20 weeks of training. Putting in hard hours. Working out nutrition strategies. Measuring progress. I've put a lot into this. I'm ready. Thanks for all the input you have given me. Directly and indirectly. My Pfit family has been amazing. Alletta and I are headed up to Everett WA tonight (see my blog 'Love at First Sight' if you haven't met Alletta yet). The fam is headed up Saturday to meet me there. Wish me luck.

Good luck Ted! Race within yourself, don't eat the paste and enjoy the day! You will do great!
Randy

Ted,
How'd it go? Melissa and I were at the NW Tandem Rally so I missed your post.

Doug

Ted,

What's the news on your race? How did you do? We're all chomping to hear from you.

Kathi

I had the most awesome day!! Weather was perfect. Overcast and probably mid to upper 60's. I gave myself 7.5 hours, figured I could possibly do it in 6.5 hours once I started adding up the times; 1.5 miles left to go in the half marathon I realized that if I picked up the pace a little I might be able to break 6 hrs. I did and made it in 5:58:58. Around the top third in each of the diciplines with near 1500 competitors. I am very happy with my race. It all came together. And I didn't even have to eat the paste!! I had the nutrition all laid out on the bike and run. Kept to most of it. Drank less liqiud since it was cooler, so I ate a little more to make up the calorie difference. What a race. The top two pros came in around 4:15. It was a dead sprint to the end and a 1 SECOND difference between first and second place. WOW, what a finnish. Of course I didn't see it. I was just a couple miles into the run at that point.

The water was 72. Nice. Kept an easy (but strong) pace on the swim (7 minutes faster than I figured). Beautiful rolling hills on the bike. Gorgeous scenery with plush green trees all around. Left Lake Stevens and passed another lake. Great ride. Had enough energy to charge up the hills toward the end (not too hard though; need legs for the run). The run went through some residential then along the lake (twice). Lots of spectators cheering us on. Adrenaline rush. Keep pushing. When it came to the last 1.5 miles I pushed on and made it. I finished, got my badge of honor, chugged some gatorade then downed 4 pieces of pizza. Sat and relaxed as the sun came out and the music played. It was awesome.

Here's the bike course map. If your in the area. I recommend the ride... and the race.
http://www.lakestevens703.com/downloads/CourseMap.pdf

Fantastic job Ted! Great time and way to saty away from the paste! As Doug says "Enjoy the journey, respect the distance" I am very proud of you and your achievment! 2009 IMCDA will be here for you sooner than you can imagine!
Randy

So we got to see Teds report, did I miss Randy's somehwere? or is it going to be a film like spirit of the marathon?

Yes, limited engagement! Watch for it coming to a theater near you!! And tickets are going to go FAST. You might have to camp-out to get one...

Now that I am home from my 6 day stay at the hospital I will be able to finish my race report. I am sorry that it has taken this long but I wanted to do it right with pics and all.
I have been released and am now at home trying to relax and recoup for a couple of weeks. My injury WAS NOT from Ironman however I do not recommend to anyone else that when they finish an Ironman they TAKE 100% of time off from foolish things like body surfing

Race report will be up soon and I will link it to my blog. Thanks for everyone's well wishes and good luck with your benchmark Saturday!
Randy