Ironman NOLA 70.3 RACE REPORT!!

>> Thursday, April 09, 2009

My previous post was about all the pre-race fun (with over 40 great photos). This post will be about race morning through the finish line. And I’ll be back later with a story about the other finishers and the rest of our stay in NOLA.

All 8 of us got up between 4 and 4:30 and got ready to go. Pharmie mixed her Carbo Pro with Gatorade:



Stu swore by his daily routine of psyllium husk to... umm... keep the plumbing flowing:



We got loaded up, and hit the road in the massive white van. We parked near transition, and hoofed it the rest of the way:



Stu brought his banana peel because we had all discussed that it would work in an emergency instead of toilet paper. Stu, you’re gross.



Stu, maybe if you didn’t take so much psyllium husk, you wouldn’t be pooping so much. Then you wouldn’t need that peel to wipe your ass. Just a thought.

I got my spot in transition all set up. Goldilocks was looking strong, and everything was ready to go:



I checked on TriSaraTops as she was wrapping up her pre-race set-up:



Pharmie got set, and we grabbed a photo before leaving transition:



Pharmie, TriSaraTops, and I got marked and hopped in line for the bus that would take us to the swim start. After a few seconds, someone said, “Hey, Steve in a Speedo!” It was Chloe, a fellow blogger. All of us started chatting.

Then a volunteer started yelling right next to us: “If you are at this point in line or farther back, you will NOT make the bus and should start walking now!!” OK. You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m ready to start walking. So Chloe, her friend, and I walked the 1.2 miles barefoot, while Pharmie and TriSaraTops walked together behind us. It was great talking with those 2!

We got to the starting area, and immediately jumped in line at the porta potties. Pharmie held my spot in line as I went to go grab my chip (they didn’t give the chips out the day before because it’s a point-to-point swim, so they want to make sure you ACTUALLY were at the start). I took a poo in the porta potty, and they were out of toilet paper. I considered using my hand. I thought Stu and his banana peel sounded pretty good right about then. But I just “shook” everything off with violent hip-thrusts (it’s how I imagine Danny DeVito in bed) and hiked up my Speedo Jammer. Gross. Squishy. Warm.

I threw on my wetsuit, kissed Pharmie one last time, and sprinted the last 200 meters to the starting line. I had made it with about 6 minutes before my wave started. I hopped in line with the other grey swim caps. We hit the water 90 seconds before we started. It felt good. I squatted and peed. That felt good too.

I was calm.

I looked at all the spectators back up the bank and smiled.

It was going to be a good day.

PR or no PR, it was going to be a good day.

I was ready to have a good time.



1.2 MILE SWIM:

The air-horn sounded. We all took off. I was actually still peeing as the race started (I think that was a first for me). It only took me about 90 seconds to settle into a rhythm. I was feeling OK. When I would quick look up to “sight,” I was always headed out to sea. I kept veering to the left. Here’s the swim map with a red line that roughly represents where I swam:



I accidentally swam outside one of the buoys at one point. I had to avoid a kayak that I was headed towards about half way into the swim. I felt like I was swimming OK, it was just that I wasn’t able to hold a straight line, so I was worried I might have been swimming way too far. Suddenly one of the buoys next to me was red. I wondered if that one marked the halfway point. I glanced at my watch. 21:00. “Dang. If that’s halfway, then I’m not doing too well.” I concentrated on good form and “shooting” through the water. I was thinking back to my “Total Immersion” drills.

When it was time to head straight towards shore at the final sharp turn, I, somehow, was way the hell out there (note the red line on the above map). I headed home. When I felt sand beneath me, I popped up and started stripping my wetsuit to the waist. I looked at my watch. 37:25, 37:26, 37:27... “What?! Sweet!!” I was hoping for a sub 40:00 swim, but I didn’t think I could PR in the swim (38:13 was my 70.3 swim PR, and I’m pretty sure that was on a short swim course).

