14:57

1st ever 140.6 journey of myself on foot

the day started with waking up quite early. i was awake around 1am, but then was able 2 get back to sleep until sometime close 2 4am. did my race routine; showers, coffee, breakfast, medication, drugs, and everything that i always used, put all the stuffs (special needs bags and other bags) that are needed for the race in the car. drove to the race site. got there around 5.30am, as planned.
as soon as i got there, ate a powerbar, got 2 the bike, placed all my nutrition on the bike and bags, then pump up the tires. took care the special needs bags, got numbered and weighted (185lbs). by this time it was already 6.15am. time 2 put on the wet suit and walk over to the beach for the swim start. as i walked, took a gel, chit chat with some other athletes and other ppl around. the water looked pretty calm, no wave visible and didn't feel any wind, or 2 much breeze. so, i said, '...nice, this is good...'. then they announced the race start would b delayed, since it was still pretty dark.
the wave started with all pro men, then pro women. as i waited 4 the start and talked 2 the g/f, i started to mapped out where i'm heading on the swim. the g/f asked abt my hr and i think it was in the 90's. i try 2 b as calm as possible, regardless of how daunting this thing is. man....what was i thinking and what did i sign up 4? oh well....2 late now....
as the siren went off, i started walking to the water, since the lake was pretty shallow until abt 25 yards in. then, i said 2 myself, '...here we go...' as i started 2 swim, i felt pretty good and calm. trying 2 stay within the game plan, which was not to get caught up with the ppl around me. trying to find some empty space to swim to a point, but 2 no avail, it was a mass start, so....'good luck' finding empty space around. still....finish the 1st loop in about 40min. looked at my watch and i thought, '...great, rite on pace...' as i walked along the beach 2 start the 2nd loop, saw the g/f, hi-5, then back to swim again. as i got to the turn around of the 2nd loop, suddenly i felt like i was being thrown in different directions than where i was swimming, then i realized, '...omg, guess the wind decided 2 show up now...' at this point, i decided 2 find somebody that i can draft off 2 help me get back 2 shore, and i did. finished the swim in about 1:25, and again, i thought, '...great...'
rite on track. (thanx 2 mike, andy, jeremy, and butter)
get 2 transition, grabbed my bag, went 2 tent, ate, changed to bike gear, and oh btw, thanx 2 the volunteer that help peeled off my wetsuit, and prep 4 the long bike ride.
at this point, i jst lost track of how long i was in transition. got 2 my bike and started pedaling.
the bike started with clouds in the sky, no sun, with some wind, as expected. as early as possible, i was trying 2 find the pace that i wanted 2 b. got 2 abt mile 10, then i realized, '...omg., got 2 go..' so, i went 2 'relieve' myself. then, after feeling much better, and everything seems 2 go as planned with strategies, nutrition, pace, etc,until abt mile 50, then the wind decided 2 jst blow really really hard that the corn field looked swaying really bad. at this point, i was trying 2 find some 'breaks' along the road 4 tail wind, but 2 no avail, can't catch any. every turn and every road that i was in, there was either a head wind, or a side wind. after that, i realized my back started 2 ache, and then, apparently one side of my left cleats ran out, that resulted my left bike shoe 2 came off 2 easily, so i had 2 adjust the way i pedaled. along the way, saw the leading pro men went way ahead of the other pro men, since i did not see other pro after the first 4 abt 5-10min, a couple of ppl passed me and passed a couple of ppl. trying to manage things (the hillz, which not that bad - thank GOD; the pain; nutrition, drinks, etc)
as i got 2 mile 50, got my special needs stuffs and take in some additional nutrition with me. felt a little better after that, but yet, the wind jst didn't want to stop, oh well.....but then, at around mile 75, i saw this one noisy car with cow bells sound, then i realized it was my teammates (mike, jeremy, and butter). '...omg, that was really really helpful...' that really made my day on the bike. it cheered me up. lift my spirit and try 2 remember the magic bike word, '...pedal, pedal, pedal....' so i kept on pedaling.
they basically followed me around the bike course, stopped at certain turn, banging the cow bells and cheering me.
after a long while trying to find mile 100, i finally got 2 it and realized that i got 2 prep 4 the run. started taking in some of the nutrition as planned 4 ahead. then, finally, as i saw some of the cedar point rides from afar, i started to feel a little bit better. by this time, it was abt 3pm, i think?!
got back 2 transition and check out my bike time, as i thought it was abt 7hrs. saw the g/f, said hi, got my bag, went 2 the tent; changed, ate, drink, apply some sunscreen, changed shoes; and again, lost track of my time in transition, oh well...
got out of transition, saw the g/f again, since she was volunteering and said 2 her, '...c u in a couple of hours...'
the run started good. trying 2 stay within the planned pace and not walked. saw the teammates again as i got out of the causeway off the park. but, as i got 2 mile 3, my stomach felt like it cannot take anything in. a little hard 2 breathe. drank a little water, but still jst not feeling good. that got me walking 4 abt 1/4 of a mile, but yet, still i tried 2 b in running motion as much as i could. then, i saw the teammates again. at this point, i felt really really sucked; cried a bit; felt like i can't go; felt like i was failing, felt like i was abt 2 give up, but i knew in my mind, i would not quit. mike came up 2 me and started walking with me and asking me questions, but still, i jst felt really really sucked. but, thank GOD 4 teammates and encouragement, i was able to revved up some energy and power to run again. much slower off course. as i got 2 mile 8/9, i started 2 remember tim's suggestions (run/walk) from gct (thanx, tim) until i got back 2 the park again 4 my special needs bag b4 the start the 2nd loop of the run. at the special needs area, i changed my shirt, since i knew i was going 2 b out in the dark and it would get cooler without the sun. at this point, it was abt 7/8pm. ate some chips (thanx, geri), stuffs, drugs and everything that i left on the special needs bags. walked along the transition with the g/f until abt the area that she cannot get 2. and then, suddenly after all that, i jst felt much better, heck, even great and knew that i can dfntly finish this with running, not walking. so, i ran until i saw the teammates again along downtown sandusky with their cow bells, music, camera, cheered, hi-5s and everything else. at this point, i realized i can dfntly get back 2 the planned strategies 2 tackle this and again, the teammates were following me at every mile of the run until abt mile 24. at this point, it was dark, proly abt 9/10pm. then, finally, until mike said, '...run, damnit...' so, i said 2 myself, '...yeach....run, damnit....' so i ran all the way to the inside of cedar point park and there it is, the finish line with jumbotron with my pix on it, bright lites, and the loud cheering from everyone around, the teammates, the g/f, and the loud announcer.
as i crossed the finished line, i lifted up the banner, kneel down to kiss the finish line, and the announcer yelled, '...hansen, u r the revolution...'
looked at my watch, it was abt 6hrs marathon with total time of 14:57 for the first 140.6mile journey.
overall, it was as i expected; hard and enjoyable, and i was dfntly happy with the result, with the things that i did and wanted 2 do.
all in all, thank GOD 4 everything (mind, abilities, physicality, heart, passion, body, legs, hands, feet, focus) and everybody (parent, brother, sister, g/f, coaches, teammates - past and present, friends) that enable me 2 do this.
to u all, God bless.....