Ironman Florida : Official Thread

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217

Alexandria, VA

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Thanks so much for the report! So helpful.

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8766

Evergreen, Colorado

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

I look forward to Jen's report back after she rides it this weekend.

I shall type it up Sunday night!

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7704

Williamston, Michigan

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Mimir98 - 2010-10-07 3:35 PM

Socks - 2010-10-07 11:21 AM

Checked out the course changes in earnest last night. HUGE changes. Based on having doen teh course 3 times take it FWIW. I am slow but I'm smart so there it is. I qualify this as a lot of people dismiss what i have to say because I can't KQ.

The good
1-eliminates camp flowers road which you could loose a tooth on.
2-Takes us off a very busy highway ( 231 I think. I suspect this may be the root of the course change)
3-Will most likely be more favorable wind

The Bad
1-Route 20 has the majority of the hills on the course and we will ride them twice now (I feel my dream of a sub 6 hour bike slipping away)
2-they took us back down a newly paved smooth as glass road which was heavenaly and that is off the course now

RE: wind patterns all three years I did the course I expereinced
1-GOing out front beach road (And coming back) be careful. THe wind whips off the beach and can take you bike out from under you esp if you are riding a disc. You can catch a tailwind or head wind but the wind changes suddenly and also as tehre are lots of condos along the beach they act like wind tunnels either between or under teh bulidings.
2-Bascially head wind the first 50 miles. the tail wind down 231 (Which has been eliminated) a littll more head wind here and there.
3-Looks like with the course change that there will be turns to keep us out of consistent sustained headwinds.
4-Anything is possible.

FYI looks like they are maintain the run course as it was last year with a loop thru the state park rather than an out and back. It was PTICH BLACK back there for those of you who will be joining me in the BOP after dark. I HIGHLY suggest getting a light for your hat or SOMETHING because being back there with nothing but a glow stick for light was not good.

Thank you so much Sue for doing the research on this!!!! Bummer about 231...I remember a lovely tailwind and flying on that

Oh well, we are all in the same boat!

Exactly.....nice to be pulling 23 with no effort. C'est L'vie

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Veteran

297

Kansas

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

kenj - 2010-10-07 11:37 AM

Socks - 2010-10-07 11:21 AM

Checked out the course changes in earnest last night. HUGE changes. Based on having doen teh course 3 times take it FWIW. I am slow but I'm smart so there it is. I qualify this as a lot of people dismiss what i have to say because I can't KQ.

The good
1-eliminates camp flowers road which you could loose a tooth on.
2-Takes us off a very busy highway ( 231 I think. I suspect this may be the root of the course change)
3-Will most likely be more favorable wind

The Bad
1-Route 20 has the majority of the hills on the course and we will ride them twice now (I feel my dream of a sub 6 hour bike slipping away)
2-they took us back down a newly paved smooth as glass road which was heavenaly and that is off the course now

RE: wind patterns all three years I did the course I expereinced
1-GOing out front beach road (And coming back) be careful. THe wind whips off the beach and can take you bike out from under you esp if you are riding a disc. You can catch a tailwind or head wind but the wind changes suddenly and also as tehre are lots of condos along the beach they act like wind tunnels either between or under teh bulidings.
2-Bascially head wind the first 50 miles. the tail wind down 231 (Which has been eliminated) a littll more head wind here and there.
3-Looks like with the course change that there will be turns to keep us out of consistent sustained headwinds.
4-Anything is possible.

FYI looks like they are maintain the run course as it was last year with a loop thru the state park rather than an out and back. It was PTICH BLACK back there for those of you who will be joining me in the BOP after dark. I HIGHLY suggest getting a light for your hat or SOMETHING because being back there with nothing but a glow stick for light was not good.

Thanks for the advice/feedback on the course changes. Short of driving the course upon arrival all I have is the race reports from past years. I have read all of yours Sue. Now that the course has changed, those of you familar with the area is all I have (and I assume I am not alone in this situation) are the input from those of you familiar with not only the old course, but the new course as well.

Looks like the winds are going to kick up here this weekend, so maybe I will throw the race wheels on and get some saddle time dealing with that.

I second that, this first hand knowledge is really appreciated. However, the elevation change seemed to remain right at 150 feet, which honestly I hit coming out of my neighborhood, and I live in KANSAS!

