IMC Executive Summary

Here you go Dad:

Times:
Swim (3.8km) - 1:22:39

Bike (180km) - 6:44:53
first bike segment (40mi) - 2:24:09
final bike segment (72mi) - 4:20:44

Run (42.2km) - 4:31:17
first run segment (13.1mi) - 2:19:41
final run segment (13.1mi) - 2:11:36

T1 (swim to bike) - 14:47
T2 (bike to run) - 6:26

I had a friend comment that in my race report I made it sound easy so let me throw some more numbers at you. In training for IMC I did the following:
453 workouts
over 425 hours
covering 4,373.4 km

Race Recap
The day of the race was spectacular. It was overcast and cool, pretty much exactly what I ordered.

I had clear water for the swim and it was one of my best swims of the year. I believe my perma-grin started as I made the second turn in the water (you get a lot of water in your mouth if you're swimming with a smile!).

The bike course was crowded but the other riders were far more courteous and savvy than those I've encountered in shorter races. I loved the hills as climbing is my biking strength and that's where I had the chance to gain on other riders. The headwinds were hard to deal with but they were only for a short time.

The run wasn't at all what I expected, and I surprised myself with my time. My biggest struggle was to keep my heart rate down. The cool weather was a boost although the winds didn't help on the return.

The energy from the crowds was amazing and the volunteers were fantastic. Racing with 2,600 participants is overwhelming but the fact that the volunteers outnumbered the racers 4,200 to 2,600 is staggering.

Retrospect (one week later)
I don't think I have ever been so prepared for anything in my life as I was for this.

First and foremost my coach set up a great plan and we adjusted as we went along. I think I asked Alan about 50 questions a week!

I had a fantastic group to train with. Everyone was inspiring and helped greatly in pushing me to keep training and pushing my limites. Part of why I signed up for the 2007 race was so I could train with this group and I'm very thankful I made that decision as they made a huge difference.

I had planned everything down to the socks I would wear and how I would cook my potatoes. I read blog write-ups and race reports from people who'd done IMC and other Ironman and Iron distance races. I asked vast numbers of questions of people who'd done the race and were planning to do it - what did they put in their special needs, what did they wear, how did the transitions work, etc. I finally made myself learn to change a flat and even changed my clubmates flats if they'd let me. I became very boring as I ate, slept and breathed Ironman.

Add to that I had luck with the weather and having no mechanical or gastro-intestinal issues during the race.

I want to be sure I remember this if (when) I do another IMC as I know I'll want to better my performance but I don't want to go in cocky about the race as I've done it before.