I hit the beach in 37:53, and I was feeling great!



I ran up the beach and found “wetsuit strippers” that throw you down and yank off your wetsuit. I had my suit yanked (it took them 3 tries), and I kept on my way. It was after that when I saw the timing mats. “Dang - that whole stretch up the beach and through the strippers was considered part of the swim.” So, “officially,” my swim time went on the books as 38:44. But “unofficially,” I was out of the water in 37:53, a swim PR by 20 seconds. Either way, I was all smiles! (You know me!)



T1:

I took my time but kept moving. It was a BIG transition. Not everyone started, but they kept telling us that this was the largest 70.3 event on the planet! They had 3500 people registered for this event! That’s a lot of bikes! Anyway, I grabbed a quick bite, threw everything on that I needed for the bike, and I was off. Total: 4:40. Not fast, but that’s me in transition. (And as a lover, FYI.)

56 MILE BIKE:

The first half of the bike was pretty uneventful. I hopped on my bike and started riding. There were 2 pretty big bridges in the first 5-6 miles, but the rest was pretty flat. After going up and down both of those bridges, I checked my average. I was at 19.0 mph. Nice. A few miles later, I was at a 19.3 average. A bit farther, and I was up to a 19.5 average. I was trying to keep slow. I was trying to keep easy.


I think this is on top of the second bridge

One of the other BIG things I was trying to do on the bike was to take in PLENTY of calories. I bonked during the run of my last half IM because I stopped eating, and I wasn’t going to this time. I had about 1600 calories with me on the bike, and I wanted to consume a majority of it.

Around mile 10, I saw Evotri buddy JP go flying by me. “Alright JP!!” I yelled. He turned his head over his shoulder - he hadn’t noticed it was me. “Thanks man! You’ve been spanked!” he shouted, and off he went. (Everyone in our group [Team Evotri, Pharmie, and I] made a deal to SPANK anyone else from the group if we passed them. And we had to say, “You’ve been spanked!”)


Around mile 8-10.
That’s a big levee behind me.

Sometime around mile 20, I passed someone, and then heard, “Hey, Steve in a Speedo!” It was blogger Amy. She said, “I don’t know if I would have recognized you out here, but I knew that was Goldilocks!” That, my friends, is the benefit to having a flashy bike!! She said she didn’t want to hold me up, but I said, “No, I’ve been trying to slow up anyway,” and I hung back and chatted for just a moment. We wished each other luck, and I pulled ahead.

Here’s a tiny map of the bike course:



On that map, you can see all the water/marsh/bayou land to the far east. It was great biking through that. I would have never seen that if it weren’t for the race! There were a lot of dead snakes, and I THINK I saw a gator in the water. But it might have been a log with crap attached to it. I dunno. But it WAS moving...

When I hit the first major turnaround point to the far east, the wind slapped us all in the face. It was pretty calm when we started the bike, but as we went on, there was a tailwind that had been building. After that turnaround, that tailwind was a headwind. I think my average was 19.6 mph at that point, and I knew it was headed down.

They had signs on the road to mark every 10K, and here were my splits:

19:48
18:54
19:41
18:28
18:31
20:30
23:37
21:32
21:04

You can see when we hit the wind, and when the wind was extra nasty. My 2 fastest splits were over 20 mph. My slowest split into the wind was around 15.8 mph. Ouch. The good news is that I was taking in my calories! By the end of the bike, I had consumed 1000 - 1100 calories. I was ready to run!


Back over one of the final bridges

I had hoped to do the bike around 2:50. But I was a little under-trained, and the wind SUCKED, so I came rolling into T2 in 3:02:11. Officially, my average says 18.44 mph, but my computer had the course being just a little short, and it read 18.2 when I finished. I was still hoping for a good day. I had worked hard on the bike, and a 70.3 PR was still in sight.

