"Wow" does not begin to describe Saturday, November 1, 2208, for me. It was a day of multiple experiences that culminated in my finish in the time of 14:35. That time does not tell you of several quirky events that occured along the way. The morning began cool and dark with a swim start that was not nearly as overwhelming as I expected. My swim time and that of nearly everyone else was quicker than it should have been as virtually no one followed the course on the second loop. Apparently most everyone did not go left of the first buoy despite the announcer's admonishments. When I heard the announcer beg everyone to get back on course everyone around me said, "Hell no, I not going that way if everyone before me did not go there." So, I was not totally surprised when the clock showed 1:18 upon exiting the swim. I have to say that I probably did enjoy the swim more than the other two legs despite the sea of humanity around me.
Then on to T1, which was a mad house and which took too much time. In the future, I will not attempt to put on arm warmers over wet arms. Once on the bike, I was, however, very glad to have taken the time to put on arm warmers and to be able to calm down. The 15 minute shakedown was advice from my trainer, George Esahak-Gage, but it did not prepare me for followed After stopping for my special needs bike bag, the quirkiness began. About 1 mile away from the stop, I felt my right shoe was loose on the pedal. I went to click out and realized that my cleat was still attached to my pedal, but my shoe was free! How in the world I lost all 3 screws holding my cleat to my shoe is still a mystery. So began my quest for the Bike Tech Patrol and riding for 5+ miles with only my left shoe attached. I felt very awkward and wondered if I would be able to finish the ride. Fortunately, I was able to wave down the technician who was driving the course. I figure that this episode took added nearly 15+ minutes to my time, but it made me determined to try to make up for the loss. I must say the quality of the pavement in Florida is something I have never experienced in Northern New Mexico.
T2 was considerably less confusing and quicker than T1. My run started out slow but steady. My most challenging moment was coming back in to the turnaround when others were being announced as finishing. By that time it was just after 6:00 PM and starting to get dark. I had to dig down and turn away from the finish line for my second loop. By then, I had already lost my expensive pair of new sunglasses, which are someplace in the 7200 block of Lagoon Avenue in Panama City. I wasted some time going back to look for them. I had put them on my cap, which I stupidly took off at an aid station. Oh well, I was happy to have taken the time to change to a long sleeve shirt at the turnaround. The temperature droped considerably after sunset The run course heads into a state park, and stretches of the run were so dark that you could not see oncoming runners. When I was coming out of the park, I commented to a female runner that she was smart to have brought a flashlight and that I wished I could maintain her pace. She then went on to help me immeasurably by saying that she was race walking for 3 minutes and running hard for 2 minutes so I followed her routine for probably 3+ miles. It made a world of difference to my legs. When she said she was unable to keep up the run pace, I went on counting the time in my head for all but the last 1.5 miles. The finish line was there was there waiting for me, and ten months of training proved to me that I could finish an Ironman. All in all, it was a glorious day.
