It read clearly on the World Triathlon Corporation internet page, "Thanks to a beautiful seashore and perfect temperatures, IRONMAN Florida is a magnet for triathletes and their families”.
Let’s just say that ‘race day’ could not have been further from the truth!
The whistling 45kmph
winds arrived at around 1am on race morning. Waking to the noise & looking
out the window seeing the palm trees bending, it was obvious that today was
going to hurt a little more than expected.
Nevertheless a
cup of hot chocolate & a pillow over my head, and I was back to dream land
for a couple more hours.
What I didn’t
expect though, was how cold it became with this cold front hitting the Gulf of
Mexico – it was freaking freezing.
Whilst most
athletes had lined-up for the start on the beach, I remained in the ocean to
stay warm. There was no way was I getting out, and the plan was to run around,
over the timing start matt, and into the start area with 60 seconds to spare.
No matter though, with some of the lifeguards unable to stay in their paddle
boats & rip currents concerning the organisers, the announcement to cancel
the swim was finally confirmed.
What now, such
confusion. Personally for me, it was first things first. I headed straight over
to the Boardwalk Beach Resort Hotel hall to get warm & changed.
Instead of the
expected duathlon to take place, the organisers finally decided and confirmed
to the athletes we were to keep the remaining race order and have the 180km cycle
& 42.2km run. Standing by our bikes in numerical order at 8am (in the cold)
from 1 to 3000 – it was a time trial straight and simple in number order. A run
& jump onto your bike over the timing matt every 5 seconds (in two’s) was
the start of the race.
Tapered &
ready, it was beast mode on. I started out in trail of the starting professionals
about 45 minutes back. I expected strong cyclists for Florida and that’s what
was delivered. It was a dog fight out there. Also with-out the swim, most
athletes were green fresh and must have allocated that extra swim effort (now abandoned),
to burning a few extra matches on the bike leg.
The concern for
me, with the sequence of the race start, was being overtaken and taking cognisance
of their bike number to determine how much time they had gained. This race was
a unique situation and I tried to get what information I could….while
allocating the remainder of my centration to some ‘serious’ bike dodging & headwind
riding! In fairness, it was fun & I was happy to be racing and keeping
warm.
The ride included
one loop of 180km, with some in’s & outs where you could see (and lap) your
competition. Travelling in a northerly direction to the first 40km marker into
the headwind and finally turning right eastward, it was a partial relief. Averaging
only 32kmph & pushing a 318w average to this point, raised the alert
buttons on the dashboard, and it was time to manage the remainder of the bike
leg carefully, but firmly. In fact, if I had attacked one more time, I would
have dropped myself.
No doubt, the age
group Europeans racing Florida can certainly cycle. At each opportunity, I
could see some of these guys gaining more time on me during the bike leg. They
were strong, and in these conditions, that was potentially working to their
advantage. Nevertheless I kept my effort where I thought it needed to be, and
tried to maintain within striking distance of those who would be wounded
gazelle’s once they hit the run leg.
Arriving into T2,
for what I expect only the pros & elite age groupers were now ahead of me, the
race was on.
It was a quick
transition & out onto the run course which included a double 21.1km lap.
Hitting the tarmac at a comfortable pace & I felt great. This was a good sign
& allowed me to switch into auto-pilot for most of the run & enjoy the
American spectators. From dressing up into all sorts of costumes, and making
track lanes on the roads demarking fast runners to the left, they were having a
ball, and this was so appreciated by the competitors considering they were also
out there in the wind with us.
Making the final
turnaround on the second loop at St. Andrew’s State Park at around the 32km
mark, the pain gauge finally hit alert levels, and the auto-pilot switched off.
From here its pain race management and the hurt locker was open. It’s at these
points of a race when it’s just you and the road, and you acknowledge that
triathlon doesn’t build character, it reveals it.
I tried to make
that hopeful Sub-3 hour marathon which was on target for most of the run, but
it alluded me, this time, with a 3h03m run.
Crossing the
finish line was personally overwhelming, knowing what I had managed to achieve following
an achilles injury, which took me out of this year’s IM World Champs in Kona 3
weeks earlier.
I finished 18thoverall and 1st in age group (40-44).
The rest is honestly
a blur.
Thank you to all
for your support & wishes!
Cheers P
After a great first year racing in the professional category in 2016, I was amped for the 2017 season. Feeling stronger and fitter and more in the "right head space" - I had done some great training over December spending many many many (and many more) hours on the bike - I loved it. My swim was starting to click, I was starting to understand the phrase "feel the water", and my running was strong
READ ON