Made it through a scorching hot race!!

Made it through the heat!!

Thank you for all the support and encouragement with the emails and messages and phone calls!

It wasn't near the Hawaii qualifying benchmark - I've got more work to do to reach that goal...I was incredibly happy to finish in 11 hours 30 minutes with the course as hot as it was yesterday. And thanks to my friend Jean-Claude from San Diego for running the last 5 miles together. We were able to pull one another along to the finish line for an 11:30. Great teamwork!

All in all, what a race, and what a bike course! The bike course was incredibly beautiful, a terrific ride into the mountains and through some picturesque villages. A bit painful on the long ride up, but the scenery from the top made up for it and more. I have to do the race route again in a more leisurely fashion, with a lot of wine and cheese along the way!

Great fans along the bike and the run course..."Allez, allez, allez!!" One of my favorite fans was the man in the hammock outside of Gourdon, laid back in the shade, drink in hand...offering a casual "Allez!" to every 2nd or 3rd biker:)...and then there were the 3 guys singing the "Allez, allez, allez" song on the Promenade des Anglais for all the runners going by....great fans and sorely needed to keep everyone going in the heat!

The awards ceremony and party on Monday night was quite an event! From the age group winners, to the fastest times in the swim, bike and run, to the top 10 finishers overall, it was a great celebration. And capped off by partying with a great group of Ironmen (and Ironwomen) until 5:30 am on the beach in front of the Promenade des Anglais.

Here are some of the results from the folks to watch:

PROS:
Marcel Zamora (ESP): 3rd straight win!
Laurent Jalabert(FRA): Tour de France star came in 12th, 2nd fastest bike time.
Alexandra Louison (FRA): Flat tire on the course, came in 3rd.
Rebecca Preston (AUS): DNF after the bike.

AGE GROUP RACERS:)
Jorge Ortega (US, Tri Club Coyotes): 13:05 (first Ironman)
Jean-Claude Constandse (US, Tri Club Coyotes): 11:30 (first Ironman)
Dan Czerwonka (US LA Tri Club): 14:37
Pierre Beccamel wins 65-69 age group in 13:40!

I feel so very fortunate to have raced this course, and finished it, and participated with the 2500 other insane and fun people who decided to take on this race!

Merci Beaucoup! Stay tuned for some of the fun from France after the race, and for the next race on the calendar.

2600 Racers, That's a lot o' bikes!

OK, last entry before the race...Thanks for all the support and encouragement, the emails and phone calls will keep me going, especially on that 20k hill we have to climb on the bike course:) See you after the race!

My targets (the Good Lord willing) are:
Swim: 1:30 (8 am Nice time, 1:30 on race clock)
Bike: 6:00 (2 pm Nice time, 7:30 on race clock)
Run: 3:30 (5:30 Nice time, 11:00 on race clock)

Here's a view from the bike check-in today. This is really a big race with 2600 entrants, should be plenty of body blows and kicks to the head in the water:) It's hot and looking to be even hotter tomorrow, so I'm hoping I can keep hydrated well enough on the wicked bike course. I'm figuring I'll need about 15 bottles of liquid on the ride, based on the temperature. 8 aid stations on the bike course...anyone got a spreadsheet?:)

The run is then 4 loops on the Promenade des Anglais right on the waterfront in Nice. So if you see the GPS tracker going in circles at the end, everything is on track:)

Check out the links to the right for race coverage, or you can also go to www.watchmyrace.com and the Ironman France page.

Athletes to watch:

PROS:
Marcel Zamora (ESP): He won in '06 and '07, going for 3!
Laurent Jalabert(FRA): Tour de France star who should CRUSH the bike course!
Alexandra Louison (FRA): She won last year and looking to defend the title.
Rebecca Preston (AUS): Won Ironman Austria and Switzerland in '06!

AGE GROUP RACERS:)
Jorge Ortega (US, Tri Club Coyotes)
Jean-Claude Constandse (US, Tri Club Coyotes)
Jessica Reid (US, LA Tri Club)
Dan Czerwonka (US LA Tri Club)
Luis OrtizSalazar (MEX) age 70
Joan Cortez (ESP) age 63

Friday...counting down...

Ok, getting the jitters now! I'm ready to go, will have a hard time "waiting" through the busy logistics of today and tomorrow to get to the start of the race:)

There are 3 ways to get live information on Sunday:
LIVE GPS tracking for Greg: www.watchmyrace.com and click on links for Ironman France
LIVE timing pad tracking to check times for other athletes: www.ironmanlive.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.ironman.com

I'll put up the links on the right side of the blog so you can check on race progress.

Athletes to watch:

PROS:
Marcel Zamora (ESP): He won in '06 and '07, going for 3!
Laurent Jalabert(FRA): Tour de France star who should CRUSH the bike course!
Alexandra Louison (FRA): She won last year and looking to defend the title.
Rebecca Preston (AUS): Won Ironman Austria and Switzerland in '06!

AGE GROUP RACERS:)
Jorge Ortega (US, Tri Club Coyotes)
Jean-Claude Constandse (US, Tri Club Coyotes)
Jessica Reid (US, LA Tri Club)
Dan Czerwonka (US LA Tri Club)
Luis OrtizSalazar (MEX) age 70
Joan Cortez (ESP) age 63






Here's a couple of the swarm of triathletes out on the Promenade des Anglais for the last rides before the race.

Ironman France - Race Setup begins in Nice

My training regimen has included a mandatory morning swim in the Mediterranean:) Here's the spot where I usually hit the water, about 100 yards from the apartment building where I am staying.

I think those are the buoys for the Ironman swim stretching out into the water.

Oh, and I was warned by Steve about the rocky beaches in Nice. He's absolutely right:) No sand, so bring your flipflops and an extra towel for padding.

I am so glad that I came over to France for an extended duration (I'll be here until July 3). It is truly spectacular! The first 8 days have been full of training, working, exploring Nice, meeting some of my neighbors and getting somewhat settled.

The French passion for cycling is understandable after riding my bike here for a week: Villefranche, St Jean Cap-Ferrat, the village of Castagniers, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins...cycled through all of them. Antibes is my favorite so far, with all the old architecture and mazes of alleyways in the Fort Carre area, filled with cool shops, fun people and great cafes.

And Switzerland is only an Ironman bike ride away:) I rode with a group on Friday outside Nice, and in the morning they had started in Geneva, Switzerland, about 120 miles away!

All the hard training is done, now it's short workouts, rest, do all the race registration and logistics at the end of the week, and the race will be here!

I went for a short run tonight on the Promenade des Anglais, right along the waterfront, and they were beginning to set up the tents and seating at the Ironman finish line. And most of the tents went up today for the Ironman Expo. Can't wait, really...I'm ready to run this race:)

Tomorrow is another fun trip to Cannes, stay tuned!

Arrived in Nice, getting ready for Ironman France!

Getting settled into Nice after a long journey from California. Finally getting past the jet lag, and really enjoying everything about the coast of France: the beaches, the cafes, the food, swimming in the Mediterranean.

And what a place to work and train for a few weeks!

Haven't seen Brad and Angelina yet, but I did meet Steve Forbes at the airport (really!). He was on his way to a speaking engagement in Cannes!

I'll keep the blog updated over the next week as it gets closer to race day.

And stay tuned to www.watchmyrace.com (click on "Special Event Coverage: 6/22 Ironman France" to view the location tracking page for race day).