Ironman Lake Placid - Part 1: The Birth of Matthew Robert

My Ironman Lake Placid experience truly spans the past 12 months.  As you may know, Ironman Lake Placid is the longest running Ironman in North America.  This year was the 15th annual running and to sign-up for the race you need to do one of four things.  First, racers in any given year are given the opportunity to sign-up for the following year's race on the Saturday before the present year's race.  Wow, that sentence is confusing!  Second, race volunteers are given the opportunity to sign-up for the following year's race on the Monday after the present year's race.  Because of this, volunteers come from across the country.  Third, online registration opens at 12:00 pm on the Monday following the present year's race and usually fills in about 15 minutes.  If you're not sitting at your computer refreshing your screen every ten seconds, you're going to miss out.  Finally, Ironman Foundation spots can be purchased after open registration fills, but these spots include a sizable donation, which basically doubles your race registration fee ($650 times 2 is a lot of money).  The reason I'm explaining this is because signing up for an Ironman is a major financial and physical decision that is made 12 months before race day.  In fact, this decision was too much for Laura and I to make in 2011 as I had completely filled out the online registration and payment information, but couldn't commit to clicking the "make payment" button.  However, in July of 2012, I was lucky enough to refresh my screen often enough that I registered for this year's race online.  Following the race registration, I became an expert in Lake Placid lodging as I tried to find the best place to stay for the least money.  If you know Lake Placid, you know it's EXPENSIVE!  Finally, registered for the race and hotel rooms booked for Laura, Luke, and me as well as both my and Laura's parents.  I though to myself, "this is going to be awesome."

Comfort Inn Lake Placid

Let's fast forward 11 months to June of this year.  I've trained through the winter putting in the hours on the bike trainer, running outside in the cold, and enduring 4 am wake-ups to get workouts done before the day begins for most people.  I've finished the school year, which included the added work of the creation of an online remediation course.  I've helped coach the Mount Lebanon track team to a WPIAL Runner-Up Finish and led the 4x100 relay team to a podium finish at WPIAL Finals and a 10th place finish at the State Track Meet at Shippensburg University.  Oh, and Laura and I got pregnant!  Yes, we would be expecting our second son on July 16th, just 12 days before Ironman Lake Placid.  Being the amazing wife that she is, Laura was on board with me doing the race as long as I didn't miss the birth of our son and the delivery went well and everyone was healthy.  However, the travel plans had changed.  It would now only be my parents accompanying me to Lake Placid, and no, we didn't get the deposit back on the unused hotel rooms.

State Track Meet

Lebo 4x100 Relay
From Left: Jake, Dimitri, Chris, Me, Mike, Troy, & Pat

Next, we fast forward to Saturday, July 13, 2013.  Knowing that the baby could come at any time, I had mapped out an 85 mile loop around Pittsburgh that would take me as far as 40 miles and two hours away from our house.  You'd be right if you thought I was crazy for doing this with a pregnant wife.  But, the farthest point on the loop was my sister, Jessica's house.  Then, the loop went through Oakmont and my parents house, and a direct shot back to home.  If necessary, I could have either my sister or parents pick me up along the route and take me home or to the hospital.  Of course, I had my cell phone stashed in one of the back pockets of my jersey in case Laura would call.  This route became my standard "long ride" every weekend in anticipation of the baby.  Well, after spending Friday night in the Emergency room because we thought Laura's water had broken, I saddled up Saturday morning and headed out for my final 100 mile training ride before Lake Placid.  With her mom at our house and my cell phone stashed in my back pocket, I knew Laura was in good hands.

Ok, this isn't actually from that morning, but a picture helps tell the story.

It was a beautiful sunny summer morning.  It was warm, but comfortable as my tired legs turned the pedals.  My thoughts bounced back and forth between the excitement of the arrival of our new son and Ironman Lake Placid.  As I reached my sister's house, I thought about stopping for a quick break, but figured I'd just ride by so I didn't prolong the ride.  No more than 10 minutes later and two or three miles down the road, I heard my phone ring with Laura's unique ring tone.  I truly didn't expect it because of the "pump fake" the night before, but when she said, "my water broke," I explained to her where I was and that I would be riding back to my sister's house and would call her once we were in the car to determine whether I should head home or go to the hospital.  I called my sister, "Jess, I need you to take me either home or to the hospital."  Of course, I figured she would know why, so I didn't tell her.  Little did I know, she thought I had crashed on my bike and needed picked up and taken to the hospital.  Oops!  We clarified the situation moments later in her return phone call.  After racing back to her house on my bike, hitting-up the bathroom, and throwing on my brother-in-law's shorts and t-shirt (he's 6'6" tall), we were in the car headed to West Penn Hospital to meet Laura and her mom.  In fact, we beat them there by about 20 minutes!

