Ironman Florida : Official Thread (Page 28)

Yes, I have a standard 53-39 crank and a friend let me borrow a 11-23 cassette.  I never came out of the big ring and I am not known as a hill climber for sure. 

its not pancake flat but I never ride hills (there just are not any here) and i ride the big ring the whole way.  i would see no reason to change cassettes

Really the bridge is the biggest hill and its a biotch at mile 100!!!

Hi everyone.  I read in a couple places that it's fine to schedule a 1/2 IM 12 weeks or more prior to a full iron.  7-10 weeks out, it says to use caution, and 6 weeks or less don't do it.  IMFL 2013 is going to be my first IM and I was trying to plan my race schedule for next year.  There's a local race 9 weeks before IMFL, should I do that one or do one 1 month earlier 4hrs away?  I know everybody is different, but i wanted to see what the general consensus was on here.  

Thanks all,

Chris

Depends on how YOU recover from things.  SOme people take a lot longer to recover from things than others.  Some pros do IMs back to back weekends..and WIN.....Think about how long it takes YOU to recover from a HIM and how you feel a few weeks later. 

Yea, doing Augusta too.  Lots of folks from our local tri club have done Augusta/IMFL combo the last couple years, haven't heard anyone say they regretted doing so.

you need to break this cycle..

Hello Everyone!

I am also doing IMFL and wanted to introduce myself. I have been following the thread and have been on BT for a few years but it took me a little longer then planned to get movitated to train this year. Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and say hello.

I hope everyone's training is going well. 

Peewee, please don't bring rough waters, Think of it as the race where your luck changes!  I get seasick really easily and a really rough swim could do me in. Speaking of which, has anyone tried those patches you wear to prevent sea sickness and if so do they make you drowsy?

As I mentioned before, the direction of the winds will determine how rough the swim is, not necessarily how windy it is.  In the late spring and summer, winds generally come out of the south, which creates a rougher swim.  During the fall, winter etc months, the winds shift to come out of the north.  Now, there can be fronts either time of the year which switch the wind directions around, but generally speaking, IMFLA will have winds out of the north.

As winds come out of the south, there is nothing to knock them down before they hit the water so by the time the water hits the shore, there are some larger waves.  As it comes out of the north, the winds are knocked down and the water (at the shore) has minimal effects from the wind.  The shore on the north side of cuba is exactly the opposite. 

The land provides a shelter for the water close to shore.  Do not stress too much about water conditions right now as the winds are almost guranteed to switch directions.

Yes, there is no need to go into your small chain ring.  The hills are maybe a cog shift or two in the back.  The only place you might want to use your small chain ring is going over the bridge.......twice.

I did the first Augusta (almost), had a pretty horrific bike crash and ended up in the hospital for a week (still have no recollection of how it happened) - I was still able to finish IMFL - Not such a good time because I was still a little beat up and did zero training in between the crash and IMFL. So one of the things to take into consideration are the "what ifs".

I've since completed the Augusta/IMFL now, last year I dropped the Augusta part and added IM Cozumel and there is not enough recovery time on the IMFL/IMCOZ - however I'm going to try it again this year (I love both these races).

Welcome Kathleen. 

For those concerned about the hills, being from S Florida I do not ride hills and it was no problem.  Yea, I didn’t want to see on at mile 75 but they weren’t that bad, no small ring.  My motto is what goes up must come down!  I nailed the bridge because that is the only hill I’ve practiced 

 Last year the waves were tough on Thursday and Friday but come Saturday morning is was smooth as can be.  As Adam said, the winds do shift.

 I also did Augusta/IMFL last year and am doing it this year too.  The difference is this year it is a week closer to IMFL.  Last year it was 6 weeks out, this year 5 weeks.  We’ll see.

 Enjoy,

Duane

Its worth it.  People can track you and its easy to use.  I dont' know of any other products out there.

I have heard good things about MyAthlete.com This year I plan on using Irontrac which is an iPhone app. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/irontrac/id489168542?mt=8

It is not GPS related as MyAthlete is.  Irontrac is just a feed from Ironman live so as goes Ironman live so goes Irontrac.

enjoy,

Duane

I have tracked numerous people via Myathlete.com and really had fun with it.  I also tried to use in at IMAZ last year but it fell out of the holder at T1. I believe they have improved the pouches that the device sits in but if you get one with velco, be very careful as it can open easily.

Thanks for the welcome Duanerice

I highly recommend it!! It is great for those friends who can not make it to your race and it is great for those who are there to support you. They won't have to sit at transition for hours waiting on you if for some reason you are not on your anticipated pace.

I used it last year. My wife and parents loved it. They were able to sit in the condo watching football and tracking me on the computer. They were able to tell when I was about to hit T2 and only waited 10 or 15 minutes for me to arrive. They went back to the condo to watch more football but were able to make it to the run turn around before I got there, but they didn't have to wait long. It also kept them from waiting too long at the finish line.

The Bama/LSU game was on and they jokingly thanked me for crossing the finish line during halftime of the game......now that I reflect on it, football may have been more important to them that day than me completing my first Ironman, lol.

In all seriousness, it made that day a lot easier on them. I highly recommend MyAthlete.com.