A day after competing in the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, an exhausted Chad Holderbaum simply said, "It was a pretty long day."

Long would be an understatement for a man who spent more than 11 hours swimming, riding and running Saturday in 90- degree heat against winds that blew his bicycle across the road while he was on it.

Despite the pain and anguish, the Irwin native and Penn-Trafford graduate suffered, Holderbaum said it was all worth it after crossing the finish line as the 846th finisher with a time of 11 hours, 6 minutes and 38 seconds.

"It was definitely a life-changing experience. It was very humbling being there with the best of the best," he said.

"Finishing was by far the best experience, rounding that last corner and seeing the finish line. It was just awesome."

Holderbaum finished the 2.4 mile swim in 1:14:50, the 112-mile bike ride in 5:47:33 and the 26.2 mile run in 3:57:52.

"It was pretty much the hardest race I've ever done as far as the heat, the winds and everything in Hawaii. It was pretty brutal."

The Westinghouse engineer had a good swim, exiting the water just 10 minutes of his goal time due to congestion of the numerous athletes.

He then made up time in the bike ride, while also moving up 225 places in the race. The run, however, was a tough test for the entire field in the sunny Hawaiian tropics.

"The weather was just ferocious. It gave me a whole new respect for the sport. Just when I thought I figured out how to do these things, the course chews you up and spits you out," said Holderbaum, citing severe cramping during the marathon run.

"You just have to put your head down, muscle through it and try to block out the pain."

After finishing the most arduous race in his life at the toughest course in the world, Holderbaum plans to take it easy over the next few months before getting back into his hardcore training regiment.

"It was just an awesome experience just being there and competing against the best athletes in the world," he said.

"Hopefully, I'll be back again next year. I would have liked a bit of a faster time. But it was tough out there. It's the toughest course in the world, and it definitely proved to be."

To learn more about the competition, visit ironman.com/worldchampionship.