Thanks for the ride Jess!

Twelve hours later, Matthew Robert Erdeljac was born at 9:14 and was 8 lbs 3 oz and 20.5 inches long!

The Erdeljacs

Luke & Matthew

2013 Eagleman 70.3

The 2013 Eagleman 70.3 was another memorable event.  On a challenging course during a time of the year when I'm trying to gear up my race legs for another summer, I achieved my second best time in my four trips to Cambridge.  The weekend was extra memorable because my dad and I got to spend an early Father's Day weekend together as he was my only supporter to make the trip.  The rest of the family and many friends tracked online from Pittsburgh.  Thanks for all the support!

At lunch on Saturday with Dad and the Shutt's

Race morning started with a blow-out in transition.  Yep, I blew my rear inner-tube putting air in my back tire so I had to spend a little extra time getting that changed.  That's why you get to transition early!  I had plenty of time to repair the tire and properly prepare for the start of my race.

Blew a tire race morning.

Ready!

Set!

Go!

Unfortunately, my swim was slower than I had hoped.  I was looking for a time similar to last year's 32 minutes, but came in several minutes slower.  However, I felt I had a good swim conserving energy while keeping a consistent stroke with good sight lines.

Slow and steady...

As you know, if you read my blog, my bike is always the strongest part of my race.  Today was no different.  I practically matched last year's bike PR, once again breaking 2:20 over the 56 miles.  Coming into transition with a pack of racers, I felt I was in a decent position within my age group, but was uncertain of my specific place.  It ends up, I had moved up from 49th place to 25th place within my age group (35-39) and from 423rd to 137th overall, while averaging just slightly over 24 mph.  I'll take it!

Dad enjoying my 56 mile bike ride.

Going into the day, I had hoped to maintain a pace around 7:00/mile on the run.  Unfortunately, it quickly became evident to me that was not going to happen today.  I hit the mile 1 marker in 7:12, but knew it was going to be a long day on the run.  My upper body was very tired and even sore from holding the aero position on the bike over 56 miles.  This was most likely due to a lack of training and conditioning on the bike.  This is one reason Eagleman is always so challenging for me.  As many triathletes know, it's hard to juggle training with work and family, and Eagleman is an early season race for me as my real training can only begin after the high school track season ends.  So I suffered through the 13.1 mile half-marathon with a crawling pace of 8:15/mile, but I was very proud of my effort and determination to finish on one of my rougher days.

That run was miserable!

Overall, I came in with a time of 4:48:27.  That was good enough for 38th in my age group and 127th overall.  Not the result I was hoping for, but a good day nonetheless.  It's time to set my sites on bigger things.  First, the anticipation of the birth of our second son coming in July!  Then, on to New York where I'll face the biggest challenge of my tri experience, Ironman Lake Placid.

Me and the boys from PTC (Pittsburgh Triathlon Club)

"Pittsburgh Marathon"

 

I kicked off my racing season with the Pittsburgh Marathon yesterday.  It was my second marathon, but my first open marathon.  My first marathon came on the heels of a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride last September at the Cedar Point Full Rev.  Needless to say, I was wondering what I could do without having swum and biked prior to.  In the Full Rev, I managed a 3:45.  For Pittsburgh, I had a goal time of 3:30, but a gut feeling that I could go faster.

The weather was perfect!  The morning started around 50 degrees with clear sunny skies.  The city of Pittsburgh was beautiful.  As I stood in Corral A (runners are assigned to corrals to start the race based on their estimated finishing time), I was admiring the beautiful morning amongst the skyscrapers.  I looked directly overhead and saw one of two helicopters televising the event, hovering above.  This was really cool!  The 30,000 runners and 100,000 spectators were pumped!



There I am..behind the guy.

The race began at 7 am, and I eased into the first few miles behind a 3:20 pacer (this is a runner that paces participants to run a 3 hr 20 minute marathon.  Even though my goal was 3:30, I thought, "what's the difference?" :)  The first minor hickup came at mile 3 as we crossed the first bridge.  As I crossed the mile 3 line, I looked down at my watch to check my mile split.  For whatever reason, an official Race Timer was standing in the middle of the road with his back to the runners.  The guy running next to me tried to warn me, but it was too late.  Pow! I ran right into his back.  Well, at least I know I don't have a glass jaw...  I don't know what he was doing there, but thankfully no harm was done.

