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Message
Official Triathlon Thread? Official Triathlon Thread
Posted on 10/29/24 at 7:36 pm
Posted on 10/29/24 at 7:36 pm
Hopefully I am not the only one who posts in this thread but didn't see a triathlon thread so I will start it.
I'm racing Ironman Florida on Saturday and am leaving tomorrow for Panama City Beach. It will be my 6th full Ironman, having done my first back in October 2022. Was hoping to go under 10 hours but its going to be hot, humid and no cloud cover so that may be difficult. I should PR though, with my PR being 10:34 at Ironman Texas in April and beating that should not be difficult.
The swim scares me, haven't done an ocean swim before in a race. I swam Ironman Lake Placid in 1:07 which is my IM swim PR but an ocean swim and a swim that likely won't be wetsuit legal means I won't get that time. I'd be thrilled with 1:15. It's not so much the ocean conditions as much as the jellyfish that have me a bit anxious.
I've really committed to getting stronger on the bike since my lousy bike leg at Ironman Texas back in April, putting in a ton of hours in the saddle. I'm hoping it pays off in this race. Winds forecast to not be bad and its a flat course. My only worry is my power meter battery is having issues but Garmin overnighted me a repair kit so I hope it works. I should easily beat my IM Bike PR of 5:27 here.
Running is my overall strength and I usually place in the Top 10/20 in my AG for the run portion at all my races. The temps being warm and humid is a double edged sword - if anyone is prepared to run in those conditions its me, since I live in Miami and its what I train in. But, my goal of going under 3:20 for a full Ironman run probably won't happen with that weather. Going to have to stay on top of my nutrition, hydration and staying cool. My IM run PR is 3:29 that I set at Lake Placid on a hilly course, but it was also only 70 degrees with a low dew point.
I'm racing Ironman Florida on Saturday and am leaving tomorrow for Panama City Beach. It will be my 6th full Ironman, having done my first back in October 2022. Was hoping to go under 10 hours but its going to be hot, humid and no cloud cover so that may be difficult. I should PR though, with my PR being 10:34 at Ironman Texas in April and beating that should not be difficult.
The swim scares me, haven't done an ocean swim before in a race. I swam Ironman Lake Placid in 1:07 which is my IM swim PR but an ocean swim and a swim that likely won't be wetsuit legal means I won't get that time. I'd be thrilled with 1:15. It's not so much the ocean conditions as much as the jellyfish that have me a bit anxious.
I've really committed to getting stronger on the bike since my lousy bike leg at Ironman Texas back in April, putting in a ton of hours in the saddle. I'm hoping it pays off in this race. Winds forecast to not be bad and its a flat course. My only worry is my power meter battery is having issues but Garmin overnighted me a repair kit so I hope it works. I should easily beat my IM Bike PR of 5:27 here.
Running is my overall strength and I usually place in the Top 10/20 in my AG for the run portion at all my races. The temps being warm and humid is a double edged sword - if anyone is prepared to run in those conditions its me, since I live in Miami and its what I train in. But, my goal of going under 3:20 for a full Ironman run probably won't happen with that weather. Going to have to stay on top of my nutrition, hydration and staying cool. My IM run PR is 3:29 that I set at Lake Placid on a hilly course, but it was also only 70 degrees with a low dew point.
4
Posted on 10/29/24 at 9:13 pm to goldennugget
That’s pretty impressive. I took the plunge and did Eagleman 70.3 two summers ago. I plan on doing the Chattanooga full Ironman in September. I need to lose about 50 lbs and get back to swimming.
My running was terrible. I absolutely hit a wall about seven miles in and finished with 22 minutes to spare.
My running was terrible. I absolutely hit a wall about seven miles in and finished with 22 minutes to spare.
This post was edited on 10/29/24 at 9:16 pm
Posted on 10/29/24 at 9:21 pm to goldennugget
Man that’s really impressive. Damn son.
Posted on 10/29/24 at 9:28 pm to goldennugget
Just had dinner with my buddy. He’s doing this as well at age 50. Think his goal is 14hrs.
Posted on 11/1/24 at 2:28 pm to Aubie Spr96
Did the practice swim this morning. 600 yards at a 1:41 pace. Honestly if I hold that pace tomorrow I will be very satisfied because thats what my pace was in the easy lake swim at Ironman Texas back in April. Plus it was red flag conditions, high surf and chop. Too murky to see anything, but didn't encounter or feel any jellyfish.
Also need to remember this isn't a pool swim, have to do a better job of keeping my mouth closed and keeping that saltwater out of my mouth. Have felt a bit nauseous today because I think I got too much saltwater in my stomach.
Swim is the only thing giving me pre race nerves right now, mainly due to the jellyfish factor. As far as the actual swimming was concerned it wasn't too bad.
