Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

I lined up on the far right side towards the front as the current was moving right to left. Right when the cannon went off, I was off - run, then dolphin dive a couple times and I was off. This was the most crowded swim I have even been a part of. At about 200m in, I started to get mixed up with the crowd. For the next 600m, I was getting punched, kicked and elbowed began to get claustrophobic then came the question - "Why am I here? I'm not enjoying this at all". Then came the turn at the first buoy and things began to spread out and my focus shifted to "Let's get this done." I finished the first 1.2 mile loop in 32 minutes, which was well ahead of where I expected. My swim training was atrocious this year and I was thinking I was going to finish in about 1:20 so 32min at the turn was great. The second loop was pretty uneventful with the exception of seeing more jellyfish. I took it easy and decided to concentrate on my glide and conserve energy. Finally my hands hit the sand and my IMFL swim was done.

Swim more during training. Five times a month doesn't cut it.

Did a complete change as it was cold outside. My hands were so cold, I couldn't pull my gloves on which cost me some time. It is a long transition which shows in my time.

The bike course is easy, but the wind presents a challenge and really messed with my head. Everything was great starting out until somewhere between mile 25 and 30. I had a strange pain pop up just behind my right hip bone. I had never felt any kind of pain in this area in training before. Because the course is flat, I read to adjust your position regularly so I sat up to loosen up the back. Everything was fine until I went back down into aero. The pain continued to get worse and worse the further I went. Pedaling became difficult. I knew that all I had to do was reach special needs where I had some Advil. One thing that was different was that I actually had to pee! This started at mile 15. I didn't want to pull over so soon so I tried to go on the bike. Finally I let it go. That was a first. Then it was a second and finally a third - all before the halfway point. Once I reached special needs, I grabbed my bag, switched my bottles, popped my Advil, and peed again! Four times in 56 miles. Do you think I was hydrating enough? Since I was so well hydrated, I decided to back off on the second half of the ride and see what happened. I stuck with my nutrition bottles and had to stop again to pee at mile 80. That was good news. Around mile 40 I was making a left hand turn and saw Thomas and Maureen. That was so uplifting! During the entire ride, it felt like the wind was in our face. On the trip out on 98 it was in our face, therefore on the trip back I figured it would be at our back. Not a chance. We would occasionally get a short time with a tailwind, but it wasn't the entire ride back in. The final leg - Beach Rd. All I can say is HOLY HEADWIND. I literally almost got blown off my bike. The wind would shift from the north then all of a sudden change to a hard southerly gust. I had to hang on for dear life, but made it in unscathed and other than my hip, I was feeling great.

Nothing. It was all I had on that day.

Pretty good T2.

Nothing

This run was exactly what I had hoped for. I was not a runner. Going in, my longest training run was 18 miles and I had no idea what would happen after that. I started out feeling incredible. As I headed out I saw Thomas. He ran with me for a short time. I told him my hip was hurting but overall I was feeling great! For the first 7 miles, I forgot to look at my watch. Then I glanced down, I was holding an 8:47 pace and knew I should slow down. I didn't want my hip pain to flare up so I slowed down to about a 9:20 pace. At mile 11, I started to have a few issues. I had to go to the bathroom and once I went go into the port a potty, I felt really dizzy. I hoped it was just from moving all day and then stopped. Luckily once I got going again, the feeling went away. At mile 13 I saw my sisters Lauren and Lisa and Lauren's friend Sasha. Immediately that gave me a big boost and I was cruising. I saw Thomas and Maureen on their little scooter about three other times during the run and they were at just the right time! I was feeling good until around mile 15 when the blister on the ball of my right foot popped. It wasn't too bad, but was there. From mile 15-26, I did some walking then picked myself up and began running. I would let myself walk the aid stations, but forced myself to run between them. At mile 24, I saw my dad which made me feel real good. He was surprised to see me because my tracker said I was still 5 miles away. Immediately he called everyone to let them know I was right around the corner. Finally at mile 25, I saw my sisters again (they actually ran with me for a little while.) I can see the finish line approaching quickly. I was cruising then right when I make it through..... I see Thomas!!! He was my finish line catcher. What another great surprise! He had been with me through the entire weekend including at the finish of my race - literally. How many people can say that have friends like that???!!!! The next thing I know, I turn around and see John who gives me the big bear hug he promised. It was so great to see those guys! I couldn't have asked for a better finish line experience!

Zero, nothing, nada

Hung out with Thomas for awhile then met up with my family. After hanging out with Barry all week, reassuring him that he could walk the marathon if his IT Band was bothering him, I missed him at the finish chute. My hip really started to bother me and I got extremely cold - as in literally shaking I was so cold so I had to get myself back to the condo and sit in the shower.


Not really being a runner


Overall a great race from Thursday to Monday.