Ironman 70.3 Florida - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

no, that's NOT a misprint.... yes, it took me over 1 freakin' hour to finish the swim.... I was worried about this going into the race, and it came to be... about 800 yards in, I started to get a cramp in the bottom of my foot, so I tried to 'stretch' it out just by pulling up my toes while I tried to keep 'swimming'... Not such a good idea, since changing my swimming then seemed to cause cramping into my shins, calves, and eventually hamstrings and quads... yeah, THAT'S nice....

On top of that, I got to know almost every one of the people that were on the kayaks. "GO LEFT" "GO RIGHT" "YOU DON'T WANT TO GO ANY FURTHER THIS WAY, OR YOU'LL ALMOST BE ON THE OTHER BEACH" "GO LEFT" "GO RIGHT"...

Seriously, though, the volunteers were awesome! I'm thinking with as much back and forth as I did, I probably added a LOT extra distance... I think I am going to tell people that the reason I was going back and forth was for 'evasive maneuvers' to make sure I didn't get eaten by an alligator.. I'm figuring he would have been too tired (or dizzy) by the time he finally caught me... on the other hand.. all those people who said "I don't have to swim the fastest, just faster than the person behind me.." well, yeah, I WAS that guy behind you....

Let's see.....
trying to explain some of the things above -- drafting was bad, but that was because I was going across the 'swimming path' from left to right and back again starting at about 700 yards..

navigation/rounding bouys -- I literally ran into 4 of the bouys.. only because I was trying to veer around them.. and actually had one of the people in the kayak relatively close to me for the last 200 yards (was cramping up a lot by thta time)

ummmm.... just about everything??? I am thinking that swimming in a pool with open turns - basically breaking every 25 yards - just doesn't cut it for a 1.2 mile open water swim without a wetsuit... I don't float very well, and when I started cramping up, it just got a lot worse in a hurry...

My very favorite part (o.k., it was my third favorite part -- number 1 was crossing the finish line, and number 2 was seeing Sandi,Jean, and Chris on the run - knew everyone was safe (or they knew I was safe)) was being able to feel the sand under my feet again, and stand up out of the water.

long disatance between swim and bike line... almost took off with my swimskin still on.... went to the port-o-potty (located very close to my transition area)... forgot to put on sunscreen, though...

Actually almost had the same time in transition for this race as I did in the sprint last fall... so I think I am getting better..

put on sunscreen.

only got passed by a few people, but I guess as far back as I was after the swim, there weren't too many people behind me to start with... DID get to pass a bunch of people on some pretty cool bikes, though, which is nice....

didn't push too hard on the bike, was just looking to finish and still have something left.

Had 2 bottles of Perp (each one supposed to last about 1 1/2 hours)... finished 1 1/2 bottles, so not quite what I should have... and had 3-4 Hammer gels (they were in a flask, so not exactly sure)... and Endurolyte every 15 minutes (THAT I stuck to pretty closely - didn't want to cramp up anymore, which was another worry on the bike).. drank a little water in between time.. probably should have done better with nutrition, but will do better next time.

better nutrition

hit the port-o-potty (again) in transition.. otherwise it would have been faster -- did think it went pretty well, though, considering how much of an issue I've had in the past....

I knew I wasn't going to do too well overall, and was just getting tired.. tried some Gatorade on the course - stomach said 'nope, ain't happenin'.... then tried 1/2 of a banana - stomach said 'nope, ain't happenin'.... so I basically ran/walked for most of the course, and only had water and Endurolytes for the first 9 miles.. also used a lot of cold water/ice over the head, down the shirt to try and keep cool.. at 9 miles, started taking coke at the aid stations (talking to another runner who said coke was like liquid crack -- so ready for that!!)

at mile 11, I looked down, and my belly button popped out - and said "DONE" (o.k., kidding, but it felt like I was a turkey in an oven).

Got to see Chris, Jeanne, and Sandi on the second loop of the run, so that was good, and I think they were all happy to see that I had made it out of the water, and Sandi had a look of relief on her face (either she was happy to see me or she had just peed).. was hoping to be able to catch up to Sandi and Jeanne, but my swim time just didn't let me catch them, and I was too tired to really push too hard..

I did get lots of comments on the donkey jersey with the carrot on the back, which was fun.. kept the spirits up through the run..

It was really hot...

ummm... I guess better nutrition even before the run... and put on sunscreen.. run a little faster..

crossed the finish line and was really happy to see Sandi, Chris, and Jeanne waiting... the feeling was really un-describable.. I know I wasn't fast, but I did finish..


probably the fact that this was my first 'race' at this distance, and I have only done 4 sprints (all of which were looking for the shortest swims)..


Need to train better in the pool, both with time, distance, and drills. I have been so focused on simply hitting that distance (which is still different than open water), that I haven't done so much with the rest of things..


It seemed like all the distances were a little long, but, hey, who am I to say anything....

The volunteers ROCKED!!! (especially on the swim - thanks a lot) It is really cool to be a part of the triathlon 'subculture', there are a lot of really good people in this sport, which is nice to see...

now to try get rid of the sunburn blisters on my shoulders - which is the most sore part of me right now.....

It was the hardest thing I've EVER done in my life, but it also has made me want to do more of these, and still looking to doing IM-MOO in '09..