140.6 miles - 12h 53m 54s

Those are the statistics, but they don't tell the full story. Sunday was an experience that adjectives don't do justice. I talked to my family after the race and I told my sister that when I crossed the finish line I couldn't contain the emotion that spilled out in the form of tears. She asked what I was thinking at that moment and I honestly couldn't remember. There was no single thought, but rather an overwhelming sensation that goes hand in hand with an accomplishment like this. I would never be able to do that feeling justice by trying to describe it. I believe that part of it was also due to the knowledge of all of you who had wished me luck over the past couple of weeks. Whenever I heard a spectator cheer for their loved one "You can do this.. We love you!" I couldn't help but get choked up. It was completely reactionary and involved no analysis or deeper thought. Just like your legs involuntary reaction to a doctors gentle tap on the knee, certain comments throughout the day (especially on the run) would just get to me.

I had the chance to meet up with Rich, from Race4Kids, Saturday night and got some good race day advice from him. His daughter Elizabeth and son stayed home in Toronto with the grandparents and Rich was here this year as just a spectator. We talked for a bit about what I was doing in Africa and how Elizabeth is doing. She is getting a device removed in 4 weeks that has been used to give her medication during her Leukemia treatment. Rich and his wife said that although this is great for Elizabeth, it is actually a little hard for them. For the past year and a half they have been actively treating and fighting this disease. But now, they just have to wait and see. If she makes it 4 years without relapse she should be in the clear, but until then they just have to hope and pray that she will be fine. It was great to have this opportunity to get to know someone that I had only exchanged a few e-mails with over the last couple of months, but who's team I was/am a part of.

Race day:
Sunday started out with the alarm clock set at 4am. Breakfast, dressed (with my Race4Kids race top), transition and special needs bags packed, and then into town by 5:15. First thing was to drop off special needs bags, which are given to us halfway through the bike and run. I just had 1 water bottle with CarboPro1200 in my bike special needs bag and nothing in my run special needs bag. As I dropped them off I thought maybe I was missing something as I passed bag after bag that looked like it was full of stuff! As it turned out, I didn't need anything more than that extra bottle and what the race course provided. Next was last minute checks of my bike and then the wetsuit. Dressed for the swim we all started migrating to the lake. It was about 200 meters from the transition are to the lake and we got to see what we would be running back over after exiting the swim. I put my cap and goggles on, said a quick prayer (which would not be the last...) and wished Raf good luck. We had talked about trying to start in the same place but then realized that once we started warming up it would be impossible to find one another. Into the water I dove, to warm up for a loooong day.

Swim:
2,300+ people started the swim at the same time. Generally I hear stories of these mass starts looking and feeling like a feeding frenzy in shark infested waters, so I was a bit nervous. The last thing I wanted to do was start my day with an elbow to the forehead or someone dragging my backwards by the ankle like so many horror stories I had heard. Surprisingly the swim went brilliantly for me. I ended up in some sort of bubble between the mass of people trying to swim with a view of the underwater cable marking the course, and the mass of people trying to stay away from that mass. Aside from a few legs I had to swim over and a few people grabbing at my feet, my first lap was surprisingly smooth. The theme for me during this race was "I've never gone this far before..." I had a bit more contact on my second lap but nothing to concerning. As I rounded the buy that marked 3000m finished and just 1000 to go, I thought to myself for the first time...."I've never swam this far before". But I felt good and just focused on staying relaxed and in good form.

Out of the water with an official time of 1:12:06 and in 1000 place over all. I was very happy with my swim as i was expecting 1:15 - 1:20.

