Oh yea, i'll be putting up some new areas over time. I'll be adding a race report section and a pics section. I have all my race reports since i started this shin dig, and it's funny to read my sprint reports, all teh way up to my Ironman. :)

Ok, giving my site a little bit of a face lift. Bear with me while i do 15 minutes here and there.

As for training, well thanksgiving and just plain tiredness has really got me down. I'm going to definitely have to train at night because i simply can't get up in the morning. I've been trying to motivate myself to get on my bike and spin, but every night i get home i'm so tired, and i want to read my new book.....

Well i suppose because i don't have a goal race for next year (which i said i would get one and i didn't) thats one reason my motivation is low. I gotta get a plan together. I think i'll be better off if i make a spreadsheet....i'll do that tomorrow night i think. Tonight i close and won't be home until late and then i have to open tomorrow.Tuesday i'm definitely going for a ride outdoors.

Yesterday i didn't eat one thing from Moe's! I'm as close to calorie counting as you can get without actually counting. Shakes and a big healthy breakfast during the day, with a light dinner. I plan on riding my bike either 4 times a week at an hour a pop, or 6 days at half hour for consistency. I'll probably go for a longish ride on tuesday which is my saturday theoretically. I"m still working 8-8 but only 5 days a week with two days in a row off. I'm going to go for a run soon too to see if my knee is still hurting.

I'm also planning on weight lifting my lower body this off season. I'll lift upper but not nearly as hard as lower, i want to build power in my legs then go to strength during early season.

I read a book on cycling tips and a section was the top excuses why people don't commute to work. It sorta motivated me to start commuting to work. First off i'd have to get some reflective gear, a light, and try and find some back roads to work. Most of the roads to work that i drive on are highways, and i have ridden on them before, but if i had a choice i'd rather not. Plus it's only 3.5 miles to work and i'd rather find a longer way so i can work up a sweat.

Going to also plan out the weeks worth of meals and stick to em. Hopefully Jess and i can get into some decent base before i start pounding the pedals and she starts running her legs off.

No pain in my knee today but i havn't run on it either. i did cycle for an hour indoors yesterday and it was ok. I'm going to take some time to update my site with new pics and have a race reports section. i've found all of my race reports since the beginning of last year.

Went for a run today on my day off with Jessica. Half way through it i started to get a shooting pain under my patella. Not sure what it's all about but i walked most of the way home and now it hurts just to walk or climb stairs. Suppose i'll just stick to cycling, though i havn't been on my bike yet. Thats tomorrow.

If my knee doesn't stop hurting then i'll have to skip the Half marathon. I suppose there's always another race at another time.

Bought some containers to put shakes in and bought some normal eating stuff at Wally world last night. It's time to start controlling my caloric intake. I'm eating too sporadically and too unhealthy at work, so i'll down shakes when i'm hungry. Time to go back to eating normal like i was when i was in Clermont. I'm pretty psyched for this next year!

There is a fellow that reads this journal that has left a few messages that made me mad at first, but got me thinking that perhaps other people's perception of my doing the Ironman may have gotten skewed. The later anyone came to my journal the more likely they were to mis interperate my reasons for doing the Ironman all together. So i decided to move it from the boards to here so everyone could comment on it in case they didn't know i had message boards (located in teh 'Leave me a message" link) Check out the link to see his comments.

"Mark, you're wrong, and you're making judgements based ona journal i've kept for a year, and who knows when you chimed in. I'm 24 years old and you don't know me really from a hole in the ground. and on that note i don't see how you can make the judgements you m ake about why i do anything at all. I got my tattoo because it was exciting, because i accomplished something greater then i've ever accomplished in my life. I've never stuck with anything longer then 3-6 months, but triathlon i stuck with for 2 years. This is a big growing step in my life and it has enriched it greatly in all aspects. Yes i'm proud of the accomplishment, and yes the attention i get is wonderful, but don't think
thats the ONLY reason i did it. I"m a MUCH more complex individual then that, ask the people that have known me since year 1 over at coolrunning or triathlete.com. THEY know what i went through, the weight loss, the job and housing struggles, the financial difficulties....this whole 2 years and this Ironman focus was me seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and clawing my way to the top with every ounce of strength and every shred of intelligence i had. I've never accomplished a goal that took so long and worked so hard to get there and now i can apply it to debt, and other areas i generally have faults in becuase i'm hasty.

