Ironman Florida : Official Thread (Page 39)

Feeling slightly undertrained but healthy:

I rode the course this past weekend.  Thanks to jldicarlo and others who provided accurate descriptions of the course.  I always knew what to expect (one caveat - I missed the turn at 388 and ended up going left where 388 West starts; by the time I figured it out, I had added 10 miles to my ride.  Doh!)  

It was a good trial run as the weather was similar to race day - high of 75 with a 20kt headwind out of the North.  All parts of the course felt like there was a tough headwind except for 77 south and 79 south.  Jogged a loop of the run course Sunday morning.

All in all, a good weekend, except I was probably the only person who didn't realize last weekend was Thunder Road, a convergence of thousands of motorcyclists in PCB.  Once I moved out of the Boardwalk Beach Hotel and away from all the action, it was a little more tolerable.  It was wild coming back into town after my ride.  Front Beach was a parking lot of Harley's, strippers and confused tourists.

Totals for the month:

Swim:  39,700 / 16hrs

Bike:  518 / 29 hrs

Run:  110 / 18 hrs   

Logistics question, how much does it cost to ship a bike in a bike travel case to Panama City from Orlando ?  Trying to get everything in order for the BIG day and wondering if it would be better to ship it or fly with it.

Another thing, the Ironman Bike Service, is it any good ?  Would be great not having to assemble the bike upon arrival 

Sept Totals: 
Swim: 23.3 miles
Bike: 782 miles
Run: 78,8 miles

Not driving?

Nahhh, bringing my youngest Kid and my girlfriend and as I live abroad the 50$ airtrip from Southwest was too tempting instead of driving.

If you are flying SWA bikes are only $50 each way...which is a lot less than tri bike transport.  Most other airlines bike fees are $100-200 each way which makes tri bike transport competitive and not have to deal with putting bike back together. Shipping Federal Express ground or UPS can be $60-150 each way depending on what measurements they get when scanning your bike box. Federal Express Ground ruined my frame when I shipped it to tri camp in March and was late. One way they charged $155 and way back $80 for same box, and bike. I did insurance it and they did reimburse me for the loss.

Folks like Tri Bike Transport but it isn't cheap. Depending where you live you need to drop off your bike 5-14 days before the race to have it shipped. Check out their website to learn more.

If you use Southwest, do you have take apart your bike?

So my ortho doc wants me to take 2 weeks off running (he told me last Friday). This sucks because my run volume is way down and I have to ease back into running after the two weeks. I hope I can get my body used to a little running before running a marathon and not do more damage.  He said I can use the elliptical.  Do you think I should supplement the running time with the elliptical?

September Monthly totals:
S:  5h 02m 56s
B:  27h 25m
R:  6h 18m 43s

Yes I believe so. Frontier my husband told me he saw bikes not packed in boxes in the luggage.

Often you can rent a bike box from a local bike shop.

There is a great video here on BT that shows you how to do it that I used first time I did it. It's not hard, pedals off, mark everything, take seat post out, undo front of stem to take aerobars off, I pack my frame in pipe insulation. Wheels off and skewers out.

Sue 'socks' takes front brake off and finds it easier to pack.

I just started thinking about this, I looked at My Athlete Tracker but thought I would see if others had thoughts/previous experience on one.

I was planning on riding it again that day.  Are you starting from the Wal-Mart?  And I'm guessing you are skipping the out and backs?  It's about 96 miles without the section on Thomas and without the out and backs...

I used Athlete Tracker last year...helped my husband, family & friends know where I was.Given my speed on the run may be really slow it will help him not worry about me seeing me making progress.

I'll probably get it again. I will have it sent to our condo in FL.

I have a few people coming with me and was wondering if we have to purchase the extra banquet tix online or can we just buy them once we get there?

Happy training! Can't believe only 4 weeks to go.

You can buy them at registration typically unless they are sold out.

Food isn't good.  I brought my husband to first one but since then go alone or skip it.