Also need to remember this isn't a pool swim, have to do a better job of keeping my mouth closed and keeping that saltwater out of my mouth. Have felt a bit nauseous today because I think I got too much saltwater in my stomach.
Swim is the only thing giving me pre race nerves right now, mainly due to the jellyfish factor. As far as the actual swimming was concerned it wasn't too bad.
Posted on 11/2/24 at 7:42 pm to goldennugget
I am glad you started the thread. About fours year ago (I was 48) I was just doing marathons and overtrained myself into a foot injury. My doctor told me to go swim and bike some while it was healing. Not long after that I did a sprint tri and was hooked. I have been doing 70.3s since then with the goal of just getting faster and stronger each race before trying for a full. Anyway, I totally get the ocean swim fear. I have avoided those in favor of rivers and lakes myself. Meeting our fears is part of what the sport is about though and, based on the times, you are reporting I think you will do well on that front and in your race. I will be rooting for you and am proud of anyone who is willing to put themselves in the arena.
Posted on 11/4/24 at 2:46 pm to goldennugget
Ironman Florida recap
Swim - 1:09, 35th best age group swim
Bike - 5:04 (new PR by 23 minutes), 7th best age group bike
Run - 3:34, 6th best age group run
Overall - 9:57 (new PR by 37 minutes)
6th place age group, 33rd place overall. Earned a non-rolldown slot to the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Nice, but did not accept it (because I will race Ironman Wisconsin that same weekend in September for a Kona qualification attempt instead).
Swim
I was really terrified of jellyfish, but didn't see a single one. However I had bigger problems. I was going to buy a new pair of goggles the day before as I chose not to wear my FORM Goggles like usual, and instead opted for my old goggles I wore before I got the FORM goggles. Big mistake. These goggles fogged up immediately, and I couldn't see shite. Getting kicked square in the teeth at the 2nd turn buoy because I didn't realize it was a turn buoy made things worse, causing me to swallow a bunch of saltwater.
Goggles fogged even worse the 2nd loop, making me all but blind. I could somewhat see the wake and splashing of those infront of me, so I had no choice but to trust they were going in the right direction, a big gamble on Loop 2 considering Loop 2 means I am swimming with the back of pack swimmers. This worked for a while but eventually I stopped seeing wake and splashing, and swam into a kayak. Kayaker told me I had veered way off course, and I took my goggles off and saw the turn buoy a long way away. I had actually swam 270 degrees in the wrong direction. I started to swim toward the turn buoy and once again the Kayaker stopped me, as I was still swimming off course. I decided to do the rest of the swim raw dog style with no goggles, which sucks in saltwater but I had no choice. Because it sucked so bad I swam really hard to just get it done with. I had no idea what my time was, I figured me swimming off course had me at a 1:20 swim split or so. Ended up swimming a 1:09, and if I swam the 2nd loop at the same speed I did my first loop, I would have PR'ed the swim at around a 1:06.
Going into Transition 1 I decided to not look at my swim time or overall time and just do the best of the race to the best of my ability, faced with the reality that my best case scenario goal of going under 10 hours was likely out of reach, as I felt I had to execute a perfect race to get there.
Bike
The bike was easy. Some hills, but nothing at all as bad as Wisconsin or Lake Placid. Wind was there in the first ~30 miles, but it wasn't that bad, about 10mph. Stayed at my NP target of 198 the whole way. Last 8 miles straight into the wind, but I kept my ego in check and didn't push it too hard.
The downside of my bike leg was that one of my concentrated bottles filled with gatorade and sodium ejected in the first 10 miles, so I had to rely on the on-course nutrition once I finished my other bottle. I may have gotten enough carbs via the Maurten Gels but no way was I getting enough sodium via the Mortal Hydration. This is why I hate the switch away from Gatorade Endurance to Mortal, as you are fricked if you lose a bottle when it comes to sodium.
I didn't sweat it too much because I had plenty of sodium in my run bag in my Nuun tube which I would be able to make up once I got on the run course.
I didn't look at my overall bike time, but I do know that my laps were registering at ~20mph into the wind and ~26mph with a tailwind, so I figured I went 5:10 or so, had no idea I went 5:04
Run
A tale of 2 loops. The course was the boringest run course out of any race I've done, with little crowd support. 6.5 miles down, 6.5 miles back, times 2. The benefit of this is that it allowed me to count the number of runners ahead of me as they came back up the road on the other end of the out and back. I saw the leaders were about 7 miles ahead of me, and I only counted about 45 people - so I figured maybe I was in better shape than I thought. Others complained about the heat and humidity but for me it was nothing, having dealt with far worse in Miami all summer. So I had an advantage.
