Ironman 70.3 Florida : Official Thread (Page 24)

SURVIVED!!!!  Man Cube was not kidding on the run....It was African grassland and it was HOT HOTHOT....Did OK on th eswim and BIke was awesome (for me).....run, well let's just say I ran into some issues...stomach was bothering me and it took 3 miles to figure out if I dumped a glass full of ice down my front and back I could actually survive.  Thanks to all who followed us and I will post a RR tomorrow or the next day....be prepared for a doozy!!!  

Rough day here.  My swim was good for me.  Cramped bad at mile 47 had to get off the bike for about 25 minutes.  Got back on the bike and cramped again at mile 52 had to get off the bike and lost about 15 minutes.  Walked almost the entire half marathon due to cramps. Every time I tried to run for any length of time my quads would start to lock up on me.    Still okay with finishing.  Took me 7 hours and 59 minutes.  It was sure great talking to all of the BTers this week and meeting several of them because of this race.  Sara, Kevin, Dewey, Todd, the guy I met in a bookstore in Winter Garden can't remember his name, the guy who met us for a swim on Thursday from California and all who posted here.  I am not going to be training for an Ironman on November 12th Beach to Battle Ship.  I have a lot of work to do in the next 5 and 1/2 months but I look foward to the challenge.  Hope all here have great races in the future.  Good Luck

Brian Cooper

Was a little slower than last year by two minutes. Was hoping for a very fast race, but quad cramping slowed me way down.
But I was able to Qualify for Clearwater! WOOHOO!!! Finished 16 of 349 in M35-39 AG in 4:50.

Congrats to all the finishers!! It was very tough out there today.

8:02... which is pretty good considering I had projected my time to be 8 hours even. No kidding about that run, my shoes are trashed! Anyone know a good running store in Orlando? I've got 400+ miles on those shoes and I'm not even going to bother trying to salvage them. Just wish them a fond farewell as I dump them in the garbage.

Tri n Run Winter Garden Florida on Plant Street.
http://www.trinrun.com/

Store Hours

MON-FRI  10AM-7PM

SATURDAY 9AM-5PM

407-905-IRUN(4786)

6:33:16 felt great for my first HIM thanks to everyone for the information and words of encouragement< Brian great meeting you when are we going for a ride.

Congrats to everyone on finishing this race!  It's been great fun hanging out with all of you on this board.  However, I'm glad it's over and I'm now really looking forward to the cool weather at B2B this fall.

I was lucky enough to meet gvmhlal and his wife at Lucky's Lake swim on Saturday.  Evidently there were 200+ swimmers there that day, so unfortunately, I was not able to meet some of the other BTers.  Maybe next time. ;-)

I finished in 6:19:28 and although I did not have my best physical race, I made a ton of mental gains.  I actually savored the finishing moment more during this race than I did at my first half-iron.  After Augusta, I swore up and down that I would never do another HIM again.  After this race, I find myself looking forward to my fall HIM.

I had an OK swim, although I think the course was long (either that or the small width of the channel created by the lifeguards made it extra difficult to maneuver around other athletes).  My bike was super solid and I was pleased by the rollers on the course and the smooth roads.  I actually had a 15 min. HIM bike PR yesterday and felt good the entire 56 miles.  That was nice.  I was, however, nearly run off the road and into a cone by a Panamanian draft pack riding two and three abreast (and I only say this b/c  "Team Panama" was written on their shirts).  If I could have written down their numbers & called them out on my blog, I would have.  I only saw 1 race marshall on course, but lots of "Sunday Group riders".

The run... oh dear, much worse than I expected.  I don't care where you live at, you cannot acclimate for that run course.  It truly was every bit as terrible as The Cube's warnings made it out to be.  The heat radiating from the canals in the 'African Grassland' made it feel like a steam bath.  My pace for this race was actually 2 minutes 'slower' than what I run my 'LSD' runs at (and a whopping 3+ minutes slower than my open half marathon pace).  Terrible run for me, but it was most likely terrible for everyone else too.  Even 24 hours later urine output is still not normal and I'm thirsty as heck.  Dehydration on the run was a huge factor for me.
 
I may have mentioned this already, but the Danskin race takes place on Ft. Wilderness the week before the 70.3 and manages to use 3.1 miles of paved, mostly shaded roads/paths.  I can't imagine that the race director was unable to find another half-mile spur of paved roads to tack on to that course and then use it for the three 70.3 loops.  Hmmm?

I won't do this race again until the run course is changed.

One final note:  My $200+ a night room at the Wilderness Lodge had NO freezer.  That meant no frozen bottles for the morning.  I'm just writing this as warning for those reading this thread who will be doing the 2011 event and are contemplating staying at the host hotel.  Frozen bottles in FL heat are important to me, so this was quite a downer.

That's the short version of my race... the longer version will be in my race report when I get a chance to write it up.

Again, CONGRATS to all of the BTers (and their spouses/friends) who finished yesterday!  Way to go!  This race is definitely one of those 'extreme environment' challenges! All finishers should be SUPER proud of themselves!!!

Edited by shellabree 2010-05-17 4:44 PM

Glad to hear you made it Brian!  It was great meeting you and swimming at Lucky's, thanks for all the great info you gave.  Your time was great considering having to take some pretty substantial breaks!  I finished in 6:48:50, so I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere!    I had to walk about 2/3 of the run just to finish the race.  It was BRUTAL!!! Ice in my hat, shirt, and shorts the whole time.  Congrats to your daughter on the graduation!  I may just see you next year for this one.

By the way, the boyfriend made it and was there for every transition and loop on the run.  The finish was the best.  Couldn't help but shed some tears.

