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Ford Ironman Florida - TriathlonLong Course


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Panama City Beach, Florida
United States
Ironman
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 11h 54m 16s
Overall Rank = 884/2277
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 191/404
Pre-race routine:

BT pasta party on Friday evening - the food was awesome! In bed and asleep by 9pm. Woke at 2 to eat 2 bagels with peanut butter, a banana, and 20 oz. of gatorade, then headed back to bed for another hour or two of sleep. Up for good at 5. Showered to wake up fully then headed down to get marked, setup bike bottles, drop off special needs bags. Body marking by Wendi (TM)

Then, headed back to the room to chill until start. It was a pretty calm morning. Not really a lot of nerves.
Event warmup:

Nothing but some well wishing, hand shaking, back slapping. Watched the pro's go off. Probably the only thing I did to warmup was pee in my wetsuit.
Swim
  • 1h 02m 1s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 28s / 100 yards
Comments:

Most likely the best swim of my life. The start was everything it was made out to be. I set up about 4 people deep and slightly to the right. The cannon went off and I waded in intent on keeping the HR under control for to the first turn. It was a freaking fist fight and fun as hell. The water was cold at the shore, but about 75y out, it was perfect. Clear enough that I could see the fish swimming by underneath. Had a helicopter buzzing the swim course the entire time. You felt like a rock star.

The first lap was a huge draft fest. Whenever I couldn't get by a bunched up group, I sat on their feet and let them pull me along until things spread out. There were enough people around me, I rarely had to sight except at the turns. This was a two lap course, so you had to swim to shore, go through a timing mat and then swim a diagonal back out onto the course. At the end of the 1st lap, the time clock was reading 39 mins and I had a little panic. I realized it was the pro time on the clock and I had done the first loop at 29 mins and some change. I felt great and was breathing every 4 or 5 instead of every 3. 2nd lap things spread out and there were less people to sit in back of. I just enjoyed the moment the whole time. Started to focus on T1 and prepping for the bike with 500y to go.


What would you do differently?:

Absolutely nothing. This swim was faster than any Oly or HIM swim I've ever done. I never had to breathe more than every 3rd stroke, and spent most of the time doing 4 or 5.
Transition 1
  • 06m 9s
Comments:

They have the hottest looking wetsuit strippers....at least mine was. :) Ran under the showers, and into the change tent. Moved through T1 slowly, but purposefully. Got my crap, wished the guy beside me a good race, and ran to find my bike. Beat the volunteer to it and headed toward the exit.

Both Sue and Cube Farm gave me a happy sendoff! Very cool! You guys rock!
What would you do differently?:

Future races I'll turn the speed up in T1. For this first one, there's no worries.
Bike
  • 6h 17m 57s
  • 112 miles
  • 17.78 mile/hr
Comments:

My plan was to sit and spin for 50 miles at a Zone 1 heart rate of 135 bpm. It was hard to do for the first 5 miles. I was jacked up from having a great swim and the blood wasn't completely in the legs yet. 1 stopped about about the 1/2 mile mark when I realize I put my bib number on upside down and inside out. You look good, you ride good. heh.

Took only water for the first 30 mins of the ride, then started sipping my Perpeteum mixture every 15 mins thereafter. I carried a 3 hour bottle behind my seat, some Gatorade endurance on the seat tube, and water in the aerobottle. I had about 350 calories worth of sports beans in a plastic snack bag in my bento box and about 10 endurolytes in a seperate snack bag in there as well. Every water stop, I'd fill the aerobottle back up with water. That's all I took the entire ride from the aid stations - water only. If your thinking about doing IMFL next year and are reading this and plan on racing with aerobottle and bento bag, I highly recommend storing anything you don't want to get wet in baggies.

The course has 2 hills...I hit the first hill around the 10 mile mark - a bridge. Spun up it and coasted back down it. Max HR was about 153. We turned onto the long stretch on Highway 20. It was smooth riding for this entire section - although it was mind numbing in that there really is nothing...absolutely nothing besides pine trees to look at.

Rampant numbers of riders - both packs and solos went by me on the ride. One of the curses of being a decent swimmer and a MOP'er on the bike is the passing that you have to mentally deal with...and it was non stop until around mile 90 when I finally reached the middle of the pack. LOL. I cheered Stan as he went by me on the bike, and Rick as well, but I don't remember seeing many other BT'ers that I knew go by me.

