Ironman Florida is in the books. I was able to keep myself (shit) together on the run to set a PR of 10:54.
The swim started fast and a quick first loop but I got to see firsthand how many jellyfish are here. I never got stung but they were everywhere. The second loop was slower as it got super crowded and people were still entering their first loop. 1:06 and on par with expectations.
The bike was a PR of 4:57 and I even physically stopped to pee twice. I thought my pace was going to take a hit from miles 60 to 70 with a slight climb into the wind, but I was rewarded with a downhill tail wind for about 25 miles where I averaged 24mph. Took in all my nutrition but probably was still dehydrated starting the run.
The run started well for 5 miles, but my right hamstring started to throw fits. I need to look into a possible bigger issue going on as its the same spot every year. By the last 4 miles, I was running 50 feet and walking 50 feet just to avoid a complete seizure of my leg. 4:34 was the final time and only 4 minutes off my PR. I really thought I would do better here but still happy at the same time.
Thanks to my Kristen's. Super serpa and super wife Kristen Swierkowski Williams and my coach Kristen Hall Lamb who pushed me all the way..
2023 Daily Ironman Log.
In 2023, I turn the big 50. That means I'm in a new age group and its a very competitive age group. After racing the hills for many years (Mont-Tremblant, Lake Placid twice, St George), I wanted to do something
really flat for my 50th BDay. The choices were going to be IM Maryland or IM Florida. After looking at the results of IM Florida for my age group, its seems I have a lot better chances to doing well at Florida as
its right after Worlds in Kona and a lot of Athletes will be focused on other races. So, Florida is the main plan for 2023. In 2018 and 2019, I was training at about 285 FTP on the bike. I will start training will start
January 1st, 2033 at 330 FTP which may be a little high, but I think I will get stronger than this in the first half of the year. Going to do less than 3 hours running a week for many months to focus on bike strength
and physical strengh through September to maintain as much power as I can.
2023 Daily Ironman Log.
While in Hawaii on vacation, on February 24th, 2022, I recieved a email inviting me to the 2021 Worlds in St. George, Utah. This is the make up race for the 2021 Kona race that was cancelled due to COVID.
My invitation was due to my Silver All World Athlete status, not because I'm fast....The race was less than 90 days away, but I was already in decent training mode so I decided to go for it. So here
I go. This year, I appear to be tacklling the 2 toughest US based courses on the circuit (St. George and Lake Placid). This should be another exciting year.
2022 Daily Ironman Log.
What a great day in the Corn Fields of Indiana. Even having a head cold for a week, I woke up feeling pretty well on Race Day. The swim was slower that I expected as the second loop was jam packed with people still entering the course. 1:08 on the swim.
The bike was fast as expected even with about 18 miles of fresh chip sealed road. What a disaster for this section of the road. 5:15 on the bike and my fastest IM bike by 30 minutes.
The run was solid for once. I had visions of breaking the 11 hour mark until mile 19 when the hip and quads started to revolt. 4:30 marathon, my best by 24 minutes.
Overall 11:07, a PR by 55 minutes....2021 Daily Ironman Log.
After planning to race IM Mont Tremblant in August, I was scrambling to move up my training for Lake Placid by 4 weeks when the Canadian race was cancelled. Training has been consistent all year but I would have loved another 4 weeks in the end.
After rain in the AM, hot sunny humid air in a the afternoon, a headwind uphill for the last 15 miles of the bike, and a lot of hamstring issues, I managed to finish with a smile on my face.
The swim Mirror Lake was like a heard of cattle entering at once, but I knocked out 2.4 miles of it in 1hr 44 seconds. This was a PR by 5 Minutes and a 1:26 (100yrd pace)
The bike course is hard. I registered 6900 ft of climbing and they ensured I covered the entire 112 miles. I was pushing 214 Normalized Power on the first loop and had plans to do the same on the second, but I lost some momentum and ended up averaging 202 NP in the end. My second lap was about 20 minutes slower that the first loop. During my training ride in June, this was not the case, so it was a little under my expectations.
The run, as usual, was more of a walk with hints of running peeking through at moments as I saw my BPC teammates on the course. They couldn't see me walk, so I ran until they were out of sight and it was back to walking. 🙂
Total Time 12:32:08
Trust me when I say the next one will be flat. Next update in 8 Weeks.....2021 Daily Ironman Log.
Fears of a sports hernia are slowly going away. After starting PT and creating a stretching regimine, Im slowly starting to feel better. A 3.5 hour brick was surprisingly comfortable and I
was able to run off the bike pretty easily. I trained at 70% FTP for 3 hours today and for the first 1/2 Ironman, I plan to race at 80% for the bike. I would like to finish in the 2hour 25 minute range,
so while 80% is fairly intense, it would be 35 minutes less than todays training day. I think I will be able to run off the bike pretty easily at this wattage. More to come, but you
can review my 2021 Daily Ironman Log.
COVID wiped out racing in 2020, so I had 2 carry over half Ironman races coming into 2021. I wanted to spice up 2021 and race 2 Full distance Ironmans as well. Hopefully the Canadian
boarders are open by August as I love Mont-Tremblant. In case Canada is still closed, I grabbed a one time opportunity to race Ironman Muncie which is a special race designed to get people
racing again in the U.S. Normally, this race does not exist, but the fact that its in October makes me think I have a chance at good weather. Im battling some groin issues
when I run, so this is a concern early in the year. Swimming is starting strong and the bike is strong as usual. Im starting the year just 7 lbs over race weight, so in a nut shell,
I'm starting 2021 in pretty good shape compared to previous seasons. My FTP is now hovering at 310 with goals of 320 before the race season starts. More to come, but you
can review my 2021 Daily Ironman Log.
Since Mont Tremblant, I have stayed fairly active and in shape. I have definately cut back on swimming,
mainly because I hate getting in the cool water in the winter time. I have kept up on biking and running. Since Tremblant
I have 10 - 10 Mile runs and 3 Half Marathon distance runs. While I peaked for Tremblant with a TSS of 125, my goal through
Winter was to maintain at least 60 TSS. I havent really dropped below 60 and seem to be hovering about 65. With my next two
weeks planned, I may again hit 70 TSS shortly. I have been working on Leg Strength all Winter long. I was able to up my Biking
FTP from 279 to 285 and I have a goal to hit 300 before March. I have kept my weight in check and maxed out with a 9 lb gain since
getting to Race weight last August. Im actually 20lbs lighter that this time last year. So in a nut shell, Im starting 2019
in pretty good shape compared to 2018.
What a incredible experience. Leading up to the race, nerves never got to me. It was just a long
training day for me. I NEVER thought of stopping, I never had a moment where this race was too much. I
just kept plugging along at the best pace I could manage. Here is a full Race Report.
