Getting Here:  You have to start by giving thanks to the team that helped you get there.  The race itself is an individual event, but without an awesome support team made up of friends and family, I never would have been able to toe the starting line.  Thanks to my beautiful and supportive wife for being flexible on scheduling and putting up with me over the last 31 weeks.  Thanks to my training partners Ken, Mike, Jamie, Geoff, Earl, Mark & David for keeping it fun.  And thanks to all the veterans Karen, Peter, Vik and Andy for letting me pick their brains. 

Prerace:  This event is enormous, 2,900 athletes registered for the event and nearly 2,800 took to the water on race day.  Registration occurred on Friday, which was a blessing as a lot of time is spent on your feet.  Mike Schuster and I were pretty much attached at the hip up until the cannon was fired, which was great having someone to go through the experience with. 

The Swim:  2,800 athletes starting at once is an experience like no other.  Within the first 30 seconds of the race my Garmin was at the bottom of the lake…so much for racing on heart race, pace or splits.  As many of you know, swimming is not my strength and 2,800 athletes beating on each other didn’t help my anxiety.  The first quarter mile was the worse and this is the only time I doubted my ability all day.  I held on to a buoy for 2 minutes and regained my composure.  After a good belch and a quick prayer the rest of the swim was the most relaxing and enjoyable part of the day….1 hour and 20 minutes…I’ll take it.

The Bike:  My goal was to finish in 6 hours while keeping my heart rate close to 130, which is pretty hard to monitor without a heart rate monitor, watch or computer on my bike.  However, the day was perfect and I just went with flow, drinking on feel and eating every 10 miles (which was marked).  The second loop was my favorite part, I felt great, saw my family, caught up with and shared a few stories with Mike and had a huge MSM crowd cheering me up one of the bigger climbs.  I didn’t feel any fatigue set in until the stick back to Madison.

The Run:  My legs felt tired and my back was tight at the start…thinking a little bit of strength, core and flexibility training would have been a good idea, but a little late for that now.  Off I went, wondering how far my legs would carry me.  The first 10 miles where good (9 minutes a mile…probably too good), the next 6 miles where manageable and the last 10 where outright painful.  I ran/walked and prayed for the next mile marker.  The crowds where a huge motivator and did wonders to my energy level.  At mile 25, I sucked it up and ran (aka:  Ironman shuffled) the rest of the way…4:48 marathon, 12:25 overall time.  I’m pretty pleased with that.  It’s funny, I could tell by my run that 12 hours wasn’t going to happen, but without a watch I guessed that it would be north of 13. 

Afterwards:   I loved seeing everyone at the race and couldn’t believe how strong Mike finished.  Unfortunately, my body was toast…I owe my wife big time for restoring life back into me.  Today is a new day.  Who knows what the next journey brings.  My back is tight, but my heart is strong…to be read as Ironman strong! 

All the best,

Steven J Dayon