8:57

Another Ironman in the books. Not a bad day, but not what I had come here to do.
I will write a longer report when I have had a little more time to reflect on the race, but I am extremely proud of the fact that I was able to finish yesterday. I went through the entire swim and bike not knowing if I would be able to run. I had an achilles issue flare up after my run last Saturday (I have no idea why or how) and I had not been able to run since. I tried to run a couple of times through the week but had to shut it down after 10 minutes. I actually rode the bike like there wasn't going to be a run and that cost me a bit on the way back from Hawi. I tried to stay with Steve Larsen for about 15 miles and paid for it dearly. When I finally got to the run it hurt, but it was just a dull pain. The only problem was it was a dull pain every time my left foot hit the ground. I was still clicking off 6:40 miles throught the early part of the marathon so it was bearable. When the 6:40's turned into 7:10's out in the lava fields, that is when it got hard. I actually took a good tumble on the run because I wasn't getting any lift off that foot. I managed to scrape the ground and did the old drop and roll out in the energy lab. My first road rash from running. It is hard when you know you didn't do what you are capable of, but sometimes just giving all you have is a reward in itself. I did that yesterday.