I have done 9 Ironmans (Vineman 96, 97, 98, 99 IM California 00, 01 IM Utah 02 IM Couer d'Alane 03, 04) so far...none being Hawaii. Hawaii is the World Championships and you have to qualify. I have been trying to qualify for 9 years now. Its a tough field. My next qualifying attempt will be at Ironman Arizona on April 9 2005 in Tempe Arizona (I expect all the local VXers to be out in force cheering ). I just aged up into a new agegroup (40-44) so now I'm the "young guy" in my agegroup!
Tina had a great race. As a marathoner I was expecting here to move up not back....but then running a marathon after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike (in some serious head winds) warm-up is a lot differant than running a marathon. Some of the top pros train here in the spring and a few were here climatizing to the heat before going to Kona so I get to hang out with a lot of those guys and girls. I was swimming with Monica Caplin an Bella Comerford a few weeks before Hawaii. Others who have trained here with us include Peter Reid, Mike Pigg, Tim & Tony Beboom, Alec Ruckesuev, Jimmy Ricittello, Lori Bowdin, Heather Gollnick, and even Lance Armstrong! It helped that I used to train with a local pro. I have also gotten some sweet deals on equipment through some of these guys!
VXMAN...good luck at your next Tri...it can become an addiction!

By the way I have done close to 200 races in a 12 year span!
I don't know how many miles I have put in in training. I probably average 10-15,000 yards a week in the pool, 200-300 miles a week on the bike, and 45-55 miles a week running!