T2:

This is when the shit in the fan. I jumped off my bike. Everything was OK for a bit, but as I was running my bike, I started to realize that my upper left hammy was SUPER tight. It almost felt like I pulled something. “Shit. Well, drop off your bike and try to stretch it out.” I racked my bike, and as I was stripping off my bike shorts, I realized my hammy was pretty bad. My mood started to head south. As I kept moving, I didn’t know if I’d be able to run with my sore ass. I finished getting changed, and then I walked over to the porta potties in transition.

I grabbed a porta potty and locked the door. When I went to sit down, my ass completely gave out and I collapsed onto the toilet with a yelp. The whole thing shook. I figured if anyone was outside, they would have been pretty impressed with the little scream and the small earthquake coming from my john! Ha! Anyway, I quick went to the bathroom and wiped my ass for the first time since my pre-race poop 4 hours earlier. Yuck.

I exited the porta potty, and quick sat down to stretch. I couldn’t really find a way to stretch it, but sitting down and standing up sure were tough. It was at this point that I considered stopping. I didn’t know if my butt would allow me to run a half-marathon on it. But I told myself, “You just said you ‘didn’t know’ if it would hold up. You’ve got to try this to know for sure.” I walked the exit chute out of transition, not knowing what the run would hold in store.

It was no longer about “PR.” It was now about “finish.”

13.1 MILE RUN:

I walked up the hill out of transition. Here’s the photo I took the day before that shows exactly where I was heading:



As soon as I hit the top of that little hill, there was a grassy downhill. I tried running. The pain was pretty sharp, but I was able to go. I had a slightly noticeable limp at this point. I didn’t feel like I was hurting anything more - I didn’t want to do anything stupid that would take me out of racing/training for months. If the pain stayed in check, I was GOING to finish the race.

When we got to talk with the pros a few days before, Stu asked Chris McDonald in his interview what advice he had to amateur triathletes. Chris gave 2 pieces of advice, and the second bit was simple to remember: “Never, ever, ever give up.” During the first mile of the run, I was repeating that mantra out loud in sync with my breathing: “Never... ever... EVER... give up...” I was repeating it to myself, and I could hear Chris saying it in my head.

That first mile was rough. On a normal day, that first mile should have been around 7:00. When I was nearing mile 1, my watch was nearing 9 minutes. I decided then and there to not take any splits: I was now just in the race to finish. Only if my ass would let me...

“Never... ever... EVER... give up...”

The first few miles were scary. I didn’t know if I would hold up. I was getting a little emotional. (That’s “man talk” for “I was crying.”) Can you blame me? I quickly went from a possible PR, to nearly dropping out, to just trying to finish in whatever time I could muster. That whole series got me a little worked-up.

I somehow was able to slowly keep upping my pace.

Around mile 5, I was coming up on Evotri buddy JP. He was walking. I knew that meant his knees weren’t holding up. (The poor man got hit by a car on his bike 1 week earlier!) So I spanked him. He turned and smiled. I walked with him for a bit, and we shared our common stories: both of us nearly quit in T2. We were 2 bums: JP had 2 bum knees and I had 1 bum ass-cheek. JP said he could only run for a few minutes before having to walk. We tried it out for a while. I shared with him my mantra of “never, ever, ever give up” from Chris, and I got a little choked up as I was telling him. He said he didn’t want another DNF.

We both had the same goal: Finish. No matter what our time was. Just finish.

Suddenly, he wasn’t beside me, and I heard a quiet “go get em, Steve” from behind me. JP had to stop again. I stopped, turned around, looked him in the eyes, and said “Hang in there - I’ll see you at the finish line.” (That’s “man talk” for “I love you man.”) We high-fived, and I took off.

Soon I was at mile 6, which was nearly half way.

Shortly after, I was at mile 7, which was over half way.

“Never... ever... EVER... give up...”

Every mile marker was a milestone.



I really only stopped to walk 3 or 4 times, and they were pretty brief. THAT was a big deal. My butt actually hurt a little worse when I was walking. So I kept running.

