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.