Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

This was doubtless one of my best long swims of the season. I usually have some issues getting my breathing to settle down when I start swimming, whether in practic or in race, but today I was calm and steady from the start. I started way right and to the back. As usual, everyone swam away from me, so I had lots of space. So the "mass start" was a non-issue. I felt something squishy hit my hand - a jellyfish!! It hits my face, and tingles a bit, but I'm not stung. I think the thing had the crap beat out of it by about 2000 swimmers before me. About 3/4 way thru the first loop, I feel something pelting me from behind - the pros have "lapped" me, and they run me over like a bus!! I curl into a little ball under the water until they're by. A few minutes later, some female pros pass to the left. Very cool - I'm swimming with Bella Comerford! I'm done with first loop, and get caught up with groups of folks dashing through the water station. I had planned to stop and catch a breather, but I drink a couple mouthfuls of fresh water, and I'm on my way into the second loop. It is a beautiful, calm, relatively warm day to swim. I don't get at all tired until the last part of the second loop. At the Gulf Coast HIM, I stopped swimming too early and struggled with the sandbar. This time, I keep swimming until I completely run out of water.

Really, nothing. Get to transition a little sooner, so I have some time to get wet before the race starts. This was a great swim for me.

The women's changing tent was a really fast experience. Two volunteers dressed me like I was a little kid, and shoved me out the door onto my waiting bike. T1 just couldn't have been much faster for me.

I took a minute going out of T1 to make double-certain my Garmin was set up right. After all, it was going to be a long day! Had been worried about it maybe being too cold, but the temp was just right. Rode out to the first aid station near Hwy. 79 bridge, and stopped to eat, drink, use porta potty. First of many breaks today. I bummed a Krispie Kreme doughnut off a volunteer, and got filmed by a local news crew feeding my face! A bit of a headwind going out toward Hwy. 20, but I'm happy to be on the road. By the time us BOPers reach Hwy 20, there's a pretty good headwind/crosswind, and this turned out to be the defining feature of my bike ride. Battled with this headwind and rough pavement for essentially the first 75 miles. The info on the Ironman Florida website always makes this race sound like it's perfectly flat with no wind. Maybe no wind for the pros, but as the day progresses, the wind picks up. Also, there's plenty of little rollers which sap your energy when you're less experienced. On and off, I rode with Rhonda (writers2), who I thought was doing a pretty darn good job on the bike. By the time I reached the turnaround at about the 70 mile mark, I was so tired that I had to get off my bike to make the sharp turn. A volunteer helped me off my bike and around the turn. Next aid station, I was a little staggery and the volunteers were eyeing me closely, but I didn't require medical attention. I kept up my spirits and energy throughout the bike course by eating Sugar Babies, Endurolytes and Perpetuem. The soybutter/jelly sandwich I had at special needs didn't set so well. My coach had said the last 20 miles would be hell, but at that point I finally had a tailwind and it was a beautiful evening ride in the Florida country side. I stopped and helped an older guy with a flat tire, although I had only about an hour and a half left to ride 15 miles myself. The last 20 miles, I said prayers and psalms and sang my church hymns, and wasn't in too much distress. I stopped at the dismount line, and took another couple minutes to make sure I took Garmin and water bottle with me, and drank a little more Perpetuem.

MORE TRAINING TIME IN SADDLE TO GET STRONGER/FASTER. Made sure I had more time pre-race for bike setup, as I worried all day about my tire inflation. This was actually my strongest long ride ever - no problems with sore back/neck because of improved core strength, no problems with saddle soreness because of lots of Chamois Butt'r.

Sherri (oliveview) changes me out in T2 into run clothes. I tell her, "I'm going to be here awhile," and she responds, "No, you're not." But I want to make sure I have all my "stuff" with me, as I know I've got another 6-7 hours to go! Thanks, Sherri! Again, the women's changing tent was a marvelously smooth experience.

I feel like my transition times were good, at least for me, as I've wasted plenty of time in the past in transitions at HIMS, and I get alot more accomplished at IMFL in just a few minutes more time.

I take off walking out of T2, like my coach told me to. I feel good, and would like to run, but I stick to the plan and walk the first mile. I start running, and don't feel too bad at all. I stick to my plan to run 4 minutes and walk 2 minutes. Sometimes I cheat and walk through the aid stations as well. I eat lots of fruit, more Sugar Babies, and Oreos. Around Mile 6, I say "Note to self: NEVER do this again!" Hmmm . . . bad attitude, must need more Sugar Babies!! It is ever so dark in the state park, and I hate to run when I can't see my feet. I'm pretty sure I've got this Ironman thing in the bag, and I would hate to trip and break and ankle at this point. I make the first loop, and see Patrick at the half mary point. I give him some of my unwanted special needs bag stuff, and continue on into the darkness. I retrieved my headlamp out of special needs. Lots of people say, "Oh, how did you know to take your headlamp?" Duh, when you're going to finish around midnight, some extra lighting might not be a bad idea! I see my friend Neil on the run course a couple times. He has leukemia, is walking bent over like a pretzel, and looks hideous. However, he has a good attitude and appears to be making forward progress. About 16 miles into the run, I meet up with another woman, Kerri, who has done this race every year for about 9 times, and has DNFed about half of those. She asks if she can run/walk with me, and now I have a buddy for the long hours in the dark! Kerri is really suffering - at one point, she says "I'm going to collapse!" I tell her, "No you're not! I said you could walk with me, not collapse." I draw a box in the air around us and tell her this is a "no collapse" zone. I really enjoyed the Ford motivational big screen thingy, and I even jump around a bit to the rock music. My spirits are awesome, even though I'm dead tired. At mile 20, I tell Kerri I'm into uncharted territory - I've never gone past 20 miles. At mile 22, I really start to feel the lack of training. Starting and stopping the run/walk segments is getting more and more painful. But on we go, into the darkness! Around mile 24, we get our final plan together - we'll run/walk a final segment, walk about a half mile, and run it on in! The finish line is awesome. The YMCA song starts as I run the last half mile, and I do all the hand motions to the music. Then, I hear Mike Reilly saying my name and announcing, "You Are An Ironman!" I can see from the looks on the volunteers' faces that I look like I've been hit by a truck. They want to escort me to the food tent, but Patrick is there, so they relinquish custody of me to him. I really don't feel too bad, but I don't know how long it will be until my body gives out!

MORE RUN TRAINING/EXPERIENCE. Maybe next time (if there is a next time) I can run a little faster? I was very, very conservative/cautious in my approach to the run.

Ate some pizza at food tent. Walked with Patrick back to condo .5 mile. Pat had already drawn me a cold water bath, and had ice ready to add to it. I sat in bath for about 10 minutes. First attempt ever at ice bath. Not too bad, really. Drank a bottle of Recoverite. Took some advil and went to bed, but my legs hurt and spasmed so badly, I didn't get much sleep. I don't know how much weight I lost/gained, as I have no scale. I generally lose a few pounds with hard training.


Generally, inexperience. This is only my second triathlon season, and I do not have the physical fitness or endurance to go much faster at this point.


I think this is a really, really good first IM race. Maybe with the exception of the ocean swim, for those without this experience. High likelihood of good weather conditions this time of year, coupled with a comparatively easy course make for a high likelihood of success.