In what order are the events/how far are they?
In order - SWIM 2.4 miles, BIKE 112 miles, RUN 26.2 miles

What is time limit?
There is a 17-hour cutoff (midnight) in order to be an official finisher

How do you think you'll do/what is your goal?
Honestly, I just want to beat the midnight cutoff, Anything faster than that just gets me to the post-race beer tent quicker. haha

What is your strongest event?
I believe I am equally inept in all three events. In the races I have done this season though, I did significantly better on the run than in the other two events, when statistically compared to my age-group peers.

How many people are in the race?
I think there are around 1700 competitors

What will be the hardest part?
I have been answering this, "Paying for it!"
I guess I  would have to say the run, simply because I will have already been busting my ass for hours & hours before starting the marathon.
But on the other hand, I am definitely not too proud to walk. I have heard about the legendary winds (30mph headwinds, up to 60 mph gusts) out on the bike course, and that sounds a little intimidating to me.

How do you train for something like that?
Miles, miles, miles!!! I recorded most of my training miles, but have not summarized them. In  the last couple months, I would guess 20 miles swimming, 800 to 1000 miles biking, 80 miles running per month? I estimated 66-20 hours per week training - Patty thinks it is higher than that. Definitely a part-time job.

Where did you do your swim training?
The majority of my swimming was done in the pool at the Missouri Western State College pool. I did a couple open-water swims at Smithville Lake and at Lake of the Ozarks, in addition to the lake swims during races, Hard to replicate salt water, ocean swells, and sharks (just kiding, Mom) here in the midwest.


What was the hardest event?
Just as I suspected (see above), it was the run. But it wasn't that difficult. I paced myself well and finished strong, with gas left in the tank.

Did you ever feel like quitting? Did you ever bonk/hit the wall?
Honestly, no. Never. I was having a blast out there & did not ever feel tired or bored or drained. I think I raced controlled, and conservatively.

How was that swim in the ocean?
Faaaaaar. haha I could stand on the beach and I could hardly see the turn-around in the distance.
Having never swum any significant distance in the ocean, I had no idea what to expect. In my mind, I had built it up to be much tougher than I found it to actually be. I was defnitely mentally prepared for the worst. After the race, I discovered most participants agreed that the swim conditions were worse than in the past. Bigger chop, stronger currents, etc. In this particular case, being ignorant of the true conditions was beneficial to me.

What was the winner's time?
Male winner's time was 8 hours, 11 minutes. He only beat me by 5 hours and two minutes.   :)

Would you do it again?
Absolutely. In fact, I already signed up for Ironman Kentucky in August of 2007.

How many people were there?
Out of 1673 who started, 1627 finished (46 did not finish)