2100 athletes, 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, 26.2 miles running, 15 hours 33 minutes and 30 mph gusts of wind later, I completed my first (and not the last) Ironman triathlon. It goes without saying that the wind really sucks. It was tough dealing with it but I made and finished very strong. Jen even commented on how good I looked at the end, especially when she "tried" to run me in and ended up leaving her in the dust. I must say the best 6 words to ever hear in a race is "Corey McKenna, you are an Ironman." It was a great day. I was certainly nervous but once I got going then I relaxed and dug in for the long haul.

The swim was a little challenging with 2100 other triathletes swimming at the same time so I really didn't find my groove because I kept getting hit in the head. I still finished very close to my goal in the swim. Then off to the bike and found myself pretty relaxed on the bike for the first 18 miles. At the turn around, I discovered a 30 mph headwind downhill on the return trip into town. There was a brief moment when I wanted to quit. It lasted about 30 seconds. On the second loop, I kicked into gear and pushed hard out (ave. 23-25 mph) only remember that I had the headwind back in. I finished strong on the 3rd lap but was about 45-60 minutes off the goal. I decided that the 14 hour goal was going to be out of reach when I got off the bike at 4:15pm. Once on the run, I had 3 loops. I did well for a while. On my final lap, I came across a young girl who was struggling and I decided to walk with her the remainder of the race. The last 8 miles went much quicker. The finish line was in sight and knew I was going to make it.

It seemed to be all a blur. Can't believe that I finished the race. Can't believe that I am an IRONMAN. Can't believe that I exercised continuously for 15 hours. And I can't believe that the day after the race I was not completed sore and being wheeled out in a wheel chair. And only a few days later, I was feeling very normal. If someone said, "Hey there is an Ironman this weekend, do you want to race?" I would be all over it. I am excited to do another one and beat my time. I will probably do Ironman Arizona or Coure d'Alene Idaho next year.

I thank Jennifer for all her support throughout the day, documenting everything. It was such a spectator friendly race. She got to see me every couple of hours. I also appreciate my parents driving 15 hours from Redding to Phoenix and back home, just to see me race. Thank you for everyone who supported me and wished me luck and inspiration throughout the whole thing.

Time to race in Arizona

For Corey:

April 14--one day left. I am here at the Ironman Arizona and anxiously awaiting tomorrow. It has all come down to this. Here are some interesting facts about the race: over 850 are Ironman virgins; there are over 600 in my 35-39 age group; there are over 1400 men in the 30-44 age group; there are over 1900 men and 400 women; the oldest is 78 and the youngest is 20; there is a man who has done every Ironman race in the world; there is a man who lost 170 pounds training for this race; there is a man who has done over 25 Ironmans and a woman who has done over 20; and every state and over 15 countries are represented. This will be soooooo cool even if it is the hardest race I have ever done. Keep you posted.....

2 weeks and counting...

I am down to 2 weeks remaining. Actually, only 13 days. Crazy...been planning this since last year. It all comes down to this. I am currently tapering now after a pretty decent week of training. Jen will definitely have pictures to add to this once we get back. We will keep you posted...