Was my training for this even tperfect? nope. Could it have been better? yep. Could i have quit? yep. Did i? nope. You don't know how many times i was out there running or biking or swimming and thought to myself, "Man whats so special about this stupid ironman anyway?" I only did three races this year and i trained completely by myself (except a few rides with Carl) so it was a test of endurance, a test of solitude and a tetest of my character."

Yes i got the tattoo, and yes i got it on my leg and it's big. But it's mroe to remind me of my accomplishment and give me strength when i think things are tough and i want to quit. I like it when people ask me about it and when i tell them the distances i have to chuckle because they all roll their eyes and say, "Man i could never do that!" and all i can think in my head is, "Yes you can".

This also gives me something to beat. I have a feeling i'll do another one sooner then i think and i'll demolish my 16 hour time. THe hard part to accept is the fact that i think i would have done much better ANYWAY if i had had a better and bigger breakfast. A mistake i'll never make again.

On that note i will get back to work.

While i was at teh running store today waiting for my girlfriend to get a good fitting shoe, i suddenly had the urge to run the OUC half marathon. I seriously think that the poor nutrition i had race day really contributed to my performance and now all of a sudden i want to go out and prove that i'm faster. After doing the Ironman i totally think that in 3 weeks i can do the OUC half marathon, and PR it...from the first time i did it which was 2:17. I think i could come in under 2 hours pretty easy, and when i first did it i trained specifically for it! I guess time will tell but i'm pretty excited about this next year, i want to bike race (and as someone pointed out i may not be ready for crits this year so i may do other races) and do some running races and i'm sure i'll do the Gulf Coast half IM next year.

Now that i've done the endurance thing, I'm ready to to decrease the distance and increase the speed!

Ok folks, it's time to get that coffee, break out them doughnuts and have a seat - my race report is here!

First of all let me thank all the people that need thanking.

I'd like to thank for various reasons:
Carl and Beth
Jessica
Dave McFarland at Trihomestay
Everyone who donated and bought posters to pave the financial way to this race.
My tri angel especially who donated over 500 dollars to my entrance to this race when i lost my job
I'd like to thank Giancarlo, Art, and Sheldon
Triathlete.com
Coolrunning.com and everyone who is associated with that wonderful resource
Every athlete i met from all over the world over this summer at the Trihomestay. What a wonderful and educating experience.

Most of all i'd like to thank the volunteers of the race. It's so encouraging to pass someone 4 times over the course of 7 hours and they're still there cheering you on.

I'd like to thank all the poeple who encouraged me throughout this tumultous year.

Big Daddy, Steve and Steven, Mark and the gang at syndicate3.com

I'd like to thank all the canadians and other foreign athletes that chatted, emailed and met me throughout this year like Vivien and Pam.
Anyone i missed, i'm sorry but you all know who you are and i thank all of you for everything! Without you all this could not have become a reality.


This race did not go as planned, but considering what i went through to try and train for this event, i'm excruciatingly happy with the result: I finished.

Starting in November of last year i decided i would do an Ironman with my best friend in the whole world: Carl. His wife is graduating with her MBA soon and they will be moving - Carl came up with the great idea of doing one final race together: Ironman Florida. I thought he was crazy, i didn't want to do an Ironman until 2004, but under the circumstances he may not be around in 2004 so we both began raising money for the charity slots available on the website. I signed up for the Panma City Half Ironman figuring it would be a benchmark on what was to come.

Over the last year i've changed jobs twice, my living quarters twice, and changed a girlfriend. The most success i had with work is recently as i am managing a restaruant, but the downfall of that is the 80 hour work weeks. The last 7 weeks before my Ironman i was unable to do any consistent or meaningful training as i was working 8 am to 10 or 11 pm 6 days a week. My lowest weight at the height of my training was 213 and i thought for sure i'd be down to 190 before race day, but as it would happen i would race at 224 as i gained weight working so much (and eating so little).

At my Half Ironman i did better then i would have expected with a 6:30 finish. I averaged 19.3 on the bike which was faster then i thought i'd do. So obviously the bike was my strength and i neglected it to focus on my swimming and running. By doing so i did increase my swimming pace and my running pace, but my biking pace dropped as they went up. More on this later.

