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THE FINAL ENTRY…

Listening, observing, smiling I sit in a booth looking over at a person that has not only become a mentor, a friend and an inspiration, I slow everything down and wonder to myself am I really hearing this?

It has been 11 days since Ironman Florida and I am sitting at an IHOP having breakfast with Bob Scott. Earlier in the week I received an email from Bob asking if I would like to go out for breakfast. Those who haven’t followed my Ironman journey that close, Bob Scott is a 11 time Ironman, multiple Ironman World Championship Finisher and simply one of the most humble human beings one could ever meet. Oh yea, he is also over 80 years old and shows little affect of being a person at that age.

From time to time we get together at this IHOP to talk. Anyone want to guess what we talk about? Listening to a person with such experience can only help me in the long run, plus did I mention he is the nicest person you can come across? Before anyone mentions the word “bromanance” this relationship is more. In one’s lifetime there are only a few people that come across that directly influence how you handle your life and person for me is Bob Scott. Bob is a  mentor, a friend and yes there is a little idol worship, because he has done things in this sport that I could only dream of doing.

During our conversations he lets me tell my story of the race like he has never done one before. He sits with bated breath wanting every little detail and simply makes me relive the entire day. That is what makes being an Ironman so special. Most people you come into contact with are simply amazed of the achievement of an Ironman once they can get their mind around the accomplishment, but here I sit in front of an Ironman legend and he too is blown away by the details of the race.

Then Bob threw me a curve ball.

He mentioned the other reason why he wanted to talk to me, he wanted to talk about food/nutrition during the race.

I said great… I waited for him to start… nothing…

As it turns out here is an IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHER was asking for advice from me?!?!? This guy has forgotten more about the Ironman than I will ever know and he is asking for my advice???? Let me backtrack a moment.

Before Ironman Florida, we had a breakfast and I told him about my unique food plan for that day. I bet if you asked every single Triathlete on this planet none of them would have my plan. There are so many choice out there that everyone swears by, but to me my stomach can’t bear the thought of most of them. Gel this, bar that, goo’s, special powders and the list goes on and on. I tried most of them and well I haven’t had much luck with any of them, so for me it is Twizzlers and PayDay bars. Odd yes, but it works for me and until I find something that works better for me that is the plan. At the time Bob seemed puzzled and I suppose he had every right to be, but now that he has failed to finish his last 140.6 mile races I felt like he actually might try it. Yes you have to be some what fit to do these races, but come race day one thing you will need is food. If your food plan is not in tune with your body the chances of you finishing are small. As we both prepare for the off season it will be interesting what 2012 brings for both of our food plans.

…

Want another reason why I do this thing called Ironman? As Bob and I got up to pay the bill, I was putting on my new Ironman Florida Finishers Jacket. Bob proceeded to say in a rather loud tone, “WOW NICE IRONMAN FINISHERS JACKET” and proceeded to walk away, leaving me standing alone with the entire IHOP staring at me. I had people clapping, shaking my hand and saying congrats as I proceeded towards the exit. Yes I enjoyed every bit of it, but what I enjoyed more is the respect I get from this 80 year old, 11 time Ironman finisher named Bob Scott.

…

OK I am now a 2x Ironman finisher, this chapter is now closing and it is time to start planning the next chapter of this journey…

Naturally the first thought is “When is the next one?” Let me answer that by saying there WILL BE  A NEXT ONE, heck yes! The Ironman is intertwined into my DNA, it is a part of who I am. Not only do I use it as a tool to inspire and motivated myself, I bring others along with the ride. This year alone I had friends compete in their 5k’s, their first Triathlons, their first Marathons and their first 1/2 Ironmans. I already have a handful of people tell me their plans for next year and the list will continue to grow. Who knew, little old me doing Ironman could help inspire others to lead a healthier and fitter lifestyle!

On that note #3 might have to wait a while. No I am not stepping away from Ironman but one main reason it might a little while for #3 is I am simply tired. I have training for these things since September 2009. I need a break. The plan for 2012 is to find my smile for Triathlons. I made it no secret that training for this one was more like work, less like fun. If I could simply show up for the race and do it I would, but that won’t happen. So right now NO FULL IRONMANS IN 2012!

The other reason #3 might have to wait is my career.

