Organization - still one of the best organized events that I have ever participated in.
IRONMAN Merchandise - for an Ironman-Slut like me, pickings were pretty slim this year. If you were not in line at 6:45 for the unofficial 7:00 opening of the finishing merchandise tent on Monday morning you missed some great stuff.
EXPO - Not a whole lot to look at; but some cool free food at a few booths. Where was Mr. Powercranks? Did I really need that electronic scale that tells me everything I never needed to know about my physique?
Pre-Race - ride your bike one last time before going to the check-in ... you never know what you may find out ... like your cadence sensor magnet rubbing against the front derailler when you're in your big chain ring. Thanks to Marie Danais for the smile, the high-5 and the good luck on my way into bike check.
Swim - with an extra 300+ people in Mirror Lake there was a lot of bumping and grinding. Where were the flags for people to seed themselves? My usual plan to survive the IMUSA swim seems to be catching on; there must of been 400 people (like me) waiting for the mass confusion to end before setting out ... of course this meant that we all were bashing each other :-( People who do breast stroke kick around bouys, and for no apparent reason, should be sent back to swim school ... How many times was I kicked by a breast stroke kick ...
T1 - ROCK AND ROLL! Finally a respectable T1. Thanks to Cynthia Wilson for the "keep it simple" tips.
Bike - Jim, it is all downhill, except for the uphill parts. Bumpy sections going down Rte 73 into Keene were a little scary. One of my water bottle cages jumped off my bike. Thanks Mike for helping me rescue it. Willmington to LP is still a beautiful, yet evil, section of road. Riding 10 loops of Rte 86/Rte 73/River Road in training made the "cherries" and "bears" easy and fun ... well, almost fun.
Bike Question: Why do guys spend tons of cash on Cervelo P3 bikes, race wheels, aero-helmets, etc. only to get off the road, walk into the woods, stand the bike against a tree and walk to another tree to pee?
T2 - ROCK AND ROLL AGAIN! After 9 of these races, I'm finally getting the hang of the speedy transition thing.
Run - Have a plan; work your plan. Have a plan; work your plan. Have a plan; work your plan. Have a plan; work your plan. Do not walk. Do not walk. Do not walk. Do not walk. Unfortunately for me; I did neither. Thanks to Rick Hellard for the 'kick in the pants' I did get back to running and never stopped.
Volunteers - Totally awesome.
Spectators - how to thank you all? I don't want to name names because I would miss someone and that would make me feel really sad. Just to say that the high-5s, the cheers, the hugs, the smiles and the tears all helped me in ways that you may never know.
Friends and Family - First and foremost a big thank you to my Mom and Dad who have traveled all over North America to watch their son torture himself. I have completed 9 Ironman races and they have been to every one. I love them both very much. A special thank you to my Aunt Louise and her friend Joyce who traveled over 12 hours by bus from Niagara-on-the-Lake to see the spectacle. Big thanks to Kawal Deogun who grabbed my wetsuit (helping me get through T1 in record time), picked up my bike and gear and took them back to my hotel room, got me me grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk at 11:30 while I was cheering in the final finishers, and for putting three trays of 2-bite vanilla cupcakes in my hotel room for emergency late night calories.
I'll be back in LP in 2009.
