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Now that I’m on this platform, I figured I’d share a race recap from the IronMan World Championship in Nice on Sept. 14, which I qualified for earlier this summer at IM Lake Placid. WARNING: Super long post based on another one I already wrote during a 10-hour flight. -------------------------------------- I woke up the morning after IronMan Lake Placid in July feeling pretty good about things. I managed a sub-12-hours time on one of the most legendary courses there are, and that was despite steady rain on a bike that climbed over 7,000 feet followed by a battle with my gut on the run. I placed 42nd out of 195 – not the stuff of legends, but it was hard-earned and I was damned proud of it. And I was hungry. That’s what happens when you burn something like 11,000 calories in a day. I was sticking around an extra day to recover, so I headed over to the awards breakfast to take advantage of the all-you-can eat offerings. I stuffed myself full with a bowl of oatmeal, some blueberries, yogurt, a bagel, a banana, a muffin, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, another bagel, and an egg sandwich—all while giving my unsolicited insights and advice to a very friendly fellow athlete who later turned out to be previous year winner Trevor Foley—then waddled over to the seats near the awards podium. They started reading off all the slots for the women’s World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. It’s Kona, so they got snatched immediately. For the men, it was a Nice, France year, so that’s a different situation. The director preempted things by saying “If you want to go, you’ll probably get to go.” It's nothing against Nice, but it's not Kona with its legacy, so people don't want to go. I was soloing this race because my wife’s a teacher and the school year was just about to start, so I started feverishly texting her. ME: I think I have a legit shot at going to Worlds. HER: Is that the one in Hawaii? ME: No. This one’s in France. HER: I like France. ME: It’ll mean you have to take off several days from work to go.

The first photo is from the 2001 Chicago Marathon — my first real taste of long-course endurance. The second is from this August in Lafayette, where I took on a 24-hour cycling challenge and logged 250 miles with 18 hours in the saddle. I started training back in 1976 to rehab an old sports injury and ended up becoming a lifelong runner. Since then, I’ve finished more than 20 marathons, ultramarathons, full Ironman races, and seven half-Ironman events. These days I’m chasing ultra-cycling. At 67, with 50 years of training behind me, I don’t know exactly what’s possible — but I’m ready to find out.

Hello, I just wanted to share a little bit about my experience at IMWI! First off I’m so thankful and blessed to have been able to do this! It was a really great venue. The spectators were the best part. There was lots of support throughout each leg of the event. I like that they put our names on the bibs and people can call you out by name. Makes it a little extra special. The swim was good, water temp was perfect at 67. I tried to ease into it and not go out full speed. It’s two loops of full contact swimming! Bike course was not as bad as I had expected. Lots of hills yes, but I had done a lot of training on hills so I was ready. Made some mistakes with nutrition but was able to pivot and get back on track. At last the run! Very nice course through town, football stadium, and by the lake. Made it through on water, coke, and bananas. Around mile 18 legs were pretty done so I was just shuffling through. Pushed through those last miles and made it to the finish where my Ironfam was waiting! Couldn’t ask for a better first full. Coach Joe was pivotal in getting me there and seeing the capability that I didn’t even know was possible. And I got to meet Mike Riley!