At mile 5, after passing a church choir in the North Side of Pittsburgh that came out to "sing-on" the runners, my legs felt good and my pace quickened.  At this point, I was really just along for the ride.  It was like peering out the car window as your mom or dad drove the car when you were a kid.  My pace was comfortable and my legs were strong.  Of course, this wouldn't last...



Crossing one of the City's many bridges on the course.

As we left the South Side and worked our way up Forbes Ave. into Oakland, it became evident to my body that this wasn't a joy-ride.  However, the spectators and bands that lined much of the race course allowed my mind to wonder away from the task-at-hand from time-to-time.  As I ran through Shadyside, I gave a quick hi-five to the mother of my good high school buddy, Dan McGinley.  She had come out to watch and was as surprised to see me as I was to see her.

As we entered the streets of Homewood and Highland Park for miles 15-20, my legs were hurting.  My knees, feet, quads, and calves disagreed with every step.  It was time to really start winning the mental battle against the physical body.  The hip-hop music that lined the streets of Homewood was encouraging, and I received a moment of relief as I "raised the roof" with one hand to a group of spectators dancing to the music.  They returned the gesture, and I continued with a smile on my face.

My plan at this point was to get to mile 20 where my parents and one of my track athletes, Chris Ferari, would be.  I knew their support would give me a boost.  From there, it would be a 10k (6.2 miles) to the finish, and I kept hearing Oscar's (Oscar Shutt, my good friend, fellow teacher and coach, and great runner) voice in my head, "the marathon doesn't start until mile 20."  I knew the last 10k would be the most grueling, but I also knew I could run a 10k.  Oscar's other piece of advice was, "if you're feeling good at mile 20, try descending your splits over the final 6.2."  I was determined to make this strategy a reality.

I saw my parents at mile 20 and gave my dad five as I went by.  They ran down the street and caught me again a half-mile later.  This was a big boost during the most difficult part of the race.  I didn't see Chris anywhere, so I assumed he decided to sleep-in.  I didn't blame him.  However, a mile later and totally unexpected, Chris and his girlfriend, Zoe, were on the side of the street.  Chris had a super-soaker and Zoe had a sign saying, "Go Ben."  It was awesome!  Chris soaked me and ran with me for about 100 yards giving me great encouragement.  Chris is one of our best track athletes and the leader of the 4x100 relay that I coach.  He and the others will put their speed to the test this week at the WPIAL Qualifiers and Team Championships.

The next mile leading back into the Strip District included a long downhill.  This was welcomed even though it took a toll on my tired and sore legs.  The downhill provided a chance for a fast split.  At the bottom of the hill, Oscar had finished his half-marathon (1:18:45, WOW!) and was cheering on other runners.  He gave me that final boost of encouragement that allowed me to push the final mile.  I knew I was under 3:15 and wanted to keep it that way.  The final streets leading to the finish were lined with spectators, and I crossed the finish line with a final time of 3:14:26.

Congratulations to everyone who ran this weekend.  Most especially, Team Lebo (13 Mount Lebanon HS teachers that ran the full, half, or on a relay team), Jeremy Cornman (Ballou Skies teammate), and my cousin, Jake, who ran a 3:23:17 in his first marathon.  The Pittsburgh Marathon was a success!  Next up is the Edinboro Tri on June 1st in preparation for Eagleman 70.3 on June 9th.

Team Lebo
Back Row: Oscar, Me, Mike Yazvac, Drew Haberberger, Ben Minnett, Josh Bilak
Front Row: Margaret Davidson, Shelly Saba, Heather Pessy, Veronica Coleman, Sherry Miller



Relaxing with Luke watching the Pirate game after the race.



"BallouSkies Update"

Click here to visit the BallouSkies website

I had a rare mid-week day-off from work yesterday.  So, after Laura's pancake breakfast, Luke and I attended a Ballou Skies meeting at PLB Sports headquarters.  I am part of the Ballou Skies Triathlon Team, and I consider it a privilege and an honor to be part of a team comprised of so many dedicated and elite triathletes.  However, the Ballou Skies' mission is so much more than triathlon.  Our mission is to raise awareness, hope, and funds for the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  Our mission is led by Ty Ballou, who is also the CEO of PLB Sports.  His son, Ryan, has been inflicted with DMD since birth.  Ty's passion and perseverance are easily recognizable when he talks about Ryan and Ballou Skies.  Ryan's optimism is evidence of his unwillingness to allow DMD to control his life.  Despite needing a motorized wheelchair to get around, Ryan continues to work towards a college degree, while also being employed at Stage AE on the North Shore of Pittsburgh.  Ryan is now 24 years old and continues to show that he lives an independent life on his own terms.

