At about mile 100 we hit some small rolling hills that on any other day one would barely notice. After 100 miles in an IM, they were the Swiss Alps, especially since the wind had picked way up. At this point I naively said to myself, "all I need to do is get to transition area and sit down for 10 minutes and I will be fine for the marathon." Yeah!

I think I was getting a little delirious. As I rolled past the last aid station I saw my dad (a photographer too) with his Nikon snapping away 6 frames a second. I thought to myself, "He must have been dropped off out here because I don't see my girlfriend or my car." Just then about 4 guys shout, "Go Adam." I turned around and realized I knew none of them. But I wobbled along. Later I would come to find out, by seeing the video Lisa shot of me, that my car was parked first in a long line of cars at the aid station. It also had a huge sign on it that was a blatant lie, "Go Adam, Looking Good." That is how my dad got there, and how those guys knew my name.

Bike Time: 5:45:42 (19.4 mph average)

Transition 2:
With the crowd around at the transition area I pedaled in hard and made it look good. I got my run transition bag and went into the tent. My back was stiff so I stretched for a bit. I turned my run transition bag upside-down and out popped a card that said something to the effect of, "Go Adam you tri-stud. Jane (Fratesi)." Jane apparently worked the transition area and sweetly put nice hand written notes in some of our transition bags. It put a smile on my face. Lisa yelled in from outside the tent, "How do you feel." "This is going to be one hell of a long marathon", I said. But hey, the harder the journey the sweeter the finish. I hit the port-o-john again and then started a slow jog out of the run exit making sure I had my large water bottle with me.

Transition 2 Time: 8:45

The Run:
I actually felt pretty good... pretty good that is to run a few miles. I knew though, that if I was going to do a marathon I needed to reevaluate my plans. Since I did not take in enough calories on the bike, at some point on this run I needed to rectify this. I lightly jogged to the hilly section of the course and walked all hills… as planned. When I got down the hill I decided to walk and think. I was NOT going to quit this race. I had dreamed and worked for far too long to stop. New plan: Walk for as long as it took to eat as many calories as I could comfortably stomach. For the next 4 miles I walked and ate a Cliff bar, several handfuls of pretzels and many orange slices. During the walk I was accompanied by a guy named Blair.

Blair was originally from Canada. He was on the Canadian Olympic cycling team a few years ago and had recently moved to Delaware. He had completed Ironman Canada in August and developed a painful knee problem in that race hobbling out the last few miles of the marathon. He was at this race because his wife was in contention for a top 10 finish. He was a very nice and humble guy. It turns out he was 40 minutes down on the lead biker when he exited the water. By the end of the bike he had closed to within 12 minutes of the lead and was in second place coming into the transition area. Due to his knee, he had planned all along to walk the marathon. He told me he mainly came down to support his wife. The race was 3 laps around Lake Mineola, and he said he would likely stop after the 1^st one and wait for his wife at the finish line. I urged him to go on but I don't think he did.

At about mile 7.5 I started to run. I actually felt pretty good. My stroll with Blair while eating my food had picked my energy level up quite a bit. I was keeping a very good pace around 8:15 minute miles. I was passing many people at this point. It was very hard passing mile markers like mile 8, when 100 yards after it you saw the markers for mile 16 and then mile 23 knowing that the bigger numbers did not apply to you until the 2^nd and 3^rd laps around the lake. As I came around passing the transition area for the first time, once again, the crowd got my adrenaline flowing and I comfortably picked up the pace. It was really neat and helpful to pass my own little cheering section too. There is nothing better than living your Ironman dream and having an audience to support and cheer you on. But, as soon as the crowd noise faded away and they were out of sight around the next bend I hit this wall. At that point, one of the verses in Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve started going thorough my head, "But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me… now." I promised myself I would not walk until about mile 16.

On my way to mile 16 I was passing many people walking. I know how discouraging being passed as if you were standing still can be. I had just experienced it. As I passed the walkers, I would give them encouragement by telling them to hang in there because I walked for 4 straight miles. Many of them said thanks.

At mile 16 I stopped for some more pretzels and oranges and filled up my water bottle. I also stretched my legs on a brick pillar for about 2 minutes. This made a big difference. On a side note, I want to mention that one of the smartest things I think I have done recently in triathlon is carrying a water bottle with me on all longer distance races and filling it up at each water stop. This way I never have to stop or drink out of a Dixie cup. I just casually sip my water or fluid from the bottle in amounts my stomach can handle. I now feel awkward without carrying the bottle in my hand.