I was pushing myself RIGHT to the edge. And I was holding myself there. I have never gotten myself right up to the edge of stopping and been able to hold myself there like I was able to do on Sunday. I was running hard. It was a stellar mental and physical push.

Around mile 10, I realized that I had been running quite strong since T2. I hadn’t been taking my splits, but I WAS glancing at my watch every mile marker. My pace was quickening. I was somewhere around 7:00 / mile! Suddenly, doing some quick math, I realized a PR was possible! “No... am I figuring this right?... Am I REALLY keeping this pace?!?” I remember leaving T2 thinking I’d have to run a 1:38 half marathon to be able to finish in 5:30. And it suddenly became possible!


Mood changing...

I picked up the pace. I had come out of the park, and I was running the last few miles straight down Esplanade:



I was now smiling. I was waving and thanking Police Officers. I was thanking everyone at the water stops. My mood was unbelievable! Was there any question as to why?

- Just over an hour earlier, I was thinking about a PR.
- Minutes after that, I considered not finishing the race.
- A few minutes later, I figured I could JUST finish the race.
- Now, an hour later, I was back to thinking about my PR!
- AND, I was pulling a SUPER PR RUN out of my ass!! My BROKEN ass!!

It was a freakin’ whirlwind of emotions. I hit the final left turn and heard someone shout, “800 METERS! TWO LAPS AROUND THE TRACK TO GO!”

I glanced at my watch.

Holy moley, I had it.

I started crying again. (I’m starting to get a little misty as I’m writing this again.)

I had my PR by a few minutes! I had a run split that was WAY faster than my previous best! It wouldn’t have been such a big deal had I not considered dropping out of the race. I think there’s a “life lesson” in here somewhere...

I sprinted like a bat outta hell down that final stretch. It was getting hard to breathe because I was so teary. I hit the line strong and hard pumping one arm in the air as to avoid yet ANOTHER finishers photo of me hitting my watch:



Here I am booking it to the finish:







AARRGG! DAMN IT!! Despite my best efforts, they STILL got a photo of me stopping my watch, even though I waited to stop it until 4 seconds after crossing the line!!



Anyway, I ran the half marathon in 1:36:28 with a strained ass/hammy. That was an 11 minute 70.3 run PR. Holy smokes. And I had my sub-5:30 PR too.

bib number: 1169
age: 28
location: St. Paul, MN
place: 433 out of 2321
a.g. place: 50 out of 186
gender place: 356 out of 1672
swim: 38:44 (2:02/100m)
t1: 4:41
bike: 3:02:11 (18.44 mph)
t2: 6:23
run: 1:36:28 (7:21/mile)
time: 5:28:25


I was thrilled. I was given my medal, and there was a photographer right there to take a photo. I made a point to take off my sunglasses to see if tears were visible. I’ve never ordered a race photo, but I’m thinking about getting this one:


At least if there aren’t any tears,
there are still plenty of nipples...

More shortly. Lots more photos. I’ll have photos of the rest of our friends, a couple of pros, and then photos of me riding a mechanical bull somewhere on Bourbon Street post race...

85 comments:

Shannon 5:29 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wow! You are unbelievable, that's the races that you never forget. The fun races, PR races, and easy races are great too but, the races where you have to dig deep to find the inner strength to "keep going don't give up" are the races you always remember.

Did you really "shake your arse to get that shiz off?" LOL....

duchossois 6:25 AM, April 09, 2009  

Huge Congratulations Steve! That was the best race report I've read in a long, long time. Taking it right up to your physical limits, and continuing to push on, that how you excel.

Jennifer Harrison 6:48 AM, April 09, 2009  

AMAZING! I LOVED YOUR RR and congrats on the PRs all around! I know you have worked hard for this!!!!!

Mike 6:52 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wow!!! Way to go on your PR run with a broken ass!!! Just think next time around if you're in good shape you could rock a new, better PR!!! Nice job, well played!!!

