Let me set the picture for you. I started training for this race in January. However, in that time I have gone through some set backs in my training. I spent a week in Italy (no training), I had that whole hands falling asleep thing, and I sliced my thumb open. All in all I lost about two months of quality training. Oh and the whole time I have been training it has been cool and overcast. Not this weekend though. It was 85 and not a cloud in the sky. Let's just say I was not 100% ready for it, but I did it.
This is Ellen and I before the race started. Notice me squinting because of the sun and I do not look exhausted.
So the race started with the swim event at 1100 am.
The swim is kind of chaos. I am the one in the red swim cap. "What you can't see me?" Well I am one of the 900 in that small area of water. So we start all floating and smiling and telling each other good luck. And then as soon as the gun goes off it is fight time. I got kicked in the face, the gut and had people holding on to my feet, all in the first 2 minutes. I finally got into my grove half way through the swim and finished in a respectable 35 minutes (my goal was 30)
Now it is on to my 3 hour bike ride.
Not much to say about the bike ride. It was very long and tiring. I had some minor mechanical problems. And my back started to feel as if Greg had been jumping on it for 2 hours but I finished the 56 miles with no major incident and only sore muscles.
And then it is onto the 13.1 mile run.
Now let me just say, "This sucked" I think my exact words to Ellen on lap 3 of 4 were "F*%$ this SH%$" It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes to finish which was 45 minutes slower than I had hoped for but hey I made it to the finish line.
So now you might be asking yourself "What could Ellen have possibly done for 6hours while Ben was punishing his body? Don't worry she found stuff to do. It usually had something to do with her and her friend Carol sitting in cafes and always involved shade.
So now I have finished my first big distance race and seen the other side. Not the other side as in I am never doing this again but the side where I realize I really need to train better for this stuff. Especially before next year where I try to tackle the full Ironman (2.4m swim, 112m bike, 26.2m run).
Oh, in case you were wondering this is what I look like after baking in the sun for 6 hours and doing 70.3 miles of endurance sports.
Notice the blank stare and the appearance of race suit still on hours after my race.
"I AM A HIM FINISHER!"
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