IRONMAN FLORIDA IS HAPPENING!

7:25 CT -- It's underway! The pros are starting their second lap, the age-groupers are well into their first.

The race organizers are taking no chances on repeating last year's tragedy: there are over SEVENTY watercraft out there watching these athletes (last year, I saw 2.) And I've seen at least one helicopter (might be the same one in different places.) It hovered over the log jam at the first turn. Boats, kayaks, and jet-skis are wandering all over the place.

One poor swimmer has been off course almost from the get-go, swimming parallel to the shore for quite a while. A kayaker is following him but doesn't seem to be telling him to turn around to get back on course.... maybe that's outside assistance. At ChesapeakeMan, the boats delineated the course for us: if you came close to a boat, you knew you were off; all you had to do was swim between the boats.

Somewhere in there, Linae Boehme-Terrana is pulling long, smooth, powerful strokes closer and closer to the end of her first lap and into the second to complete the swim of her first Ironman. The weather is perfect for the swim, no wind, the Gulf of Mexico smooth as silk (except for the splash of the swimmers.)

GO, LINAE!!!!

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7:40 CT -- age groupers exiting their first lap thick and fast now. I'm hoping to spot Linae: she'll be the one in the black wetsuit.

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I went out for my "long" Austin-training run, 9 miles, wearing my IMFL Finisher shirt and hat to send good vibes to Linae. While out there, my text-message tones went off.... she was out of the water in 1:25:57 (14 minutes ahead of her goal) and on the bike after a transition under 9 minutes. GO, LINAE!!!

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Linae's through the bike checkpoint at 73 miles, bike so far 4:37:54, averaging 15.76mph. Paula Newby-Fraser says it's hot and "relentlessly" sunny, which is taking a toll on the athletes. The Weather Channel website says it's 75*F with wind at 7mph. Pretty warm to be working the bike that hard for that long a ride. "Relentless" sun adds 10*F to the way it feels to athletes. KEEP ON PEDALLING, LINAE!!

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New York has sent out some sad news: a 28-yr-old man, former Notre Dame football standout and runner, died this morning in the Olympic Trials, after running only about 5 miles. What a shame. They said he was married just 4 months ago.

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3:44p.m. CT -- Linae's in!! 7:05 on the bike. Add her 1:25 for the swim and she's at 8:30 total time. A 6:30 marathon will give her a 15:00 finish; 6 hours will give her a 14:30!! I got a text message from Holly and she said Linae looked great getting off the bike. GO, LINAE!!!

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Meanwhile, at 6:30 ET, the Navy is up 8 over Notre Dame in the third overtime, hoping to break a 40+ year losing streak to ND. This is a real nail-biter, even though I don't usually follow football (sorry.) I've been following it today (with IM live running simultaneously) since the 4th quarter. GACK!!! ND just got a touchdown. Now it's 46-44 Navy. Uh-oh, foul by Navy. HOT DAMN!!! It's over!! Navy won 46-44, first win over ND in 43 years!!!!! I have a soft spot for the Navy. The man I came close to marrying was a sailor. I married Steve, though; the Navy guy became a Catholic priest.

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5:36p.m. CT -- Linae's finished half the run and looking at a 14:30!!!! Hallelujah, baby!!!
FIRST RUN SEGMENT
13.1 mi. (2:40:11)
12:13/mile

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She did it!!! Even better .... she did it in 14:19:15!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS, IRONMAN LINAE!!!