Race number - tracking during the race

Well the good folks with the Florida Ironman have posted the race numbers. My race number is #1204. I like the look of the number. It is not too low and not too high. It is right in the middle. There are about 2800 people registered for the race. I am hoping to finish in the top 50% of all the finishers.

Unlike most triathlons, Ironman races have a mass start. So there will be a couple thousand people entering the water all at one time. This is the part of the race that concerns me the most. I have been kicked in the face in a race before and I don't want to have that happen again.

For those of you that my be interested I have been told that you can track an athlete during the race. You would need to go to this link and then enter my race number #1204 and you can keep track of me on race day. http://ironman.com/events/ironman/florida/?show=results.


I am hoping to finish the race first an foremost. But if I had to put a time goal it would 15 hours. The race cutoff is 17 hours. The gun goes off at 7am so by 10pm I will hopefully be finished.
I am hoping for a swim time of 1:45 for the 2.4 miles(2:20 cutoff), no more than 8 hours on the 112 mile bike, and that would leave me 5 hours (7 hour cutoff) to finish the 26.2 mile run. it will make for long day, but i can't wait for Saturday November 7th to get here.

I love the fall!!

This time of the year is probably my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing and the weather is getting cooler. But there is one problem. This year I am training for a race and the shorter days and rainy weather have been difficult to work around. 3 of the last four Saturdays have been rainy. I have had 4-5 hour training rides scheduled and have had to do a trainer workout instead. I have also been doing much longer runs and I have had to run in the dark which can be a bit disorienting. For the most part I have been managing to get all my scheduled workouts in but it has been much tougher. I am really looking forward to November 7th getting here!

The dreaded IT band issue

I have always heard other member of the triathlon club talking about "IT band pain" but never had any idea what they were talking about. Below is the description of what the IT band is:

The iliotibial band is a strong, thick band of fibrous tissue that runs along the outside of the leg. The IT band starts at the hip and runs along the outer thigh and attaches on the outside edge of the shin bone (tibia) just below the knee joint. The band works with the quadriceps (thigh muscles) to provide stability to the outside of the knee joint during movement.

As I started to increase my running distances, I was starting to have pain in my hips at around 3-4 miles into the run. I was mentioning this to my coach Ashley and he said I should do some IT band stretches. I had never even considered that this may be the problem. When I started reading about the symptoms and the causes I realized this is exactly what the problem is.

So I have been stretching and doing some exercises to help but the only real solution is rest. This is just not possible right now. I have been able to get thru the longer runs but there has been some pain. If I keep a slower moderate pace I am certain I will make it the 26.2 miles of the triathlon. I will have plenty of time to rest and recover this winter.

Ironman Training training can be hard!!

I have been very busy and just have not had the time to post recently. But I am still going at it. The one thing I never considered when I decided to commit to the Florida Ironman was the time the training would take. Because of the distance of the race you really need to train your body for the long periods of exertion. This extra effort has become very apparent in the last two months. I was used to a 2 hour bike ride on a Saturday morning, a 3-5 mile run once a week and swimming 1500 yds twice per week. This was a typical week when training for the sprint or olympic distances. As look back on it now that was a piece of cake.

I have gone from 1500 yd swims to regular 300o yd swims. From 3-4 mile runs to 10,11,12,13 mile runs. From 2 hour bike rides to 3, 4 & 5 hour scheduled rides. To be honest is has been difficult trying to get the training in. I have this guilty feeling when I am sitting on my bike trainer for 3-4 hours on a Sunday. I just keep telling myself I only have a few weeks left until the big day. 6 years ago at 385 lbs if you would have told me I would be running more than 10 miles at one time and getting on a bike with skinny tires for 3-4 hours or swimming for an hour and fifteen minutes I would have called you crazy. Even last year, after my first year of participating in triathlons, I would have thought swimming, and in particular, running these longer distances was impossible. I really believe I will finish this race!!

2009 Nations Triathlon Race report

It was a great morning for the race and the extra space in the huge transition area was great. But I do think the race is to big for what it is. This race is really not set up for the local racers. Parking and traffic is terrible and you basically have to invest an entire weekend to do this race. This race is set up for TNT (Team in Training) and is a big fundraiser. You have a large number of first time participants and I think you notice it the most on the swim and bike. I applaud the effort of every racer out there but it can be dangerous on the bike if the rules are not followed.

The swim was ok. I have been battling a horrible case of swimmers ear so I made sure I had my earplugs in and my cap over my ear. It still didn't stop the water and within a few minutes i could feel the water sloshing around inside my ear. The water quality wasn't to bad and on the straight parts of the swim I was able to find a nice clear path and move. But the turns were a joke. Having to come to a complete stop at every turn on the swim just shouldn't happen. Maybe it was the wave I was in but coming around the turns was no fun at all. A lot of people, a lot of legs, arms and heads getting hit and kicked. Next race I am sticking to the outside. it may be a bit longer but I will avoid the bottleneck at the turns.

The bike was very frustrating. There were too many people not paying attention to the rules and absolutely no races official on the course that I could see. Stay to the right means stay to the right. There were so many people riding 2,3 and 4 abreast. On the return loop on the bike, which was mainly down hill, it is a HUGE momentum killer when you have to break on a downhill because riders don't understand to move to the right. And then on the last stretch coming back to transition I had to avoid one person crossing the road and another guy not even looking, standing 10 ft into the road taking a picture. The bike course itself was good and I managed to avoid most of the bumps in the road, but it was way to crowded for my taste.

The run is a nice flat course. Pretty uneventful and good support at the water stops. I did see the lady in the wedding dress. I noticed people running with the racers but I did not know that they might have been coaches. My best run to date in a 10K but not as fast I was hoping to go.

I probably will not do this race again next year. Having done both New York and DC, I thought the New York race was a better race (at least for me). I don't mean finishing time, I mean in terms of the course, race participants etc. I am glad I did it and I finished uninjured, which is always good. I just think the logistics of this race make it very challenging. I have never seen a line so long to get back into transition at the end of a race. I was lucky enough to see a friend and the people around us let me get in line otherwise I would have been there for much longer.

All in all it was a good time and I finished in under 3 hours which was my goal. But having the worst swimmers ear I have ever had and a slight fever I was glad when I was done. I just wanted to get home and take a nap!