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 Swim
Comments: I am a slow swimmer, biker, and runner. So when I say I had a good segment, its all relative. I started out to the right, and closer to the back. When then gun went off, I walked in. I was in no hurry, but was not sitting back waiting for everyone to get in. I was not looking for all of the fighting that goes on in an Ironman swim, but I was not avoiding it either. The swim out was exactly like I have read. There were people getting hit, I accidently hit someone, and someone tried to swim over me. I finally found some open water, and then looked up to sight, and there was a jelly fish near the surface about 3 feet in front of me. I screamed like a girl, and dove to the left and over people, waited for the sting, but it never came. As I continued swimming, I noticed more and more jellys. There were a bunch. I finally got into a rythem about the same time I got to the turn bouy. More fighting. Although the jellyfish still had me freaked out, the swim to the second turn was uneventful, and the swim in was not bad. As I stodd up to get out of the first lap, I cramped in both of my hamstings. The volunteer helped me for a minute. She then said, don't kick on the second lap until the cramps go away. So I stumble out there with cramps in both legs. I don't know if she was right, but I was more concerned about the jellys than I was the cramps. The second lap was done closer to the bouys. I finally got on some guys toes after the first turn, and drafted all the way in. This was my best swim. There is no better motivator to good swim form than jellys in the water. What would you do differently?: Draft Sooner. the guy in front of me did an excellent job of sighting. I looked up twice and he was taking us on the right track, so I just coasted right behind him.  Transition 1
Comments: My goal time for the race was 17 hours. Since I got out of the water in 1:38 and had 30 minutes budgeted for each transition, I took my time. The volunteers were great, and pointed me in the right direction. I got to the changing area, and although the room was crowded, I found a seat, and had one of the great volunteers help me from the second I walked in, until I walked out. What would you do differently?: nothing. I could be quicker.  Bike
Comments: It was a strong head wind for the first 50 miles. I stopped 3 times on the way out and took it easy.. I still averaged 15mph with the stops. I knew we would have a tailwind on the way back, and was going to put the hammer down on the way in. The couse was FLAT and with the exception of one portion of the road it was perfect. The one section that was not perfect was a ball buster. No real issues on the bike other than I mixed the infinite too strong, and I had some stomach issues. I stayed in the big chain ring almost the entire race. The ride in was fun. There were 10-20 mile stretches where I was going 22-23mph. I made up 200 spots that I lost on the swim. I could do this ride everyday. Loved it. What would you do differently?: Not mix the Infinite to strong. I did not need to stop 3 times. I could have probably got away with 1 stop. I should not have been self consious about passing gas on the bike. EVERYONE was doing it. Transition 2
Comments: More great help. Not much to T2. As I mentioned my goal was to finish in 17 hours. When I got out of T2, it was only about 4:00pm. I did the math, and I had 8 hours to do the marathon, and I was feeling good. What would you do differently?: nothing.  Run
Comments: This was a two-lap couse. When I drove it, it was not impressive. But when I ran the couse, it was full of spectators and was one of the best run courses ever. I took my time, and just made sure I did not fall apart. I did try a couple of times to finish in the 15:30-15:45 hour mark, but I had to pee about 8 times between miles 13-26.2. Also, I have to give a shout-out to the chicken broth. It was EXCELLENT. Heard the YOU ARE AN IRONMAN at the end, and it was as cool as everyone says. At the end, I thought my feet were going to explode, my hamstrings were going to snap, and I could not bend over to pick anything up, but was feeling EXCELLENT. What would you do differently?: Not drink so much, so that I would not have to pee so much. I think I had a little more left in the tank, and could have tried a little harder on the run so that my marathon was not so slow. Post race
Warm down: walked around. Ate 3 slices of pizza. What limited your ability to perform faster: needed to put more miles on the bike and the run on the training. Event comments: Great event. Last updated: 2011-11-12 12:00 AM
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United States
WTC
Sunny
Overall Rank = 2284/2439
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 302/310
I drove into Panama City from Kansas City on Wednesday. Due to the GPS taking a longer route, road construction outside of Little Rock, and catching rush hour traffic in Memphis, this turned into a LONG 19 hour drive. So I arrived at the hotel in about 1:30am. Unloaded the car, checked in and was in bed about 2:45. I woke up on Thursday morning about 8:30am. I found a waffle house, which are all over the place. I went to check in, walked around the Ironman store, and looked at the water, and noticed the waves look a little big. I was not sure if I was going to finish the race, and did not want a bunch of Ironman stuff if I was going to DNF. Went to the hotel and took a nap. Woke up about an hour later and went for a 10 mile ride. The bike was in great shape. Friday, I went for a practice swim. This is where I will mention that I grew up in New Mexico, and live in Kansas City. There is not much ocean swimming in my background. Those waves were HUGE, I swam out for a hundred yards, and swam back. The current took me about 100 yards to the left. I was a little more than a little concerned. I went back to the Ironmand store and bought a bunch of IMFL stuff. I decided that I was going to finish this race. Picked up my brother at the airport, ate at the waffle house again about 3:30, drove the run couse, and then went to the hotel and was in bed by 9:00pm. Could not sleep.
I woke up at 3:00am of race day. Ate a PB and banana sandwich, and went back to sleep for 30 minutes. Ate and drank about 150 calories every hour until 6:30. I never really warmed up. I walked around the transition area, look at the ocean, and saw that it was SMOOTH AS GLASS. I waited in the hotel lobby and sat there for about 45 minutes. I went to the restroom, walked to the beach, watch the pros go off, National Anthem, and BOOM!!! We are racing.