Jess 6:58 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wow Steve! Congrats on a great finish and on your PR! You rock dude!

teacherwoman 6:58 AM, April 09, 2009  

Great job Steve! And you had some really good finisher photos in there! WAHOO!

Chloe 7:04 AM, April 09, 2009  

What a great race report! Congrats on pr-ing with you busted ass :) Glad you had sunglasses on to hide the 'man tears'!

That finish was the most amazing finish ever. Loved it!

Congrats again - you and Sarah need to come and to Florida 70.3 next month!!

C 7:10 AM, April 09, 2009  

A-freaking-mazing! Congrats again!

Anonymous,  7:19 AM, April 09, 2009  

Awesome, awesome race report. I loved how you took us through all your emotions. I am so very happy for you. Well done!

Abby 7:33 AM, April 09, 2009  

I just started following your blog... What a great race report - can't wait to read about all the upcoming adventures!

Anonymous,  7:33 AM, April 09, 2009  

That was a PR race report!

1010 Chris

Jumper 2.0 7:40 AM, April 09, 2009  

Awesome race and report. And thrilling to see you pull off a pr when for a while a finish was in question.

You know you are from Mn when you call that pic of the "run out" a hill, even if you called it a "little hill"!

;-)

Diana 7:45 AM, April 09, 2009  

Very exciting report to read. Congrats on a great day! Way to never give up!

Maria 7:48 AM, April 09, 2009  

congrats on the PR. way to stick out the race like a true athlete!

Sun Runner 7:54 AM, April 09, 2009  

Congratulations, Steve, that's fabulous! You should change the name of your blog to "Steve in a Speedo?! Awesome!"

(I set a new PR on Sunday, too, in a half marathon. It was a great day for racing for everyone!)

JenC 7:59 AM, April 09, 2009  

Incredible - congrats!

Kim 8:03 AM, April 09, 2009  

steve, absolutely amazing. what an incredible story of overcoming pain and pulling out a PR! congrats pal!

Jess 8:06 AM, April 09, 2009  

That's a great report! Congrats again on your PR!

Felice Devine 8:11 AM, April 09, 2009  

Great job! Love the arm pump!

Marlene 8:16 AM, April 09, 2009  

Awesome, awesome report! Definitely a few lessons in there. I may have to borrow your mantra. Sweet finish pics too! Congrats again!

Mel-2nd Chances 8:16 AM, April 09, 2009  

WOW! Very amazing! Congrats on your PR. Hope the broken ass is nothing serious!

t-odd 8:28 AM, April 09, 2009  

Great race report! Very inspirational! Way to tough it out. What is with the man nips? We haven't seen them in any of the many other photos - something new for The Big Easy? Hope your ass/hammy is recovering. Did you ever figure out what it was - a muscle pull, cramp, pinched nerve, ingrown hair? Bring on the after race party report!

X-Country2 9:04 AM, April 09, 2009  

What? No pictures of JP?

Just kidding.

What a great race. I got goosebumps just reading about it. :o)

Carolina John 9:07 AM, April 09, 2009  

awesome report, steve. pushing through the pain and all that poo? why do your best stories always have too much poo?

still, great PR. very cool.

Unknown 9:10 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wow! Awesome race report, broken ass and all! Way to keep on keeping on Steve!

Alili 9:52 AM, April 09, 2009  

Your finish photo made me cry. AWESOME race out there.

Brian 10:06 AM, April 09, 2009  

nice job out there. way to stick with it and finally get rid of those sore muscles. it's gotta be rough to do an early tri with not much time on the bike on the real roads.

Also, how do you not get bloody nips? One of the great questions that will boggle my mind.

Spokane Al 10:07 AM, April 09, 2009  

Congratulations! I was glad to see that it appears that you put on your Dry Max socks in T1.

Melissa 10:07 AM, April 09, 2009  

Awesome RR Steve!! I love your 'man talk' comments. Way to push through the pain and PR, that was a crazy-fast run!