My career is the last piece to solve in this mid-life crisis I have been on for this many years. Being laid off from a job off 15 years (even though I was lost in that job) is a tough pill to swallow. I have to remind myself I actually could see it coming 5 years ago and I am glad I survived as long as I did, now it is time to move on. As most know I have been testing the waters of Personal Training for a couple years and at times it is my calling, but I can see it simply won’t be able to provide the lifestyle I have become accustom to living. I promised Kim, I would have an answer for her the day after the Ironman and I came up with my answer. It is time to throw my hat into the job/career search ring and find a job that helps us lead the life we are accustom to living.

…

I think about this journey I have been on for so long and I smile thinking that I have come full circle in this career search. I wonder what is different about me compared to the days I was doing when I was so lost. My answer is simple, the Ironman…

Not the Ironman itself, but what I did to reach such a high peak in the mountain. The Ironman represents everything I am today. It helped shape and form me into a happier person, a person that can do anything once I put my mind to it, the Ironman helped put the smile back on my face. As I begin to sit in front of people interviewing me for a position I know I will be different than any other person that sat in front of them, because I am an Ironman. I don’t have to give the typical responses that are simply empty words, I have proof. Will the Ironman automatically get me that magical career? NO, but I sure have something in my arsenal that not many will have. Instead of just saying the words hoping a new employer wants to hear, I have proof.

So there, if some of you in the last month or two noticed a change in my demeanor, you may have a better understanding of what has been on my mind. Yes I was training for an Ironman and I was reaching the peak hours of the training which went over 20-25 hours for a few weeks and add on what is going to be my next career, hopefully you can forgive me a bit.

So when is #3? 1. Being tired and 2. Career search, you see why there might be no full Ironman in 2012. Of course I might find myself rested up by January and the most awesome perfect job falls on my lap, it is a good thing I know of 2 WTC Ironman’s still taking applications in 2012, so I make no promises…

…

OK it is time to close this chapter. I write these blogs for two reasons. I never kept a dairy of anything in my life and I write these for me. If some of you enjoy reading these you really need to get a life. That being said THANK YOU! The second reason is I want the world to know you can do this. Maybe not the Ironman, but something that is your Ironman. Only 8 short years ago none of you would have like me, for that manner I wouldn’t have really care if you liked me or not. All it took was a picture to start the journey I am on. What made me break away from the person I was I am not really sure, but all I know was this, I had enough of that life. Life passed me by and I let it. Life isn’t that way anymore, I live life! I have no LIMITS! I have the DETERMINATION to succeed in anything I choose to do (why did I capitalize those two words, sometime in the future remind yourself to look at my Ironman shirts that I wear and you will understand.)

Maybe it will be a picture for you.

Maybe it is a person you meet.

Maybe it is simply saying enough is enough.

My hope is this… Ironman or not, everyone deserves to stand up in an IHOP and have people clap for you, shake your hand and say congrats, while your mentor simply walks away smiling…

Swim 2.4 miles

Bike 112 miles

Run 26.2 miles

BRAG FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!

I am Jim Ristow and I am a 2x Ironman Finisher!

Until next time… Your Fitness Buddy!!!!

Ironman Wisconsin results – 15:35:07

Ironman Florida results – 7:37:18     so far….

As I handed off my bike there they were once more, my support crew. I was actually worried if they were going to be there because if I wasn’t expecting to finish in 6:09, how did they expect me finishing in 6:09. I am guessing they were following me online so they made it on time.

One note on the Ironman support crew. I had the opportunity to be a spectator of an Ironman event back in September at Ironman Wisconsin and my Ironman hat is off to them, it is a hard day for all. In some ways it might be tougher on the support crew compared to the athlete. At least the athlete is doing something the whole day, the support crew has moments with their loved one and then hours of nothing. The Ironman may be a selfish individual endeavor, but when it comes to it, that Ironman is only going to be as successful as those he or she places around them.

Back to the riveting story…

Hoping off my bike I was surprisingly strong and ready for the run, this pales in comparison to how I felt coming off the bike in Wisconsin. I ran to my transition bag, ran into the hotel (happy it was a little emptier this time around), sat down a proceeded to get ready for the run. All this time I remembered I needed to cut more time off my transition times. I switched shoes, put on some shorts over my salty stained tri shorts, grabbed my visor, Vaselined some important areas and I was off, 10 minutes 8 seconds! OK not fast but the goal was to cut the transition times in half and I’d say that goal was accomplished. I ran outside the volunteers put sunscreen on my shoulders once again and I was off.

