Pre-Ironman Florida Stuff

Now that the 2011 Ironman Florida race is over I'll try to summarize how my pre-race stuff including, travel, training, and prep went.

I had completed about 65% of the goals in my 20 week (304 hours) training plan.  That's just under 200 hours of training or 10 hours per week on average.  I completed several 100 mile long rides.  My longest run during the 20 weeks was 11 miles.  I did go heavy on the taper though.

I decided it would be a good idea to get a physical exam the week before the race.  Dr. Royston's staff got me in to see him with just a week's notice.  By the time of my appointment the office staff was probably tired of hearing about my Ironman adventure which was 6 days away at that point.  Dr. Royston was excited for me which helped me get in to see him so quickly, that and Susan's outward concern that I might die on the course.  She had setup the appointment for me.  In addition to checking my blood and stuff, Dr. Royston hooked me up with some sleep medication.  I work a weird schedule and often go several days with little sleep.  Races typically have the same affect.  I toss and turn all night long until it's time for me to get up exhausted and already feeling defeated.  That wasn't going to be the case this weekend.

I packed the car to the rooftop on Tuesday checking my list of stuff to bring several times.  Susan and I left home for the 6 hour drive down to Panama City Beach, Florida at 7am on Wednesday morning.  We stopped in Peachtree City to drop off our dog Max at Puppy Tubs.  Then we picked up Chad, a fellow Georgia triathlete and 2011 Inronman Florida competitor.  Chad's family couldn't make the trip to Florida until Friday.  We arrived at our condo at Laketown Wharf at 1pm local time.  PCB time is one hour earlier than Atlanta time.

The view east from Laketown Wharf toward The Boardwalk Resort 

The view south from Laketown Wharf toward the beach and the Sunbird condos

The view southeast from Laketown Wharf toward Pineapple Willie's and the Shores at Panama condos

The condo was only about 500 yards and across the street from the race venue.  We checked-in at the front desk and loaded all our gear into our condos shortly after.  Chad and I went to the athlete's check-in while Susan organized our room.

Chad getting his wristband

Checking-in was a breeze.  There were no lines and we were all done in about 5 minutes.  Then we went through the expo.  We met up with Chip soon after that.  Chip was ready to ride so I changed my clothes and got my bike to join him.  Chad's bike wouldn't arrive until Thursday.  Chip and I took a quick 10 mile ride west on the bike course and back to the condo.  In my opinion, that's the worst part of the bike course.  The wind whips between the buildings creating areas where there is no wind and other areas where the wind is intense.  The wind and sand are the worst hazards on the bike course.

Chip ready to ride

After our ride, Chad, Chip and I swam about 30 minutes with Susan and Jonna, Chip's wife, following close behind us in kayaks.  Jonna and Chip brought two kayaks with them from Atlanta.  On Wednesday night we ate at Montego Bay for dinner.  We'd eaten there before during our Gulf Coast Triathlon trip in May.

Chad and I swam early on Thursday morning.  We both wanted to get used to the early morning routine.  Chip, Richard and I rode later in the morning while Jonna and Susan went shopping and had lunch.  Richard had arrived around 9am on Thursday morning and he was ready to go.  After our ride I wandered over to the expo area to listen to the professional athletes panel discuss training, competing, and Ironman in general.

Pro triathlete panel

After that Susan and I rode our bikes to St. Andrews park.

A lonely ice machine in St. Andrews park

On Thursday night Susan and I ate at Pineapple Willie's.  It was right across the street from our condo so we walked over and ate outside on the deck.  Cold weather was coming on Friday so it was nice to sit outside before the chill.  After dinner Susan went back to our condo and I met Chip and Richard at The Boardwalk to attend the (not so) mandatory athletes briefing.

Athlete's briefing in the ballroom

Early Friday morning Richard and I swam again.  Richard and his family were staying in a condo at the Shores of Panama.  Like Chad, Richard's family wouldn't arrive until Friday.  Ken, Richard, Chip, and I took a few minutes later on to get some team pictures.  Chad couldn't make the photo shoot.  He had just picked up his bike and was checking it out.  First things first!

