Ironman Florida : Official Thread (Page 18)

I totally agree. Last year we stayed at the Boardwalk Condos. When I return next year my wife has already informed me that we will be staying there again. They were nice condos and everything is basically in the parking lot next door. I'm not sure how the price compares to others in the area but the convenience was will worth it for my wife and family members.

If we didn't stay there I would look for a place on the run course.

Ditto.  Its slightly more expensive and you definately can find something cheeper but with at least two 73 year olds in tow (and possible 4 of them) the closeness is worth it to me.  In the grander scheme of life where I routinely have to drop $400 a night for a hotel room at most meetings I go to even Boardwalk is dirt cheep. 

I would recommend you to choose a handsome view. Not only will it make day-to-day life more appealing, but it helps with resale later. Be prepared to see a variety of styles: low-rise, high-rise, with or without amenities such as security guard or gym facilities.

miami beach condos

I swim at the local High School and they changed their swim schedule to M-TH 11a-7p, so that adds a little flexibility for OWS. During the school year they are open M&W nights and Saturday Mornings. Being only .5 miles from my house I find it more time effective to head up there rather than a 30min drive to my typical OWS location. With my Saturdays now open, I've been hitting up state parks for Bricks, Swikes or mini-tris.

My training sessions haven't been longer than 2.5-3 hours so nutrition hasn't been a major factor, mostly trying new flavors of GU's or sports drink. I'm liking the Cytomax from REI over any other brand. Most other brands give me the burps but the Cytomax doesn't cause too much gas.

My monthly training totals are increasing slowly this month, might still hit my goals, but I lost a few days due to a wedding out of state and life.

Keep it up everyone, I'm so proud with everyone training so hard.

A few weeks ago, I was on track to put in some serious bike volume over the summer. My goal going into this season was to get much stronger on the bike, as that was my weakest area. That plan got derailed, however, when I got hit by a car on Memorial Day weekend. Bike is totaled, so I haven't been able to ride much since then.

The good news is that my new Felt B16 comes in today and I plan on breaking her in this weekend with a nice 60 miler or so to work back into the saddle. My run training has been solid so far. I'm very happy with that. And of the three, I'm strongest in the swim, so I'm not overly concerned there either.

By the way, me and my crew will be at Boardwalk. I grew up in Panama City, so I know the area very well, but this is my first Ironman. We're planning on getting there on Wednesday to check in to avoid the lines on Thursday. What's the scene there like on Wednesday-Friday?

My training has finally been able to pick up this month.  We remodeled the house this spring and I traveled a good bit for work so that put me behind.  My long rides right now are average b/w 60-70 miles and I am up to 12 miles for my long run.  I still have a good bit of weight to drop off so hopefully things will improve even more as the pounds come off.

Sorry to hear about your wreck.  Glad you're ok and only the bike was totaled.

Great idea getting there on Wednesday.  It seems to me that the crowd about doubles every day and Friday and Saturday are pretty much a zoo, depending on which hour you show up.

The morning swim each day is a great time to meet other BT folks.  Then by the time the race rolls around it's like racing with a whole team.  Makes it fun to know people all around the course.

Good luck on your first IM!

I just completed Buffalo Springs Lake 1/2 IM.  Survived and finished without hurting myself too bad, and learned some lessons.  Now it's time to start training for IMFL.  Lots of biking and running in my future.  maybe some swimming too.

I qualified for Hy-Vee 5150 US Championships at New Orleans 5150 in some brutal conditions.  It certainly wasn't my , but I best race managed to pace well and smart.  Here is a race report if anyone is interested:

Swim: 29:56

The time is a bit slower than I expected, but was pretty much on track with what other people in my AG did and how we compare to each other. Don’t know if it was just long or what it was, but I was just happy it wasn’t cancelled. The harbor is great protecting the waters from the strong waves, but it still gets choppy and with walls surrounding the harbor, it’s like swimming in a pool with no lane ropes because you have chop coming from all directions, but wasn’t that big of a deal. We did come through a pretty strong gas taste/smell in about the last 300m from an ENORMOUS yacht that docked on the NE side of the harbor, but for the most part it was about as clean as you will find in NOLA.

As for the course changes; there were “mandatory” pre race meetings that all athletes were supposed to go to on Saturday when you checked in and the changes to the course were announced as early as the 12 pm race meeting. I attended the 1 pm meeting and I knew people who attended the 12 pm meeting and we were both aware of the changes. I cannot say if they continued to announce the changes in meetings later in the day or not, but I know they knew early on Saturday changes were to be made.