My low point (and the point where I most heavily gobbled up BT vibes) was around mile 70. The headwind was kicking in. The road was rough. My knees really started to hurt which was totally unexpected to me. My Perpeteum was about as appealing to me as the previous port-a-john smelled and I kept getting those nasty soy smelling/tasting burps. It was at this point where I called an end to all future Perpeteum ingestion. I stopped eating for about 30 mins and prayed my stomach would calm down. With about 30 mins to go, I switched over to sports beans. Holy crap was that a good move. I starting feeling better over the next 15-20 mins and started thinking about T2. At one point, I pulled a Cube Farm - I reached into my bento and grabbed 4-5 sports beans. I forgot that I put an Aleve in there as well and took a good hearty chomp. Yummy.

Cool sightings - Jenneunc out on the bike course! Sandra (my coach's wife) in a red devil horned wig out on the bike course. Stan blowing by me around mile 20. Rick shortly after Stan. Two locals from Burlington around mile 50. And some dude that my mom talked to the night before who came riding up behind me and asked, "Are you Jeff Bostic from York, PA?" LOL!

What would you do differently?:

The key to me getting faster at this distance is going to be working on this segment of the race. The bike is heavily weighted in these races. Its my major limiter. I've got to build the engine to be faster, stronger, better.
Transition 2
  • 07m 28s
Comments:

A volunteer kindly grabbed my bike. I wasn't sure whether we were allowed to take our feet out of our shoes and allow them to rack it with the shoes still on, so I jumped off with my shoes. I ran about 10 feet before I decided that I'm going barefoot. I found the bag and ran to the change tent.

God bless the volunteers. You guys all are so awesome. One helped me get my singlet over top of my head. Another smeared me with suntan lotion. A third racked my bike. A 4th found my bike to run bag. A 5th took my bag when I came back out of the change tent. (Although this last dude was a little dyslexic and put my bag in the 670 pile instead of the 760 pile which caused me a great deal of panic post race) Don't worry dude....I called myself by bib number 670 all weekend long too.


What would you do differently?:

Wasn't racing for time, so I don't really much care about my time here. Could shave another couple of minutes here.
Run
  • 4h 20m 43s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 57s  min/mile
Comments:

This was the most brilliant marathon or even long run I've ever attempted. The plan was to hover in the 9:30-10 min/mile pace for the first 5 before deciding whether to kick it up a notch. Even the jelly legs didn't really make an appearance. The first mile was way too fast. I pulled it back the 2nd mile and the rest was history. I ran even splits the whole way through. Each mile from 3 to 26 was right at 9:50 to 10:10 and the only difference was how long I walked through the aid station.

Nutrition - Gels every 30 mins, enduralytes every hour, water at every aid station, gatorade every now and then to break up the monotony. I used the same plan as I did at Myrtle Beach Mary. No GI issues!!!! Woo!!! The body fed off of this stuff. It was like magic. Any time I felt just a tinge of crampyness, I hit some electrolytes. Any time I felt just a tinge of fatigue I hit a gel.

I mentally broke the run up into 4 parts - 0 to 6 was stabilizing everything. 6 to 13.1 was finding a steady pace and chewing up miles. 13.1 to 18 was form focus, and 18 to the end I was expecting to suffer. When I hit the halfway point, I was feeling on top of the world and not hurting at all so I just kept on going enjoying the trip to 18. When I hit 18, holy crap...I still felt great. So, I kept running at the same pace with a big ass smile on my face. Run Forest Run. I swear that in the last half of the mary, I was in a place within myself. It was primal and focused and so incredible.

Some really cool things happened on the run -
The family cheered me out of T2!

Around mile 2-3, I saw the men's pro coming in. I saw cutie Janelle on a bike leading one of the male or female top 3. She gave me a wave. I saw Cube on a bike too. Sorry Sue...I know you were out there...I must not have been paying attention.

Around mile 4, I saw my coach heading in the opposite direction on his way to finishing his first loop. We slapped some skin and kept moving.

Around mile 5, Jess jumps in front of me and plants a huge kiss right smack on the lips. For the next tenth of a mile, I got to listen to the jealous athletes muttering around me. One even asked me if I paid a quarter. ROFL! I missed Q!!!

At the entrance to the park, there was a freaking deer standing there watching us. A buck - 6 pointer I believe. Sucker didn't move an inch. He just stood there watching us. He was probably checking out all the hotties out there.

Mile 11 - Saw my coach again. He was having some issues though and was walk/running because he was getting dizzy. I picked up a ton of ground on him from the first time I saw him.

13.1 - saw my whole family at the turn. I was running the mary of my life at this point and feeling AWESOME....saw Dad/stepmom, Mom/stepdad, Mother/Father in law, All my kids and wifey (except Emma who was taking a nap. :)) I stopped long enough to see if Gator Mike was off the bike yet and didn't like the answer I heard.

