that went around the buouy as those that missed it. Anyways, after that buouy I was on the home stretch of the 2.4 mile (3.8km) swim, and this time I knew exactly where I was headed since I was aimed at the 2nd lap exit on the first lap by accident. I eventually exited the water, which I prefer to call the “Battle Scene” and took a look at my watch…to my amazement, it read 1 hour, 3 minutes and change…I was hoping for a 1:10 swim, so needless to say I was quite happy with my swim. Even with another couple of minutes for missing the first buouy, I was still way within my target! So the race had started off well!

Transition 1 (Swim to Bike)
After exiting the water you are greeted with a wonderful 200 meter hill that you get to run up. Luckily there are thousands (later estimates suggested 5000 spectators at the swim start) of spectators all lined up on both sides as you run up this hill, so your adrenaline is high…not to mention you have just completely 1 of 3 stages of an Ironman. About halfway up I saw “Team Graver” with their red shirts and flags going absolutely crazy. I think it was probably the most excited I have seen my mom in a long time, if not the most excited…I mean, I couldn’t get the image out of my head for a long time. Anyways, as I came to the changing tent the volunteers handed me my transition bag and showed me the way to the tent. Upon entering the tent, another volunteer came up, told me my swim time (estimated) and proceeded to completely empty my transition bag, organize it, then quickly help me pull off, or should I say snatch off, my wetsuit in a matter of seconds. I felt like I was a king having all his needs catered to. After finally getting on my biking shoes, clothes, helmut, etc. I was out of the tent and heading to the bike, after a quick pit-stop for a nature-call. All in all the transition (with pit-stop) took about 6 minutes…not bad, could be better, but I was satisfied.

The Bike (180km / 112 miles)
After exiting the transition area I hopped on my bike and headed out. Sure enough “Team Graver” was there waiting for me (apparantely they took my pre-race spectator advice), so it was a final wave goodbye and off to ride 112 miles around Frankfurt. The bike starts with a 12 km ride from the Lake to the finish line in downtown Frankfurt, then 2 loops of about 84km each that winds through the small towns on outskirts. As is the case with all my races here in Germany, I get passed left and right by these German riders who make me feel as if I am on a tri-cycle and they all have scooters. The only difference with this race, was that I was planning on saving myself, so I didn’t feel to bad in the beginning when everyone passed me, but the relentless passing never seemed to cease. My only consolation would come when a rider would pass me, then I would see them on the side of the road in the penalty box, which is riders are forced to stay for 6 minutes if they are caught drafting another rider. Of course they would eventually catch me again later on after their 6 minutes was up, but that is another story.

Anyways, the bike has about 3 or 4 hills and is a completely closed course, which means “no cars”. Luckily I was able to ride the course about a month or two ago, so I knew what to expect and wasn’t nervous. However, what I wasn’t fully prepared for was the wind. During the bike ride you literally weave in and out of these small towns, and the residents are absolutely great!! There is usually a huge party going on in each of the small towns, and thousands of people out cheering you on. The first hill I got to was called “the Beast”, and it probably has the fewest spectators of all the hills, but since it was in the beginning and my adrenaline was still on a high, I really didn’t care. After motoring up the hill slowly but surely, we went through another small town, and then to a hill simply called “Hell”. The hill is not so bad as far as being steep, but the thing that makes it hellish is the fact that it is over cobblestones! I literally felt like a can of paint in the shaking machine as I rode over the cobblestones. The only good thing about this hill is that it was short, and that there were thousands of people cheering me on. After finally recovering from the jackhammer-like vibrations, I get to relax and head out to the country side. There are definitely some hills out in the country, but nothing too bad. At one point I was cruising along and a guy came flying by me (what’s new), and yelled “Go Litespeed!!”. For those that don’t know, this is the name of the manufacturer of my bike, and since it is a USA company, there are really a lot of them here in Germany, so it was kinda cool to hear it. After about 60km I finally get to the infamous “Heartbreak Hill”, which even has its own sponsor…”Powerbar”. This is the steepest hill on the entire course, but I didn’t feel it since there was literally about five to ten thousand spectators on this hill cheering me on!! It was literally like the Tour de France, with people lined up on each side of you yelling, screaming, and unfortunately, blowing whistles! The whistles are absolutely fine when you are flying by them at 20mph and they are a good 10 feet on the side of you, but when there is literally only about a 8 foot wide path that you are riding up, and they are right next to you, a loud whistle in your ear is no fun. The spectators crowd the entire hill so much, that it is impossible for more than two bikers to ride up next to each other. it was basically like a no passing zone, b/c you had to part the sea of people to get around someone. Of course this was probably one of the best experiences since I couldn’t even tell I was struggling up a hill…it was just awesome!

