Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

My original plan was to go far right and hang back a little so I wouldn't get caught up in the craziness. As I stood there waiting I said the hell with it, the swim is going to be rough no matter where you start so take it a little more inside. I started just off to the right and in about the 2nd row.

When the cannon went off there were people all around me and I just stayed relaxed and smooth. I got hit a few times and hit a few times but I was able to keep my breathing in check and just went with the flow. I figured we're all moving in the same direction so I'd just go with it.

I took a good angle to the first turn buoy as I stayed about 10 yards outside of the buoy. 2nd turn was the same way and then I got behind some feet on the way in and was able to stay with them for the most part.

I felt great when I got to the beach and was ready to go for the 2nd loop. My heart rate got the highest as I ran back in the water for the 2nd time. The roughest part of the swim was on the 1st turn buoy of the 2nd lap. Because I had more of an inside line I just couldn't get out of all the people on the turn. It really does sound like a washing machine as you try to swim and just hear the washing machine sound. Once I got through that turn I was good again at the next turn and on the way in.

I felt great on the last section into the beach. I got into a great rhythm and just swam smooth.

I am really happy with this swim. Considering that I've always thought of the swim as my weakest event, I'll take a top 30% finish in my age group. My target time was 1:10 so I was ahead of where I wanted to be.

This is about what I figured my T1 time would be. I knew I'd get out of the water at a busy time and just wanted to get out of T1. I saw some people outside the change tent in T1 and figured I'd do the same thing. Since I had no plans to change my clothes I just put my helmet, shoes, and sunglasses on and I was ready to go. When I got to my bike I started putting my arm warmers on. That was the longest part of T1. While it did add some time to T1 to put them on I'm glad I had them for the bike as it was a little chilly.

Nothing. It was a good decision to change outside the tent as there was nowhere to move when I ran through after changing outside.

I felt great getting on the bike after my swim. I started with an easy pace and was always around 20-21mph. I was passing a lot of people but knew I wasn't pushing hard at all. I had some people pass me but I let them go and just stayed within myself. I figured I'd see them again at mile 80.

At about mile 20 I couldn't figure out what I had done with my salt tablets. I figured I left them in my T1 bag. No problem, this is what special needs bags are for. I had an extra bottle in special needs so I stopped and picked them up at mile 50 and took a couple right away.

My nutrition and hydration felt right on. I started my first Gu after 20 minutes on the bike and then took 1/2 PowerBar 30 minutes after that. I'd repeat this the entire ride and would sprinkle in a Fig Newton or two if I ever felt like I wanted more. I took in 5 bottles of Gatorade Endurance and 2 bottles of water. It wasn't hot and I peed 5 times on the bike so I felt hydrated. My only concern about peeing that often was that I wasn't absorbing everything so I started taking more salt tablets.

There was a little more headwind than I thought as we made the turn to finally get a tailwind. It was nice just to put it into cruise control for a while. I looked forward to anything that resembled a hill so I could stand up and stretch my legs, back, and neck.

When I got to the last turn for the last 8 miles or so into T2 you could really feel the headwind. I was told by everybody that this would be the windiest part of the course, and it was. I just tried to spin as much as possible to get my legs ready to run.



The only thing I did wrong on the bike was stop at special needs. When I got to the bottom of the Bento Box I found my tube of salt tablets. Had I remembered I put them on the bottom I wouldn't have stopped in special needs.

Other than that, the bike went completely as planned. I wanted to be around 21mph give or take and I was right there and felt like I had a lot left in the tank for the marathon.

Got my feet out of my shoes and cruised into T2. Grabbed my bag. Put my shoes and hat on and stuffed my pockets with 8 Gu's. I was ready for a marathon.

VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY disappointed with this run. After getting off the bike with a total time of 6:35 I thought I'd be able to come in just over 10 hours. I knew I wouldn't do sub-10 in my first IM but I thought I had a better run in me.

Did I mention I am VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY disappointed with this run?

