Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

When the gun went off, we were near the back directly in line with the first buoy. I was going to try to swim with B for as long as possible, which lasted at least 3 seconds. I ran in as far as I could easily go, then started swimming with the crowd. There was a lot of jostling and bumping for the first loop, but it was honestly not as bad as I thought it would be. There was a bit of a jam at the first turn buoy, so I swung a little wide to avoid it. The water was crystal clear, and I was able to draft and sight pretty well. Near the end of the first loop my goggles were bumped and I got some water in my left eye, but not too bad. I finished the first loop in 0:38:18. The beach walk between loops wasn't really long, but everyone was walking so it was hard to get from point A to B. I grabbed a cup of water to get the salt water tasted out of my mouth, and fixed my goggles. On the second loop everything was much more spread out, which meant less bumping, jostling, and drafting. I feel the second loop was a little longer, since the way out was a diagonal. I did the second loop, counting the beach walk in 0:43:17.

All in all, I'd describe the swim as "uneventful" which is just the way I like it. I know that comparatively I'm still a weak swimmer, but was pleased with my time.

Not much that I can think of.

Sheesh, T1 was a freaking zoo. The walk out of the water was long, and there was a huge bottleneck at the showers. The strippers helped with the wetsuit, but it still got stuck (both on my watch band and on my heel). When I got to the change tent, there were people EVERYWHERE. There was no where to sit, so I just plopped down on the floor. I got changed, got my nutrition stored in my jersey, and then headed out. My bike was literally the farthest rack away, so I had to run through T 3 times.

Separate out the stuff in the bag a little better (e.g., more zip lock bags for food, etc.)

I had fun on the bike, maybe a little too much fun. I told myself not to fight the wind, and give myself a "C-" on that goal. I stared fairly conservatively, to let my HR ease back down from the swim. There was a headwind / crosswind for a good portion of the first part of the course, so I focused on not fighting it. I was "called out" by some idiot how had been drafting early on: she says "gee, you must really like passing girls." I was speechless. Rather than argue or point out that she was cheating, I just hammered for a few min and never saw her again. The bike, like the swim, was fairly uneventful for the most part. My speed fluctuated a lot due to wind, but my RPE and HR stayed pretty consistent. Around mile 70-80 there was a draft pack (a VERY deliberate one) that got in my way a lot. Unfortunately, I spent too much energy trying to pass them or stay out of their way, which ticked me off. At one point I even pointed them out to a race motorcycle, who actually did say something to them, but no penalities were assessed. Oh well.

Mercifully, we had a tailwind on most of the way home. Around mile 110, on Front Beach Drive, I started to get a little emotional. For one reason, I had never cycled that far before. Another, is that I knew that for sure, I was going to be an Ironman. I knew that nothing would stop me from finishing that 26.2, whereas you just never know if you'll have a bike issue. Anyway, I chocked back the emotions, told myself to HTFU, and go kill the run....

One thing I loved, I wore my Gator bike jersey. Being in Florida, I got close to 500 "Go Gators!" cheers. It really was fun to know peeps were yelling to you. :-) One cop did yell "Go Noles", and I pitied him.

Nutrition:
I drank when I was thirsty, but tried to average ~1 bottle / hour. I had Gu Chomps at hours 1 and 3, and paydays at 2 and 4.

Mainly just slow down some, and not fight the wind as much. I do wish I had worn warmer socks - I couldn't feel my feet for the first 2 hours of the bike!

T2 was very crowded, but not as bad as T1. At the start the volunteer took my bike, which was awesome. When I got to the tent an over-enthusiastic volunteer kept trying to shove my stuff back into the bag for me, despite me not being done. But it was no biggie.

Not much that I can think of.

For every other tri I've ever done, the run is really where I excel. My plan was to do the same for my IM. I felt "OK" starting out, but after a mile or two knew I was going to fast. I walked a little at mile 3 to take off my arm warmers, then started running again at a much slower pace. I was able to run non-stop for the first 1/4 or so, but my legs were just really starting to feel it. I never cramped, just hurt pretty bad. At this point, I was realizing why you don't bike so hard.... :-)

Anyway, I basically finished the run by running when I could and taking walk breaks when I needed. Mentally, I was mad at myself, but I never got too down because I knew I was going to be an IM and that my overall time would be respectable. Once the sun went down it started getting cold again, so the warm warmers came back on.

I passed by B at mile 19.5ish for me, and was SUPER excited to see her. She looked good, which was a huge relief for me.

My nutrition was pretty much spot on. I felt a little "full" once or twice during the run, but nothing too bad. I would just skip an aid station when that happened, and it went away.

Once I got within about a mile or two of the finish, it really hit me. I got pretty choked up, and had to struggle to keep my $hit together (I did). I finished as hard as I could, and heard the words "Joshua Nipper, YOU are an IRONMAN!"

Slow down on the bike, so that I had some extra juice left on the run. Potentially get in a few more long bricks during training so that I really knew what the legs were going to feel like after 5-6 hours on the bike.

I was FREEZING. I must have looked tired, because the catcher wouldn't leave me alone for a while. But he was very friendly, and I greatly appreciated it. I grabbed a space blanket, got my finisher gear and pic, then went to get food. Unfortunately, they were all out. Bummer. So I plopped down in the meeting place, and met my FIL. I sat there a few min, but was so cold that I had to go inside. I warmed up in the hotel lobby, and then went back for fresh pizza. After eating, we walked back to our hotel to really warm up. I put on like 3 layers, warmed up, and ate a bit more. We then all headed back out to watch B finish. She finished a little after we got there, with a huge smile on her face. :-)




Overall fitness and leg strength. I just went a little too hard on the bike, and didn't have as much as I hoped left for the run. No excuses for me here. Better pacing would have yielded a better race, but overall I am pleased. It just serves as motivation for next time. :-)


Overall, I loved the race and the experience. In general, WTC put on a great race, and the vibe around time was tremendous. The pre-race registration was a nightmare, but it was only one day. The race itself and the post race atmosphere was great. The volunteers were also great, and can't be thanked enough. Finally, the crowd support on the run was a lot of fun.