Ironman 70.3 Florida - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Uneventful long swim. Swam into quite of few back markers from prior waves. I had to do my best to duck the breast-stokers and backstrokers. I guess this was inevitable since the waves were only 3 minutes apart and the swim was long. My plan was to take it easy and not worry about how fast I could swim the course today. I came out of the water feeling fairly refreshed.

Probably find more people to draft on.

Out of the water and sprinted into transition. I got all my crap together for the ride and headed out of T. I was at the farthest point from the bike exit & entrance. So, I decided to clip the shoes on the pedals and run barefoot through transition and to the mount area.

I can only hope for a closer bike rack to the exit.

The ride started off around the Disney property for 10 miles then headed out to the neighboring county. There were cloudy & breezy conditions which quickly turned to rain and hard rain at times.
The plan was to ride conservatively, perhaps give up some time from last year's ride, in order to have fresher legs and not cramp up during the run. I kept the HR in the 155-160 range and made sure to let the gears do the work. I didn't feel fantastic during the ride, but felt well enough to stick to the plan. The rain helped to keep the temps down and I could only hope the sun would not come out today.

Strength train more for the bike during the training cycle.

Ran what seemed like a mile through transition with the bike. Got to my stuff racked the bike, put on my running stuff and headed out.

Again, hope for a rack closer to the bike exit.

Coming out of transition the clouds disappeared and the sun came out in full force. It was hot, steamy and wet. I now know how a lobster feels at the local seafood restaurant. I started off nice and easy just trying to get my legs and keeping the HR down. The heat was going to play a HUGE part with my race today. I got to the 3 mile mark and saw the family hanging out waiting for me. I stopped to say hi and dole out some kisses.
I was soon back on my way and starting to slow down. I got done with the first loop and things were getting bad. My HR was starting to creep up from the heat and my pace was slow. I figured I need to start finding a way to stay cool and run/walk if I had to. At the 7 mile point, I was getting ice at every aid station, dunking my visor in the cold water bins and finding new fashionable ways to wear the cold sponges. All that crap kept me entertained as the death march continued. Before I knew it I was on the last loop and couldn't wait to get this over with. As Patches said, "We were in Disney Hell".
One huge positive from today's run, is that for the first time in a half IM, I did not cramp up. This is huge. Why I could not run faster? I need to figure that one out.

Not do this race venue again.

Hung out at the finish line catch up with the gang as they came in. What an absolutely tough day in the hummus fields today.


In hindsight, a few things. I did not train core as much this year as last year. I think having a stronger core would have helped with the off-road portions of the run. Also, I did give a double donation of red blood cells on Thursday before the race. I knew it probably was not a good idea at the time, but for personal reasons, I just had to give up the red stuff.
Also, it seems every year after the first week in May the heat comes in full force. Most of the training for this race occurs during the cold and cooler time of the year. Then, a week or two out, the heat come on. There is no time to acclimate and I do horrible in long races in heat.
Next year, I will look for a long race earlier in the Spring.


This is a great venue with a crappy setup. It took me two races to figure out I will not be doing racing this course again.