Ayerd{dot}com :: Triathlon

Now that a few days have passed by and I've had a chance to think a bit more about Ironman Florida, I thought I'd post those thoughts. If you missed the initial report, it is below.

First up, damn, that was a cool race. When you wake up on race day, you really feel like you're going to be overwhelmed by the event, but once you get moving all the practice, prep, and other race day experiences come into play and it just all works.

The swim was beyond cool. I've done some two mile swims in the past. They all seemed a bit long. The Ironman swim felt short. I don't know if it was me focused on the bike and run or if it was just a perfect day. I think it was a little of both. I did see two jellies on the swim but it was near the end and by then I was so focused on the transition and getting on the bike, they didn't faze me.

The bike course at IMF is pretty sweet. Nice and flat and not as long as you'd think. Getting the flat tire was a bit disappointing, but it happens. That 21 minutes will be gravy to take off on the next IM. The start of the course is through town and then across the bridge. Pretty neat, really. Then you settle into a chip seal road with a generous shoulder. I'll admit the bits in the middle are somewhat a blur. I remember the people I talked to on the course more than the course itself. Near the end, the road got bumpy and broken up. Not too bad by any stretch, but after the smooth sailing of the first 70 miles it really sticks out. It also started to get a tad lonely. Not the end of the world by any stretch, but I see why everyone said to get some long rides in solo. On race day, you're alone and practicing that mental toughness really paid off.

If I could change anything, it would have to be on the run. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty pleased with my time, but as with Eagleman and Timberman, I kind of let myself down during the run. I had a good pace the first loop, but by the middle of the second my legs felt shot. I'm not sure how much of this was mental and how much was physical. I know 125 or so miles tends to cost your body in terms of effort, but I keep thinking I should have had more in the tank. Since this is the "Off Season of the Run™", I hope to build up that run endurance. At least on this run I never, not even for one second, felt I wouldn't finish. It was just a matter of how far I could push myself between walks. Bah, no matter how well I could have ran that marathon, I would be bitch'in that it should have been faster. I suppose that is a Type A side effect that is both good and bad. (Aren't all triathletes Type A by default? Yea, I thought so too.)

Recovery from IMF was easier than I ever expected. Sunday I was up at 7:00 AM and didn't feel too bad. A little sore around the lower back and my feet hurt. I had a few people tell me that the IM marathon was easier than a stand alone marathon. I didn't believe them, but now I do. After the NJ Marathon, I could barely walk for three days. The day after IMF I was moving, two days later I spent the afternoon drinking beer and eating fried foods. No way that was happening after the run at the shore.

Commodore asked about hotels. The hotel we stayed at was about 30 minutes from the host hotel. It wasn't 5-stars, but it was clean and had a good price point. Staying away from the other athletes was a goal, and this place made it happen. If you're heading down there for IMF-06, call around. There were about a dozen of mega-hotels being built between where we stayed and the host hotel. They should be open by IMF-06. Since IMF falls during the off season in PCB, there were also lots of houses for rent. I'm not sure who you could call about them, but a local real estate agent could probably hook you up. Get a place with a kitchen! Food stuffs in the area tended to be closed, close very early in the afternoon, or be not as family friendly as you'd like. I know Bretta didn't mind when Bill and I went to Hooters on Sunday — we got great seats where we could see 4 different football games and the wait-staff wasn't too bad on the eyes (What more could you ask for?), but the fried wouldn't have worked before the race.

We did find one breakfast place that completely kicked buttocks. It was a little hole in the wall that had... I hope you are sitting down... bacon pancakes. Yes, there were hunks of crispy bacon in the pancake! OMG, it was yummy. You knew it was bad for you as you dumped a few pounds of butter and syrup on them, but it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth it.

If anyone has any questions about or would like more information about my hotel stay, my email address is in the upper right of the header. Don't be shy!

Two more things about the Ironman, and then I'm done: (1) Don't pre-pay for photos. The line to get the pre-paid photos was HUGE. The line to score the pics without the pre-pay was short. You do the math. And, you can always buy the photos online after the fact. (2) I cannot wait for IM-CDA!