In conclusion to this little intro i'd like to say that i am done with big endurance training until i get my life in better order. I'm going to do crit racing and othe rshorter triathlons, nothing over olympic i don't think.


One reason i was so excited about this race is that i was going to meet some long time friends online that i'd never met before. Giancarlo and Art were among them. I would also see Sheldon and BigD who i hadn't seen since May.

A few days before the race i was getting really excited. The plan was to meet Carl and Beth in Gainseville on the way up and carpool up to Panama City which was 4 hours away. I made a pact with my girlfriend Jessica that i would drive the way up if she drove my dead ass home after the race. The drive up was uneventful and a mildly cramping experience. Negative thoughts started to creep in about not being able to train, but i had firmly resigned myself to this, "If i do my best i will make it". I was resigned to just going out there and doing it, nothing fancy.

When we arrived i called Gian right away and we made plans to meet at the open wate rswim the next morning. I unpacked and went to bed.

On Thursday i got up early with Carl to head down to the water front for the swim. Carl forgot his wetsuit and i didn't feel like wearing mine so i just got into my skinsuit, we both put on sneakers and jogged the one and a half miles to the swim. I met Gian and Bruce and Dave from t.com, took off the sneakers and talked a bit. The water was wetsuit legal but i'd never swam that distance with my wetsuit and didn't want to risk chafing. While we were up on the beach there was a sponsor there with Aqua Seal masks. I put on my swedes and noticed that the AquaSphere Kaimans were the ones Gian was using. THe water was beautiful and we swam for about half an hour. When we got out i asked Gian if i could try his goggles out and they turned out to be super comfortable. With 2000 swimmers all around me i was really worried that i'd get kicked in the head and have the swedes hurt me bad. So i went home and thought about changing up my goggles....As i swam i started to feel a major burn on my neck and couldn't figure out what it was. Come to find out on the shore that my RoadID i had put on totally ripped my neck apart and i had a red sore spot on my neck the size of my fist. IT hurt bad and i was pissed something so stupid could happen to me like that. And so i decided i'd just bandage it up and suck it up.

Later that morning Carl and I checked in, and thats where i met Art. Art is like pushing 50 years old but looks more like 40 and sounds more like 30 on the phone. He's an incredible specimen of human, a great guy all around. Throughout the day i bought stuff like tubes and reflective tape, i ended up buying the Kaiman Goggle and Carl bought a wetsuit. Gian, Carl and I went for a bike ride of the run course, met up for the carbo dinner and called it a night.

On friday morning we got up for the morning swim again. It was getting cooler each day and the water was calm as a pool. This time i brought my wetsuit and so did Carl. I put a big bandaid on my neck and put my wetsuit over it. After a half hour of swimming it looked like i'd actually be able to wear it.

By friday night i was exhausted from walking the convention and running all the errands we had to run to prepare for the race. That night everyone got together at the chinese place across teh street from Gian's hotel and we had an all you can eat feast.

Saturday morning I woke up to Carl knocking on my door. "You awake?" I looked up at the alarm clock, i forgot to turn it on (or turned it off and went back to sleep and dont' remember) either way, i had to jump out of bed and scramble to get my stuff together. Luckily i had already put reflective stuff on my clothing Friday night, as well as putting a reflective "JED" on my long sleeve shirt that i put in my run special needs bag. (You'll see in the pics) This was something i heard was good for marathoners or other long endurance sports - put your name on you somewhere and everyone will cheer you on.

Everything got together and we headed out at 4:30 am.

Here's where mistake number one happened, and it would prove to be nearly my downfall. I made oatmeal in the microwave and it tasted horrible so i didn't eat it. I figured a power bar would be all i needed. I was about to embark on a 16-17 hour day and i thought a single powerbar was enough for breakfast? : SIGH :

We arrived at the race site and dropped off our special needs bags. We got body marked and headed into transition to pump tires and make final adjustments. Carl then realized he had forgotten to bring his bottles for his bike. He started to freak out a bit and went to find Beth and Jessica to get him back to the hotel to get the bottles. This would prove to be difficult considering neither of us had a cell phone and none of us made plans to meet anywhere before the race. It was freezing cold out side (like 65 or something) and i had just my tri suit, no sleeve wetsuit, arm warmers and goggles on. I walked around transition a little bit then decided to head to the water. As i walked through a pavilion i noticed Jessica and Beth hanging out. I told Beth that Carl was looking for her to bring him back to the hotel and she left immediately to find him. Jessica gave me her coat as i shivered away and generally started to get miserable...i hate being cold.