After finishing with “Heartbreak Hill” it is about a 5-10km flat/downhill track back to downtown Frankfurt where I get to start the second loop of the bike. Of course, everyone continued to pass me, and I got to go over the “Beast” again, along with the cobblestones at “Hell”, but this is where things changed. Apparentely mother nature blessed us by not having any rain so far, but she made up for it with the wind. Once I got back into the country side, it was like I was in a wind tunnel the entire ride. Wind is like the worst thing, probably worse than hills, because it is so mentally draining. I would be on a flat straightaway, and look down at my speedometer and see that I was going about 3mph slower than I was used to. Of course, I tell myself it is because of the wind, but after an hour or two of this, it just becomes a drain. Hills come to an end, but the wind didn’t stop. And to make matters worse, we got about a 5-10 minute rain, which caused me to be somewhat cold for about 20 minutes after it stopped because of what else…the WIND! Finally, I reached “Heartbreak Hill”, which basically told me I was all but done with the bike once I got to the top. Apparantely this gave me some sort of adrenaline rush because I was actually able to pass about 5 people on the hill, despite the fact they had just passed me a few minutes prior. Of course I almost ran over a few spectators in the process, but they were able to get out of the way in time, and promptly punished me with those darn whistles again. Anyways, after getting to the top I knew this was the last aid station on the bike, so I wanted to make sure I got two good water bottles for the future…since you get to keep the ones on your bike. I actually started looking at the volunteers and which bottles they were holding so I could get the ones that said Ironman on them…cheesy I know…but worth it in the end. Finally the bike was over and I was heading down the last stretch of road to the transition area, and there was “Team Graver” on the side of the road cheering me on. I raised my arms to show them I saw them and they went nuts…what a great energy boost to see them right before the run. I passed them, and then headed the last mile down the street to the transition area. As I got off the bike, I checked my watch, and sure enough I had my second goal of the day…under 6 hours…5:57:13 to be exact. I would later find out that my 2nd loop was a whopping 19 minutes slower than my first, but I chalk it up mainly to the wind even though I was probably a little more tired also. In the end I had drank some sort of energy drink every 10 minutes, eaten 5 powerbar gels, and only eaten 1 powerbar.

Transition 2
Upon entering Transition 2 I got the luxury of being able to just hand them my bike and they took and racked it. Then I heard a loud voice yell my name, and sure enough Betty and Rick were there to cheer me on. Unfortunately when I turned to look at them I started to go the wrong direction and got yelled at by the helpers to go the other way, but hey, it was worth it to acknowledge “Team Graver”. I then got my T2 bag (after running by it the first time) then headed to the changing tent. Again there was someone there who helped me change and I seemed to get out of there in no time. However, before I started the run, I had to have another pit-stop…drinking something every 10 minutes for 6 hours will do that to you. Onto the run…

The Run (42.2km / 26.1 miles)
The run is by far the most challenging and difficult portion of triathlon for me. I have no misconceptions about my abilities to run, so I planned on a 4-5 hour marathon. I ran a 4:45 marathon back in February without the swim and bike, but that was mainly due to lack of fueling. This time I had my fuel belt, and there was aid station about every mile (1.5km), so as long as I continued to eat/drink something I should be OK physically. As I took off out of the tent I was feeling great, my legs were still alive and well, and the spectators were absolutely great. The run consisted of three 14km loops along both sides of the river (cross the river, run alongside it, turn around, cross back over, then run alongside it again, turn around…repeat.), so the spectators were everywhere on the course…which is just great, and you get to pass your fans twice on each loop. My first loop on the run course was great, I felt good, was fueling well and I was just sucking in the moment. The only downside is that you get a colored band to wear for each of your loops (black, red, then yellow), so it was kind of depressing to see some people on the red and possibly yellow arm bands, but other than that it was great. I even got passed by about the top 5 pros in the race, so it was really interesting to see how fast they were running. Of course the only one I cheered on was Tim Deboom since he was the lone American pro. Anyways, I eventually made way back towards the end of the first loop and saw “Team Graver” right where I asked them to be! It was great seeing them, knowing that my extra food and drinks were where I needed them, and also knowing where my support group was so that I could look forward to it.

The second loop started and I noticed I was getting a little tired since my heart rate and pace was dropping, but I was OK. As I passed “Team Graver” again I waved and smiled and continued on. However, at about the 20km mark I was in for it. It wasn’t a physical bonking I was experiencing, but a mental one. My mind kept telling me I was tired and to stop and walk. I was able to convince myself I was OK and to keep jogging for another 2-3km, but then the brain won, and hell began. I spent the next 5km (~3 miles) fighting my mind, being physically tired, and just mentally drained. It took me a whopping 48 minutes to go those 5km, which included a pit-stop, and a couple Ironman wobbles, where you almost fall over! Anyways, after a while I finally gathered myself mentally, and told myself that if I could just maintain a 7minute per kilometer pace, then I would reach the end (42km) in under 12 hours. Of course I walked up the final hill before I started jogging, but then it was time for me to just go. Unfortunately this started just under a mile from where “Team Graver” was located, so when I passed them I ended up not even being able to acknowledge them because I just “had to go”. I thought they would be upset, but I would later find out they understood and weren’t too upset. So after every few kilometers I would check my watch, and I was on pace, with a minute to spare. I would take the occasional walk through the aid station to get something to drink, but other than that, I was jogging…slowly though.

