One more race, but this time was by far the hardest. Swim was a battle with thousands of athletes in a small portion of water. Impossible to really swim properly, was more a continued attempt to avoid being hit in the face.
Transition was long, very long. I learned today that getting old has its own advantages: experience. Despite the boiling heat of yesterday, weather forecast were pretty convincing. Therefore on the bike bag I put windbreaker jacket and socks. It saved my race as it was really cold out there. The bike part was a killing. A constant rolling hills which never allowed legs to rest. I battled, we all battled with storm, rain and wind. On the steep downhill when I was above 70km/hr strong wind moved me by more than a meter, but I managed to keep control of the bike. At km 150 I had a crisis, felt no strength. Managed to finish the section loosing 13 minuted in the last 30 km. Reached the transition tent more dead than alive. Muscles were aching, the idea of running 42.2km made me sick. But I had no choice. I knew that I had to throw myself out of the tent and be patience waiting for energies to come back. The marathon course is the hardest I ever raced. Rolling hills and never a flat part. Once again I was right, energy came back and I got stronger than ever.
At km 12 I realised I could beat the 4 hr, which I never did before. When legs started hurting I kept going, constantly projecting in my mind my finishing time.
And at the end I made it, 3hr 58min, 13 min faster than my PB which was done on flat course. It was hard but I bless all that pain because makes me appreciate even more the final result. A special thanks goes to my coach and friend Andrej Vistica; there are no words left to describe the talent of this guy. Many times during this race I had the temptation to quit, but I knew it wWant to add a caption to this image? Click the Settings icon. as not an option. An Ironman is like life: we set a goal and we fight for it. We fall, we stand up and keep fighting. That is what we are, we are fighters and we never give up. My name is Salvatore Alioto, I am 47 and once again, more than ever, I am Ironman.
