Great Floridian Triathlon - TriathlonFull Ironman

The water is an odd color. Tea like. Very choppy! Lots of waves. Rough start with a mass start and all the chop. I had a difficult time getting into a rhythm. First time in my wetsuit since June and first open water swim since Louisville eight weeks ago. Finally started to settle in after the second third of the first lap. I noticed I was breathing almost every stroke and sighting often due to the chop. On the last third of the first lap I realized my issue with wetsuits. Since my legs float in the wetsuit, I don't kick. I finally figured it out!! I then started to focus and kicked. The kick had a different pattern, but it felt better than no kick. I learned something. The last third of swim back to the beach was calmer. Ran out of the water on the beach and then started the loop again. I have never been tired after a tri race swim, but today I was tired. The rough water took a lot out of me. Tough swim. I had to work at this one!!

Get into a rhythm faster. More open water swimming with chop. More wetsuit swimming.

Wetsuit strippers did a great job. No pee on my wetsuit. Too many years in the pool. I still can not pee while swimming!! I was tired after the swim and not worried about my time. The volunteers in the changing tent were great!! I put on my compression leg sleeves. These are difficult to get on quickly espically when your legs are still a little damp.

Pick up my pace. I really was in no hurry. I saw hubby when I was exiting the transition and he said I needed to work on transitions and speed it up!! LOL!! OK - thanks!! I told him that today is for fun and not for speed!

Ride started off nice. Hit the hills with no problem. The largest hill, Sugarloaf moutain, was not too bad. It reminded me of the out and back section climbing out of the george in Louisville. Maybe a little steeper but a little shorter. Used the port-a-potty at the top of Sugarloaf (about mile 25ish). The next hills were on Buck Hill road. There were several hills on this road. Again, hilly, but not too bad. The course flattens out after about mile 38ish. The wind was strong! I was really working and could feel my legs pushing, but when I looked at my computer it showed I was only averaging 16 mph. Really damaging to the ego!! The ride was quiet and kind of boring. Nice course, but since this is a small race, I found myself alone most of the time. Not a big deal. Just relaxed and keep riding. The wind was tiring. It never seemed to be in the helpful direction. Always seemed to be riding into it. I decided that I like hills more than wind. I was really getting bored around mile 60, but then passed the spectator viewing area. Nice. I slowed down to say hi to hubby. Then bored again for another 20 miles. By mile 80 my girl parts were sore from the rough county roads and my toes were numb. It was nice seeing the spectators again at mile 82. A few hills around mile 95, but mainly rollers. The last 12 miles seemed to take forever! I was tired of biking! I was tired of the wind!! Stayed on my nutrition plan of about every half hour (power bar, cliff bar, cliff shots, gels shots, gatoraid, etc.). Going back into Clermont was a little confusing. They could have used a few more arrows in the downtown area. I was so ready to get off the bike!!

Nothing. I was ready for the hills. It was the wind that go me. Florida is WINDY!

Took my time again. Used the port-a-potty.

Speed up.

Started off the run feeling great. I was so ready to be off the bike. Decided to eat some cliff shots I had with me. These are my favorite on the bike. OK - solid food must not work for me on an IM run. I used the port-a-pooty around mile 5 and then used the next 4 or 5. Tummy trouble!! Then all was good again. :-) Finished loop one running. I was alone a lot during the run. I did meet up with a guy (Joe) from Georgia on the second loop. We walked and jogged together for about 40 minutes. It was nice having someone to talk to. Then I decided I wanted to finish the race. I ran the third loop and felt strong. I felt very good during the run. Had tummy trouble during the first loop and did some walking during the second, but really felt great. Weird, but I felt better during the run than I did during the swim or the bike.

Run more since I was feeling good. Avoid the need to spend time in 5+ port-a-potties!!

Walked around a little. Talked with BTers (Amanda and Todd). Collected gear and bike and then walked to the car. The after party had lots of food (burgers, hotdogs, pasta, cookies, etc.). I wasn't ready to eat, so we drive back to Orlando. Ordered pizza. Yummm!!


I was relaxed the entire day and had a great time. I enjoyed the race!


This was a well orgainzed race. Nice volunteers. Smaller than a M-dot race, but just as challenging. Since it is smaller (number of participants), there are times on the course where you are totally alone. Not a big deal if you are used to training alone. Kind of nice and quiet.

I had a great time and would love to participate in this race again!!!