Neil, Chip, Richard, and Ken

After the photo shoot Chip, Richard and I went for a short ride again.  There are lots of things to do before the race.  Most of them have to do with preparing your gear.  After our ride I checked in my bike.  I also checked in my run gear and bike gear bags.  I had organized all my gear bags and nutrition on Thursday night.  The weather had been windy and cold all day so I got nervous and bought some better gloves and new leg warmers.  On Friday night we ate at Margaritaville at Pier Park.

Taped over vent holes

Bontrager Aero Pack straw shortened with an added Camelbak bite valve

The tie-wrap on the straw is loosely tightened to allow easy removal for cleaning and unclogging on the go

I used my half Ironman list to help me pack before leaving home.  I didn't want to forget anything.  I probably brought too much but that's the way it goes.

Gear bags

My bike racked and ready (except for my poor Shot Blok packet mounting job)

Bike gear bags in numeric order

Run gear bags in numeric order

Margaritaville at Pier Park (nice location - food okay)

Susan and I paid our $2 each and walk the length of the pier.  There were probably 20 people fishing.  Halfway out I saw a shark on the surface swim right by the pier.  It was probably about 5'-6' long.

The pier at Pier Park

We ate dinner at around 5pm.  As with the two half Ironman distance races I'd already done the day ended early.  I was in bed by 8pm.

Checkout a few other images from the weekend in the album below.

2011 Ironman Florida

Thanks for reading.

2011 Ironman Florida Athlete Tracker

Neil, Chip, Richard, and Ken

The 2011 Ironman Florida triathlon is only hours away.  It's hard to believe that a year ago I signed up for this race.  I still remember Susan and I sitting in front of the computer while I frantically entered my registration information before the slots were all gone.  Frankly, I'll be glad when it's all over (and the soreness goes away).  I know Susan will be glad too.

One thing that's pretty cool about these long races is that non-participants can track athletes as they cross over each timing mat on the course.  For a 140.6 distance triathlon there are a lot of timing mats.  Each mat breaks up a long day into manageable bites for the athletes and spectators.  The example below is of an athlete tracker from the 2010 Arizona Ironman.  It is typical of what may be displayed for Ironman Florida participants.

(Click image to enlarge)

So, if you find yourself completely bored anytime on Saturday, November 5th and have access to the Internet you can see where me and my compadres are on the course.  The race starts at 7am Central Standard Time (CST).  Bill Haynes, a fellow Georgia triathlete who is not competing in this race, has offered to facilitate putting the Atlanta Center Triathlon Team, plus 1 athlete tracker in a single webpage. The plus 1 is Sean Gray who will be racing to honor the 343 firefighters that died on 9/11 and to raise awareness for the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund.  Chip, Richard and I rode with Sean on the Silver Comet Trail several months ago.

Click on the following link to track our progress after the race starts: http://bhaynes.com/treadster.html

If for some reason above the link doesn’t work you can track the progress of individual athletes by entering the participant’s last name or bib number on the Ironman Florida tracker page on the Ironman website.  They may even have a live video feed on the Internet.  That'll keep you busy for a few hours!

Sean Gray - 343, Chad Daniel - 1050
Ken Cook - 1801, Chip West - 2227
Richard Black - 2234, Neil Farmer - 2479

You can check out my estimates for our finish times from a previous blog - 2011 Ironman Florida Finish Time Estimates.

Wish us luck and, as always, thanks for reading.

2011 Ironman Florida US Participants

This is a guesstimate of what states will be represented at the 2011 Ironman Florida triathlon on November 5th.  I sorted the data in the latest IMFL participant list and culled through the results.  I found that the list includes 2898 participants.  Of these participants, 2499 indicated that they are from 1 of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.  However, many participants left this field blank during the registration process.  That's why it's a guesstimate.  As expected, the majority of the non-US athletes are from Canada.

The states with the greatest number of 2011 IMFL participants.

