I learn its not as easy as it looks

My brother is an Iron Man! Hurrah!

The sum total of my "competitive" running experience is now one sprint triathlon, one Olympic Distance triathlon, one Marathon (Surf City), and one partially completed Iron Man competition. Can the Wheaties box cover be far behind?

Ok. So experience DOES count for something. Finishing all the pressing matters I could at the office, I finally began packing for the race trip about 4 a.m. before making the mad dash to LAX for my early flight to Florida. In the 20 minutes I had to pack I managed to get all my Iron Man gear, and little else, into my carry-on bags. To save space, I wore my running shoes.

Having arrived a few days before the race, I quickly wished that I had also packed some clothes to wear on the non-race days. The night before the race, the competitors (in my case, participants) had to put their running gear into a bag to be held in the transition area from the ride to the run. Oops. Now I had no shoes to wear. Quick trip to Walmart and I was gellin with some Dr. Scholl's trail shoes.

First up. The 2.4 mile swim into the Gulf of Mexico. To avoid getting my face kicked in by one of 2,499 other swimmers, I waited a minute or two to allow the others to dive in and, hopefully, clear the area of jelly fish. Moving just fast enough to keep from sinking, I finished 16 minutes off of my target goal. I saw my family cheering encouragement, relieved that I had not drowned.

The panic I felt when three men threw me to the ground and quickly stripped me of my wetsuit soon gave way to joy and relief as they helped me up without any further assault and I was allowed to stand under the showers to wash off the sand for as long as my heart desired.

Some time later, I continued on to the changing area and was soon on my bicycle. I'd had the tires changed at the last minute before shipping my bike. Since it could take me hours to change a flat tire, I went with Armadillo tires - impervious to normal road hazards. Though I felt like I was riding on tank treads, I consoled myself that at least I wouldn't have to stop to change a flat tire. Imagine my surprise when I heard the night before that "This year, for a change, we swept the entire course free of glass." Even with the slow tires, I didn't seem to be moving as fast as I had trained. I wasn't too worried though. Several of the more experienced competitors I'd met had warned against going out too fast on the bike course and burning too much energy. One thing I didn't have after that swim was energy to burn.

Could it be the lack of food in my system? Had I really burned that many calories out there in the Gulf? Forty miles into the race I finally realized that all those Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts on the course were trying to offer me instant energy - gel food quickly consumed. When they asked me whether I wanted Strawberry or Chocolate, I couldn't resist, even though I had been taught never to take food from strangers. Somehow the other riders managed to eat, drink and ride at the same time. Since my only accident had occurred in training while I was chewing gum and riding, I stopped at every aid station to eat and drink.

Soon, my speed had picked up by what seemed like several miles an hour. I checked my bike computer to see how fast I was traveling. Oops. Note to self. Check to make sure all equipment is working BEFORE the race, not in the middle of it.

As I approached the end of the 112 mile bike course, the sun also approached the ends of its course for the day. The sun reached its destination over the horizon a few minutes before I reached mine. I missed the cut-off by 11 minutes and was not allowed to run the marathon.

After walking to the infamous Andy's Motel, showering, changing, eating dinner, and hanging out with friends and family, I made it to the finish line in time to see my older brother sprint across the finish line, confirming what I'd always known, he is a true Iron Man. As for me, I have not yet begun to rust!