Ironman Florida Panama City November 4, 2006

As I new challenge I chose Ironman Florida 2006 in beautiful Panama City for my 8^th Ironman. I remember the first Ironman I did in Penticton BC Canada as clear as day & now here I am enjoying this great sport with no end in sight. They say this race is fast & easy but there is really nothing easy about a 141 mile race which I was about to find out.

The bike ride and run are generally flat and the swim is in the ocean so I felt the race was well suited to my strengths.
The day started early as always at 4am with my room mate & I leaving for transition at 5am. This is Florida in November but no one expected it to be 34 F in the morning with a high of 69 F for the day. In actual fact standing on the beach had my feet so cold I decided to stand in the water as it is warmer at 71 F. The warm up then consisted of a few arm circles while standing in the water and visualizing the race start to finish.

As luck would have it the day was not only cold but on this day the water was the roughest it was all week. The wind was offshore as the tide was coming in and the current was running right to left. As I suspected, in order to do well at this race you have to be a swimmer and no truer was this than today. Between the waves and the current it was very difficult to find any feet because as soon as you were on them they seemed to disappear with the next wave. At one point on the second loop I came up to sight and saw some swimmers 3 feet above me which was a weird feeling and something that brought a smile to my face :)Later in the day on the run I heard numerous people telling stories of being sea sick multiple times during the swim. I guess the good news was that the fish ate well :)

The transition times were generally slow as people put on everything short of their winter parkas but being from Canada I decided that all I needed were my arm warmers. One person actually took 1 hour and 15 minutes in the two transitions combined.

Soon I was off on the bike with a plan to build into the bike because one of the biggest problems people face here is that you can easily go out too fast & then blow up. The key to my race was to be smart, consistent & strong. I was told to ride 5:30 – 5:40 so I could be solid on the run. I rode 5:34 in conditions that were tough as I think we fought head or cross winds for about 50 miles.

The run has always been my weakest link but I was determined to make it my strength on this day. We had a plan in place to be consistent, strong and make sure I got nutrition at the aid stations. I was focused on the run making sure to take a personal inventory every 5 minutes or so. I must say it hurt like all marathons but I turned in a major break through to complete the race in a personal best of 11:45 which is 47 minutes faster than Ironman Arizona in April 2006.

Ironman Florida is a tough race since you are always in the aero position all day on the bike as there are very few hills. With the winds and the false flats it can be challenging. The run is difficult as you never get a break going up or down a hill so the same muscles are working all day long. Finally, the swim is in the ocean and there is always a current and it can be quite wavy. This race proved to me once again that you need to plan your race and race your plan. Ironman is not about being fast but more about being patient and strong. By having a plan and racing your race you likely will achieve your goals. Yes you can have a great race here but be prepared for different conditions because no matter how you cut it you are still racing 141 miles.

I would like to close by thanking all my supporters and my major sponsor TIMEX who without I would not have been able to achieve my goals.

See you 2007. I am off to recover and play a little hockey for a couple months.

Bruce “The IronCanuck” Bauman