2012 Ballou Skies Triathlon Team

When Luke and I arrived at PLB Sports, we were warmly greeted by Ryan and Sherry, PLB's administrative assistant.  Luke was being shy at first, but quickly warmed-up.  He really liked Ryan's wheelchair. :)  Ryan and I talked about his job at Stage AE and how the schedule of shows slows this time of year.  Ty was quick to come and greet us, and we met Merrett, Ty's daughter and Ryan's sister.  We met many other Ballou Skies' friends, supporters and board members, as well as Dr. Jill Rafael-Fortney and Dr. Subha Raman, from the team at the Ohio State Heart Clinic.  I was happy Luke and I were there and was looking forward to learning more about the DMD research.

From Left to Right: Dr. Rafael-Fortney, Ty, Ryan, Dr. Raman, Me & Luke
(Luke was still checking out Ryan's wheels)

Luke and I took our seat next to Ryan in the conference room.  I thought Luke would be able to sit with me, but once he saw there were buttons on Ryan's wheelchair, he would not sit still.  I had to turn him over to Sherry to read books and play with cars.  Thanks Sherry! 

Dr. Raman began with a brief history of the work that has been done to date.  She recalled how quickly things have progressed since 2007 with the help of Ballou Skies.  She spoke about how the "stars aligned" to produce progress that is unheard of in the medical research field.  With the success of Ryan's ground-breaking treatment, many other boys with DMD have been getting MRI's of their hearts to track the scarring caused by DMD.  Presently, the research team is trying to get the remaining balance of 40 boys to begin a 12 month double-blind randomized research study that will monitor the effects of Spironolact, a heart medicine, on reducing scar tissue that can accumulate on the heart muscle as a result of DMD.

In addition to the detailed account of the research, Ty spoke from time to time.  You could see the passion in his eyes.  He spoke about how difficult the trips to Columbus for Ryan's regular MRI's are.  He spoke about the fear of the possibility that things could look worse this time.  However, he concluded that each car ride home is the greatest car ride because Ryan's heart continues to be strong.  We also heard the story about the young boy and his parents that came to Columbus all the way from California for his first MRI.  When they arrived at the hospital, the boy was too scared to go through with the MRI.  They arranged for Ryan to talk with the boy on the phone, and Ryan was able to calm the boy's fear so that he was able to complete the MRI.  As I sat there and listened, I was inspired by the commitment, passion, and courage that the people in the room had for this cause that could some day really truly help so many boys with DMD.

As the meeting concluded, I asked for a picture with Ty, Ryan, Dr. Rafael-Fortney, Dr. Raman, and Luke and Me in front of the HOPE poster that accompanied so many other Ballou Skies posters in the room.  Of course, they were all more than willing to be in the picture.  It confirms that we're all part of a winning team, and while Ryan continues to live everyday fighting DMD, the reality is that he has already won.

Until there's a cure, Ballou Skies...

The HOPE that accompanies the passion and courage.

"Cedar Point Full Rev Race Report"

This past weekend was the most successful triathlon experience I have had to date.  The weather, venue, family, support, and race turned out better than I could have expected.

This was my first Rev3 race and my first full distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).  Just to clear-up any confusion, for the non-triathletes, Rev3 calls their full distance triathlon a FullRev.  Ironman calls their full distance triathlon an Ironman.  Thanks to the Rev3 organization for conducting such a well-organized and enjoyable event.  Cedar Point/Sandusky is a great place to have a race.  There is so much for spectators to do.

On Saturday, as I prepared for Sunday's race, the family (Laura, Luke, Mom & Dad, Emily, Kevin, Tyler, Aidan, Katie, Rylen, and Reese) went to Cedar Point.  Everyone said it was really fun and that there was so much to do.  I was disappointed not to be with them, but so happy they had a good time.

Mommy & Luke riding the Teacups.

Luke and Tyler racing around the track.

My parents and Reese chillin' at Cedar Point.

Tyler and Rylen hangin' with Snoopy.