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7704

Williamston, Michigan

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

my front brake cable snapped today and I am so annoyed as my bike was JUST at the shop last week for atune up. Mostly I am annoyed because if they cant fix it by the end of business saturday I'll be on the trainer for 100 miles sunday

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8766

Evergreen, Colorado

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Why don't you take the trainer bike and ride it outside?

That's stinky though...I mean, how often does a brake cable snap????

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Veteran

158

Grapevine, Texas

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

I really appreciate the new course input as well! Thank you in advance to jldicarlo too for riding it this weekend and letting us know what you find out.

Member

49

Toronto

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

tough equipment day for me as well. 40k into my ride and my handlebar post let go. My bike recently came out of the shop as well. made for an interesting/delicate ride home. now the big question is, upgrade the whole front end into the current technology, or just replace the broken part?

Regular

68

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

my LBS is hooking me up with a set of Zipp 808's for the race. They'll look a little funny on my entry level bike, but hey...it's IM right? Gotta do what you gotta do. Everyones numbers are awesome. Mine aren't what I'd like them to be, but between work and a 1yr old, training has been the first thing to be compromised. The nerves are starting to set in pretty good. Some days are better than others. This week didn't help much...I was out of town the first 4 days of the week and wasn't able to work in anything at all. Got a quick run in last night and felt pretty sluggish. Hopefully i can work out those kinks this weekend. Everyone stay safe out there.

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Expert

939

Tulsa

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Socks - 2010-10-07 8:14 PM

my front brake cable snapped today and I am so annoyed as my bike was JUST at the shop last week for atune up. Mostly I am annoyed because if they cant fix it by the end of business saturday I'll be on the trainer for 100 miles sunday

You do know that you have two brakes right? Only use my back anyway.

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Expert

939

Tulsa

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Oh and does anyone have any info on current water temps?

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Expert

1360

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

ballyard7 - 2010-10-08 9:26 AM

Socks - 2010-10-07 8:14 PM

my front brake cable snapped today and I am so annoyed as my bike was JUST at the shop last week for atune up. Mostly I am annoyed because if they cant fix it by the end of business saturday I'll be on the trainer for 100 miles sunday

You do know that you have two brakes right? Only use my back anyway.

i often ride with my front brakes "open" as i find my front brake pad rubs sometimes.

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Expert

939

Tulsa

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Oh and does anyone have any info on current water temps?

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Regular

72

Baltimore, MD

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Socks - 2010-10-07 9:14 PM

my front brake cable snapped today and I am so annoyed as my bike was JUST at the shop last week for atune up. Mostly I am annoyed because if they cant fix it by the end of business saturday I'll be on the trainer for 100 miles sunday

Lots of fans! Hopefully you won't have to ride indoors but if you do I find it helped with my mental game. If I can pedal for 7 hours, albeit slowly, indoors looking at the same things then on race day with all that will be around me I know I will be good.Happy pedaling.

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7704

Williamston, Michigan

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

ballyard7 - 2010-10-08 9:26 AM

Socks - 2010-10-07 8:14 PM

my front brake cable snapped today and I am so annoyed as my bike was JUST at the shop last week for atune up. Mostly I am annoyed because if they cant fix it by the end of business saturday I'll be on the trainer for 100 miles sunday

You do know that you have two brakes right? Only use my back anyway.

On my usual trail with sunday riders on walmart bikes with children darting in front of me roller bladers with head phones and trikes on the trail I'd be very uncomfortable cruising at 20MPH and relying on one brake to stop safely. I'd prefer a fully functioning bike thankyouverymuch.

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Member

34

Philly

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Thanks folks for the heads up on the bike course changes and the direct insight.
Mucho appreciado!

So I've been getting some decent swims in recently, and have come to the conclusion that I just need to work on some speed at this point - basically maintenance training. I'm not at all worried about covering the full distance in the water, and have a game plan for the swim.

Been getting some nice long bike rides in and really getting my hydration dialed in to stave off the cramps. I still need to dial in the nutrition planning at this point though.

I've been focusing the majority of my efforts on running at this point. Where I live outside of Philly is impossible to find flat roads. So my training is taking place on hills, all the time. Figuring if I can get through the distances on hills, and also maintain a comfortable pace, once I get to sea level Florida, things should go smoothly!

Regarding nutrition, it's still the one discipline I need to polish up. I have the opportunity to meet with a nutritionist who is also an Iron(wo)man. But she's pricey at $120/hr... hesitant, but thinking this would be money well spent if she can set me up with a customized nutrition plan for the big day. So maybe in this case, there is a dollar sign on a piece of mind..?

