Alex McDonald Pro Triathlete

Well it has been a VERY busy and whirlwind week!

The Brief Version:

I had an amazing race here in Kona finishing as the amateur champion and 29th overall in a time of 9:00:09…I know 9 seconds…don’t ask! Then on Tuesday I got married to the most amazing woman (Ashley), in the most beautiful and picture perfect ceremony on the beach in North Kona.

The Long Version:

Ash and I arrived in Kona on Oct 2 with plenty of time to take care of wedding stuff that week and race stuff on …well…race week. Having spent the month of Sept in Durham, NC and 90 degree heat, definitely helped as it did not take long at all to acclimate to the conditions in Kona. Even though this was not my first experience here in Kona, I was still blown away and a little bit intimidated by all the über athletes that can been seen at all hours of the day all over Kailua-Kona. At any rate it was great watching the town come to Ironman-life as race week approached. Of note, the day before the race, my now sister in-law who has a business relationship with Oakley, introduced me to Greg Welch, VERY COOL!! J

As usual I was not able to sleep much the night before the race but used the time to visualize the perfect race. The clock hit 3:30am, breakfast time, and before I knew it I was walking to the pier. WTC and the Kona volunteers are amazing and the whole pre-race process, including bike check-in the day before, went very smoothly. Ashley was also able to secure some pier passes so she was able to walk out onto the pier to give me one last good luck kiss and take some fun pre-race picture, including a shot of my “lucky sea turtle.”

Swim: 59:29, 212 overall

I got into the water just before the pros started and did a quick warm up to ensure I got a good spot right at the front of the starting line next to the pier. As more and more swimmers approached the starting line I felt a strong nudge, ready to return the nudge and ensure my spot in the increasingly crowded water I turned to find fellow Timex team mate Luis grinning at me!! J As the anticipation mounted Mike Reilly called out 4 minutes and then within a minute or 2 the cannon went off, caught off-guard the thrashing began!! I was able to escape relatively unharmed and get into a pretty good draft group and swam right along the buoy line. After the turn I lost a little steam and fell off the pack I was hoping to stay with, but overall I was satisfied with my swim breaking the 1hr mark.

T1: 1:58,

Aside from a few rude people cutting me off, nothing special just went through smooth and relaxed, it’s a long day!

Bike: 4:56:26, 57th off the Bike

I was looking for vindication after what I viewed as a sub-par bike at Ironman Lake Placid earlier this year. Although I biked only a minute faster than last year on this course the conditions were more difficult, although not as bad as they can be. Especially the climb up to Hawi the head and crosswinds were taunting us making things interesting. I tried a slightly different tact on the bike here using my power tap to race at Half Ironman power for the first 20 minutes until I got out of town, then settled into my steady IM power and kept it steady for the rest of the ride. For those of you who are power savy, I averaged 237w with a VI of 1.03 for the ride. I saw several Timex teammates and other friends out on the course which was a great pick me up in the middle of a lava fields.

T2: 1:51, fastest in the WORLD!!

I just went, again I thought about being smooth and relaxed but efficient (I have a great transition coach) J Also I passed 7 age-groupers in transition, free speed.

Run: 3:00:27, 4th fastest amateur run of the day.

I was hoping to break 3 hours, but I need to save some goals for next year! J Leaving T2 Ashley told me I was the 10th amateur and was 13:30 back. As I had done at Ironman Lake Placid I knew that I could make up a few spots as long as I was smart and ran strong. Once I established a rhythm the first 10mi down Alii drive felt pretty good, and I was passing a few people, but it was hard to tell who was a pro and who was an amateur until I was right next to the person. At about mile 10 just before I began running up Palani hill Ashley again saw me and said I was in 7th about 3:30 back. “Wow!” I thought to myself “lets keep it steady but relaxed.” Running out to the Natural Energy Lab (NEL) on the Queen K there was a tail wind, which made the heat pretty noticeable, but I wanted to save a little for the trip back into town, so I allowed my pace to slow a little. Running down into NEL I passed a few more amateurs and right in the middle of the NEL just after the 17mi check point I moved into first. At this point there was a tail wind while climbing out of the NEL which felt good, and I kept telling myself a good mantra I once heard “champions are born or crushed in the NEL.” OK that maybe overly dramatic, but it was working. By the time I got back up to the Queen K highway at mi 19 I had a 30sec lead. This is what I had been preparing for all day that last 10k of the race so I picked it up. There was a head wind the whole way back to town and my legs were on fire, but I kept going!! At mi 23 my watch read 8:39 and I really wanted to break 9 hours so I turned it up a little more, although kept going the same pace and I knew it was going to be close. At the top of palani hill I gave it all I had, my then future father in–law was at the top and yelled at me “7 MINUTES!!” As I turned right on to Alii drive for the final several hundred yards I was overcome with the power and magnitude of this race and what I was about to do…I began sprinting as fast as my legs would carry me. The only problem is Samantha McGlone came into view ahead. She had such an incredible race and is such an amazing athlete in her first ever Ironman that I did not want to be one of those obnoxious amateurs who blows past a person at the last minute and wrecks their finishing picture…so I slowed a little…it was not a difficult decision and my legs almost did it for me. I knew that I had a large enough lead over the second amateur or any other pros that I would not jeopardize my finishing position. Shortly after the race the 9 seconds did not bother me, but the next day they did!! I just have some work to take care of next year!!

All in all it was the race of a lifetime and my last race as an amateur for awhile, the only problem is I am never satisfied, even if I did miss my time goal by 9 seconds!!! I could not have raced so well with the constant support of my now wife Ashley, the Timex Multisport Team, my coach Kurt Perham, and a slue of friends family and volunteers.

As for the post-race festivities, Ashley and I got married on Tuesday at Sunset in a small intimate setting with just our families at Kikaua beach just north of the airport. The bright blue water, black lava rock, white sand, bright green grass and the most beautiful woman I have ever met made for a fairytale wedding! I know it sounds cliché but it was really an amazing experience!! We’ll post pictures shortly for those of you interested. This is a whole separate post and I’ll post it at my website http://www.alexmmtri.com/ in the near future.

Thanks for an amazing season I have been indulging a little as you can see I ate a cinamon bun from Lava Java the size of my head!! Now I’m excited to spend a week in Kaua’i with Ash and I’ll keep you posted with all my off season adventures, only next time I’ll try not to be so long winded!!

Thanks