2019 Ironman Florida Race Report

Today is the day that I officially become an Ironman. Yes, I completed Ironman North Carolina, but let's face it. That race was 84.6 miles and NOT 140.6. Ironman Florida will be the first 140.6 mile race I complete. This week started out fine. Got my last few shakedown workouts in. None even really made me break a sweat. I was READY. I was going to have a great race. My goals for this race were between aggressive and realistic. My aggressive goal was 12 hours. My realistic goal was around 14hrs. I got into Panama City Beach on Thursday afternoon, around 12:30pm. Enough time to get checked into the hotel and then go to packet pickup. There was no packet pickup on Friday, so I had to stay an extra day, which was fine, I just planned on relaxing anyway. The temperature was around 80-ish degrees. There was a good amount of humidity, and it eventually started to rain. Now, we followed the weather prior to arriving and there was a cold front coming in. That explained the rough waves, which were very reminiscent of 70.3 Gulf Coast, and I was not happy. However, my wife and daughter kept insisting that I chill out as it was still 2 days prior to the race. By 4pm, the cold front had hit, and the temps had dropped to nearly 50 degrees within a few hours. It was CHILLY. Good thing I prepared for it, I just didn't prepare for the 20+ mph wind that accompanied the chill. Thankfully, I only had plans to leave my room for food. Friday was a chill day. All I had to do was breakfast, check my bike and gear bags in, and go back to being a lazy bum, eating whatever I wanted. So, that's exactly what I did. I checked my bike in, and bumped into Nick Bare, owner of BPN supplements (and youtuber). Nice guy In 24 hours, I watched an entire season of "Designated Survivor", and was feeling pretty well rested. I had some friends get into town so I had lunch with them and was chill. By sunset, I decided to take a look at the water. Just like magic, the water had gone from "Holy Hell" to perfectly calm. It was like a sheet of glass, and now I was finally ready to race. Race morning:

The day started at around 3:30 am. Got up, had breakfast, put my numbers on, gathered my things and started walking to transition. Got my bike ready to go, and man it was cold. I was rocking out to my Pandora playlist to calm my nerves, and I felt good. Wetsuit was on and ready to go. I made my way down to the beach and again the swim was self-seeding based on time. I decided to put myself in the 1:20:00 group, with the same mentality as the 70.3. If I am faster than I think, I'll pass people, if I am slower, I'm in the right spot.

The water was amazing. 72 degrees, flat, calm, and CLEAR. I could see the bottom of the Gulf, even out about 500 yards. It was comforting, but I was nearly expecting to find a shark swimming. First lap was good, perfectly on pace, went in for the second. Before I knew it, I was getting out of the water, and again, right on schedule. Swim: 1:22:52 Transition was a bit longer this time. I had made the decision to change during each leg into dry and comfy clothing. I didn't like the chaffing from the last tri suit, so I wore swim jammers on the swim, and the tri kit for the bike. I had a completely different kit for the run. So I changed and again, enjoyed the process.

T1: 12:58 The bike was different. They modified the course from previous years and the bike no longer copied the 70.3 course. They also added about 500ft of elevation gain throughout. The first part of this ride was boring, there was some rolling hills to the course, but there wasn't much to it.

However, it wouldn't be a race without something going wrong for me. This time it was my nutrition. The first half I had a plan of eating Clif bars every 5 miles (1/4 bar) until the turn around point. And I did just that. I even had an uncrustable sandwich for after the turnaround. Well, the Clif bars made my stomach turn and I was barely able to eat the uncrustable. The Gatorade flavor on the course was ORANGE, the worst flavor ever, and I couldn't get myself to drink more than a few sips. While I wasn't cramping, I felt my energy levels dropping quickly. By mile 90, I knew my quads had very little left. By mile 110, I was just going through the motions. But I made it to transition, mainly on adrenaline, and the bike was over. Bike: 6:21:22 Another slow transition because I had little energy to walk, and I changed. I had a long sleeved shirt under my new tri kit because I knew it was goign to get cold after sundown. Unfortunately I put it on a bit early. T2: 14:54 The run started alright. I coudn't see out of my right eye because it was foggy and I couldn't fix it. But my legs were moving, and no cramps. I was taking it slow though and didn't want to push it. I managed to find a local friend on the course and did run/walk intervals with him based on his heart rate (120 start running, 140 start walking, repeat). I was quickly regretting the decision to wear the long sleeved shirt at the beginning of the run, so I managed to take it off after about 5 miles, and I dumped it at mile 6. MUCH BETTER. The run was fun. Great crowd support while the sun was up (I'll get to that in a minute). The first lap seemed to work at a decent pace. I saw my family at the halfway point and assured them that I wasn't hurting, no cramping, I was just doing run/walk intervals and struggling to find energy for my legs. But all smiles at that point.

Then the shooting happened. No, it has nothing to do with the race. A domestic dispute in one of the hotels led to a murder suicide, and the gun shots were LOUD, so the police speeding in for the next 30 minutes diverted our attention. But then it got dark.

I knew that once it was dark, I had about 6 hours before the cutoff. I can read an almanac, LOL. But there came a stretch where I felt like I was in the Twilight zone. I was running the course, and there was nobody else on it. Nobody going in either direction. It was weird. I actually had to ask an onlooker what time it was, and he said that it was only 7:00. I had 5 hours to go before the race ended, I had less than 10 miles to finish and I was seeing NOBODY!!! It was weird, but I kept running. Again, I struggled for energy. Nothing was allowing me to run more than .25miles at a time. I was walking more than I was running. But I was still moving forward, which is the point in the end.

Finally, I heard the music, saw the lights, could hear Mike Reilly, and gave every bit of energy I had to my legs to push through the chute. I hit the red carpet and finished. I FINISHED 140.6 MILES in under 17 hours! I WAS AN IRONMAN!!!!! Run: 6:17:06

TOTAL TIME: 14:29:12

Not quite my realistic goal, but it was much closer than my aggressive goal. I got back to the room, and all I wanted to do is think. I was reflecting on what happened not long after it happened. I did manage to eat a bacon cheese burger before showering. So I got my appetite and energy back. I'll be back to Ironman, but I need to take some time off first.