At this point i wasn't feeling nervous or anxious. I wasn't feeling anything. I made a few bathroom stops (luckily i found a not well known bathroom inside the hotel so i didn't have to wait). Carl finally got his bottles and met me down at the beach. It was cold enough outside so that the 73 degree water felt warm on my feet. I swam out a bit and generally stayed in the water so that i wouldn't freeze once i got out. I looked back at the beach and saw the mass of people and it was just amazing. 2000 athletes. It was just a sea of red caps. [i'll have pictures here of the swim start but i need to get them from carl first]

I was still a little worried about chaffing in my wetsuit but i had already commited to wearing it so it didn't matter. The red "out of the water now" flag went up and we all got out of the water and stood by the beach. I still was not anxious or nervous - i think it stems from the fact that i was just resigned to finishing with no real expectation other then that...and the fact that i'm a strong swimmer (strong is not equal to fast). We decided to start near the front and a bit to the right of the first bouey. Carl was getting nervous because he kept talking, he only talks when he's nervous. I just stayed silent. Then the cannon went off.

We both waded into the water at a walking pace and i started to swim, but after a few seconds realized that it was still too shallow and i wasn't making good progress so i waded in to my chest then went horizontal. At first it wasn't too bad, i found my pace very early on, but as i neared each bouey it got hectic and i got punched and scratched. I didn't have any blatant swimming over though. My expectation for the swim was 1:30. After the first lap i got out of the water and asked "What time anyoen has?" and someone called out "39 minutes". Not bad, better then i hoped. I went through the timing mat and headed back into the water after posing for a pic from my girlfriend. [this picture i will not show, it's the silliest picture that has ever been taken of me] By the way having a girlfriend wade out into the water to get a good pic oof her boyfriend, and waiting in the same spot (from the bike) for 3 hours to make sure she catches me is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. I recommend my girlfriend to anyone. hehehe.

Anyway the second loop of the swim was more difficult as i caught up to the people who went out too fast. More then once i found myself between two swimmers who crowded me. Another bad thing is the big boat they had for sighting moved and the diesel was very prevalent in the water. Yuck. As i rounded the first bouey i got a bit disoriented, for some reason i thought i was cutting the course so i stopped a few times to look at the boueys. I was on track but i just felt like it had been shorter. Oh well, i kept going and by the time i roudned the second bouey i was getting a bit tired, my arms felt weak. I just kept swimming to the shore that never came any closer and finally i could see sand. I got close enough to hear the announcer, and on one breath i heard "...ebert" and i immediately put my head up again to hear the rest of the announcer - "...sville". I put my head down and continued swimming....

"Who else has the last name of Hebert and lives in Gainseville??" i thought.
"Did Carl beat me??!!!"

I couldn't believe it, teh same guy who said he expected a 1:50 swim, and i KNOW i was swimming faster then that. I swam for the shore with everything i had and when i got out of the water i called out "TIME!" and someone said 1:37!" I ran up the timing chute happy with my time and saw Beth.

"Did Carl just get out of the water?!" i yelled with wide eyed terror.

"YES!" She yelled with glee.

Shit.

I jogged into the changing tent and got my shoes and helmet on. Mistake number two: I didn't eat at this point. I ate a single power bar at 5 am and just swam for an hour and forty minutes, it was now 8:45 in teh morning and i hadn't eaten anything yet since 5. I ran out the door and my bike was ready for me when i got near the transition exit. I hopped onto my bike and started riding into a medium wind. I figured i'd take it easy for the first half hour or so and then crank it up again.

