Florida Challenge Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Good swim. I did not go all out. I wanted to get done with swim as if I had done nothing going into the bike. Mission accomplished. I stayed relaxed and just did it. I sighted perfectly and drafted some. The start was wide open, so no bar fight. I was laughing that I was about the only one without a wet suite.

Nothing. This is my strongest leg. I know I could have gone lots faster, but it is better to conserve for latter.

Slow transition because I had to leave my stuff in the duffel bag due to the rain at the start. I did the best I could but it was a little messy. I wore a regular bike jersey with full zip front. I preloaded it with everything while food was in bento bag on the bike. So, it was an efficient change.

I could have run the swim to rack and rack to start better.

This was a very hard course. Notice that it was 58 miles, not 56. Nice. I ate well (3 gels, 6 bloks, 1 entervit, 1 small cliff bar, 4 e-caps) and drank all 4 24 oz. bottles of accelerade. The climb up Sugar Loaf Mt. was a real laugh, no it is not a mountain. It was nothing really. Buck Hill Rd. hurt much more. 3 miles of 3 HUGE rollers. Overall, it was a quad buster ride.

I think a tri bike would have made a difference. I think I needed more long rides in training. If I knew the course better, I would have trained different. Hind sight is 20/20.

slow change. My time goals was blown up and I was tired from the bike. I drained the tank a little too low on the bike and was slow running with the bike to the rack. pulled my run stuff out of the duffel bag and changed my shirt to my favorite Nike running shirt.

Move quicker.

The wheels fell off. I did not cramp or have any special problems. I just could not get moving. I started out ok, then hit a bad spot between 5 - 8. I picked it up a little too much between 8 - 11, then hit my limit. It was a death march home. However, I can't hide from my terrible time. It was embarrassing. A friend qualified for Boston at 2:50 on the same day. I will not hear the end of this one.

I came to the realization that I could not build run endurance in 6 months when starting from zero. If I could have run a respectable half mary, I might have made my time. Frustrating.

died at the end and could barely walk to collect my stuff. My wife helped me get everything back to the car. I had to drive 40 minutes back tot he hotel. I had a dinner, iced down, then had another meal. I was sore all night, but much better in the AM.


I under estimated the toll the total event takes on you. It was great experience. I will train differently as a result.


The best part of the race was the end. My little girls ran the last .2 miles with me. They were so excited. When they put the medal around my neck, my 7 year old yell to my 5 year old "Daddy won, look they gave him the medal!" Also, Alltom1 stayed 90 minutes after his race to root for me all the way across the line. A real stand up guy! He had some great words of encouragement for me at the end.

Overall, I loved it. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was a great personnel challenge. I am hooked! Already thinking about the next one.