Ironman AZ

Well the trip out was a little exciting and yet boring. You get so anxious that you just want to be there and get all settled in.

My training went well and was pretty much complete, my bike, equipment and nutrition all dialed in.

We left on Tuesday and planned on arriving on Wednesday after a 14 hour drive, thank god for XM radio!

We did have a small delay by the Texas state troopers in west Texas, but I informed him how I donate regularly and he let me go. Just kidding, He let me off with a warning.

We alternated the driving duties and went on in to Las cruces for the night. We found a beautiful little place called the teakwood inn, it was appealing because it said," free breakfast", and it was only $60.00. I was out like a light, but the next morning I was told that someone tried to enter our room around midnight, so this place might have been a little scary, but it served its purpose.

We arrived in Tempe around 3:ish Wednesday afternoon.

Now we were very anxious to get settled and unpacked.

We dropped Aaron off at his temporary residence and Jeanne off at the airport to get a rental car.



I got into my condo about 6 and Holy crap, it was nice, this was no Teakwood Inn!

This was not what I would have booked! My girlfriend had set this up and it was a freaking million dollar home!

She got in that night and no one else really got in till Friday.



Thursday we went down to the race site to pick up the packet and train a little.

We went out to the bike turn around and I geared up and rode an 11 mile stretch, it was smooth and fast, my average speed was 27mph, CRAZY!



We went for a 30 minute run that evening, and just chilled out. Friday morning we went to the swim. It was very cold and windy and rough, I was out there for about 20 min and I swallowed a lot of water. I went back and just slept most of the day. We had a small get together that night with friends and just hung out.

Saturday we slept in and I decided to swim in the heated pool out back, it wasn't big so I hooked 3 race belts together, hook them onto a chair leg and hook my feet inside, then I swam in place.

It was a good loosen up session since I had a 15 min swim planned.

Everyone did their own thing and I did my bike and run workouts from the condo. I was good to be away from the race nervousness.

Later on that afternoon we had to go in to drop off bags and the bike, and hit the expo.

It is hard to be around all of that pre-race hype, so I was ready to leave, but not really.

I had a few hours alone to just get my head right, but then I had a weird case of diarrhea, but I figured it was nerves and stuff.

That night we had a dinner at home and it was surprise time. Heather brought out her top secret mission surprise. She had shirts made up that said, "Team Tarp", they were awesome, and I lost it, I cried!

Then I open a bag that is full of cards from home, I cried more, read each one then past it on.

Then I pulled something out that was unbelievable. It was a photo album that heather made somehow behind my back and yet right in front of my face, from the first page I was crying.

It was an awesome chronicle of the last year with Heather and Ironman training. I was sobbing.

It was a very incredible gift! the pages were signed by friends, I was floored and speachless!

Once I was done crying,(which took awhile), it was time to shift back into Ironman mode.

I got my Nutrition bags ready and my drink stuff finalized and now all prep is done. I get up at 0300 and start my morning as I usually do. They say this must go down like a normal training day and if you think of it as a race, your're screwed.

Made some coffee had a little breakfast and had my usual bowel movement. I just kept thinking this is a long training day, and I was preparing to meet eugene at o'dark thirty.

We get to the race and I am on a mission, I get body marked and get my special needs bags dropped off and now it is time to wait. I am calm and yet feel like this mission has the importance of the survival of our economy resting on it. I am about to get some serious shit taken care of!

We meet up with Jeanne, and stacy and craig, see Timmy, Tory, and big D.

We don our wet suits and head over to the start. it is a cluster fuck as we are all coralled into a small area and channeled into a smaller area. I am cool and know with this cold ass water temp, I am about to get colder. we are instructed to make our way to the dock and jump in. We are looking at treading water for about 15 mins so I jump in and make my way toward the front, (less pounding up there), then they tell us we need to move another 50 feet forward. I am about middle of the pack now, but there is no one around me. I have somehow got myself some prime water realstate and I am excited!

Just then the cannon goes off and as fast as a blink I am now crowded and getting pushed.

I fight back a little and make my way through, I get into a rythm when all of a sudden my head slams into the back of this ladies head, I am now dizzy, and pissed.

I go a little further and I feel a severe pain in my right leg on the back side of me knee, wtf ? Was I just punched or kicked? Then the same thing happens to my left shoulder, I feel like I am being stalked or a joke is being played on me. I am being freakin attacked. I get away and make some head room then all of the sudden someone is on my back, so I start to swim with sharp elbows and I get away, but now my wetsuit is falling off. Someone has unzipped it. I am devistated and soo beat up I am ready to quit, but this hell has only been like 15 or 20 min, so I go to a canoe for zipper assistance but they can't see where to refasten it because it is too deep under water. They instruct me to go to the side where I can stand up and they will fix it. I am now looking at my watch every 5 strokes. I wanted to be out of the water in 1:10, this is going to put me behind, way behind.