It wasn’t very technical and with the exception of one point where I was looking directly into the sun making it hard to see a turn buoy, I found it relatively easy to stay online and sight the course. MUCH easier than NOLA 70.3 in 2010.

T1: 5:24

On Saturday we parked by swim start then walked to transition and it measured over .41 miles from swim exit to the entrance of transition, then another 100+ yards to my bike. There was TONS of room in transition, so what was nice, but it was a long run. Some of it was carpeted and they had volunteers sweeping up rocks as well. A lot of participants dropped their running shoes by swim exit and when I asked an official about whether or not they were going to enforce anything on that, he said no and by the time 70.3 rolls around next year he expects over 1,000 pairs of running shoes by swim exit.

Bike: 1:13

Not much can be said, windy, hot and definitely not flat. Certainly not the toughest course on the circuit for sure, but not the typical pancake NOLA course. Winds just beat you up and never let up. Pretty smooth course with the exception of a few spots (luckily for me I ride the course quite often and know where those spots are), but I certainly didn’t see the bottle carnage I have seen at other NOLA races. I know it’s only an Olympic, but a bottle exchange would have been nice for my personal set up, but I added a cage and just rode with two bottles and surprisingly, I went through both of them.

T2: 1:18

No real issues here although I did put on socks (which I normally never do), but took my time and got out with no huge issues.

Run: 52:14

Again, much like the bike, hot and windy. It was an oven out there and no real escape other than the few seconds you got in the shade under the bridge. I took the same approach on the run as I did on the bike and just did my 70.3 HR instead of my anaerobic threshold HR. I spoke to Tim Reed (3rd place overall male) at an after-after party and he said he took the same approach and just raced it like a 70.3 so I guess I had the right state of mind. I negative split the two loops and my last two miles were my fastest. Physically, I had more in the tank, but I didn’t want to blow and felt a steady race was better off.

Total time and final thoughts: 2:42:42

Being that this was my first Olympic Distance race, I was happy with the results. I wanted to do between 2:30 – 2:35, but I could tell early on the bike that wasn’t going to happen and I am very pleased with my race adjustments. It was a challenging day and I kept within myself and ended up finishing 8th in M 35-39 qualifying for Hy-Vee if I choose to go. It wasn’t the strongest field, nor my fastest/best race, but anytime I can compete well against the competition I am facing, I’ll walk away with a positive feeling. I have a long way to go and a lot more work to put in, but feel good about where I am right now.

We plan on arriving on Wednesday this year as well.  We actually plan on leaving New Orleans around 4 am to get there right when everything opens, then go for a little run and check in the hotel.  We'll have first crack at scheduling massages, little/no lines, full selection in the souvenir tent and Wednesday is halloween, so we can enjoy ourselves that night and maybe even take our daughter trick or treating in a nearby neighboorhood

If not, we'll just trick or treat around the Boardwalk Resort.

SAme for me...training a little slow.  Hitting about 9 hours right now but building distance on my long rides/runs so I'm not TOO worried.  Just trying to get used to being tired al of the time   This is my first IM and I am told it comes with the territory.

Staying at Laketown Wharf.  Anyone know how far that is from the start?  Thanks all! 

Train well/safely!

I'm staying at the Laketown wharf as well. It's just about a half mile from the start/finish/transition area. Seems like we're on the same boat w/ training I have to give it to the athletes that are putting in 10+ hours a week that have a full time job and kids - and still enjoy their personal life, I guess that commitment to getting up earlier during the work week is a must. I need to step it out either way. Here's to sticking w/ the training and getting some extra hours in during the week!

Hi everyone,

Did any of you volunteer at the race last year?  If so, I was wondering if there was a volunteer meeting/training day prior to the event or if we just are supposed to show up to our post at the scheduled time?  I'm going to be a first shift bike handler on race morning and want to know if I need to be in Florida by a certain time the day prior.  

Thanks for your help!

Chris

Thank you very much, Denise!  I've contacted the coordinator, but haven't heard back.

Keep up the great work everybody.  I look forward to seeing you all in Florida in Nov.!

Thanks, mahuwf!

Good to know.  I'm driving from Michigan, so I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't in Florida until afternoon/evening on Nov. 2nd.

I appreciate the feedback.

Chris

I volunteered last year for the finish line.  The coordinator should contact you within the next couple of months.  The meeting was a briefing on what to do.  Very crowded and hard to hear because everybody is there.

You will check in, get your shirt and get marked off the list.  Be sure to show up to your area with the shirt on race day.

Thanks, Cason.

I will be volunteering at the finish line as well.  Looking forward to it.  Thanks for the info.!

Chris