Rohto Ironman 70.3 Florida Results

Well, it's official, I am an Ironman Finisher, or at least a half Ironman, but none the less, I have a Ironman sanctioned event finisher metal, and that means a lot to me.  I can't tell you how nervous I was about the whole thing.  I don't know what it was, but this event got to me more than even my first ever triathlon back in August of last year.

This was not just a race for me at all, it was a major happening.  There were so many things that made this memorable for sure:

The night before the race was really nerve racking for me.  I had so many emotions happening to me at once.  I was nervous for so many reasons such as:

Am I ready?
Did I pack everything?
Will they Lathrops, Rachel, and Shawn make it to the race okay?
Is my bike okay in the rain? 

The one thing that did relieve my stress was the time I go to spend with Rachel, Shawn, and the Lathrops.

Theresa and Rachel decided they were going to make support shirts that they could wear during the race, but it ended up that only kids could wear them because of time constraints and size limitations of one of the shirts.   Either way, I got warm fuzzy feelings knowing that I had such a great support staff behind me.  Tommy also helped me relieve stress by watching some video we shot of the day before.  I love the Lathrops so much.  They are as close as we can get to family without being family.

3:00am came way to early on Sunday morning, but nevertheless, Tommy and I were out the door by 3:30am and heading to Disney World.  As we were heading there, I noticed some lingering lighting and clouds in the sky.  As soon as we got there, the rain started to fall while I was setting up my transition area.  I started to get a little discouraged because I felt they would cancel the swim.  Fortunately, the bad weather cleared away and we all headed for the swim coral. 

I was one of the last waves to hit the water, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to get a warm up run in to loosen up the muscles, drink my Advocare Spark drink, and socialize with great people like fellow blogger, Kevin Jacobs,  who gave me a lot of encouragement because he was so sincere.  He was also generous enough to donate to Shawn's Ironman Fund.  Thanks Kevin. 



Photo by Action Sports International

 Before I knew it, it was time for our wave to start.  All of the crowd noise and loud music just seemed to mute and the only sound I could hear was my own breath and heart beat.  The air horn went off, and I hit the water.  The water was a warm 83 degrees and I knew that it was going to wear on me before I reached the finish, but before I knew it I was making the first turn, then the second turn, then, wow, I was done.  I could not believe how easy the swim was for me even though you could not see 1 foot in front of you because of the murky water.  This was however the most comfortable that I had ever felt in the water.  I was warmed up, but not worn out when I headed to transition with a smile on my face.

Photo by Action Sports International

My transition was good, but not super fast just because I wanted to make sure I was able to get a GU Triberry Gel in before I went off on the bike course.  I was also a little hesitant because the wind was blowing pretty hard before the race, and I knew that I would be heading into it during the first part of the race.  It did not take long for me to get over the wind though because my new Profile Design Altair Carbon Clinchers seemed to be cutting the wind like a hot knife through butter.  I could not believe how fast I was going and how many other riders I was passing along the way.  I ended up finishing the bike portion with the fastest split I have ever posted in a race.  I really can't say enough about the Profile Design gear installed my Bicycle World of Houston that has turned my bike into a hydration supplied rocket ship.  Thanks Corey and Justin and thanks again Karen.  I can't wait to meet you in person at the Ironman Texas.

As I am running with my bike into transition, I wish I would have had a camera, because notice a girl with a sign that said, "Charlie Sheen says You're Winning!"   It made me laugh, and then I nearly cried as I saw the Shawn's Ironman Support Staff (Tommy, Rese, Noah, Mady, Shawn, and Rachel) by my transition area.  They were all cheering me on, ringing their cowbells, and waving as I transitioned.  I could not help but stop and sell hello to everyone.  I know it slowed my transition down a lot, but I don't know how many times I will ever be able to enjoy that moment again. 