Somewhere between 14-16 - I finally caught back up to Stan/flyboy and walked with him for a few seconds. He passed me at like mile 20 or so on the bike. Somewhere in here I think I passed Rick/Daremo, but I didn't see him.

Mile 18 - I kept telling myself the whole run, "The race really starts here, the race really starts here". And I was feeling AWESOME! Somewhere in here, I passed over some sort of mat and a big screen in front of me showed a personal message that the gator family left me. Thanks Wendi and Mike. That meant more than you know. xxooxx :)

Mile 20 - I always change over from counting up the miles to counting down at this point. It makes it seem shorter. 6 to go, 5 to go, 4 to go...etc. And mile 25 to 26 is always the applause lap. Soak in as many memories as possible cause its almost over.

The last set of miles - I saw Ellasdad (Edde) in his kilt (way to go Ironman). I missed Ryan (way to go Ironman), and my heart nearly exploded in happiness when I saw Gator Mike starting his first loop (you're a freaking IRONMAN brother)
What would you do differently?:

You know, given my race strategy and fitness level, and it being my first Ironman I wouldn't change a damn thing. I ran the perfect 26.2 on Saturday.
Post race
Warm down:

The finish line was a blur. I'm dying to replay it when the "Watch me finish" is available. I remember hearing my name. I remember hearing "You are an Ironman". I remember smiling the biggest smile and raising my arms to heaven as I broke the tape amidst screaming and cheering people. What a feeling. If you haven't done an IM, it truly is something that you must experience.

The catcher just kind of stood there an looked at me. I was really feeling good at this point. I got my chip taken off. She kept asking me if I felt ok. I kept saying, "Hell yeah". I got my silver blanket thingy that stayed on me all of 30 seconds before I started sweating profusely from teh heat. She lead me to get my T-shirt and medal and then wished me good luck. I completely missed the whole finisher area where you can get your pic taken. My only wish was that I could have had a snapshot of the whole Bostic clan taken in front of that. Its my only regret of the entire day.

I got hugged and kissed. My mother nearly killed me with a huge hug that hurt more than the entire race did. Pizza, Soda, Walking, Sitting, and then the massage from hell. The muscles started complaining when I stopped and I hobbled into the massage tent. Two girls rubbed me down. One of them brutalized my thigh and calf. I thought I was going to pass out. But once they were done, I walked out and felt AWESOME! (common theme here).

A whole bunch of people started calling my cell phone. Thanks SPOT! You're awesome. You sent tons of mojo my way this past week and I used ever last drop of it.

Went up to the condo to shower and then headed back out on the course to see the rest of the finishers close in on 17 hours. Mikey - you scared the shit out of me bro.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm a rookie at this sort of thing. I learned a lot about how to fuel your body and what sort of punishment you can dish out.

Event comments:

BT rocks. Thanks to all. Tons of inspires. 3500 volunteers for 2500 athletes. You guys are simply amazing. I had people calling my cell phone seconds after I finished. Hell - some called to wish me luck when I was out on the course! Hahaha (You know who you are!!!!) NC BTer's rock! Thanks guys! I can't wait to see you at the NCTS this year...and some of you in a couple of weeks in the woods. :)

I've got a wonderful family both near and far. Thanks for all your support, love, kindness, and sacrifice.




Last updated: 2006-11-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:02:01 | 4224 yards | 01m 28s / 100yards
Age Group: 55/404
Overall: 291/2277
Performance: Good
Suit: sleeveless wetsuit
Course: 2 lap rectangle.
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 06:09
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
06:17:57 | 112 miles | 17.78 mile/hr
Age Group: 305/404
Overall: 1510/2277
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: 1 big old loop.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 07:28
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
04:20:43 | 26.2 miles | 09m 57s  min/mile
Age Group: 134/404
Overall: 624/2277
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back course repeated twice through the streets of Panama City Beach.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2007-11-06 9:16 PM

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Master
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Raleigh, North Carolina
Subject: Ford Ironman Florida


2007-11-06 9:34 PM
in reply to: #1041278

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Buttercup
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Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

Wow. Fantastic.

Congratulations!!!

2007-11-06 9:34 PM
in reply to: #1041278

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Elite
3223
20001000100100
Hendersonville
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
The perfect race! You are so awesome!!! I am so happy for you!!!
2007-11-06 10:01 PM
in reply to: #1041278

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Champion
19812
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MA
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

Wow you nailed it and truly is amazing how great you felt and performed on the run...wow!

Congrats on becoming an Ironman

Super race report....lots of good information for us doing one next year...

Awesome Job! 

