Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

Before the start I was standing there messing with my goggles (I decided to make them a little tighter) and then BOOM..the canon goes off and I'm running into the water trying to get my goggles back on. Since it was low tide I had plenty of time since we were all walking out to where we could swim. I was actually very calm during the whole swim even though I was surrounded by total chaos. The first stretch was very crowded. At no point was I able to actually get some nice smooth strokes in. Once we hit the turn buoy everyone converged to get around it. There were some nice 4ft swells out there and it was difficult to sight looking into the sun. People were swimming in the wrong direction crossing over my path. The second turn buoy was just as crazy and then heading back into the beach was a little better. Once I hit the beach and rounded the timing mat I stopped for a minute to fix my timing chip. It felt very loose from when someone grabbed my leg on the first loop and I didn't want it to fall off. Going back out you had to go on a diagonal route which meant more walking and less swimming which seemed to take forever to get where I could swim again. I thought the second lap would be less crowded but I was wrong. It was pretty much exactly the same. It was cool swimming along and seeing a whole bunch of the clear jellyfish directly underneath us. They were about 5ft down so just out of reach. A couple of people also saw sting rays along the bottom.

Nothing really. I'm a middle of the pack swimmer which means I get to swim in a lot of traffic.

Got my wetsuit stripped off and went through the showers which was nice. I jogged over and my T1 bag and then headed into the changing area. This was total chaos. I wanted to just stop right inside the door and switch my stuff around since I wasn't changing any clothes but they kept telling me to move forward to the men's area. There were other guys doing this but for some reason it wasn't OK for me. I got into the men's area and it was VERY crowded (another reason to not be an average swimmer) I found a small area and dumped out my stuff and got my socks, shoes, helmet etc on and then a volunteer stopped to help me put my wetsuit back into my back and I headed out.

Don't listen to the volunteers and do my switch right inside the door. I would have saved 5 minutes. Not a big deal though in the grand scheme of the day but over 10 minutes is very sad.

I figured this ride would take me around 6 hours. The first few miles were along the coastline and then we headed inland on a stretch of around 20 miles. I caught up with Joe on this stretch and we rode together for a little while. After the turn there was a long stretch of around 30-40 miles that was slightly uphill (NOT FLAT) most of the way and it was into a 15-20 mph headwind the whole way. I think I was going in the 16-17 mph range this whole time. There were a couple of pelotons that passed me but I stayed away from them. I did see one group sitting at the penalty tent which made me smile as I rode by them. I felt like my nutrition plan was going well. I was taking in my HEED, Fig Newtons and Perpetum along the way. I stopped at the aid station at around mile 50 and got two bottles out of my bag and my chips and ate those. I can't remember what else I ate?? I ended up running out of my HEED and had to take a couple of bottles of orange Gatorade and one bottle of water on the course. From around mile 60 - 80 it was a much faster course. I was able to make up some of the time I lost before. I caught up with my other buddy Greg at around mile 75 and we rode together for little while and he decided to drop the hammer and I didn't see him again until the run. I felt good until around mile 105 when I started to feel light headed. I'm not sure if I hadn't eaten enough or drank enough during the last 20 miles on the bike. The last 6 miles were back along the beach into a headwind and I just cruised along at an easy pace to T2.

I would drink more water and less Gatorade. The orange Gatorade was too sweet for me. I would also take in a few more calories. I still don't have my nutrition dialed in for these long rides.

I jogged into T2 and a volunteer grabbed my bike from me. I went over and got my bag and went in for a quick change. I put on my Garmin and my HR strap, new socks, my running shoes and visor and then took off.

Nothing.

I was really thirsty when I started out. I was immediately looking for the 1st aid station to get some water. I was still a little light headed from the ride but I settled into a nice easy 9:30 pace for the first 6 miles grabbing water and Gatorade at all the aid stations. At this point I thought I was surely going to be under 12 hours - no problem right? I felt like I was behind on the hydration and nutrition. After the first 6 miles I started feeling even more light headed so I slowed down and started walking until it went away. I started running again for about 100-200 yds and it happened again so I stopped and walked. Well, this became a pattern for the next 13 or so miles. I couldn't run for more than 100-200 yds at a time. My legs were OK and wanted to run and my HR was only in the 130's but I kept getting really dizzy. I guess maybe my blood pressure was off or something. Normally, I push myself past the point of recovery but today was only about finishing. I never pushed too hard. When I felt dizzy I would walk and when it went away I would run. I was taking in what ever I could at the aid stations- coke, oranges, water, chicken broth..I tried to stay away from anything too sweet. When I finally hit mile 20 I actually started feeling much better. I was able to put together around a half mile run in between walking. I knew I wasn't going to make 12 hour goal and I really didn't care at this point. I felt like I had a good day and I was positive I was going to finish. I cruised in the last couple of miles and could see the crowd and finisher chute coming up. As I headed down the chute I felt good and I remember thinking I can't believe that I'm finally and Ironman. I heard the announcer say "Ken Stokes from Madison, CT..You are an Ironman!" What a great feeling to be done.

I have to get my nutrition plan better organized. I need to have more things that aren't sweet because I couldn't force myself to take any more gels or Gatorade. In a photo of me coming down the chute you can see all my gels and bars still in my back pockets. I'm pretty sure at that point they should have been eaten. Next time I'll probably push myself much harder on the run.

I got my medal, finisher hat and shirt and got my picture taken. I headed over to thank Tyra for running around all day to cheer me on and then had a few pieces of pizza and couple of cokes. I met up with Greg and then waited for Joe to finish.


Nutrition plan not worked out and followed closely enough


Overall I'm very happy with my race. I finished strong and had a great time along the way. I learned a lot at this race and feel like next time I may just be able to race it. I can't thank Tyra and Denise enough for running around all day to see us at several points on the course, even if it was just for few seconds, it made a difference to see a friendly face.