The run started off great.  I was starting to get into a zone, when I heard a familiar voice behind me say, "Hey Finish Strong!"  I turned around to notice Shannon whom I had met the day before with her friend.  They had noticed that I was wearing a Finish Strong Coach Dana Lyons shirt on and knew I was from the Houston area.  We decided to run the first 4 miles together and chat it up.  They were great, and I hope they catch up with me so we can train and visit together once we all get back to Houston.  Before you knew it, I was heading for the second of the 3 loops and feeling pretty good, but that slowly started to fall away.  I ran out of my GU gels because I did not have a place to keep them during my run, so I started on the power gels they were giving me.  They did not sit with me as well as the GU gels, and I stared to get an upset stomach.  Before I knew it I was walking by mile 9, not because I could not go any further, but it was because I was getting an upset stomach.  As soon as I stopped I could feel the lactic acid start to enter my muscles and I was starting to get stiff quick.  I was just 4 short miles away from my the finish, but my muscle were telling me that I was already done.  I was getting a little discouraged until I met a Canadian named ironically named Shawn.

Photo by Action Sports International

Shawn had done this race last year and swore that he would not do it again.  Of course he did not keep that promise and he and I were walking briskly to the finish.  He encouraged me to keep it up and so I eventually took his advice and ran the final 2 miles of the race until I reached "The Chute".  All of a sudden, my pain went away, and I could hear the crowd again as the announcer called my name.

There were a series of thoughts that started to flood my mind but the biggest one was the one I had the day before about my grandmother.  Naydene Roberds (Gran Gran) Leach was born in 1921 (My Race Number) and would have been 90 years old on May 24th.  I could not believe the irony, and I know if she were alive with us today, she would have been there to scream, "Alright!" as I crossed the finish line, so I screamed it for her, raised up my hands in thanks to God, and blew her a kiss! See Video by Clicking Here!  

 

 

Matthew Murphy

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
1921	36	Houston TX USA	Engineer

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
44:33	2:56:29	2:35:00	6:28:06	1177	197

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM	1.2 mi. (44:33)	2:20/100m	1010	170
TOTAL BIKE	56 mi. (2:56:29)	19.04 mph	1047	182
RUN SPLIT 1: 3.5 mi	3.5 mi (38:16)	10:56/mi
RUN SPLIT 2: 7.75 mi	4.25 mi (47:24)	11:09/mi
RUN SPLIT 3: 12.25 mi	4.5 mi (1:01:05)	13:34/mi
RUN SPLIT 4: 13.1 mi	0.85 mi (8:15)	9:42/mi
TOTAL RUN	13.1 mi (2:35:00)	11:49/mi	1177	197
TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				7:47
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				4:17

It was not long before I turned around to see all of the Shawn's Ironman Support Team, and I could not hold back the tears.  I want to thank all of those that were watching my progress on Ironman.com and following the twitter blogs.  I read all of your words of encouragement.  I will soon post all of the video of the event.

We spent the last couple of days enjoying the pool at our vacation rental with the Lathrops before we headed back to visit with Rachel's Sister, Brother-in-Law, and their new son, Carter Ryan, before we flew back to Houston on Wednesday. 

This weekend will be pretty exciting me too because I will get to meet Karen from Profile Design while we all cheer on the participants at the Ironman Texas in the Woodlands on Saturday May 21, 2011.  I will also get to cheer on my new friends Susan and Blaine that we met on the plane ride back.  Susan will be completing her 40th Ironman event on Saturday.  I find that simply amazing.  Good Luck to all that will be racing.  I will be cheering you on. 

So up next is training for a full Ironman event.  I am just not sure where that will be yet.  Since I was not able to win a lottery spot into the Ironman World Championships in Kona, I would need a special invitation to compete in this years event.  I have faith that some how I will get an invitation to the race, but your help is needed. 

Please find the time to help me out by sending an email to the staff at World Triathlon Corporation saying that you would like to see the Shawn's Ironman Project Finish at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI.  You can send them an email at kona@ironman.com  with the subject line "Send Shawn's Ironman To Kona".  Make sure you cc shawnsironman@gmail.com with your email so I will be able to document it.  I figured that if we get enough support, they will eventually send a special invitation to me, and you can say that you assisted in making the dream a reality.  Thanks again for all your support and I will keep you posted.