I'm Still Alive

Sorry but these are random thoughts and my spelling and grammar sucks. Don’t think less of me. I’ll proof read later. I’ll post pictures soon.


Saturday night we had out TNT pasta party that was pretty cool. We walked up this hall with TNT coaches and mentors cheering and it really gets you going. I could have started the race right then. We ate and listened to some speakers. Dave Scott spoke was pretty good but the highlight for me was a gentleman from the New York chapter that had done his first event WHILE battling cancer. He was now back to do St. Anthony’s and in remission. He was a real uplift.

I got in to bed early that night. I think all the events of the previous days had finally caught up with me and I slept great. Once again I woke up just before the alarm and wake up call. I had to go down the street to get body marked and set up my transition area. I walked out the front door to see what look like a parade of people walking by hotel. It was quite a site to see so many people so early in the morning. I got marked and set up quickly and went back to the room. This was the nice part about being so close. I was able to get something to eat (a beagle with peanut butter) and go back to bed.

After a short nap I woke up and had my wife put sunscreen on me. Of course my numbers smeared. The day before I had put the sunscreen on Sammy before he got number and it smeared, today I was no better putting it on after being numbered. You can’t win. I then grabbed the wetsuit and headed over to the swim start.

SWIM

My group was next to last so I had to wait. I watched few groups go off and then put the wetsuit and cap on. I was so nervous that I thought I was going to get sick. Then they called our group and I was able to calm down. We moved down to the water before long heard the start gun. I made my way in and started to swim. Some people don’t like swimming with so many folks but it takes my mind off the event when you have to fight for a spot to swim. The waves made it much harder to swim then back in the lake and you don’t even think about the saltwater taste. That sucks. I felt like I was getting pulled off course the whole way and had people swimming on top of me until the bitter end but I made it. I felt real good except for my back. I found myself twisting in the waves to try to stay on course and see the markers. I think I could have knocked off a few minutes if I would have sighted better and trusted my sighting. With people going every direction it made me look and adjust too often. It was a good lesson learned because it made me slower and it hurt my back. I climbed out of the water and in to T1.

T1

Slow. I walked most of the way until I saw a few TNT guys from Georgia. I know I can’t beat everyone but I don’t want to be last either. Grabbed a beagle and peanut butter snack, took a drink, put on my gear, and me and Pokey were off.

BIKE

We were told that the course was flat and for the most part it was. The hills were so slight that you had to look hard to determine if you were going uphill, downhill, or on flat ground. I was feeling good on the bike and passed a lot of people and had very few pass me. I was in the aero bars for most of the race and felt no pain until the last couple of miles when the padding in my tri shorts just was no longer enough. I had never ridded longer then 20 miles and not in my tri shorts. My manly area felt the extra miles and less padding. The bike finish was on cobblestones and I almost bit it. I was pretty happy with the ride and could have been much faster if I could ever master drinking while I ride. I slow down to a craw when I need to get a drink.

T2
I walked until I saw a TNT guy that I was trying to catch on the bike starting to put on his running gear. I quickly put on my shoes, race belt (best investment), and hat and took off. I beat him out and that felt good. I just had to stay in front.

RUN/WALK/CRAW
Within the first ¼ mile my back was killing me. I was running so slowly but I was still passing more people then passed me. I felt like I had been running forever and mile marker 1 almost broke me. Each marker and water station seemed to take longer to reach and by marker 3 I had started walking. It was neat to see all the people out cheering it does help but my back was getting bad and I had started cramping in other areas. After a while I spotted a familial face, Sarah . She had a good pace going I wished I could have ran longer with her but my legs were killing me and I had to try to stride them out. She was a good uplift when I needed it. Thanks Sarah! Post more. AI tried to just keep going and before I knew it I could see the finish. I stopped to put on the shirt that I had carried for the entire run. It is one of those shirts that has a muscular body printed on it. It belonged to my dad and my family would recognize it right away. I thought it would be a fine tribute to the man that did so much for me and the reason I trained with TNT. I floated across the finish line felt a great weight lifted. I finished.

THE AFTER – THE BEST PART
After I finished my wife and son were right there with hugs and kisses. I love those two! We all walked back to the TNT Georgia tent that was right on the corner before the finish. As a team we cheered for the next couple of hours and runner after runner finished. We cheered for everyone and cheered very loudly. It was such a great feeling to see a person almost lifted with energy and we cheered. Many people who were walking found the energy to run and finish strong. I felt more joy in watching others finish then I did when I finished. TNT is a great group and the Georgia chapter is full of some special folks that know what it’s really all about. GO TEAM!


TIMES:
17th – Male TNT (3rd on my team)
2292th – Overall
OVERALL TIME - 3:02:57
SWIM - 30:28
2:02 - pace
T1 - 4:11
BIKE –1:19:23
18.8mph
T2- 3:09
RUN - 1:05:48
10:36 per mile