Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

My first 1.2 miles was ok at about 45:04. My second lap, I don't remember feeling bad/weak or loosing so much time. Felt a little nauseous, but not physically tired. Fought current more, but... I still don't know. Guess I was more tired than I felt.

Train faster. Only swim as fast as you train.

Great strippers! But I was simply horribly slow. I felt very disorganized, even after practice/practice/practice.

Practice/practice/practice more.

The constant headwind for 90 miles was demoralizing. As the clock rounded the noon hour, the gusts became stronger, and really were quite grueling. The afternoon winds (abt 2pm to 5pm) were 13+, with gusts up to 21mph. Just painful (mentally). And they were from the north, and felt like headwinds east/west as well. But the last 22 miles were mainly a tailwind, and were pretty nice. I felt a bit rejuvenated coming into T2 due to the tailwinds.

Train faster. Again, you only race as fast as you train. More hills, more work on cadence. Get a true tri-bike. I used a carbon road bike with FF seat and aero-bars. Not bad, but I think a true TT/Tri bike (with a real pro fit) may help. Get a new saddle. Train more in aero. Using a road-bike in Maryland, I was more inclined to use the drops rather than the aeros. So I definitely need more aero work.

Again, a horribly slow transition, but not due to the race volunteers - who were GREAT! I thought i'd go faster, and even felt a little faster than T1, but when looking at the clock, I realize I was still slow as a geological age. But then again, knowing I'd be running in the dark, my focus was on comfort, not speed, so I did go easier than I probably should have.

Practice/practice/practice. Better organization.

I felt great the first 6 miles. Walked aid stations and drank, then jogged to the next. But by about mile 8, my calves started to tighten. By 10, glutes then hams. By 13.1, I was getting tight as a drum. The mind was willing to run, the body wasn't so much any more. My cardio seemed OK.
But, about mile 8 I felt nauseous and didn't shake it the rest of the day. Stopped Perpetuem then. Switched to water/broth and pretzels. Basically destroyed my nutrition plan. Walked/jogged rest of way, slowly. But made it.

Work on longer BRICKS in training - (maybe). Did a lot of short bricks, not a lot of longer ones. More long bike rides (100+ miles). More bike work. Definitely more nutrition practice.

Walk to car. Drink water & OJ. Super hot and long shower, nice easy massage.


Training and mindset. My plan was the awesome beginner 20 week full iron course you can find here (modified out to about 25 weeks), plus a 10 week add-on Hal Higdon marathon plan before that. Very good training plans. I just didn't do them properly. Did them for distance endurance, but not speed. I'll never be super-speedy, but I think if I train properly, I could shave an hour or two off the total time. Get down to 13-14 hours.


A fantastic race. Organized very well. Run very well. (Very expensive, though). That night, I could never fathom another Iron distance race. Next AM, I was still hurting, but maybe I'll sign up for the lottery. Monday AM, I could start to visualize improvements if I trained better. Today, working out new training plans, seeing which races in 2011 are open (1/2 or full). I love triathlon, even though I am so slow....