IronMan FL 70.3 Recap
This week included the first race of my 2013 tri season at IronMan FL 70.3 in Haines City, FL. This week's blog entry will recap Sunday's race and the events around it!
Saturday afternoon, Stephanie, Kyle, and I checked in around 4:30pm and dropped my bike off in the transition area. Check in went smooth and it was nice running into a couple of friends who work for IM and some of the volunteers I worked with last year in the check in tent. With bike secured and swag bag in tow, we met our good friends for an early dinner. Chris and I were Troopers together and this was his first 70.3 event, as having excelled in the shorter distances. Stephanie, Kyle, and I enjoyed spending the evening with Chris and Alice - always nice catching up and laughing about the good 'ole days.
Since it was BRUTALLY hot at IM on Saturday, Stephanie knew that Kyle would not be able to handle 7 hours in the sun without combusting. So luckily for us Aunt Kimmie to the rescue who agreed to take Kyle off our hands Sunday so that I could race and Stephanie could enjoy the day at IM. Every dad reading this knows just how nice it is to compete in peace knowing that the family is well and cared for. Thanks again Kim!
Sunday morning came early as my fellow triathlete and neighbor Will volunteered to take me to IM at 4:45am so that Stephanie could come later in the day. Upon arrival you could feel the excitement in the air, but no breeze. For a local like me, that only means one thing - its going to be a hot day in the Sunshine State. While standing in the sand waiting for my wave to dive in the water, I secretly set my goal at 7 hours for this event. I was basing this on the fact that I finished IM MIami 70.3 last October in 6:30 and I figured that I might need another 30 minutes to take into accout for the hills on the bike and the heat. Did I mention that it was hot already?
With the cannon's boom, I dove in and immediately was swam over and under, dunked deeper into the swampy water of Lake Eva than I had wanted, and swallowed about 2 gallons of nasty green sludge. Once I surfaced and choaked the water up, the panic attack set in and I began to question why I do these things and more importantly, I decided to not go to IM FL 140.6 in November. Right then and there I retired from triathlons. My thought was that if this was going to pose so much difficulty in a still lake in central FL, the Gulf of Mexico with 2000 swimmers would kill me. Shortly after this decision, I thought about all of the US Military oversees that would LOVE to be in Lake Eva with me and then I thought about all their spouses and kids that would LOVE to be standing on the shore of Lake Eva today. I was ashamed of myself and rolled over, put my face back in the water, got into a little breathing groove, and finished the 1.2 miles in the water.
Out of transition and on the bike, I set out on a fast 56 miles through the rolling hills of Polk County. Having been a State Trooper in that area of FL for years, I was familiar with the terrain and recognized 75% of the Haines City Police Officers, Lake Wales Police Officers, Lake Hamilton Police Officers, and the Polk County Sheriff's Deputies who were protecting the course for us. It was like having my own little cheering squads along the way, although 90% of them did not recognize me as I zoomed by. It was a good course for the most part and for every FL Mountain that I climbed slowing me down to 10 miles per hour, I was able to fly down at 30+ miles per hour, so that was fun, and scary at the same time. The highlight of the day so far was coming back into the transition area and seeing Stephanie waving. Its like a wave of peace washes over me seeing her there.
With run shoes on and sun screen slathering my sweaty body, I set out on the 3 loop run of 13.1 miles - or a half marathon which sounds cooler! About 100 yards into the run it dawned on me just how dang hot it was. No longer was I enjoying an average pace of 19.5 miles per hour on the bike creating a little breeze, but instead I was making contact in every step with the hot pavement. A nearby thermomter confirmed it was 98 degrees - oh boy. Every step was difficult and the aid stations were like a mirage in the desert. More and more athletes were slowing down and walking, while taking on liquids and ice at every offering. During these times it was nice to talk to other triathletes who were experiencing the same heat issues that I was. Mother Nature snuck up on us all that day - even claiming some of the pro/elites and other age groupers who were not able to fight off the heat.
At the end of the run, I came though the finish line with the official time of 7:05 .... 5 whole minutes off my goal, but I was still upright, so that was a bonus.
Looking back, I was not as sore as in the past when I completed such a long event, so that tells me that I am improving in that aspect. And truthfully, had I ran a little more here and there instead of slowing down to cool off and chat with others, I might have made the 7 hour cut off like I wanted. All in all it was a great day, a blessing that I get to do this stuff, and nice to know that Stephanie was there waiting for me and Kyle was in great hands with Aunt Kimmie!
Special thanks to the TheTriShop.com and for being apart fo the 2013 TheTriShop.com Triathlon Team!!
2013 IM FL 70.3 is in the books!