Great Floridian Triathlon - Ultra Distance Race : Official Thread (Page 3)

Thanks! You too! Don't think arm warmers or gloves will be needed as I've done early Spring races with water temps in the low 60s and temps in the 60s without either. A bit chilly to start but I usually warm up pretty quickly.

Bike - yeah, no hammering here. Race as I trained and follow the plan I've set up. The run's my forte usually, so I'll be taking care on the bike to prepare for that task ahead.

Hey, since we don't have bib numbers yet, y'all can look for my blue Felt S32 with white-walled tires Should be pretty distinctive out there. Frederick Tri Club jersey, red, black and white but I've found those colors are pretty common and it's a bit difficult to pick out similar looking jerseys from ours.

One more possible update later tonight or before I leave tomorrow.

"Hey, since we don't have bib numbers yet, ..." And after I posted that, I just got an email from GFT with final instructions and links. Bib number is 163.

Hey folks, check out all the links on your email in case something has changed from previous years. The run course has changed! This year, you start east instead of west and looks like the turnaround may be a bit different. Though we all start together on the swim, they have different color caps for AG men categories. Might be other differences to consider too. These are in the race packet but I'm checking them out just in case.

Dave

As I'm leaving to start my trip to the race site soon, thought I'd provide one last weather forecast update. But essentially, there's no change from what I wrote earlier. Here are the specifics:

Temps - race start: 67, 9AM: 70, 12noon: 80, 2 PM: 82, 5PM 80, 7PM 73, 10PM 66, 1AM 63

Dewpoints - 61 at race start but dropping to 52 by 4PM. So drying conditions with frontal passage which will help keep us cooling through better sweating.

Partly to mostly sunny skies and no rain forecast at this time. So good to keep some sunscreen on

Winds: Generally NNW - NNE 5-10 mph. The point forecast is saying 6-7 but we'll be riding in a larger area. So heading north on the bike route we'll encounter a bit of a headwind and reverse for south bound legs.

Relative humidity drops to 35% by afternoon. Again, drying conditions will help us during the latter parts of the ride and especially the run.

Sunrise will be around 7:30 and sunset will be 6:50 PM. The rising sun may be a factor sighting when coming back to the shore. Had that problem at IM Muncie 70.3 this year.

Before race day, there are a couple of days with rain in the forecast (today and Friday), so let's hope that some rain cools the water temps down.

Except for hopefully sunrise and sunset ( ), all of this is a bit subject to change as the race is still 3 days out. But models have kept the trend the last several days and looks to be the most likely solution at this time.

Good luck to all and say "HI" to me (Dave) if you see race number 163 or my blue Felt with it's white walled tires. I probably won't have a computer available to check messages as I'm leaving for the race site momentarily.

How did it go for everybody????

It was by far my slowest IM to date, but also my smartest raced IM. I will draft my RR this weekend, but basically I changed my entire bike pace plan .68 of a mile into the bike (after seeing those hills). Long story short, after having my hamstring lock up at mile 21/22 forcing me to stop/stretch/walk, I finished 3rd OA......giving up 2nd OA with two miles to go, but the legs did not have a response at that point so I was fine with sitting tight there.

Long day on a tough course for my first Iron distance event! Hills/rollers on the bike were very similar to what I have here at home (central MD) though. Thought Sugarloaf was pretty much a piece of cake and that the two hills we faced on 455 on loops 2 and 3 were actually a bit tougher, more so since I had gotten a bit more tired for those. Nutrition and hydration went pretty well both on the bike and run. Since it was my first one, took my time through the transitions and perhaps a bit too much. My inner thighs cramped up here and there on the bike and run but didn't really impede me too much. The problem I did have was nagging discomfort on the bottom of my feet during the run. It wasn't pain per se as I could run, but it still affected my ability to have a better run. Following some training advice, I changed socks in T2 and had tested the socks I changed into during practice runs. But, I should've used the socks I had on during the bike on the run instead as they were the ones I normally run in. Think I could've had a better run if I could've overcome the discomfort. But, I also think the bike effort slowed me down during latter parts of the run as well. Still, I was pleased with my overall performance and came in 42/154 overall. Surprisingly, I came in 2nd in AG! Got a nice painted wine glass for that. Though I was a bit disappointed in my run, I saw I was able to do better than a lot of others. There was at least one guy in the changing tent that looked like he wasn't going to continue. And so it was for others as looks like 45 folks DNF'd. Think the combination of the tough rollers, heat/full sun, and headwinds on 19 really took their toll on folks. Still, I think my training served me well as I was moving pretty well the next day and didn't have nearly as much soreness the next few days as I sometimes have had on other events. So overall, a successful first Iron distance event! If I'm able, I'll attempt another in a future year. My race report/novel will also be out in a few days. Takes me a while to put them together.

Hey Coldfire - super job!