We had a saying during our desert deployments that Iraq was really hot, but Africa was worse.  We called it "Africa Hot".  That run qualifies in my mind as Africa Hot. 

Shellabree...
Thx for the props. I only speek the truth. I under the race pace thing. Last year I did Augusta 70.3 last in the season after Fla 70.3 and ran a full min per mile faster (9:24 vs. 10:16)
After Fla 70.3 last year, I drank a full gallon of Gatorade and STILL didnt pee until 11pm that night!!
As I said before, I love the race but will NOT return until they change that run course.
Totally Unacceptable for an Ironman Race!!

FM
"The" Cube

"Africa Hot!"  Biloxi Blues!  One of my most favorite Matthew Broderick movies ever!!!

Congrats to you, Sarah!!!

Edited by shellabree 2010-05-17 6:24 PM

i was in africa for 3 weeks in jan. the grasslands were hotter than when i was running in africa. i was in republic of congo 6 degrees above the equator. i felt like i was in the center of the earth on sunday.

congrads to all who finished. it was a great race all in all.

Congrats to everyone who finished.  The conditions were rough, but plan your race and race your plan. 

I had a goal of 5:10 and a best case of 5:00, so I'm very happy with my 5:02.  I had a slow swim 34:04, but it was 11th best in my AG.  I rode my race during the bike 2:37, which set me up for a good run of 1:45.

This race really test the fourth sport/discipline of triahtlon, nutrition and hydration.

Once again congrats to everyone who finished on Sunday!

You are 100% correct.  That is really a great way to view this race.

Congratulations to you! You were amazing out there!

Congrats Sarah!!!  I looked for you prerace but post race I was just wiped...you got me by 5 minutes but I don't think I could have done anything else......at least the difference wasn't all in transitions    Good luck to you and your new man...

p.s.  be safe the next few months....



Edited by dewcubs 2010-05-17 7:46 PM

well we just got back to the seattle area and its 58 degrees and sunny. anyone want to go for a run....what a great trip. Had no idea what to expect and I left Ft Wilderness absolutely ecstatic with my race. Being my first tri, initially, all I wanted to do was make the time cutoffs.  My wife and I swam at Lucky's on Sat and it was the best thing I could have done for my race as it was my first openH20 swim (nice to meet ya shellabree). (you need a drysuit to swim in the water out here!!) I was part of the M30-34 representing the light pink of wave 22. Swam a 0:43 swim. 3:04 bike and 2:38 run for 6:37. Loved every minute of it, including the run and finished feeling great. Run was slower than I wanted. walking through the aid stations didnt help my time, but sure felt great dunking my head in the kiddie pool! Did yall see the gators in the canals?

Im gonna give Lake Stevens 70.3 a go in August. I can drive an hour and be there!

thanks to everyone for all the tips and help preparing me for my first race.  

gvmhlal- You did awesome for your first tri ever!  Really, a super impressive finish in one of the more extreme 70.3 races!!  Good luck at Lake Stevens... you should definitely go for it!  You have nowhere to go but UPWARD right now!  BIG congrats to you!  Frame that pink cap! 
 

I bet sarah could have done something else....

I was hoping for 6 hours, as this was my first HIM distance, clocked in at 5:53- everything has been said about the run, so I won't bring up the horrors again.  Swim was nice, might have held back just a bit, and really enjoyed the bike course.  Finished in the upper third of M 30-34, which I'm pretty happy about.

My wife finished in 6:48, which is amazing considering she crashed at mile 28 of the bike and broke her collarbone.  Thank you to the anonymous couple of racers who stopped to make sure she was ok!  She hopped back on the bike (which was in pretty good condition, considering the wreck) and motored on, finishing the bike in 3:08, then running the rest of the race before we got her to medical at the finish!  



 

I also crashed at mile 28, think I was clipped by a group of guys flying past (I don't think they realised they had done it) and ended up going over a traffic cone, landing on my head.  That section was way too narrow in my opinion and needs to be widened, and they should consider starting the 35-39 men before the women so they are not just constantly flying past.

Big thanks to the two guys who stopped and helped me, checking I was ok.  Thank goodness I was wearing a cycle top to protect myself from the sun as it was torn to shreds. I then got two punctures, one on either tyre, one at 38m and one at 52.5m (can you believe it!).  Hubby waited for me in T2 and we ran together leading me to a somewhat slow time of 7.07.....

Oh yeah, and a trip to A and E yesterday and a CT scan as I have concussion!  Not exactly an ideal race nor ideal prep for IM Switzerland in 8 weeks time as I now just need to rest.

Had a great time at Lucky's - we were there Thurs and Fri and loved it!

Edited by not much further... 2010-05-18 9:41 AM

Didn't make it the race...great swim and awesome bike.  Got through 2 loops of the run and couldn't do it - saw people dropping left and right and didn't want that to be me.  Proud that I knew what my limits are.  Think I'll probably sign-up for Steelhead which is up in my neck of the woods.  Thanks everyone for the encouragement and I'll think of Florida 70.3 again next year and conquer it!

So...weird question here.  This year we got the shirt and hat in our goodie bag at check in.  In prior years, we didn't get these until > the race, and they were "finisher's gear".  Does anyone have an issue with not getting any finisher's swag other than the medal?  Personally, I missed getting something that said finisher...

Awesome job out there everyone.  And, as stated, it was not pretty running along that backside of the grasslands.  But it was worth it to get to the finish line.

Overall I had a very consistant race and was very pleased with my final time.  I was hoping to meet some BTer's at Lucky's Lake swim, but I think my psycadellic speedo scared everyone away.

Great job everyone!!

Now recover and get back out there.