from all the sighting but didn't think much about that until later in the race. Second lap, more of the same but the full body contact tapered off a bit as people spread out a bit. Never had more than about 10 strokes of open water though because people collapsed on openings pretty agressively. Out of the water in 1:13:49 and feeling good about that.I run up to the transition area and run into a semi circle of shuckers. They tell you to lay down on your back and they basically shuck your wetsuit off of you...much like shucking an ear of corn. Then I get my bike gear on and head over to the sunscreen gals. A lady wearing "lunchlady gloves" offers to dunk you from head to toe in sunscreen, when she looks at the back of my neck she exclaims "EEEWWWW... I don't think you want sunscreen on that honey!" I realize that the sore neck while swimming was actually my wetsuit rubbing my neck completely raw in a spot about the size od a silver dollar. I figure I will be in tears later when the sweat hits that spot. I go pick up my bike and head out the gates. T1 - 7:25. Not my best transition by any means but I guess I'm not too worried about it. Tear out of the transition area fuled entirely by adrenaline still. Bike feels surprisingly light, fast, and easy to maintain 20 mph (this is the foreshadowing part of the story). 
First loop felt really strong averaging somewhere around 17-18 mph, which was good given a 25 mile stretch of consistent climbing and descending some decent rollers. By the end of the first loop I was starting to feel the effects of going out a bit too fast. I think my nutrition plan of eating a LOT of calories and hoping to digest as many as possible was backfiring as well. I guess I never read the article that said if you try to over eat calorie-wise it often leads to digestive distress. Well that began to happen on the second loop, so the aid stations every 10 miles became my friend. Still kept trying to pound down the calories (on the order of 400 per hour) but eventually my stomach told my mind to just STOP EATING for a while. I was worried that not having the calories would hurt me on the run but I wasn't going to force myself to eat...I could always slow down on the run and eat some food if needed. The only thing I kept consuming after that was my Accelerade and salt tablets...occasional Gu. Second lap was a bit painful, between the GI issues, generally getting tired, and my nerves about not eating enough calories I slowed way down. Beautiful course though and great community support. Lots of folks at the end of their driveway BBQ-ing and offering free beer to any racers who wanted one...tempting but it was Miller Light, not my label of choice. Off the bike (and thankful for that) in 7:12:51 (15.5 mph - slower than I had hoped for). An 8:03 T2 was again slower than predicted but well worth it as they had ice cold towels for everyone and I came out of there feeling great again.
First loop felt really strong averaging somewhere around 17-18 mph, which was good given a 25 mile stretch of consistent climbing and descending some decent rollers. By the end of the first loop I was starting to feel the effects of going out a bit too fast. I think my nutrition plan of eating a LOT of calories and hoping to digest as many as possible was backfiring as well. I guess I never read the article that said if you try to over eat calorie-wise it often leads to digestive distress. Well that began to happen on the second loop, so the aid stations every 10 miles became my friend. Still kept trying to pound down the calories (on the order of 400 per hour) but eventually my stomach told my mind to just STOP EATING for a while. I was worried that not having the calories would hurt me on the run but I wasn't going to force myself to eat...I could always slow down on the run and eat some food if needed. The only thing I kept consuming after that was my Accelerade and salt tablets...occasional Gu. Second lap was a bit painful, between the GI issues, generally getting tired, and my nerves about not eating enough calories I slowed way down. Beautiful course though and great community support. Lots of folks at the end of their driveway BBQ-ing and offering free beer to any racers who wanted one...tempting but it was Miller Light, not my label of choice. Off the bike (and thankful for that) in 7:12:51 (15.5 mph - slower than I had hoped for). An 8:03 T2 was again slower than predicted but well worth it as they had ice cold towels for everyone and I came out of there feeling great again. I head out of T2 feeling stronger than expected.
I see Kristine, Sarah, Matt and Claire as I head out on the run course. I finally learned my lesson and controlled my pace coming out of T2. I keep pounding the salt tablets and give Gu another shot. That backfires and I am back into the throes of GI distress. 26 long miles of GI distress. Fortunately the aid stations were located about once every mile so it wasn't too bad but I did have to stop at every one of them. Walking through the aid stations was a big benefit as well. I gave up on eating synthetic food and started in on orange slices, pretzels, and cookies (you know...real food). I was offered chicken broth several times but not even 13+ hours of exercise can make that sound appetizing. The real heartbreaker is when you head back into town at the 13 mile mark and a guy with a mega-phone says, "If you are finishing move to the left side of the road, if you have another loop, stay to the right." Seeing people move left and head for the finish line was painful. I asked the guy what it would take to let me slip over there. He replied with a straight face, "One dollar in cash right now...do you happen to have that on you right now?" Knowing the answer before he asked the question, he smiled and laughed and I trudged on. I began speeding up for the last 4 miles or so and was running about 8 minute miles for the last 2. I finally started feeling better GI-wise around the 24 mile mark. That was a great note to be finishing the race on. I ran down the street towards the finishing chute and crossed the line after seeing Kristine, Riley, Justin, and Sarah on the sidelines cheering. Total run time 4:56:54.
I see Kristine, Sarah, Matt and Claire as I head out on the run course. I finally learned my lesson and controlled my pace coming out of T2. I keep pounding the salt tablets and give Gu another shot. That backfires and I am back into the throes of GI distress. 26 long miles of GI distress. Fortunately the aid stations were located about once every mile so it wasn't too bad but I did have to stop at every one of them. Walking through the aid stations was a big benefit as well. I gave up on eating synthetic food and started in on orange slices, pretzels, and cookies (you know...real food). I was offered chicken broth several times but not even 13+ hours of exercise can make that sound appetizing. The real heartbreaker is when you head back into town at the 13 mile mark and a guy with a mega-phone says, "If you are finishing move to the left side of the road, if you have another loop, stay to the right." Seeing people move left and head for the finish line was painful. I asked the guy what it would take to let me slip over there. He replied with a straight face, "One dollar in cash right now...do you happen to have that on you right now?" Knowing the answer before he asked the question, he smiled and laughed and I trudged on. I began speeding up for the last 4 miles or so and was running about 8 minute miles for the last 2. I finally started feeling better GI-wise around the 24 mile mark. That was a great note to be finishing the race on. I ran down the street towards the finishing chute and crossed the line after seeing Kristine, Riley, Justin, and Sarah on the sidelines cheering. Total run time 4:56:54. 
I crossed the line as the sun was setting in a total time of 13:39:01 and posed for the camera...WHAT A DAY! Great course! Bad nutrition plan! Lots of lessons learned! Can't wait for next year!
I Ate like a mad-man for about 4 days afterward, kind of that "I can afford that" eating philosophy. The soreness in my legs was pretty well gone by about Wednesday, much thanks (I think) to a post-race ice bath. I had an awesome time and can't wait for next year.
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