Lindsay 10:10 AM, April 09, 2009  

geez... your pulled hammy running is better than my best day out there!!

Congrats on a PR! NOLA treated you well.

trigirl82 10:12 AM, April 09, 2009  

"Squishy. Warm"... hahaha. Fantastic. I mean, maybe not for you at the time, but I certainly got a laugh out of that! ;-)

Fantastic race report, Steve! Congrats on your race!

Molly 10:17 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wonderful RR!! Congrats again!!! I'm signed up for next year so I may have to pump you for details when it gets closer :)

tfh 10:50 AM, April 09, 2009  

I have to save this report so I can read it before my next race. Seriously, so inspiring. Except I might have to edit out the poop parts. That's the kind of business you can only read once.

Sara 10:58 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wow you are inspirational. You prove that never giving up results in great things! Congrats!

Unknown 11:02 AM, April 09, 2009  

And THAT is why we do endurance sports. If you are out there long enough, you will experience every emotion there is. Great job on the finish and the race report!

Kitzzy 11:04 AM, April 09, 2009  

Wow, what an incredible race and report! I almost started crying too. I always love reading your blog. Its funny and honest and very inspirational. Even though I've yet to do my first triathlon and I am a middle of the pack runner (at best), I can still relate and feel inspired to push myself. Keep up the great work!

jen 11:08 AM, April 09, 2009  

Congratulations Steve. I got a little teary at times but finished the read with a huge smile on my face, just like you! You did so great out there. I am so proud of you. Congratulations again!!! :)

HBarrett,  11:11 AM, April 09, 2009  

Awesome race report. I have to admit, I'm a little teary eyed. You are an inspiration!! Congrats on a great race!!

Anonymous,  11:21 AM, April 09, 2009  

wow. that was unbelievable. i almost cried with you towards the end!
FYI, i RECENTLY found your blog and you're officially on my google reader, and this post was just very inspiring. i'm running my first sprint tri in three weeks and even though it's only a fraction of what you did, i'll try to remember the "never ever ever give up" mantra. and to bring toilet paper, because no way am i swimming/biking with a poopy butt.

Amy - the gazelle 11:30 AM, April 09, 2009  

that is one of the best race reports I've read in a long time. Congratulations! That was very inspirational! (Except for the poop detail...that was less inspirational.)

Missy 11:47 AM, April 09, 2009  

Have I taught you nothing - one prepackaged moist towelette, always, even in a tri suit. You just nevah know;)

Congratulations and you never give up! The only way a DNF (for an endurance event) is if you're being carried out in an ambALance!

Runner Leana 12:24 PM, April 09, 2009  

Steve, awesome race report, and fantastic race! Way to pull a half marathon 70.3 PR out of your broken ass. Love the fist pump pictures to the finish as well!

Unknown 12:34 PM, April 09, 2009  

huge, huge congrats. I teared just from reading. Doing yourself proud (and lets face it) is all that really matters. You DID yourself proud Steve. Congrats again.

trimybest 12:53 PM, April 09, 2009  

FANTASTIC!!!! never ever give up! thats my motto as well. ive got a few craptacular marathon times and an ironman to prove it!!

im super glad you chose not to!

Alisa 1:04 PM, April 09, 2009  

Never give up is a great mantra! I say it often.

Excellent work Steve. You and Pharmie are so inspiring!

Marit C-L 1:11 PM, April 09, 2009  

Great job Steve! Nice work on pushing through the tough parts...that's what this thing is all about! YOU DID IT!!! Thanks for a really great RR and the photos as well. Hope the recovery is going well!

Aron 1:36 PM, April 09, 2009  

you have the BEST race reports ever!!! CONGRATS!!! wow you got me tearing up too :) what an amazing race and PR! you are sooo awesome! I will keep those words in my head too in my next race.

I ALWAYS have stopping the watch finish photos too!

