Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Panama City Beach, Florida
United States
Ironman North America
37F / 3C
Sunny
Total Time = 15h 29m 40s
Overall Rank = 2097/2497
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 367/403
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30, showered. Had a banana and 1.5 ensure's for breakfast. Checked the weather temp and decided on changing to a long sleeve under-shirt under my jersey. Also packed an extra pair of socks in my running transition bag to use as hand warmers in case the run got cold.
Got body-marked, inflated tires on bike, then stood in the cold sand waiting for the race to start.
This was my first ironman, and I've only done the 1/2 once too, so I was kind of like a deer looking at head-lights with all the other people around.
Event warmup:

None really, but after getting in the warm water I wish I had done that, since the water temp was much warmer.
Swim
  • 1h 49m 33s
  • 4156 yards
  • 02m 38s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first time swimming in the ocean. I've done lake swims before with no problems, but getting out there with the waves was an education. After the first 20 meters, I thought I was going to be sea-sick with all the up and down. Swallowed a lot of sea water too. I managed to stay out to the right side for most of it, and thus avoided the beating that others took.
What would you do differently?:

Do something about chaffing of the suit around the neck. I had never had problems with it before, but something about the sand, salt-water, or waves caused me a lot of chaffing around the neck. I stopped twice during the swim to try to adjust what ever was rubbing me, and during transition had one of the volunteers check me out just to be sure.
Transition 1
  • 11m 42s
Comments:

I had a volunteer check out my neck, to make sure the chaffing from the wet-suit didn't need bandaging. Made sure to get plenty of warm clothes on, and was out. From my previous half-ironman, I knew that I needed to catch my breath before jumping on the bike, or it would really plague me for the first couple of miles, so I did that, and was happy with the results.
Bike
  • 7h 25m 30s
  • 112 miles
  • 15.08 mile/hr
Comments:

We had a 14mph headwind/crosswind for the first 80 miles. It really affected everyones performance. I made sure to spend as much time as I could in the aero-bars, and that helped. I also kept reminding myself to save my energy for the run. That definitely paid off. Aid stations were well placed, and though I didn't need it, it seemed that support staff were always close by too.
Transition 2
  • 09m 26s
Comments:

Saw my wife, and gave her a big kiss. Then off for the run. Even though it had warmed up some, it was still a little on the cool side, and I knew as it got darker, it would get colder, so I decided to keep my long sleeve under shirt on. It was a wise decision. Even though I may have been just a tad warm for the first couple of miles, by the end of the run I was really in good shape temperature wise.
Run
  • 5h 53m 31s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 13m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

I started off with the intention of running from aid station to aid station. That lasted for probably the first 6 miles or so, and then my breaks started to become more frequent. However, I managed to keep all of my breaks really short (20-30 seconds). I had heard that the chicken broth was great, and they were right. Mixing that with pretzels seemed to really invigorate me. At the half-way point I grabbed an extra pair of socks out of my bag and put them on my hands to keep them warm. By the end, I was just passing everyone. All of the participants were spread out, and I would run from person to person, walk with them for a few seconds, and then run to the next.
Post race
Warm down:

Got the medal, hat, t-shirt and then grabbed some pizza and water. It was good to eat something real. I knew that if I sat down, I wasn't going to be able to get back up, so we walked the 1/2 mile back to the condo. I ate while walking and told my wife all about the experience. Then showered and crashed in bed.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not training in the ocean I think really affected my swim time. My second lap was 14 minutes longer than the first lap.
The wind was also a major factor. It not only added about 1.5 hours to my bike time, but took that extra amount of strength out of me which slowed my run time.

Event comments:

The only issue I saw was registration. We were supposed to register by 4:00pm on Thursday. We arrived at 2:00pm, and stood in line for 1.5 hours, but made it in. There was still a line, just as long, when I was done. It seems that they could have done more of that work in parallel.




Last updated: 2010-11-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:49:33 | 4156 yards | 02m 38s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/403
Overall: 0/2497
Performance: Below average
Suit: Full wet-suit
Course: Waves were about 2 ft. Current from right to left. So, it pushed everyone close to the buoys on the way out, and made you fight to stay on course on the way back.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Bad Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 11:42
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
07:25:30 | 112 miles | 15.08 mile/hr
Age Group: 395/403
Overall: 2243/2497
Performance: Average
Wind: Cross-winds
Course: At the 56 mile mark, the road was very rough/bumpy. Not pleasant at all. Otherwise, no problems with the course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 09:26
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
05:53:31 | 26.2 miles | 13m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 342/403
Overall: 1887/2497
Performance: Good
Course: Very nice course. No hills, lots of turns to keep it interesting.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5]