I finished, kind of...

   This past weekend was my first Ironman triathlon event.  It was a 70.3 mile distance and was an amazing experience.  I did finish, kind of .  It depends on who you ask and how you look at it.

     In the athlete guide it states that you have one hour and fifteen minutes from the start of the last wave to complete the swim, five hours and thirty minutes to complete the bike, and eight hours and thirty minutes to complete the run.  I realized on Saturday that this is not logical.  Why would I be given an unfair advantage than those athletes whose start times are after mine.  I was in wave start nineteen and there were twenty three wave groupings.  This did not occur to me until after the race.  No matter what, I knew, for myself, the race was going to be close.

     I finished the swim in one hour and twelve minutes and forty-two seconds.  It was not easy for me by no means.  Many triathletes will finish the one point two mile swim well under one hour.  I am the back of the pack, but that doesn't bother me.  While in transition, getting out of swim gear and into bike gear, I heard the announcer announce the arrival of the final official swimmer.  Crap!  I've got to get moving.  I grab my bike and go.

     I finished the fifty-six mile bike in four hours and eighteen minutes and seven seconds.  At the dismount line I asked an official what was the time.  They answered, "one minute fourteen seconds."  I asked what that meant.  The official said that was the amount of time left for cutoff.  Holy crap!  I just made it.  There were many riders I passed on the last ten miles of the bike who would not be running today.  I felt bad for them, the effort they put in to get to today and the race.  However, I had to get out of my bike gear and into my run gear.  As I left transition I heard some officials talking about time left.  One say to the other there were three hours left.  As I ran to the "run out" banner, I asked an official if I had three hours left.  The official looked at the clock, looked at their watch and said yes.  I can do this!

     I finished the thirteen point one mile run (half marathon) in two hours and forty-five minutes and thirty-nine seconds.  I am not a speedy person, but running is my strongest of the three disciplines in triathlon.  My personal best for this distance is two hours and seven minutes.  I figured if I ran a two hour and thirty minute half marathon I would finish the race and celebrate.  The first lap of the two loop course was easier than the second.  I did walk on the second lap, took water and Gatorade, and ate orange wedges at every aid station.  I knew I had this in the bag.

     Coming down the finish chute first I heard my wife cheering me, then I saw her.  And my kids there with their hands out to give me a high five as I finish.  I fist pump my way across the finish line.  I am greeted by my good friend and his wife, Scott and Chantelle Perrine.  I am given my finisher medal and hat, and immediately get my picture taken.  It was a perfect ending to the race.  Official time DNF.

     DNF stands for Did Not Finish.  My total time for the race was eight hours and thirty two minutes and fifteen seconds, but I only had eight hours and thirty minutes to officially finish from the start of my wave while I floated in the Oceanside harbor waiting for the gun to sound for me.  The bitter cruelty of Ironman is this: once the race starts it becomes difficult to keep track of each competitor and what their individual time is at any given point.  So they set up arbitrary time cutoffs to ensure the end of the race by a certain time.  Looking back, when I asked the official if I had three hours to finish, I actually had two hours and forty minutes based on my wave start.  So, did I finish?  Depends on who you ask.