Chic Runner 1:43 PM, April 09, 2009  

Congrats on another great race! I love your race reports, btw. But great job and way to push though. Those are great pictures at the finish too! :) You are very inspirational steve and have quite the following :)

greyhound 1:58 PM, April 09, 2009  

You're not just some funny little artsy man with poo jokes.

You're tuff. The real deal. Very impressive performance.

Christina Barkley 1:59 PM, April 09, 2009  

Way to dig deep! Like everyone else has said - great race report!!!
I just did my first 1/2 Iron this past weekend & feel like I went through every possible human emotion out on that course like you did.
Every race teaches us something new about ourselves.

Kelly 2:03 PM, April 09, 2009  

Congrats!

I'm always in disbelief at how many bathroom-related tidbits you can include in each race report.

Also, those nipples can TOTALLY be photoshopped out!

Steve Stenzel 2:23 PM, April 09, 2009  

First of all: Wow, thanks everyone for your great comments!! I'm glad so many of you like this! It sure was a great day!

Secondly: Kelly, what do you mean photoshop those nipples OUT?!? If anything, I'd photoshop more nipples INTO the photo!! I'm pro-nipple! Who's with me?!?

;)

Heather 2:26 PM, April 09, 2009  

Awesome report. Way to go!

Molly 2:28 PM, April 09, 2009  

As someone who *always* has nipple visibility in finish line photos, I'll say, heck yeah they're natural just leave 'em :)

Irish Cream 2:31 PM, April 09, 2009  

Wow, man. You are truly an amazing athlete! This was an AWESOME report, and I'm looking forward to the next segment!

Melanie 2:42 PM, April 09, 2009  

Wow, way to go! This was so great to read. Thanks for sharing all the details. And you should totally buy that photo... sometimes it's just worth the ridiculous price to have.

Mom on the Run 4:29 PM, April 09, 2009  

Congratulations! I laughed, I cried, I think I'm ready to Tri! Thank you for the inspiration. Great report!!!

Michelle 4:34 PM, April 09, 2009  

Ok i am getting all emotional now!!! Talk among yourselves please!!!!

WOW dude I am beyond in awe of you!! Ugly feet and all.

You freaking rock right now!!! Well always actually!!!

Terrific race report. I love it!!!

Gabriel Losa 5:40 PM, April 09, 2009  

Wow, Steve... incredible story.
Filled with feeling and terribly motivational.

I really enjoyed it!

What about that broken ass? Are you better now? Do you know what it is/was?

¡Abrazo grande!

Gabriel

CoachLiz 8:51 PM, April 09, 2009  

Oh wow,

I'm verklempt! Great race Steve!!! Ironman and half Ironman is where you hit all of the emotions that the human body can handle and then some. You are a winner for sticking to your mantra and seeing the race through until the end even with it when things looked bleak.

Oh, a word of advice. You can buy little 0.99 cent rolls of Charmin TP at the grocery and at Target. After Johnny Tri took my shirt before the LA marathon to use as toilet paper. I always have a roll on me pre race.

trimybest 10:14 PM, April 09, 2009  

uuuhhhh ive never considered that no nipples was an option. this is one instance where more is definitely better!

im with you steve!

Aka Alice 10:17 PM, April 09, 2009  

Chicks know to always carry your own TP in the pre-race area.

Awesome race report...just awesome. I got a little misty at the end too! Congrats on the PR. You so completely earned it!

21stCenturyMom 10:28 PM, April 09, 2009  

I could SO have used your mental attitude at Oceanside. Had I done the math right I would have figured out that I could have PR and I think I would have run like hell. As it was I wasn't really pushing it until I saw that lady in my AG and then I picked it up.

Anyhow - way to gut it out - you da man!

Run For Life 11:50 PM, April 09, 2009  

What a race report! Congratulations on the PR and even more so on never ever ever giving up. I hope that your hammy/glutes are feeling better soon.

