Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

I was very happy with my swim! It was 5 minutes faster than my targeted time and 8 minutes faster than my Couer d'Alene swim last year. I started at the correct point (inside the buoys and about 3-4 swimmers deep), had a strong start, my heart rate did not get too high, did alterate breathing, etc.

Nothing! The keys to a good swim were: 1) getting new goggles 1 day before the race (old ones started to fog up on practice swims), and 2) doing 2-3/weekly 3,200-4,000 meter practice swims for 2 months before the event. I drank about 15 oz of Gatorade 5 minutes before the swim start, which helped me not cramp-up in my legs (and had to stretch my hamstrings a bit after the first loop since they were tight)

My transitions are always slow, as I don't run at all, put suntan lotion on, towel off after showering to get salt off, etc.

I was very pleased with my bike portion! It was 30 minutes faster than my goal time and 55 minutes faster than Couer d'Alene last year (of course, the course is much flater/faster and I did not feel sick like last year on the bike). I ate a PB&J, 2 sports bars, lots of gel, and drank about water bottles and 100 oz of Gatorate in my Camelback. Stopped to use the lav once for 1.5 minutes

Nothing! After a good swim, I decided to go all out on the bike, knowing that I would be going easier on the run (which I walk), and it worked great. I felt strong throughout the bike. There were so many other cyclists on the course that some unintentional drafting especially the first 70 miles was impossible to avoid

Not a fast transition, but fine by me

As planned, I speed walked 85-90% of run. My run was 22 minutes faster than my 6 hour goal time and 14 minutes faster than Couer d'Alene. As usual, not one walker was faster than me. I did not walk 100% of it since I realized a sub-13 hour Ironman was possible (during the whole race I kept calculating in my head what I needed to do to stay under 13 hours). Ate 1 PB&J, 3 sports bars, lots of gel, alternate H20/Gatorade

It felt like I had rocks in my socks, which I learned at mile 15 was bad blood blisters and nail problems. I used athletic tape to help the blisters a bit, but my feet bothered me a lot for the rest of the run (and still do one week after the race). I drank too much liquid (stopped in lav 3-4 times) and had too many salt tablets. Hamstrings and calves were cramping the second half of the run

Immediately got a massage due to very tight hamstrings and calves


Feet on run!


Well run race! Pamama City is a cheap, college beach town - not a nice, classy town like Couer d'Alene, ID. The bike and run course were okay, but not scenic like Couer d'Alene. Despite this, I am very glad I did the race. It is know as the easiest Ironman course in the U.S. and I agree with that assessment. Had a fun time hanging out with and doing the race with 2 good friends: Jim C and Grady C (and Grady's family)