The first loop I was running effortless ~7:30 to 7:40 miles and I felt I could sustain it the whole way. Hit those mile splits even stopping at aid stations to put ice down my tri suit and refill my handheld. Unfortunately dumping ice and water all over me backfired because it got into my Nuun tube, dissolving all my sodium tablets. This ruined my run sodium plan, with my bike sodium plan already ruined, and once again I have to rely on crappy Mortal Hydration for sodium.
It all unraveled around Mile 16 of the run, where my lack of sodium caught up to me and my upper legs both began to cramp. Quads, glutes, hamstrings, groin - all locking up. The rest of the run became an excruciating battle where I would run as much as I could until the cramping became too unbearable, then I would walk the cramps out until I felt I could start running again. It could have been really easy to quit and just walk it in but I decided to suck it up and do the best I could.
The final mile I did not stop, even with the cramps, just tolerating it. I still had no idea what my overall time was - I thought I might break 10:15.
As I entered the finisher's chute, I saw the gun time on the clock above the finish line and it said 10:09. I said to myself "Pretty sure I waited more than 9 minutes after the gun went off to get in the water". And I was right. Crossed and saw 9:57 as my finish time and was in utter disbelief. My celebration lasted about 5 seconds until I went down and had to be carried to the medical tent, where I spent several hours. But, it was all worth it.
I could have felt sorry for myself after the swim, felt sorry for myself after losing my bottle on the bike, felt sorry for myself after losing my sodium on the run and felt sorry for myself after the cramps, but I put my head down and pushed forward, battled the immense pain and discomfort, and was able to achieve my goal of going under 10 hours, a time I thought I'd only get it if I had a race where everything went right.
Next up: Ironman 70.3 Florida in December.
Swim - 1:09, 35th best age group swim
Bike - 5:04 (new PR by 23 minutes), 7th best age group bike
Run - 3:34, 6th best age group run
Overall - 9:57 (new PR by 37 minutes)
6th place age group, 33rd place overall. Earned a non-rolldown slot to the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Nice, but did not accept it (because I will race Ironman Wisconsin that same weekend in September for a Kona qualification attempt instead).
Swim
I was really terrified of jellyfish, but didn't see a single one. However I had bigger problems. I was going to buy a new pair of goggles the day before as I chose not to wear my FORM Goggles like usual, and instead opted for my old goggles I wore before I got the FORM goggles. Big mistake. These goggles fogged up immediately, and I couldn't see shite. Getting kicked square in the teeth at the 2nd turn buoy because I didn't realize it was a turn buoy made things worse, causing me to swallow a bunch of saltwater.
Goggles fogged even worse the 2nd loop, making me all but blind. I could somewhat see the wake and splashing of those infront of me, so I had no choice but to trust they were going in the right direction, a big gamble on Loop 2 considering Loop 2 means I am swimming with the back of pack swimmers. This worked for a while but eventually I stopped seeing wake and splashing, and swam into a kayak. Kayaker told me I had veered way off course, and I took my goggles off and saw the turn buoy a long way away. I had actually swam 270 degrees in the wrong direction. I started to swim toward the turn buoy and once again the Kayaker stopped me, as I was still swimming off course. I decided to do the rest of the swim raw dog style with no goggles, which sucks in saltwater but I had no choice. Because it sucked so bad I swam really hard to just get it done with. I had no idea what my time was, I figured me swimming off course had me at a 1:20 swim split or so. Ended up swimming a 1:09, and if I swam the 2nd loop at the same speed I did my first loop, I would have PR'ed the swim at around a 1:06.
Going into Transition 1 I decided to not look at my swim time or overall time and just do the best of the race to the best of my ability, faced with the reality that my best case scenario goal of going under 10 hours was likely out of reach, as I felt I had to execute a perfect race to get there.
Bike
The bike was easy. Some hills, but nothing at all as bad as Wisconsin or Lake Placid. Wind was there in the first ~30 miles, but it wasn't that bad, about 10mph. Stayed at my NP target of 198 the whole way. Last 8 miles straight into the wind, but I kept my ego in check and didn't push it too hard.
The downside of my bike leg was that one of my concentrated bottles filled with gatorade and sodium ejected in the first 10 miles, so I had to rely on the on-course nutrition once I finished my other bottle. I may have gotten enough carbs via the Maurten Gels but no way was I getting enough sodium via the Mortal Hydration. This is why I hate the switch away from Gatorade Endurance to Mortal, as you are fricked if you lose a bottle when it comes to sodium.
I didn't sweat it too much because I had plenty of sodium in my run bag in my Nuun tube which I would be able to make up once I got on the run course.
I didn't look at my overall bike time, but I do know that my laps were registering at ~20mph into the wind and ~26mph with a tailwind, so I figured I went 5:10 or so, had no idea I went 5:04
Run
A tale of 2 loops. The course was the boringest run course out of any race I've done, with little crowd support. 6.5 miles down, 6.5 miles back, times 2. The benefit of this is that it allowed me to count the number of runners ahead of me as they came back up the road on the other end of the out and back. I saw the leaders were about 7 miles ahead of me, and I only counted about 45 people - so I figured maybe I was in better shape than I thought. Others complained about the heat and humidity but for me it was nothing, having dealt with far worse in Miami all summer. So I had an advantage.
