10:37:13: A New Kona PB!

On my third try, I FINALLY put together a good race at the Ironman World Championships! I had Kona personal bests across the board, and my third-fastest Ironman marathon of 3:30. Here are the splits:

Swim: 1:19:41 (Pathetic, needs work.)
Bike: 5:40:07 (Very hot and windy!)
Run: 3:30:35, 18th-fastest marathon in my age group (Male 45-49).
Total 10:37:13, 33rd of 166 in the 45-49 age group, also a Kona PB.

Interestingly, the marathon course is now a Boston Marathon qualifier, (talk about multi-tasking!) and the qualifying time for my age group is 3:30:59. I already have my spot (from Boston in 2005), but when I heard this announced at the carbo dinner, I decided to give it a try anyway, just to prove to myself that I could do it. There are much easier ways to qualify for Boston, like running an open marathon on fresh legs, but I liked the challenge, and was happy to be able to pull it off.

This was my 10th Ironman, including three Ironman world championships in five years, so it's probably time to pack it in. Yeah, right! I think I can do better here, I know what needs to be done, and I'll be back. Nothing like a good race to keep the fires stoked!

Race review, pictures to follow.