I'm discovering that if I take care of myself, and fuel properly, my body will respond positively and will adapt to get me to the finish line.

My race goals:
1) Finish the race
2) Take care of myself
3) Enjoy the day and have fun!

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Regular

88

Dallas, TX

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Socks - 2010-10-08 9:11 AM

On my usual trail with sunday riders on walmart bikes with children darting in front of me roller bladers with head phones and trikes on the trail I'd be very uncomfortable cruising at 20MPH and relying on one brake to stop safely. I'd prefer a fully functioning bike thankyouverymuch.

i second that, always good to have a 100% functioning bike ESPECIALLY the brakes. a girl was just killed here in Dallas while running by a collision w/ a cyclist. Although it was an accident and mostly the runners fault, I know I'd feel horrible for the rest of my life if I were in that position w/ only one brake and wondering "What if...??"

but to continue what seems to be a pattern of mechanical issues, i broke a spoke on my rear wheel this past Tuesday

probably a delayed affect of hitting a massive pothole and blowing my tire last week. It broke off at the hub. Luckily I have 3 sets of "training" wheelsets to choose from so I'll be ok.

My luck w/ rear wheels is bad this year lol. First a hub blew while coasting downhill at ~40mph and now a blown spoke while accelerating from a red light!

update on my running - did the longest run of my life last night - 20.5 miles @ 9:36min/mi!!! My knees are hating me and felt like crap from mile 2 til the end but I felt like even if my knees are still this painful during IM that I can finish and push thru the pain. Each time my pace slowed to 10:00min/mile I just imagined the IM FL finish line, the crowd, the lights, and the announcer saying my name and I'd get goosebumps, a huge smile, and a newfound burst of energy. It was a definite confidence booster and I finally feel good about my nutrition, hydration and walking thru feed stations.

Extreme Veteran

483

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Socks - 2010-10-07 11:21 AM

Checked out the course ........ The Bad
1-Route 20 has the majority of the hills on the course and we will ride them twice now

Hi Sue, thanks for the update, can you define hills? I enjoy hills (no choice) but was expecting to be cycling "billiard table" flat - just changed to an 11-21 cassette - will I need something more?

Also, anyone know at what mile the special needs will be now?

Finally, is there google map of the bike & run courses anywhere?

Apologies for my laziness in not researching these things for myself.

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8766

Evergreen, Colorado

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

millarg - 2010-10-08 9:51 AM

Socks - 2010-10-07 11:21 AM

Checked out the course ........ The Bad
1-Route 20 has the majority of the hills on the course and we will ride them twice now

Hi Sue, thanks for the update, can you define hills? I enjoy hills (no choice) but was expecting to be cycling "billiard table" flat - just changed to an 11-21 cassette - will I need something more?

Also, anyone know at what mile the special needs will be now?

Finally, is there google map of the bike & run courses anywhere?

Apologies for my laziness in not researching these things for myself.

I have not ridden the course yet...but I ride on the western part of Highway 20 all the time...the best I can describe it is "inclines". It is NOT billiard table flat...I know billiard table flat...it's called Balad AB in Iraq where I spent 6 months this year!

Highway 20 is like very very very very very shallow rollers. VERY shallow. We're talking a one or two cog shift on the your back gears at most. Really.

Floridians have a different definition of "hills" than most of the country.

I'll report more once I actually ride the course this weekend...but DO NOT PANIC! Your 11-21 will be just fine.

I can see where SN is on the map, I will try to pay attention to what mileage my Garmin says when I get there. It WOULD be nice if their PDF file included mile markers! You can probably "map my ride" the course and get pretty close. There is one last short out and back on the way in on some small road and none of the directions say how far out that out and back is. But that is very close to the end so it would not affect where Special Needs is.

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Regular

88

Dallas, TX

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

troyboy - 2010-10-08 9:43 AM

Regarding nutrition, it's still the one discipline I need to polish up. I have the opportunity to meet with a nutritionist who is also an Iron(wo)man. But she's pricey at $120/hr... hesitant, but thinking this would be money well spent if she can set me up with a customized nutrition plan for the big day. So maybe in this case, there is a dollar sign on a piece of mind..?

I'm discovering that if I take care of myself, and fuel properly, my body will respond positively and will adapt to get me to the finish line.

