In each monthly issue, Runner Triathlete News will publish one chapter from the new book "Becoming an Ironman." This month's story begins in the February 2002 issue of RTN.

To order your copy of "Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event," send $23 per copy (plus $2.95 per order for shipping/handling) to Runner Triathlete News, P.O. Box 19909, Houston, TX 77224. Please allow approximately two weeks for delivery.

My confidence took a few knocks after racing several sprints in the spring and never improving much over my first time. In July I participated in a sprint triathlon with an open-water swim. I don't know if it was the cold water, even though we all wore wetsuits, but I could not get my breath. I even stopped in the water but as soon as I started off again I couldn't breathe. I had attacks of nerves or something. I was told it could have been an adrenaline rush. I really struggled with the swim -- no end of the pool to hold on to this time. I was the last to finish in a time of one hour and fifty-nine minutes.

Hawaii was drawing nearer. The mandatory half-ironman distance still had to be completed to confirm my lottery place in the 2000 Hawaii Ironman World Championship. I had to do well in the half ironman, or -- the unthinkable -- no Hawaii. My girlfriend, Laura, and I traveled to Aberfeldy the day before the race to travel the route. After only eight miles we hit the hill section of the bike route. The car had trouble climbing this hill and as we ascended Laura assured me all the way that I wasn't going to get through it. No way, she said. When the chips are down and people say you can't . . . I will show them.

The next morning I nearly slept in and that would have destroyed me if I had lost by default. I survived the swim -- an open-water swim, at that -- and when I approached that hill on the bike, I decided to push the bike up and not stop to put on crampons. The other side was obviously all downhill. I am good at that part, that's where the extra weight comes in handy. I was slow on the run but still managed to pass another supervet, and finished third in my category. My persistence paid off. And persistence would be my secret weapon on the Queen K as well.

The bike ride in Hawaii was very hot and windy with side and headwinds all the way to Hawi. In some places the wind was so strong that I had to pedal going downhill to move forward. My only thought was that I would have the wind at my back on the return journey like the elite cyclists I saw coming back. This did not happen for me. The wind changed direction and the slower cyclists were not privileged with that boon. We had sidewinds that gusted up to forty miles per hour. The strong wind also brought showers from the distant hills that made the roads slippery. Not only was I trying to hang on to my bike but also I had to look out for people coming from the opposite direction being blown across the road into me, and the ambulances coming up the middle that were collecting people blown into the lava fields. You probably could not believe it unless you were there.

Everything was cramping up after hanging on to my bike and not being able to drink for fear of taking a hand off the bars even for a second. It was a very long way back with more strong headwinds and endless riding through the lava fields. Every time I got over a hill it was the same again. I was not looking forward to that marathon.

I sweat a great deal and due to the heat I drank about one to two bottles of liquid per aid station to keep fully hydrated. The aid stations were so big (and clear by the time I got to them), I managed to get a bottle of water to douse myself, a bottle of flat Coke, then a bottle of Gatorade and food if I was quick enough.

At the end of the ride my legs and body were all right but the balls of my feet were sore due to the constant pressure of standing and turning the pedals. In transition I took extra time to slacken off my leg muscles before starting the run.

About five miles into the run I went over on my ankle and strained it. The thought of not finishing the race suddenly became a reality. I started to concentrate on a hobble type of fast walk. I was mentally growing all the time; I was going to do it! I was not getting more tired, in fact, I was getting stronger (so I told myself, and it worked). When I reached the Queen K I passed a number of people. The only problem was, they were all going the other way, headed to the finish line. All the time I was growing and not hurting. All I was interested in doing was finishing.

On checking my watch I worked out that I could finish the race even if I jogged and walked it. Another eight miles or so the 'strain' disappeared and I came across Jerry, an American athlete suffering from acute back muscle cramps and thinking of giving up. We talked, exchanged stories, history, and information. This helped us both along.

A mile and a half from town we heard the noise from the crowd at the finish line. We then found the energy to run the last mile and a half. I let Jerry go ahead because I was going to hold the Scottish flag when I crossed the finish. I don't remember much of the last mile -- just the crowds of people cheering me home. I finished and there across the line was Laura and my baby Kirsty to congratulate me.

I accomplished my five-year goal -- I finished the Hawaii Ironman. What made my finish so amazing were the seven thousand volunteers, the excellent organization, and the spectators, who cheered for me by name even though I was eight hours behind the winner. It made me feel like a winner.