Eventually I made it back to “Team Graver” and was able to get some new drinks for my fuel belt and told them I would see them soon enough. After that I think I had something to drink every aid station of the final 14km, although I never actually touched the drinks I had just gotten…go figure! Anyways, I continued on, and eventually made it to the 40km mark with a minute to spare if I kept up my pace. Unfortunately my pace started to slow through the next 1.5km. I thought I could just mentally tough out the pace at this point, but I was sooo tired. Finally I got near the finish chute which starts with you running down the street by a grandstand that probably holds about 1000 people, then you head down the final carpeted area, where there are thousands of fans all along the rail cheering you on the final 200 meters, along with a grandstand that seats 5000+ people, and was completely packed with people going nuts. The only bad part about these last 200 meters is that they were 200 meters further than I expected to go. I thought a marathon was 42km, not 42.2 km, so when the finish time scoreboard came into view I was already over my 12 hour mark. Oh well, it didn’t make a difference, I was at the finish line of an Ironman!! First I saw Betty and Rick on the left side cheering me on, then came my parents another 50 meters or so down, then came the finish line! I had completed the Ironman in 12:00:43…43 seconds higher than my goal, so I will never ever forget from now on that a marathon is 42.2 km! Anyways, waiting at the finish line was a volunteer that immediately gave me my finish medal, then took my arm and put it over her shoulder and started to take me to the Athlete’s Garden. However, before that, there was Barbie waiting for me with open arms. It was great having her there at the finish line, as she is my biggest supporter, and was my “Coach” for the Ironman, always making me continue to train even when I felt to tired. Did I mention she is my wife…so that makes it kinda special also.

Finish
After finishing the race I got to go to the Athlete’s Garden, where I was able to sit in a hot tub, take a shower, get a 45 minute massage, eat, drink, get my Finisher shirt, and basically reap the rewards of being an Ironman finisher. I had accomplished pretty much all of my goals…the only one I missed was by 43 seconds. All in all the day was absolutely wonderful, “Team Graver” was great, and we all got to go out for pizza afterwards! It is amazing how your body craves specific types of food after such an event. There is no doubt what you are hungry for! Anyways, here are my goals, times, and the link for the pictures, which I am sure will be continued to be added to as more and more get developed!

1. Finish (mission accomplished)
2. Have a good time (mission accomplished)
3. Finish in 11-12 hours (missed by 200 meters and 43 seconds, but I’m still happy!)
4. Finish swim in 1:10 (mission accomplished…swim time: 1:03:37)
5. Finish bike in 6:00 (mission accomplished…bike time: 5:57:13)
6. Finish run in 5:00 (mission accomplished…run time: 4:51:31)

So I just happened to be reading an article on Foxnews.com called “Less is Moore“, which, of course, talks about Michael Moore. Anyways, the article is short, but has a great quote from Mr. Moore himself. Apparentely any speech opposed to him is not allowed.

“A significant portion of the proceeds of “Fahrenheit 9/11″ will go toward convincing every thinking American to turn off the Fox News Channel. This will be my contribution to making America a better place. I hope they enjoy this year, their last year with actual viewers.” — Michael Moore

Another article from Moorewatch.com also points out how Mr. Moore tries to eliminate any critics. Check out this post regarding his liberal use of editing. Somehow I would think he would have some sort of lawyer on his back for falsely reproducing an article…but what do I know.

So yesterday was the big day in Iraq when Saddam went to his preliminary hearing regarding war crimes. What I found interesting is the two different ways that CNN.com and Foxnews.com printed the headlines about it. Cnn.com is known to have a democratic slant, whereas Foxnews is known to have a Republican slant. Foxnews had as their main headline “I am Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq”…a simple, to the point statement that Saddam continued to reiterate throughout his pre-trial. Cnn.com, on the other hand, took a slightly more political quote to use as their main headline…“The real criminal is Bush”. Talk about a cheap shot.

I probably wouldn’t have noticed these two drastically different portrayals, but I just got done reading Ann Coulter’s book Slander : Liberal Lies About the American Right, which is all about ripping on the Democrats and how the media world is full of them. To be fair, I need to read a Democratic book to get both sides of the issue, but I watched Bowling for Columbine instead, and was none to impressed…more on that movie in a future post.