1. Florida - 582
2. Georgia - 199
3. Texas - 140
4. Illinois - 98
5. New York - 89

The 1108 triathletes from the top 5 states represent 38% of those participating.  I was surprised to see that many of the northern states are well represented.  One can only speculate as to why.  A large population and therefore a greater number of triathletes is probably one reason.  A second reason might be that IMFL is an opportunity for many to take a trip to the beach even though the weather may be cooler than one might like.  My wife loves to go to Destin, Florida on vacation, but never in November. 

The 7 states with the fewest number of 2011 IMFL participants.

1. Idaho - 1
2. Montana - 1
3. North Dakota - 1
4. Nebraska - 2
5. New Mexico - 2
6. South Dakota - 2
7. West Virginia - 2

The 1042 triathletes from the 6 states that make up the USAT Southeast Region represent almost 36% of all those participating.  Obviously geography is a factor here.

1. Florida - 582
2. Georgia - 199
3. Alabama - 83
4. South Carolina - 83
5. Tennessee - 71
6. Mississippi - 24

The full list of the participant states, including the District of Columbia, in order from greatest to fewest.

1. Florida - 582
2. Georgia - 199
3. Texas - 140
4. Illinois - 98
5. New York - 89
6. California - 85
7. Virginia - 85
8. Louisiana - 84
9. North Carolina - 84
10. Alabama - 83
11. South Carolina - 83
12. Massachusetts - 76
13. Tennessee - 71
14. Ohio - 63
15. Pennsylvania - 56
16. Michigan - 55
17. Maryland - 53
18. Colorado - 49
19. Missouri - 48
20. New Jersey - 48
21. Indiana - 41
22. Kentucky - 27
23. Minnesota - 27
24. Mississippi - 24
25. Connecticut - 23
26. Rhode Island - 22
27. Delaware - 18
28. Utah - 16
29. Arizona - 15
30. Arkansas - 15
31. Wisconsin - 14
32. Maine - 13
33. Oregon - 13
34. Washington - 11
35. DC - 10
36. Hawaii - 10
37. Iowa - 10
38. Oklahoma - 10
39. New Hampshire - 9
40. Nevada - 8
41. Vermont - 6
42. Alaska - 5
43. Kansas - 5
44. Wyoming - 5
45. Nebraska - 2
46. New Mexico - 2
47. South Dakota - 2
48. West Virginia - 2
49. Idaho - 1
50. Montana - 1
51. North Dakota - 1

This was just a fun little exercise (for me) to kill some time and give athletes and communities (or just me) something to think about as they attend or plan events.  Note that 80% of the 2898 athletes are not from Florida.  IMFL must be a big boost to the Panama City Beach local economy.  These numbers don't even take into account the friends and family each participant brings with them.  There are likely to be several hundred volunteers traveling to the race as well.   I'm sure that similar numbers can be found for other iron distance races elsewhere as well.  I know it not the same impact as a Florida-Georgia football game but who cares about football anyway!  That's about it.

Previous related post:
http://treadster.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-ironman-florida-participant-stats.html

Thanks for reading.

2011 Ironman Florida Finish Time Estimates

Chip, Ken, Richard and I did the Gulf Coast Triathlon in May of this year.  Before the race I created a list of estimated race times for our wives.  My thoughts were that they would have the list to help them decide when one of us could finish a segment of the race and be in transition, and eventually when we could finish the race.  Of course, as the race wore on my estimates required some adjusting but, overall, they seemed to work well for the girls.  It helped the girls plan their day and allowed them to do their own thing during the time we all were out on the course.  Ironman Florida will do all that and more.  More time on the course, more time in transition, more time adjustments, and more chances for injury!

The mass start is at 7:00am.  All the times listed below reflect this start time.  For simplicity, I estimated 10 minutes for T1 and 5 minutes for T2.  To calculate the swim, bike, and run estimates I used the results from the Ironman Augusta 70.3 which we have all done, except Chad.  Chad's estimates come from his 2009 Rock N' Rollman Triathlon results.  In addition to the results from these half-iron distance races I used the results from their other triathlons and foot races.  Lastly, I followed the WAG principals for Wild Ass Guesses!