Hotel Breakers is a nice beachside resort with a very friendly and helpful staff.  The location to Cedar Point as well as the race can't be beat.  Transition was just a short walk down the beach, and the swim start was directly outside the hotel.  On race morning, I, like most athletes staying at Hotel Breakers, setup my stuff at transition and returned to my hotel room to await the start of the race.  This gave me a few extra minutes to change Luke's diaper and get him dressed.  Yep, I'm not kidding.  How many athletes can say the last thing they did before the start of a full distance triathlon was change their 16 month old son's diaper and get him dressed?  But seriously, it helped me stay calm as the race approached.  Most of the family watched the swim from our hotel room balcony.  It was the best seat in the house.

Mom and Me heading down to the swim start.

My mom at the swim start with me in the background.

Dressed for success

"My First Ironman"

The Swim
Swimming 2.4 miles became routine during training for my first full distance triathlon.  These were the long, boring swim workouts in which you usually lost count of your distance at some point.

Mass start

Sunday's mass start (everyone in the water at the same time) for 2.4 miles was a new experience.  I told my parents, "I'm just going for a nice long swim."  Once started, I found a fairly clear path just inside the directional buoys and settled into a smooth consistent pace.  The water was cool and the sun rose behind a mountain of billowing clouds.  I was having a nice long swim.  The end of the first loop brought us back into the shallow water close to shore where we started.  Everyone stood and walked for several hundred meters.  This gave me a chance to look around and see my place in the pack.  As I thought, I was in the front half of the group and having a good swim by my standards.  The pack of 355 athletes had spread out, which made navigating a little easier.  But, Lake Erie had awoken, and the water was much more choppy.  I did my best to stay smooth and consistent.

As I rounded the final turn toward the swim exit, I knew I had put myself in contention with the other amateur athletes.  Although my swim time wouldn't stack-up against the top swimmers, I knew there was a 112 mile bike ride to make-up lots of time.  As I exited the water, I passed my screaming family.  What a great feeling to have them there supporting me.  My overall swim time was 1:15:10 and 60th place overall.  I'll take it.

The Bike
T1 went smoothly as I prepared for the 112 mile bike ride.  However, about a quarter-mile into the ride, my excitement got the best of me.  I veered a little too far right and ended-up in someone's front yard bunny hopping crevices and roadside debris.  After stopping to retrieve my water bottle, I said to myself in a chuckle, "Ok, relax.  Let's start this over again."  I got back on the horse and eased into a 90 rpm cadence that quickly increased my speed to about 24 mph.  Gotta love flat bike courses. :)

I knew it was a long ride (not to mention the marathon that followed) so I focused on taking in plenty of fluids and gels.  I wasn't interested in racing anyone at this point, but rather taking care of the business of staying comfortable, hydrated, and fed.  The volunteers at the aid stations were fantastic as they handed out gatorade and powerbar gels.  The volunteers encouraged us as we passed through with cheers, cow bells, blow horns, and shakers.  Before I knew it, I was at the 56 mile mark.  I recall passing a timing mat and looking down at my watch to see what everyone following online would be seeing.  I was happily surprised to see I was right around 2:30.  Happy might be an understatement.  I was shocked at how well I was riding.  Not to overstate it, but I couldn't believe how quickly the first 56 miles had passed, and I couldn't believe how great my legs felt.  I thought back to my many half-ironman races and how hard the 56 mile bike ride had been.  I guess the training was paying off.  I knew that, if I was able to go 2:30 on the second 56 miles, I would be right around 5 hrs.  That would be exceeding the 5:15 I had planned for.  Somewhere between miles 60 and 70, the bike course for the FullRev met-up with the bike course for the HalfRev.  This was a pleasant distraction as I had been riding alone for quite some time.  I enjoyed seeing the other competitors and took comfort knowing we shared the determination of conquering the day's challenges.

By mile 90 I was getting quite uncomfortable.  I unclipped my pedals from time-to-time and shook-out my legs.  I made frequent adjustments on my bike seat in order to manage the inevitable discomfort in that region.  I checked my watch for reassurance that I would be off my bike soon.  At that moment, I discovered new motivation.  I was on pace to break 5 hrs. on the bike.  I decided this was a goal I wanted to achieve.  I wasn't willing to sacrifice the rest of my race, but I was willing to deal with the discomfort of staying in the aero position and continuing to ride at the pace I had set to that point.  I wanted to be able to look at my online results and see a bike split that started with a 4.