Tammy 1:08 AM, April 10, 2009  

Fantastic! Congrats on that PR!

Rachel 9:19 AM, April 10, 2009  

What an amazing race report!!! GREAT JOB!

Chris 9:59 AM, April 10, 2009  

Hey ,
I am happy that my advise helped you to a PR :-) I would love to see some of the photos you mentioned . you can get me at tri_macca at yahoo dot com

Cheers Chris

Chad 12:16 PM, April 10, 2009  

Great job on the race. Great to meet you after also. Glad to hear that ya'll had such a good time in New Orleans, except for the port-o-can issue of course. Keep the funnies and great stories coming.

Trishie 12:38 PM, April 10, 2009  

Wow... amazing race report, amazing race. wtg steve !

LittleRachet 12:42 PM, April 10, 2009  

Great race report! Loved the whole "you've been spanked" deal. I'm totally stealing that! :)

SM 1:08 PM, April 10, 2009  

Awesome Job Steve! Never give up! I will remember that when I am running my first Half marathon.
congrats on the PR!

Waiting for Zufan! 7:40 PM, April 10, 2009  

This is an amazing post! I'm adding you to the blogroll, partly because you have the BEST blog name I'm ever seen. It is hilarious.

I have an adoption blog, but I also started running two years ago and did my share of marathons last summer. This summer I'm going to try a tri, so I'll check back.

bigmike600 9:57 PM, April 10, 2009  

Steve
That is an amazing recap. Great job. How cool that Chris Macca commented on your blog. YOU are the man.
Great job and way to not give up.

GetBackJoJo 7:57 AM, April 11, 2009  

Congrats! Way to gut it out and PR!

And all I have to say other than that is that I am your 76th comment. You're, like, wicked popular.
and fast too!

RBR 9:55 PM, April 11, 2009  

You made me all emotional too, fortunately, as a woman I am allowed by society to say it made me cry.

Great report and even greater race time. And as a discerning purveyor of Steve photos (sounds so much nicer than 'creepy old lady stalker'), I would definitely agree that you should order that finishers photo.

BreeWee 1:47 AM, April 12, 2009  

Goodness, it took me 78 comments before I could write mine! That is the most fun post with a million fotos (you know I love fotos). I am so happy for all the fun you had and the achievements... GREAT way to kick off the season!

MtngirlinCali 10:27 AM, April 12, 2009  

Steve, you're an animal! Great job out there. Hilarious race report. Hope the ass is recovered....I have all the respect in the world for you running with a painful hammie. (And having to use the porta pottie with no TP....I get made fun of all the time for having 2 rolls in my car, but you never know!) Congratulations on the smokin' PR.

Triteacher 12:39 PM, April 12, 2009  

Wow - this is freakin' awesome, Steve. What a story - and how you've told it. Congratulations in a big bad-ass way.

rr 11:17 PM, April 12, 2009  

Awesome race report, speedo steve. I loved reading it. Congrats on that PR - 1:36 with a broken ass? That's incredible.

xt4 7:52 AM, April 13, 2009  

Duuuuude. What a great race report. And I'm so happy for you, and proud of you, for sticking it out and making it work and doing your thing. A true "love of the game" type thing. Great work buddy. Here's to the start of a great '09 season for you.

Tiggs 5:23 PM, April 13, 2009  

awesome report! what a day!! congrats on your finish. I was talking to TriSarTops in the swim bus line, so you must have been there but I was so nervous I didn't notice and introduce myself!

sRod 12:04 PM, April 14, 2009  

Realize I'm a little late tot he party, but that was a phenomenal race! Congrats!

Jim Smith II 9:51 AM, April 17, 2009  

Great - Now I have to explain why I'm getting a little misty at work...

Fantastic job Steve, and congratulations!

NW Bicyclist 10:39 AM, April 18, 2009  

Great job in the race! And I love the story about your ass cramps... truly inspirational.

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