What i didn't plan for is the fact that i was already in nutritien debt, and when i made the right onto 79 the wind howled and blasted me to a measly 13-14 mph for a long time. Combine that with being very fatigued and you have a recipe for DNF. My legs just wouldn't turn the pedals, i was getting down on myself, i was thinking i'd not make the cut off. I was eating my normal gel and bar every 15 minutes, but it wasn't enough, i had to catch up but i didn't know this yet. By the time i got to the bike special needs i was ready to quit. A few miles up the road was an aid station and i got off my bike. I was done. My quads were fried, i felt like crap, i was defeated. As i walked my bike to the closest volunteer to have them call an SAG wagon to take me to the transition area i battled myself in my head.

"This sucks, i didn' tget to train for 8 weeks before this, i can't do it"
"Hey, they don't call you an Ironman if you don't finish. And you don't finish unless you're an Ironman"
"How can i possibly make it for another 10 or so hours? I'm too fatigued"

I got to the volunteer and the guy said, "You ok?"

In that moment i thought, "You don't get called an ironman without suffering, you don't want to fail every person who has watched and encouraged you all year. You can't fail. Get to the run and you are set."

I grinned and said, "could i have a few bars?"

I stretched out a bit and ate. I found i was very hungry now that i was stopped. I ate 3 bars and some gel and downed it with two bottles of water. I still didn't feel full but i was feeling a bit better. Thats when it hit me that i was mal nourished this whole part of the race and suddenly i felt stupid for wanting to quit. I got back on my bike and started to go. I told myself i would keep a 17 avg for the rest of teh way back. My average up to that point was 14 something. My legs still weren't totally recovered but i was able to get going and hold a 17-18 pace most of the rest of the way back. I pissed 6 times while riding because i knew i had to make up time and i would only have minutes to spare at the end of the night. At mile 100 is the bridge and i barely crested it at about 8 mph. On the way down though i flew. Don't get me wrong though, i was still suffering badly and my taint was screaming, but i was going to make it to the transition, and iw as going to finish this race.

I made it to transition in 7 hours 23 minutes and 44 seconds. Those last few miles were tough. I got off my bike and headed into the changing rooms. There were only a few people there so i sat down next to a guy and immediately was overwhelmed with the stench of piss coming off my shoes. Holy amonia batman. I quickly took them and my socks off and put them in my bag and closed it tight. I got my run stuff, my fresh socks and started to realize that i had gotten some chaffing action in my under arm and my neck. The guy next to me had a big thing of vaseline and i asked if i could use some. He said use as much as i wanted and put it in his bag when i was done. I lubed all up and headed into the run. I took my sweet time too, 12 minutes.

As i walked out of transition there was Jessica ready to take a picture of me. She's the greatest.

I told Jessica i was just going to walk the marathon and i'd be back in 7 hours and 45 minutes. She said, "No you're not...really?" i said, "Hell yea!"

The spirit inside me told me otherwise though because 10 feet later i was jogging. My plan: Jog to eachaid station and walk through the station. By this time my legs were feeling fine but i had forgotten my watch on my bike so i didn't know my HR or my mile pace. Probably better off this way anyway. I had taken a camera with me and had the intention of taking a picture of each mile as i went. I got to mile 18 and then was too tired to stop and get a picture. After i describe the run the series of pics will show.

I felt great and jog/walked the first 9 miles with no problem. My foot had a slight tweak in it but other then that i was feeling good. It was dark, i was drinking coke and eating pretzels pretty much teh whole way. I'd get the occaisional cup of water at every other aid station. The volunteers were awesome. As i was running i saw Gian coming home while i was on mile 3 of the run out. I saw Carl on his way into lap 2 at about mile 4 of my run. By the time i got to the park it was dark and in the park there weren't any street lights. It was nice. my body wasn't all that tired yet but the pavement was very rough and my feet were starting to blister even though i had dry socks on. I knew this was going to be a problem later but i put it out of my mind. When i got out or the black hole (park) the first time i was still feeling good but not good enough to come up with a good excuse to walk the rest of the way. I met up with a guy named Brian who was run walking too and we decided we'd finish together. We ran walked all the way to the 13.1 mile mark where we got our special needs stuff.