2007-11-06 10:02 PM
in reply to: #1041278

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Veteran
144
10025
Tucson
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
How freakin' cool! Nicely done.
2007-11-06 10:11 PM
in reply to: #1041278

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Extreme Veteran
413
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Clayton/Raleigh, North Carolina
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Dude, you are just amazing (not that we expected any less from you!) Nice race, congrats again!


2007-11-06 10:57 PM
in reply to: #1041278

Master
1741
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Boston
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

How awesome that your ENTIRE family got to see you become an ironman!! I bet you are going to be riding this high for a long time.

What a perfect race - couldn't really ask for anything better! Congratulations! I can't wait to go  through that same IM experience some day (a long, long time from now!)

2007-11-06 11:32 PM
in reply to: #1041278

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Expert
1535
100050025
Coeur D'alene, ID
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Hey buddy, you absolutely killed it out there!  You had the perfect race!  You looked so strong on the run, smooth on the bike, and you ripped the swim.  Couldn't get any better!  It was great racing and hanging out with you.  Congratulations on an awesome race...Ironman!
2007-11-07 12:08 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Champion
8903
500020001000500100100100100
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

Way to go Ironman!  Awesome race and a fantastic report too.  You did the perfect job of metering out the effort all day long.  I don't know how you can do that race with the "no hills bike ride" so now you have to come up and join us at Lake Placid!  No hurry...take a week off and back to the training!  LOL 

 

2007-11-07 1:31 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Subject: ...
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2007-11-07 5:37 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Extreme Veteran
387
100100100252525
Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Incredible RR. Your marathon was flawless and it seems like that message on Mile 18 gave you a boost until the end. Congrats!


2007-11-07 6:15 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Extreme Veteran
407
100100100100
Greenwood, SC
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Great race! So evenly paced too! Congratulations!
2007-11-07 6:48 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Master
1480
1000100100100100252525
Plant City, FL
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

Congrats Ironman!!   It was a great day all the way around!!    XOXOXO

2007-11-07 7:03 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Expert
897
500100100100252525
Seattle WA
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

Wow, Jeff - totally awesome race!! Congrats on a perfectly executed ironman - I can't believe you ran even splits!!!! I hope we can race together again soon down in NC!

best,

tom 

2007-11-07 7:47 AM
in reply to: #1041278

The Original
7834
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Raleigh/Durham
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Congrats IM!  You looked so strong when I saw you on the run course.  I'm so glad you had an awesome race and IM experience!
2007-11-07 7:56 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Champion
9600
500020002000500100
Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Great job, Ironman.


2007-11-07 7:59 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Veteran
264
1001002525
Wilmington, NC
Gold member
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Nice race report, awesome race. All your hard work and dedication paid off!
2007-11-07 8:27 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Extreme Veteran
340
10010010025
Cary, NC
Subject: YOU ROCKED IT JEFF!

Fantastic race report--way to go... Sounds like you really did have the perfect virgin IM experience!

2007-11-07 9:10 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Veteran
691
500100252525
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Congratulations. Man, can you swim! Sounds like an amazing race (isn't that a tv show?). You rock Ironman. Sounds like you had some fun too!
2007-11-07 9:51 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Master
1558
10005002525
Pensacola, Fl
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

Dude, I am so proud of you.  You executed that race to perfection.  I still say that if you hadn't sandbagged it all day you could have finished during my shift as a finish line catcher.  No worries, I made it back out on the course to see you cruise effortlessly past us at mile 25.5 or so.  You looked great on that finishing leg and were totally in the zone!

again, a huge CONGRATS!!!  Now go get that tattoo, because you WILL do more IM's even another m-dot or two.  Because you KNOW you can go faster!!!

Great to see you and Denise again and to meet the rest of the fam.  Come back next year and we can visit Wendi and Denise at the Dysfuntion Junction again! 

and you guys have a place reserved for Memphis in May! 

 

2007-11-07 9:54 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Hollidaysburg, PA
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Congrats!!! Maybe you need to get Evil to teach you how to ride a bike? LOL Maybe you can teach me how to swim that fast!


2007-11-07 9:54 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Extreme Veteran
487
100100100100252525
Spokane, WA
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Great race Jeff! Sounds like you had a ton of fun! Loved the RR.
2007-11-07 10:35 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Master
3546
2000100050025
Millersville, MD
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Great RR.  I really was able to enter into your excitement.  You really rocked it!
2007-11-07 11:07 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Veteran
205
100100
Fayetteville, NC
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida

That was an awesome race report and a FANTASTIC race!  Congratulations - you did an amazing job.

YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!

2007-11-07 11:37 AM
in reply to: #1041278

Elite
2999
2000500100100100100252525
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Subject: RE: Ford Ironman Florida
Congrats fellow Jeff.  You really rocked it for your first IM.  I hope I can have just as good as one.
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