Cooling off at mile 80ish...

This year Ironman Florida landed a mere 4 weeks away from Ironman Hawaii.  Each and every time I do these two races back to back I can’t help to wonder that no matter how well I recover from Hawaii, what truly lies deep in my muscles?  Something good or bad?  This was my 6th time doing the “double” and I really wanted the answer to that question.  The fact of the matter is that these are two of my favorite races and they just happen to land close to each other.  I don’t necessarily race Florida to qualify for Kona.  Even if there were no slots, I’d still race it.  I resumed my “normal” training about 10 days after Hawaii and did one long 3 hr ride/10 min run brick 2 weeks after Kona.  I ran about 9 times in between the races, all well under 1 hour. A few days before the race my body felt as good as it did before Kona, perhaps even better.  Perhaps this was the work of ARX, a recovery supplement that sponsors our team. 
 
This year we brought the whole family and had a great time on the beaches the few days before the race.  We stayed with my friends aunt & uncle who have a place in Panama City Beach and they were great hosts and babysitters!  I did 2 swims in the ocean and one ride before the race.  Race day came and wow, there were so many people at the swim start!  2200 starters I think, one of the biggest in IM history.  As the gun went off I did my thing and got out in front right away.  I took the lead and before I knew it I was dodging all kinds of jellyfish that looked exactly like this, but luckily not as big as this.  I know I touched a few, but kept on my way through the choppy ocean.  I finished the 1st loop in 25 min and the 2nd in 27 finishing as the top amateur swimmer in about 52 min.  Thanks to Aqua Sphere for the great Kayenne goggles and Icon wetsuit!
 

Having fun (I think)

I began the bike with my quads feeling tight on Front Beach Road, but not unbearable.  Although I was a little worried it was going to get worse, I was still confident that I’d feel better.  After mile 10 they loosened up and I got into my groove.  I started passing the pro women, and saw my friends Tamara and Gabriella from the team and former team member Heather Gollnick.  I even passed a few pro men to my surprise.  I have to agree with what Alex McDonald said after his first pro race in 2008, stating, “the bike was very lonely”.  I was by myself almost the entire time.  It felt like a head wind the entire way which didn’t help.  Jackie Arendt and Brian Hainsworth from Sugoi were out there cheering me on at almost every intersection.  It was so great to see them out there!  You guys rock!  I got passed by one age grouper at mile 90 then another at mile 100.  No big deal as I just kept on pushing to get back to T2.  I did so with a new PR bike split of 4:48.
 
Then came the run.  My legs felt shaky at first, but then I felt that zip, that magic that I usually feel at this race and never looked back.  My ultrarunning friend Scott Jaime calls this “running without a chain.” I passed the other two age groupers in the first 2 miles, and put everything out of my head, and just ran.  I wasn’t worried about time or my place, I just let “feel” dictate my speed, and my legs responded accordingly.  From 6 years old til I turned 21, my family has vacationed in PCB so every corner on the run course had a memory.  Like the time I caught several “Croakers” (a type of fish) on the famed ”Croaker dock” when I was 7 years old, the same dock I passed on the run 4 times. 

2nd loop!

It was at about mile 20 when I was getting sad that the race was almost over.  I realize that this is not normal during an Ironman, but for me that is an indication of feeling good.  I was legitimately sad that the race, and my season, was about to end.  With these thoughts, I entered into the last 10K and gave it everything I had.  I think I was running on pure emotion at this point.  I then saw Nikki and Connor & Spencer cheering  for me and loved it!  I  glanced at my watch at mile 24 and hoped to finish under 8:50.  My last two miles were 6:16 and 6:18 and finished in 8:47, 1st amateur, 10th overall, with a PR run of 2:59, my 1st marathon under 3 hours in an Ironman.  I was greeted by Nikki, our boys, and Art and Jeannie at the finish and I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I later learned at the awards ceremony that I got a new course record for my age group by 6 minutes!  It made me wonder if doing Hawaii hurt me or helped me for Ironman Florida.  As long as I do them back to back I guess I’ll never know, but I’ll always be curious what I could do without doing Kona.  For now this was probably my best race result yet and for that I am thankful to all the people who believe in me, sponsors, family, and friends.

With teammate Blake having pizza!

Interview post race for Ironmanlive.com

 
A big thanks to Keith, Tristan and Tom at Timex, Trek and Bontrager for the awesome gear as usual.  A HUGE thanks to Brian at Sugoi for not only the clothing but all the cheers during the race.  Powerbar always is way up there in terms of support and making just plain good nutrition products that help athletes and non-athletes alike.  (I think I had 18 Power gels or so during the day).  Also Jamie LaChance at Saucony for the killer Fastwitch racing flats, Trakkers for all the help throughout the year, and Aqua Sphere for helping me to be the top amateur swimmer by using their Icon wetsuit and Kayenne goggle.
 
Next up is Ironman Arizona in a few weeks…just kidding.

Tim