
This is what I call 'the moment"
Never once when I did my first Hawaii Ironman in 1999 did I think that 13 years later I’d be lucky enough to qualify and race here every year since. But here we are in 2011 and last Saturday I did just that. It felt great to be on the Big Island and I was extremely lucky to be back again to give this race another shot and improve. Every year we are dealing with a different body, different feelings, but ultimately as athletes we always want to do better. We cannot escape age, but as long as our mind is sharp, the possibilities are endless right?
Speaking of age, I turned 37 the day before the race this year, celebrating yet another Hawaiian birthdaywith my Mom, Dad, Nikki, and our kids. We got in on Wednesday before the race, did my usual pre-race prep and was happy to relax on my birthday before belting out Ironman #20 on Saturday. The whole family was here and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present. My body was feeling good, and the mind was feeling even better. I used to get really nervous before this race, but it’s such a long day that I try not to waste any extra energy worrying. I once heard that 80% of the time that we worry, it’s usually for nothing.

A few minutes before the start..thanks for the picture Tristan!
On race morning, I saw a few Timex teammates and was thrilled to see all of them racing. After a warm up run on Kuakini and suiting up in the room, Nikki and I headed down to the start. We said our goodbye’s by the pier as we always do, and I was on my way. After getting in the water and doing a short warm up with some strong efforts, I swam over to the Timex crew on the pier like I always do and told them thanks for the support. The cannon soon went off and we were gone! I sprinted as hard as I could to get some space, and this time it worked. After about 300 meters, I was just behind the leaders and was pushing hard. Just after the turnaround, I tried to catch the lead group of 5-6 swimmers, but I could tell they would exit at around 52-53. I stuck to my plan and finished in 54:17.

Thanks for the set up Doug!
After rounding the pier, I got my sweet Orbea Ordu complete with Dura-Ace C75 race wheels and headed out. The part of the bike course I like the least is the loop in town, but before I knew it we were out on the Queen K and pushing hard to Hawi. I do not train or race with power so I went purely on feel and loved it. Personally I know my limits and boundaries very well and in my mind, staring at watts for 5 hours will not make me faster. I usually break up the race in to separate sections to make it mentally go faster: airport, scenic point, donkey crossing, Waikaloa, Kawaihae, Hawi, and the same all the way back to Kona. I was probably about 12th or so amateur by the time I hit Hawi, and was feeling good. I did not pack a special needs bag (I have never used one since doing Ironmans) and headed for home.

Reaching out to give my son Spencer a high 5 in town.
Luckily no packs caught me for the ride back, but I did have the pleasure to ride a with teammate Chris Thomas into transition. 13 gels and numerous PowerBars later, I finished in 4:57.
I got through T2 with no issues and took a little extra time to use the porta potty and douse myself in cold water, an absolute must for this race! Right away I was feeling good with the running legs going to work. There is so much stimulation of people for the first 10-11 miles of the run in Kona that it makes it hard for me to focus on my race at times. But, it is all good and I just felt lucky to be racing here again.

Feeling good and ready to run!
Chris and I ran together until we left town. It was one of those extremely rare times where Timex teammates race side by side and I loved the Timex shout outs we got all along Alii Drive. It certainly was a proud moment for me. Out of town, I could feel my pace slowing a bit, but just kept to my plan and ate gel after gel – sometimes doing two at once. There were times where I got nervous before the aid stations because I had a lot to do: ice in the hat, grab a gel, grab sponges, grab water, grab more water, and even more water. I saw the leaders coming back on the Queen K and knew I’d be there soon. After the energy lab turnaround I saw many of my friends and knew I was headed home.

The glorious Alii drive home stretch. Unforgettable.
Before I knew it I was coming down Palani Road and headed onto Kuakini and made the famous right turn onto Alii Drive – yes, THE best part of the race for everyone. After taking in approximately 30 PowerBar Gels, 4 PowerBars, and many gallons of Ironman Perform and water, I entered my “moment” and I closed out the day in 9:10 and was very happy with my time – my 4th fastest in Kona.

Happy to see the family!
In lieu of cliff jumping this year, my dad and I rented a couple of Harley’s after the race and rode around the island. It was a great time and was certainly a highlight of the week! Thank you dad! It was a lot of fun out there with you!

A Sportster 1200 for me and a Fat Boy for my dad - let's ride!
Overall it was another unforgettable experience and I feel so lucky to be able to write a race report like this one. Still a week later, I find it a little hard to decompress from the whole experience. I have to say thanks to a few of my sponsors for whom I know I could not race here if it weren’t for them: John O’Malley from John Burns Construction in Frisco, TX – a friend of mine who has believed in me from the beginning and has helped me on my journey to Hawaii since the start. The whole crew from Timex who not only make some fantastic training products, but the staff who have became good friends of mine over the years. Keith, Herbie, Paul, and Dave - thanks so much!. Also the stellar group from Team Sports of Tristan, Tom, Grace, and Doug. And how could I forget my love of PowerBar and the crew that has helped me since I started triathlons in 1995. Also shout outs to Karen at Tri-Swim, Rudi at Compressport, Jax and Alicia at Native Eyewear, Dave Scott for the stellar training workouts, and Tony at Orbea.
Only one more race to go, the ITU Long Course World Championships in Las Vegas, NV on November 5th! Never have I raced 3 world championship races in 2 months before! Here’s to keeping the body healthy and strong!
Aloha,
Tim