The Quest for Kona continues. Although I wasn't fast enough for a Kona slot at Ironman Florida this year, I had my strongest Ironman race to date.
PRE-RACE
We arrived in Panama City Beach on Thursday, November 1 early in the afternoon. First things first, we headed down to Ironman village to get checked in, pick up our swag, and had a quick photo op with Mirinda Carfrae (2010 Ironman World Champion).
Thursday night we attended the welcome dinner and mandatory meeting for athletes. One of the quest speakers was an Ironman Foundation athlete raising money for Autism. His talk and passion to raise money and awareness during his journey really touched me.
When I first started this quest, it was for the physical challenge and to test my physical limits. After attending the welcome dinner, I asked myself, "Why not get involved and help a local charity?" Please check back soon for information about donating.
RACE DAY
The morning started the same as any other morning, except the 140.6 miles looming on my mind. The alarm clock rang at 4:00 a.m. and soon after I was enjoying a cup of coffee and a whole wheat english muffin with Nutella.
By 5:15 a.m. we were loaded into the car to get dropped off at Transition. I dropped off my special needs bags, got body marked and was in transition setting up my bike for the day ahead. On the bike I had all my nutrition I would need during the race. Two bottles of Gatorade for fluid, 4 Honey Stinger waffles, two Honey Stinger gels, and a Larabar (chocolate chip cookie). After setting up my bike and checking tires and brakes, I grabbed my wetsuit, cap and goggles and dropped off my morning clothes bag and headed to meet my family and friends before making my way to the swim.
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| Pre-race pep talk and hugs from family. |
SWIM: 2.4 MILES
1.2 mi
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1.2 mi
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33:22
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33:22
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1:43/100m
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2.4 mi
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1.2 mi
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35:49
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1:09:11
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1:51/100m
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Total
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2.4 mi
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1:09:11
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1:09:11
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1:47/100m 16 529 99
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Pace (Div., Overall, Gender)
This wasn't my fastest Ironman swim but I felt comfortable and in control. I lined up about 4 rows back on the inside buoy line. There were some waves and swells to deal with, but overall the swim went as planned. Florida is a two loop rectangular swim. The first lap has the most contact and by the second lap it is fairly spread out. Exiting the water and running up to T1 is through sand and can raise your heart rate if you aren't watching out.
T1: 4:59
BIKE: 112 MILES
| 15 mi | 15 mi | 44:02 | 1:58:12 | 20.44 mi/h | | | |
| 33 mi | 18 mi | 54:56 | 2:53:08 | 19.66 mi/h | | | |
| 55 mi | 22 mi | 59:57 | 3:53:05 | 22.02 mi/h | | | |
| 72 mi | 17 mi | 54:25 | 4:47:30 | 18.74 mi/h | | | |
| 94.7 mi | 22.7 mi | 1:04:29 | 5:51:59 | 21.12 mi/h | | | |
| 112 mi | 17.3 mi | 54:35 | 6:46:34 | 19.02 mi/h | | | |
| Total | 112 mi | 5:32:24 | 6:46:34 | 20.22 mi/h 11 536 70 |
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Race Time Pace (Div., Overall, Gender)
Flat and fast is the best description for this 112 miles. Starting this bike my goal was to lower my heart rate (HR) over the first 5 miles and maintain a constant HR of 140-145 bpm. My plan was to maintain this HR until around mile 40. I would then increase my effort to 145-150 bmp. During the bike, I had the best mental focus I have ever had. I would look at my bike computer which displays my HR, and I would tell myself "Pick it up Sandy", "Good job" or "Slow down". I kept my focus and pace and didn't let the draft packs or wind bother me. I finished the 112 miles 12-minutes faster than my previous PR bike split (5:44 @ IMTX, 2011).
T2: 3:34
RUN: 26.2 MILES
| 2 mi | 2 mi | 17:26 | 7:07:34 | 8:43/mi | | | |
| 4 mi | 2 mi | 18:17 | 7:25:51 | 9:08/mi | | | |
| 6.6 mi | 2.6 mi | 23:36 | 7:49:27 | 9:13/mi | | | |
| 9.1 mi | 2.5 mi | 25:13 | 8:14:40 | 9:55/mi | | | |
| 11.1 mi | 2 mi | 20:06 | 8:34:46 | 10:03/mi | | | |
| 13 mi | 1.9 mi | 18:51 | 8:53:37 | 9:46/mi | | | |
| 15 mi | 1.9 mi | 20:34 | 9:14:11 | 10:39/mi | | | |
| 17 mi | 2 mi | 21:27 | 9:35:38 | 10:43/mi | | | |
| 19.5 mi | 2.6 mi | 24:39 | 10:00:17 | 9:37/mi | | | |
| 22.1 mi | 2.6 mi | 25:11 | 10:25:28 | 9:45/mi | | | |
| 24.1 mi | 2 mi | 19:01 | 10:44:29 | 9:30/mi | | | |
| 26.2 mi | 2.1 mi | 19:29 | 11:03:58 | 9:16/mi | | | |
| Total | 26.2 mi | 4:13:50 | 11:03:58 | 9:41/mi 8 395 60 |
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Race Time Pace (Div., Overall, Gender)
Coming off the bike I felt great and ready to have a solid marathon. By mile 4, the heat had started to show its face and my pace was slowing down. I fought through some mental demons trying to slow me down on the run. They were getting to me in the middle miles, and I struggled to keep my pace. What quickly comes on to slow you down can just as quickly go away. One of my favorite parts of racing Ironman Florida is the amount of support we get from the local community and the Tallahassee support crew. It seemed I had people cheering for me every step of that run, and EVERYONE cheering was the reason I fought to come back. With less than 1.5 miles to go I saw a girl in my age group walking about 200 meters ahead of me. She was my target. I caught her with one mile to go, and we battled it out to the finish. We switched positions a few times, and I hung on for dear life. When reaching the finishing shoot, I gave it 110% without looking back. I ran my fastest finish ever and dropped her with about 100 meters to go. Crossing the line, I immediately collapsed to the ground flooded with a rush of emotions.
I knew I was out of the Kona slots, but I kept fighting for my best race possible. This was a new PR for me (previous best time 11:32:32, IMFL 2010) and one of my hardest fought races.
Thank you again to my family, friends, and supporters. I could not do this without the support you all have given me. It drives me to fight, finish, and do it all with a smile!!
Swim: 2.4 miles
Bike: 112 miles
Run: 26.2 miles