So, without any further ado, here are the breakdowns of my 2011 Ironman Florida estimates for our crew.

Chad
Swim (1 hr. 15 min.) 8:15am - T1 (10 min.) 8:25am
Bike (5 hrs. 26 min. – 20.6 mph pace) 1:51pm - T2 (5 min.) 1:56pm
Run (4 hrs. 10 min. – 9:32 pace) 6:06pm - Estimated finish time: 11 hours 06 minutes

Neil
Swim (1 hr. 20 min.) 8:20am - T1 (10 min.) 8:30am
Bike (5 hrs. 36 min. – 20 mph pace) 2:06pm - T2 (5 min.) 2:11pm
Run (4 hrs. 15 min. – 9:44 pace) 6:26pm - Estimated finish time: 11 hours 26 minutes

Richard
Swim (1 hr. 30 min.) 8:30am - T1 (10 min.) 8:40am
Bike (5 hrs. 50 min. – 19.2 mph pace) 2:30pm - T2 (5 min.) 2:35pm
Run (4 hrs. 50 min. – 11:04 pace) 7:25pm - Estimated finish time: 12 hours 25 minutes

Chip
Swim (1 hr. 35 min.) 8:35am - T1 (10 min.) 8:45am
Bike (5 hrs. 36 min. – 20 mph pace) 2:21pm - T2 (5 min.) 2:26pm
Run (5 hrs. 00 min. – 11:27 pace) 7:26pm - Estimated finish time: 12 hours 26 minutes

Ken
Swim (1 hr. 35 min.) 8:35am - T1 (10 min.) 8:45am
Bike (6 hrs. 13 min. – 18 mph pace) 2:58pm - T2 (5 min.) 3:03pm
Run (5 hrs. 30 min. – 11:04 pace) 8:33pm - Estimated finish time: 13 hours 33 minutes

After I estimated when each of us might finish the race I then had to see where we each might place in our age group.

2010 Ironman Florida Finishers
M30-34 - 1st place time 8:58 – Last place time 16:45 of 199 competitors – a 11:06 finish time is 61st place in A/G
M45-49 - 1st place time 9:26 – Last place time 16:59 of 283 competitors – a 12:25 finish time is 136th place in A/G
M50-54 - 1st place time 9:37 – Last place time 16:40 of 193 competitors – a 11:26 finish time is 32nd place in A/G

I won't be betting any money on who finishes when but I will bet that the girls will be happier not waiting for us on the sidelines for 12 hours in the hot sun until one of us finally finishes the race.  I hope this list minimizes their torment.

Thanks for reading!

2011 Ironman Florida Participant Stats

I re-watched the 2010 Ironman Florida video on Universal Sports yesterday.  I had recorded the television broadcast on my DVR last year and watched it once or twice with my wife.  I had since deleted it from my recorder but Chip was kind enough to find it online for me.  I think he likes the fact that I have a little consternation about the swim.  Seeing the mass swim start again was something to behold and, for me, to be wary of.  I consider myself a good swimmer.  I’m not fast but I think I could swim in a washing machine.  The problem arises when I’m in the washing machine and someone or several people kick me in the head.

With the thoughts of getting hit in the head alive and well in my brain I thought I’d investigate just how many athletes might be in the water on November 5th.  I took the latest participants list on the Ironman Florida website and copied to Excel where I extracted the following numbers.

The 2011 Ironman Florida race has 3037 registered participants, 682 (22%) are female and 2355 (78%) are male.  Over 200 of them are fellow Georgians.

The chart below includes most of the female age groupers.

2011 Ironman Florida Female Age Group Registered Participants

The chart below includes most of the male age groupers.

2011 Ironman Florida Male Age Group Registered Participants

I don't know where I'll end up out of the estimated 226 male competitors in my age group, but I hope I do well. 

If you don't get Universal Sports from your satellite or cable tv provide, like me, you might want to install an over the air digital tv antenna like I did. 

These two blogs might help.
http://treadster.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-wanna-watch-ironman.html
http://treadster.blogspot.com/2010/12/whats-on-tv.html