The first loop I was running effortless ~7:30 to 7:40 miles and I felt I could sustain it the whole way. Hit those mile splits even stopping at aid stations to put ice down my tri suit and refill my handheld. Unfortunately dumping ice and water all over me backfired because it got into my Nuun tube, dissolving all my sodium tablets. This ruined my run sodium plan, with my bike sodium plan already ruined, and once again I have to rely on crappy Mortal Hydration for sodium.
It all unraveled around Mile 16 of the run, where my lack of sodium caught up to me and my upper legs both began to cramp. Quads, glutes, hamstrings, groin - all locking up. The rest of the run became an excruciating battle where I would run as much as I could until the cramping became too unbearable, then I would walk the cramps out until I felt I could start running again. It could have been really easy to quit and just walk it in but I decided to suck it up and do the best I could.
The final mile I did not stop, even with the cramps, just tolerating it. I still had no idea what my overall time was - I thought I might break 10:15.
As I entered the finisher's chute, I saw the gun time on the clock above the finish line and it said 10:09. I said to myself "Pretty sure I waited more than 9 minutes after the gun went off to get in the water". And I was right. Crossed and saw 9:57 as my finish time and was in utter disbelief. My celebration lasted about 5 seconds until I went down and had to be carried to the medical tent, where I spent several hours. But, it was all worth it.
I could have felt sorry for myself after the swim, felt sorry for myself after losing my bottle on the bike, felt sorry for myself after losing my sodium on the run and felt sorry for myself after the cramps, but I put my head down and pushed forward, battled the immense pain and discomfort, and was able to achieve my goal of going under 10 hours, a time I thought I'd only get it if I had a race where everything went right.
Next up: Ironman 70.3 Florida in December.
Posted on 11/4/24 at 5:19 pm to goldennugget
Nice work! Congrats!
Posted on 11/4/24 at 10:52 pm to goldennugget
Great race!
I did that race in 04...20 years ago.to.the.day. wasn't near as fast, 12:30-ish, started out in the high 7's on the run but the legs gave up at about mile 16 also. Was reduced to "run 400 steps, walk 100 steps."
Run probably more like a shuffle though. Only time I've ever come close to passing out after a race.
Once again, congrats!
I did that race in 04...20 years ago.to.the.day. wasn't near as fast, 12:30-ish, started out in the high 7's on the run but the legs gave up at about mile 16 also. Was reduced to "run 400 steps, walk 100 steps."
Run probably more like a shuffle though. Only time I've ever come close to passing out after a race.
Once again, congrats!
Posted on 11/5/24 at 1:38 pm to goldennugget
Dude holy shite that is an incredible time for a full!
My wife was signed up for Chatt but I think she deferred to IM Texas 2025.
My wife was signed up for Chatt but I think she deferred to IM Texas 2025.
Posted on 11/5/24 at 6:48 pm to goldennugget
Beast mode! Awesome job!
Posted on 11/8/24 at 8:01 pm to goldennugget
Great race, GN. I’m sure the crew from PRS were there to cheer you on. 
I did my first sprint Tri in October. It wasn’t pretty. But it was a start. I have my eye on some more sprints next year. My family and work constraints don’t give me much time to train for much else. I may try an Olympic when I get my work life balance better.
I did my first sprint Tri in October. It wasn’t pretty. But it was a start. I have my eye on some more sprints next year. My family and work constraints don’t give me much time to train for much else. I may try an Olympic when I get my work life balance better.
Posted on 11/10/24 at 5:59 pm to DownSouthJukin
quote:
I did my first sprint Tri in October. It wasn’t pretty. But it was a start. I have my eye on some more sprints next year. My family and work constraints don’t give me much time to train for much else. I may try an Olympic when I get my work life balance better.
Nice. It's good you did any at all... I guess I am lucky in the fact that I have a lot of time to train. Yes I work full time but I have no family responsiblities.
I've never done a sprint, or Olympic... when I signed up for my first Ironman it was always supposed to be a one-and-done, just a bucket list type of thing, so I did it very cheaply. So straight to Ironman. My first 3 triathlons were full Ironmans until I did my first (and only to date) 70.3.
Posted on 11/10/24 at 6:00 pm to Polar Pop
quote:
My wife was signed up for Chatt but I think she deferred to IM Texas 2025.
I'll be at Ironman Texas, already signed up. It's going to be my next full.
Ironman Texas spoils you... once you've done the run course at Ironman Texas, nothing else compares. It wins the "best run course" award every year for a reason.
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