Finished!

I made it. It is now late afternoon the next day and I am recoverying. The race was harder than I had imagined, but it seems to be a common experience. All the races at the hotel, talked about it was the hardest race they had done. The weather was hot, the wind was in the wrong direction, and the French apparently outlawed ice. One racer from the UK was on his third Ironman and he did not make it inside the cut-off time.

I will post details later, but the swim and bike went well. The bike course was a killer. The climbs were very long and the descents were a little crazy. A lot of people did not finish the bike. Once I got to the run, I could not keep any fluids down. I ended walking most of the marathon just to finish with going to the medical tent.

Thanks for all the well wishes. Everytime, I crossed a timing mat I thought about everyone watching back home. It was great to have the virtual and real support here (thanks honey ;)). I do not know if I would have made it without them.

I packed my bike to be shipped bck to the US this morning. I think it will be a while before I miss it. Tomorrow, we leave for Paris. I will post details about the race and racing in France when I get back.