Looking good, KSH!! If I can do it, you can do it.

You described a lot of the same stuff I went through, for a while there it was training for training's sake, and not really energizing. I swear it's all part of the mental preparations to handle any situation -- if you can get through a crappy couple weeks of training, making it through one day is a minor issue in comparison.

I very much agree with the pregnant analogy - the irony is that a friend of mine IS pregnant and due this month, so we've effectively been "training" together. The complaints, changes in your body, hunger, and struggles are actually scary similar. My chiropractor has this laundry list of things that happen to pregnant ladies and people like me who train for crazy endurance events.

Stick with it... you'll get there. Start writing that "what I'll do after I finish my Ironman" list...

1. Smile for the camera at the finish line (this is harder than you might think)
2. Tell them that yes, you really are okay (unless you aren't, then please ask for help)
3. Drink some water and get some food, if you want
4. Go to the bathroom... before you get in the car, because the minute you get in the car, you'll want to go to the bathroom
5. Change clothes, my god does that feel good
6. Sit down... remember the last time you sat on something that you didn't have to pedal or use hand sanitizer afterward? Yeah, that was 14+ hours ago.

Somewhere in there, you find your family members, who try to communicate with you, and you look like a zombie, and say "I don't know" a lot. You might want to work out a "recovery plan" if there are things you like to drink or eat that they can have handy for you -- I had to be reminded to drink some water and be handed cheese and crackers. You know what the best thing is? That first post-IM shower. Pure heaven.

Next, you tell everyone who asks, I am walking funny because I DID AN IRONMAN. YES FOLKS, THAT'S RIGHT. I AM FREAKING AWESOME.

Okay, so maybe you're thinking a little longer term and this experience is a little fresh in my mind...

Keep it up, KSH. Your Iron Dream is almost complete.