I saw Jessica and Beth and I think Carl had already finished by that time but they didn't tell me that. I got a new pair of socks and just put them over the ones i already had to try and pad my feet. My foot blisters were growing with each step and it was becoming quite painful. My resilient girlfriend took the watch off my bike and put it in my special needs bag before i got to it, so now i had a watch and i could figure out the pace i needed to finish. Brian and I decided to walk the last half marathon and he held a quick pace. A pace i had a hard time keeping up, so much in fact that i'd lag behind and have to jog up to him. If i hadn't been walking with him i'm sure i'd not have made it because for 5 miles he pushed me...at mile 5 i told him to go on, i'd make it. We were well within needing 20 minute miles to finish but the phrase "Pain is temporary, Ironman is forever" rang in my head.

I started jogging.

I jogged for about 10 minutes before i caught up with Brian still walking at a brisk pace. "Well would you look at that, well done man!" he said.

I had to put the pain in my feet out of my mind, and at this time i stopped taking pictures. My legs were pretty much firing on their own and at mile 6 i knew i would make it and i told Brian to go for one final time. We wished each other success and he went off. I walked alone for about 1 mile before i came up to a very nice lady named Shelly. She was very happy to see me because she was lonely walking by herself. We walked through the black hole together and i started drinking chicken soup because i was getting cold. Ahhh chicken broth never tasted so good. I walked with Shelly until about 3 miles to go when she pulled away from me. The pain in my feet was unbearable and i was getting tired...mentally exhausted. As i neared familiar area and the 25 mile marker went by i knew i was going to make it for sure. I walked out onto the street and people around me started jogging it in. I couldn't bring myself to jog until i was closer to the line, every footstep was pain. I actually felt the blister start from the ball of my foot and make progress with each step across my foot and into the bottoms of my toes. When i looked at it later it was the biggest blister i'd ever seen. and it was so deep in the skin that i couldn't lance it.

When i started to see the crowds i couldn't help but smile. Funny thing is i was so tired that a minute before i thought "I'm not sure i have the energy to smile"

Oh yeah, in my special needs bag i got my long sleeve shirt that had "JED" in reflective tape on the chest. As i got to the crowds everyone started yelling "JED you are an IRONMAN!" I started to beam.

When i got to the carpet the crowd was very loud and i could see the clock.

I started to jog.

The crowd went nuts. So loud in fact that i couldn't even hear the announcer say my name. I told myself i'd savor the moment when i got to the finishing chute...and i did. I went up the right side and slap hands all the way up - turned around and slapped the hands of all the people on the left side. As i started to jog to the line i saw Carl sticking his torso out and i ran right up to him and gave him a huge hug...the first hug i've ever given the guy in the 10 years we've known each other - it just seemed appropriate.

I looked for Jessica but didn't see her until i had started jogging to the line and i put my hand out and touched hers. I crossed the finishline in 16 hours 19 minutes and 45 seconds. I was on the run course for 7 hours 6 minutes and 27 seconds.




After getting my finishing pic i limped over to the massage tent and got special treatment. Benefits of coming in late - there were a few masseuses not doing anything and i got a full body massage by two women for like a half hour. I didn't get back to the line in time to see the final finisher, but my awesome girlfriend had already gotten my bike and bags (and complained about the piss smell) and i hobbled over to the car. I was feeling great besides my feet but as this picture illustrates, i was exhausted.


When we got to the hotel....
I wrapped up like a mummy and promptly fell asleep.

It was an amazing day and thats all i can write right now, but i will write more tomorrow.

I had to work Monday and Tuesday 8 am to 8 pm and now i get two days off, and my feet thank me. The left blister got better right away as i was able to drain it, but the right one has plagued me since saturday but today it looks better and hopefully tomorrow it will be all healed.

THank you again everyone who helped me achieve this monumentus goal. It feels amazing.

I've been having problems with the server so i havn't posted my post race comments but:

16:19:37!

I did it....Jed Sweetser YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

I will post a full length report sometime tomorrow, I've had to work yesterday and today at my restaraunt so i've been a hurtin puppy. I have wed and thurs off and i have tons of pictures and tons of details so it will be lengthy!

Something to look forward to is the blood blister that takes up half of my foot, and me getting off my bike at mile 60 and walking it towards a volunteer with every intention of DNF'ing. It was a very hard day for me, but i pulled through it and finished.

I got to meet Art and Giancarlo and some other people and it was a great overall weekend. Time to get my tattoo!