My final 25.4 mile pace was almost as fast as my first 22.5 miles, and I pulled into T2 with a bike time of 4:55:32 (fastest amateur and faster than six pros).  Mission accomplished!  Well, at least two-thirds of it. :)

The Run
"Ok, this is exactly why you signed-up.  You wanted this challenge.  Just run the first mile and we'll see where we're at."  These were the words I spoke to myself as I enter the parking lot on my bike.  I didn't let myself think about the fact the marathon I had to run.  I needed to approach it in much smaller, less daunting distances.

After racking my bike and changing into my run gear, I swallowed a gulp of gatorade and stuffed half a banana into my mouth before easing into a steady jog.  At the first mile-marker, I checked my watch.  8:14.  Well, that was a little slower than the 8:00 pace I was aiming for, but it was only the first mile.  At that moment, I heard the voice of a fellow competitor coming up behind me.  He mentioned Ballou Skies .  He had obviously noticed the uniform I wear for the best Tri Team around.  No, seriously.  Check out my teammates results.  We're setting PR's all over the country and continuing to raise awareness for the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  If you don't know about it, you better check it out.  The voice belonged to Kris Kocan from Meadville, PA.  We talked for a minute about Jason Jacobs, who also races for Ballou Skies and won the HalfRev on Sunday.  Our short conversation was a nice distraction, and I decided to let Kris pace me for as long as I could hang on.  I ran with Kris for about four miles at 7:35 pace and felt good.  I started telling myself it was just a long weekend run on legs that were tired from a hard training week.  This strategy worked because for the first 13.1 mile loop, I felt like I was on a victory lap.  Sure my legs were tired, but I've been in more pain at the half-iron distance.  Well, my victory lap was about to come to an end.

After the first mile of the second loop, I could feel my pace slowing and the pain building in my legs.  At this point, Matthew McDonough from Chicago ran up beside me.  I made a decision to run with him and let him pace me since Kris had fallen back.  Even though my legs did not want to go that fast, I made up my mind that's how it was going to be.  I'm sure Matt knew exactly what I was doing.  The toughest part of staying with him was catching-up to him after the aid stations.  He chose to run and drink, while I chose to walk and drink.  I wanted to make sure I was still getting fluids and calories in me not on me.  At about mile 18, Matt surprisingly veered off to go to the bathroom.  I thought this was a good sign as he might be hurting as much or more than I was.  However, without Matt to set the pace, I slowed and over the next few miles, Matt was able to catch and pass me for good.  My legs were hurting and I was doing everything I could to put one foot in front of the other.  With about 6.2 miles to go, my focus was on finishing the race.  My pace had slowed to over 9 minutes and now Travis Early from Fairport, NY was passing me with about 4 miles to go.  I needed something to rejuvenate me.

A few minutes later, I noticed Travis stop up ahead.  He was cramping!  He stopped and was doing everything he could to massage his legs.  I don't mean to find joy in another man's struggles, but it reaffirmed that others were hurting as bad as I, or even worse.  I checked my watch to assess the situation further (pretty much you're looking at your watch all day).  9:41 and 4 miles to go.  "If I can go sub 9-minute miles from here on in, I could break 10 hrs!"  This became my motivation.  Travis had cramped and I'm hunting a sub 10 hr ironman.  I dug deep and pulled out an 8:45 and an 8:54 mile.  I ran through the remaining aid stations without stopping or grabbing anything to drink or eat simply because I couldn't bear stopping and starting again.  My legs were screaming with each step.  The next time I stopped would be at the finish line.

Em cheering me on down the finishing shoot.

Mom cheering me on.

As I was funnelled into the finishing shoot, my sister, Emily was screaming up ahead.  I passed my mom as she shouted and finally came around the corner to see Laura and Luke.  I had told Laura I wanted to finish with Luke so she handed him off and the celebration began.

Me and Luke, Laura, Uncle Kevin, and Tyler

Well, not #1 buddy, but maybe next time.

High-Five!

Final Results
If you've seen the final results on-line, you might be asking the same question I'd be asking.  How could he finish just one second behind the 4th place finisher?  Well...

You see, when Laura handed me Luke, my legs were hurting so badly that I walked the final 30-40 feet because I didn't want to drop Luke in the event of cramping.  I didn't realize Travis Early, who had cramped earlier, was making a final dash to pass me.  After crossing the finish line, he apologized and said, "I'm sorry, but I had to."  Well, it's all good because I got some spectacular memories and photos of finishing my first full distance triathlon with my son.  And, each of you can determine for yourself whether you would have done what Travis did.  But, my dad did happen to catch the moment on camera.  And Travis, "I'm sorry, but I had to."

4th & 5th place finishers.

Thanks to all my family and friends for their support!