I re-fastened and I am off, I have a long way to go and I look at my watch and this bulshit has taken 30 mins.

So now my plan for under 12 is slipping away, I'm not even half way there yet, so I am going to kick it up a notch and try to get back in the game. I get to the turn around and am feeling ok, peeing some a farting a bit, hands and feet are totally numb, then I smell the stinch of shit , real shit.

I thought omg I am swimming through someone's poop, I gag a little but keep going.

I am tired and beat to hell when I start to hear the announcer again, HOLY CRAP I am almost done!

I get to the exit and the guys lift me out, I am soo confused. I get to the stripers and I don't know what to do, (I should because I have done this before) then I see my friend big D, he is telling me to get down, but I am not understanding his words, he gently eases me to the ground and goes to work, Timmy comes over and helps out, the get my suit off and help me up. I don't know what to do, my feet are not moving. Just then Big D puts his arm around me and I feel this big warm comfort thats brings me back, I think its time to finish this 138 mile day. I tell him I got the shit beat out of me and he says I know, now shake it off.

I get through a long transition and get on the road, I am keeping my heart rate down and get some food down. I am on a mission and I sticking to my plan, I start to think about the photo book from last night and Heather and I check things and I am going too fast and getting too excited, need to calm down.

I am passing soo many people this day could turn around.

I remember two things, 1) this is a training day and need to stay in zones, 2) Eugene said,"if tarp can stick to the plan he will be fine".

I am eating like I have trained and having about 3 bottles every 10 miles. I see some familiar faces and cheer them on. I get through the second loop and I start to pick it up a bit, but still sticking to the plan. I start to think that things are going so well that I won't need my special needs bag.

I then started to fart a bit and at that moment I realized on the swim when I thought I was swimming through poop, I wasn't. It was me! This is not normal, but no big deal.

I cruise on some more enjoying the day, when I see the sign for mile 52 and all of a sudden what I anticipated to be a burp, was puke. I just threw up all over my right leg. I don't feel bad yet though, but I'm a little in shock.

My throat hurts and I have the worst taste in my mouth, so in a few miles there is an aid station and I stop to assess what has happened.

I see this guy standing away from others so I go to him, as far as I know I have dried puke on my face. I ask and he says,"your cool", I take a bottle of water have one big swallow and out comes another load. The poor young college student is now dancing from my puke, I am shocked, embarrassed and now stressed.

I get to special needs and decide that I better take all that's in there just because I'm now weary of the outcome of this day.

I make it 10 miles or so stop at an aid station and I realize I am about to crap myself. I pull in and a dude holds my bike, I shuffle into a porta potty, I barely get my shorts down when the most violent thing I have experienced is happening, I just know everyone within 10 miles can hear this orchestra my internal organs are now producing.

I finish up, and now I am in damage control mode, I walk up to this girl holding a red bike and I am ready to get on and go, when the guy holding my bike is yelling,"SIR SIR", I thought what am I doing?

I can not get into my aerobars because my stomach hurts soo bad.

I take off and realize that at 14 mph, my heart rate is screaming at 180, things are not good.

I am close to the turn around and I am not good, It has been over an hour since I have been able to drink or eat anything. I know the crew will be within sight soon, I want to stop and talk things over, but I'm also afraid if I stop I can't get restarted, or they will make me stop.

I see them and try to talk but instead I am dry heaving, I thought I have got to keep moving.

I look down and I see that I am now moving at 10mph and my heart rate is 190. I decided to pull over and figure out wtf is happening.

I stopped and rested and my heartrate wasn't coming down, I realize that it has been almost 2 hours since I have had fluids. I start to cry, is this it? My stomach is totally locked up and hurting.

After 20 min alone a sag car pulls up and I am balling. They are freaking out asking,"what's wrong, what's wrong", I blubber out, "I don't want to stop".

We talked and discussed the situation, and decided the medical tent would be best, I said,"okay" and then the guy said, "I need your chip", I then cried more.

I was in the medical tent for 2.5 hours, no IV's were given, but I did poop 2 more times and had some serious abdominal pain. So I know It was a good decision. They put me on the scale and I have lost 8lbs.

I laid there thinking about my Album I was given, I thought about Heather and wished her excitement could fix this, then I thought of big D and wished he could bring it back on course.

I was done!

I thought if this had hit tomorrow, or yesterday, this story would be so different.

I check out of the mash unit and walked up the street to find my friends. A few minutes later the group rejoined and I told my story and cried some more, "actually a lot more even while writing this".