I started the first few miles of the run feeling very good (don't we all :-)). Even though my coach and I decided a couple days before I wouldn't wear my Garmin, I decided to wear it to help me pace myself off the bike. The first few miles I was just under 8/mile and felt this was about where I wanted to be. Lots of people were passing me at a good clip but I figured I'd catch them later. I knew I had to slow down to hold any type of pace. I decided to walk the aid station at mile 4 to take my first Gu and really suck down some hydration. I also stopped in a porta potty at this time to pee. I still felt good and was happy with my pace. I finished the first out section in 54:18 and an 8:17 pace. If I could hold an 8:30 pace for the marathon I'd be happy.

By mile 7 my legs just started hurting. My heart rate was fine and was never high. I've heard all the time that the marathon is just a matter of pain management, but I had no idea the pain would start so early and be so intense. The bottom of my feet started to hurt, my quads were burning, and even worse my pubic bone area started to hurt. I think it was my hip flexors more than anything but I just didn't like the feel while I was running. Literally every stride started to hurt and I knew at this point I wouldn't hold an 8:30 pace as the run back was finished in 1:01:41 and a 9:25/mile pace. At this point I knew it would be tough to finish under 10:30 so I wanted to make absolutely sure I would not give up sub-11. I was taking Gu every 30-40 minutes and took water, Gatorade, and/or Coke at every aid station.

When I got to the end of the first run loop I had a very strange feeling in my fingertips and I felt like I had been taking in too much salt. They actually felt like they were swelling up a little. I'm used to training in much warmer temperatures and may have taken too much salt late in the bike and early on the run. At the next aid station I made sure to drink as much water as I could take and a couple miles later I was feeling fine.

At this point my legs were killing me and I was just working to get from aid station to aid station where I would walk to take in any nutrition or hydration. They actually had chicken broth out at about mile 15 so I took it. Gag! It tasted absolutely terrible. It was just way to salty after all the sweet nutrition I had taken in. I tride a banana, took 1 bite and tossed it. Tried a cookie and took one bite and just couldn't get it down because it was to dry. Hmm, I guess I'll try an orange slice. That was it! The orange tasted great. It was tarty and wasn't sweet. I started taking oranges as often as possible along with my regular hydration and nutrition.

My 2nd loop out was really slow and the pain was just brutal. I got to the last turnaround and did that section in 1:06:55 and about a 10:13 pace. At this point I said there is no way in hell I will run that slow on the way in. I told the volunteer at the turn I was glad I wouldn't see her again and started going.

I'm not sure if the last section I was more focused or was just happy to be closer to the finish but I just told myself the pain would be gone the sooner I got to the finish line. The last section was uneventful and I just went from aid station to aid station where I would walk to take in hydration. Gu's were hard to take in and the only way I could get them down was to take 1/2 a pack, take a gulp of water and down it. Repeat the process to finish the Gu.

At this point I was calculating I'd come in somewhere in the 10:40's. I finished the last section in 1:04:55 and a 9:54/mile pace. With 2 miles to go you could hear Mike Reilly and I knew I was almost home. Even with all the pain, it was time to enjoy the last couple miles. I just put my head down and "enjoyed" the pain because I knew I was close to finishing my first IM. I was all by myself when I came into the finisher shoot and it was awesome to hear my name as Mike Reilly called me an IronMan!

I'll say it again, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY disappointed with this run. I have never run a stand alone marathon and maybe I just had no idea how hard it would be after the swim and bike.

I'm not sure what the cause of the slow run was but I'll figure it out for next time. And yes, there will be a next time. Was it not enough calories? Was it just not enough base after only doing tris for 3 years? Was it my early season injury that set me back 3 months? Whatever it was I now plan on doing a stand alone marathon this winter to get a better run base.

If you're married and have a family, there's no way you can train for and finish an IronMan without their support. My wife and kids supported me the entire year and for that I am very greatful.

When I registered for IMFL a year ago my goal was to finish sub 10:30. There were times in March and April when I thought I might not even make it to the starting line because of my injury. When I crossed the finish line I was proud of my accomplishment, but now that I've had a couple days to stew I realize this is the first race I have ever done where I did not meet my goal.

Today I am an IronMan and I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful wife and kids. I have a great life and I'm fortunate to be able to participate in a hobby I love.

Today I am an IronMan. Tomorrow, I will be a FASTER IronMan!