I myself WOULD NOT waste the money to have someone else tell me what I like.
what have you been eating/drinking on your long run and bike workouts?
you don't want to be trying anything new or drastic, but you should know by now which types of nutrition don't upset your stomach and you should know what flavors you like.
and you should be familiar with what is provided on the course.

for me i've found my favorite flavor of gel (Hammer Apple Cinammon), favorite flavor of Clif Shot Blocks (Strawberry) and my favorite drink mix (Accelerade Fruit Punch). i also realize that at IM FL they offer Lemon Lime Ironman Perform drinks (tastes somewhat like yellow gatorade perform).

so i drink a mix of plain ice water, accelerade, and the course supplied Perform during the bike.
i generally consume a bit more calories in Hammer Gel than in shot blocks but i mix them up depending on how i feel.
i am a HEAVY sweater so i also take salt tab pills throughout the bike and run portion.

the big question is how many calories to ingest per hour. which will differ a bit person to person, but i plan to take in about 350/hr on the bike and 150/hr on the run.

the key is to consume enough calories to keep you going for all 140.3 miles without upseting your stomach or needing 10+ restroom breaks.

back to the nutrionist thing: the lady might be able to recommend you all sorts of "great" products/advice and tell you what she used and what works for "all" her clients but who knows if it'll work for YOU? not saying that seeing a nutritionist would be a complete waste, i'm sure she could help you decide on how many calories to consume per hour, how much salt to consume, etc. but i would not want someone trying to convince me to change up the nutrition plan i've been using all year long.

Edited by TXNick 2010-10-08 10:15 AM

Extreme Veteran

483

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

re:- Broken cables.

What is the consensus, like probably the majority of entrants, I'll be flying with my bike & will need to build upon arrival.

Do y'all use existing cables or replace with new (pre-stretched)??

Champion

8766

Evergreen, Colorado

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

millarg - 2010-10-08 10:55 AM re:- Broken cables.

What is the consensus, like probably the majority of entrants, I'll be flying with my bike & will need to build upon arrival.

Do y'all use existing cables or replace with new (pre-stretched)??

In all the times I have shipped or flown with my bike I have never swapped out the cables. ONE time a TSA agent manhandled my bike back into the case and broke my front derailleur cable and I had to have bike support swap it out for me. My advice on that is to ask the front counter if you could be present if they have to inspect it. I have very good luck with this. They take you back where they do the first scan...if they have to open it, they let you stay to watch. If they don't have to open it then you know it's good to go. It's just a nice way to be sure that if they have to open it you can be there to keep them from manhandling it back into the box.

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Veteran

593

Mandeville

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

You are doing a 4 week taper?

The first week of my “taper” still calls for an 80 mile ride followed by an hour run on Saturday and a 20 mile run on Sunday, so it isn’t a drastic decrease, but it starts my decline in miles and hours.

In my opinion, a longer slowly declining taper has less risks than a shorter more dramatic taper. I don’t believe in shortening my taper to add build, but instead shorten or remove mid week build workouts to concentrate on the aspects which need the attention during my actual build weeks(aka – remove a swim workout to add a run workout or a brick workout). But as always, diffeent plans "work" for different people.

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8766

Evergreen, Colorado

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

LSUfan4444 - 2010-10-08 11:19 AM

You are doing a 4 week taper?

The first week of my “taper” still calls for an 80 mile ride followed by an hour run on Saturday and a 20 mile run on Sunday, so it isn’t a drastic decrease, but it starts my decline in miles and hours.

In my opinion, a longer slowly declining taper has less risks than a shorter more dramatic taper. I don’t believe in shortening my taper to add build, but instead shorten or remove mid week build workouts to concentrate on the aspects which need the attention during my actual build weeks(aka – remove a swim workout to add a run workout or a brick workout). But as always, diffeent plans "work" for different people.

I'm essentially doing almost a 4 week taper too. Riding long this weekend, but have already done my longest run. Next week is recovery, then a 13 hr week, 8-9 hr week, 5 hr week of the race.

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Expert

1148

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Silver member

Subject: RE: Ironman Florida : Official Thread

Today:
Beach temperature hights 81 to 86,
Water temperature 75 degrees
surf height 1 foot or less.

I love the water at PCB.
website for current water temp: http://www.weather.gov/view/validProds.php?prod=SRF&node=KTAE

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Ironman Florida : Official Thread (Page 66)

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