Bike:
Halfway through the swim, it started raining. By the time I was heading for my bike I was thinking that it may be a good idea to keep the wetsuit on to stay dry... It was pouring! The transition tent had mud puddles everywhere. The guy helping me with transition helped me get my socks and shoes on reminded me put on my helmet, and then wished me luck as I headed out to get my bike. I had a fleeting thought to put on my windbreaker but decided against it because if the rain let up and the sun came out I knew it would be way to hot. Well, the rain never let up.
It was raining hard enough that I didn't see any of the beautiful scenery that usually graces this course. For me, the rain was actually a blessing because I tend to overheat during races and the constant rain kept me cool. I had decided to take it easy on the bike. I knew that i had a long day ahead. Everyone was passing me. All ages, shapes, and sizes! halfway through the first lap I saw Louise pass me (our names are on our race numbers so fans can cheer for us) and I looked at her left calf, knowing that would be where her age was marked, and saw "65". I had to smile. I got passed by 65 year old Louise, and yet I knew that I had to let her go because otherwise I would have nothing left on the run. My bike was like that. I was passed by everyone! And it showed. After the swim I was 1000 overall. On the bike my time compared to everyone else was 1641. Only roughly 600 athletes had slower bike times than I did. But I stuck to my game plan. I had budgeted 7 hours for the bike. The last 10-15 miles was all uphill. Not extremely steep. But on the second lap, over 100 miles in, those last 10 miles of hills felt much steeper. There were some good motivational signs posted on the bike course along this last climb. My favorite being a quote from Winston Churchill "If you're going through hell, keep on moving". Amen to that! After the 45 mile mark I thought "this is the first time I've ridden this far in 3.5 months. After 92 miles I thought "this is the farthest I've ever biked", and at 100 miles into the bike I had done my first century ride ever. I was slow, but I was still moving!

Off the bike with an official time of 7:06:29 (65 year old Louise finished her bike in 6:36!!)

Run:
By this time I had been on the go for nearly 8.5 hours. I knew that if I could pull off a 4-4h30 marathon I would break my 13hr goal. I wasn't sure how my legs would respond after the bike, and I was pleasantly surprised as I started running and found myself at a pace that was actually running, rather than shuffling. I didn't wear a watch, so I had no idea how fast I was running, but I decided to just go with what felt good. Mark Allen, one of the best Ironman athletes, once said "the pain isn't that much greater if you run a little faster, but it's over sooner". Between that and Churchill I had some good lines going through my head. 26.2 miles... I decided to break it down by aid stations. I would run from station to station, approximately every mile, and then walk through the aid station getting coke, water, and Gatorade at first. I was feeling "fresh" through mile 3 still but felt like I was putting to much in my belly. It was all sloshing around each time I got out of the aid station area and started running again. So, I started having just half cups of water and coke. At about mile 4 I passed my friend Raf heading the opposite direction, which meant he was about 6 miles ahead of me. Which was about right since he was planning to finish the bike in 6 hours.

By mile 10 I decided to give the chicken broth they were offering a try. That stuff was a miracle for me! It calmed my stomach down and I felt great. From then on, I took chicken broth at every 3rd aid station. The rain was still dumping, which I liked. it wasn't all that cold, just soaking wet and kept me cool. Miles 5-13 I started telling myself "ok, just 13 miles to get back to this point" I tried to stay in high spirits by talking a bit with other athletes, and joking with volunteers. At the turn around point on the second lap, 18+ miles in, I told the volunteers "don't take this personally, but I'm really glad I won't see you again today!" By mile 21 I didn't want to get over confident, but I pretty much knew I was going to finish. It was an awesome feeling. Just a 10k to go I thought. Than with 3 miles left, just a 5k to go. I skipped the last aid station and ran strong through the last 2 miles. As I came down the hill and through the entrance to the oval and around to the finish line I was high fiveing everyone and pumping my fists in the air. I felt like I had all the energy in the world! It was an awesome feeling with everyone cheering and knowing that I was actually finishing, and finishing strongly. I crossed the finish line, was covered by a space blanket and guided through the finisher process, switching between a huge smile and uncontrollable tears. Unreal! "This is my first Ironman!"

Official Run time 4:21:14 (9:59 minute per mile average)

Official finish time: 12h 53m 54s

The volunteers along the course were great. They and tons of other friends and family, as well as general spectators from the local communities,stuck it out in the rain for 17 hours! And I couldn't have done this without all of your prayers and e-mails of support wishing me luck. I kept thinking about all of you who have supported me in so many ways and who contributed to Race4Kids, and I thought about how long all the volunteers and spectators had stood outside cheering on thousands of athletes that they don't know, feeding us, and encouraging us. I had to finish for all of you and it is because of all of you that I was able to finish. Thank you!

-Timo (Ironman) Acosta ;)