This is it. The moment you have been training for. Don’t screw this up.

Don’t be that guy who overdoes it with a training day the week of the race.

Race day is when you show that you have diligently put in the sweat and time required to finish an Ironman. Don’t try anything new; get plenty of rest the week leading up to it. Don’t be that guy who overdoes it with a training day the week of the race. Take time to make sure your gear is ready to go and in working order. Clean your bike. Gather the food you want to stuff into your support bags. Stay hydrated. Know what your goals are and stick to the plan. There will be a mandatory athlete meeting a few days before the race. A race official will answer any remaining questions you have and make it clear what to expect on race day. Follow instructions carefully, drop off your gear and relax.

For me, this was the first time I had done the full 112 mile bike and the first time I had run a marathon. I had done multiple rides longer than 90 miles, but never the full event with a marathon afterwards. I had never run more than 15 miles before race day. That was probably a little less than I ought to have done for the run, but as I mentioned in my earlier post I had a minor foot injury from ramping up too fast at the beginning of my 5 month blitz to get Ironman ready. You might be wondering why this series of posts is called “6 Months to Ironman.” Honestly it just sounds better, and if you count from when we got the road bikes, six months is accurate.

You don’t realize how spent you are until you stop.

At the end of the day, I finished the course in 12 hours 11 minutes 43 seconds. With a slightly faster swim and transitions, I would have easily slid under 12 hours, but I’m ecstatic about the results. The last 8 miles of the run were brutal. Seeing the finish line and hearing the cheering puts some spring into your step as you approach the chute… my family was fortunate to see me coming as I kicked it in between other competitors. You don’t realize how spent you are until you stop. Anne, Mom, and Dad helped me stagger over to the car.

And just like that the journey is over… except for the three days of shuffling around the house due to supremely sore muscles.

This is post 6 of 7 about my Ironman journey and pointers.