As I exited the running out chute I came across something amazing. Here I was starting my 26.2 mile journey and low and behold the men’s finisher was coming down the finishing chute! AMAZING! What these pro athletes can do is simply remarkable! I learned after the race it was the first sub-8 hour finish in North America history. Well I had about 26 more miles to go before I could receive my glory.

As I continued I noticed right off the bat the crowds in this area were the biggest of the day, but soon tailed off only a mile or two into the race. I passed the turn around point making a mental note that I should be back in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. There were pockets of cheerleaders out on the course but this was going to be a big difference between Wisconsin and Florida. This run was going to be a two loop out and back. Each loop was going to be around the 13 mile range which made me wondering if I could make it through the first lap before the sun went down. The benefit of the mostly out and back was there were always runners around and it actually gave the runners more water stops than the advertised one per mile.

As I started past the crowds I notice something else I WAS RUNNING!?!?! Well before you ask isn’t that what you are suppose to be doing? If you remember my Wisconsin effort I walked almost the entire 26.2 miles, not only was I tired and wanted a nap, but there was a problem in the bathroom area of my body.

I can say with some pride I actually ran 1/2 of the first loop. Again, probably something one shouldn’t brag about but in my book this was a win! As I ran (yes did I mention that I was running) I got to see the top male and female finishers whizz by me on their second loop. I kept on looking for a pro female triathlete named Bree Wee (by the way she married into the Wee name). Bree and I have become semi-close friends on Facebook and I was wondering how she was doing. I saw the 1st through 3rd place women whizz by and there was Bree, in 4th place. I screamed go Bree, but looking at her face I could tell she was in trouble. Bree came out of the water in 1st, came off the bike in 1st and finished in 6th. Hey 6th was much better place from where I was going to finish. This helped pass some time during the 1st lap.

This course followed mostly neighborhoods. As I mentioned before there were pockets of people, but what I noticed the race was causing quite a traffic jam as we criss-crossed the main drag a few times. The locals seemed to take it well, but I am sure some nerves were being stretched thin. I can’t blame them to a point, here are 2,700+ people coming to their nice quite beach town along with all their support crews it can be a little bit frustrating. Then again how many millions of dollars are we bringing in and we don’t cause the damage the spring breakers do.

The course is flat, not even a slight incline or decline to shake things up, unless you count the speed humps placed in the roads. There must have been 50 off them on the loop, which later I used in a game I play when I began to walk. I usually play “the cone game”, but there were not many street cones on this course so I decided to run between each speed hump. The course did have one break away part where we could not see the other runners, that part went through a state park. You want to talk about lonely? The only crowds here were the two aid stations on this loop.

As I exited the park the sun was still up and I was beginning to slow down. Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike but my legs were shot, not to mention the bigger problem; MAJOR RUBBAGE in certain parts was beginning. Looking back I should have applied Vaseline earlier on the run to hold this off. As I retraced my steps back to the turn around point I also was getting hungry. I wasn’t having the bathroom problems as I experienced in Wisconsin so it was time to experiment a little with the food on the course. At the water stops they treat you to a buffet of tantalizing goodies, Ironman Perform (AKA their version of Gatorade and YUCK), water, coke (unfizzed YUM), chicken broth (SUPER YUM), pretzels (YUM), potato chips, chocolate chip cookies (SUPER YUM), grapes (didn’t work this time) and bananas. As the raced progressed water, coke, chicken broth and the chocolate chip cookies became my dinner.

As I approached the turn around at mile 13.1ish I realized something different about this turn around compared to Wisconsin. This turn around was pretty far from the finish line, where as in Wisconsin it comes so close to the finish line. I think I liked this way better, one sad part I did not discuss this with my support crew so as I turned there was no familiar faces there to cheer me on. So after the turn around there are your transition bags. The sun was going down and that meant the temperature was going down too and will soon be in the 50’s. I stopped ripped of my tri top, put on a clean long sleeve runnung shirt (of course it was my DETERMINATION IM shirt), ate a few goodies when I noticed someone slipped a goodie zip lock bag of treats which made me smile. I took the zip lock bag, stuffed it into my shorts pocket and was off. Looking back that stop probably cost me 5 minutes.

On to lap number two. Knowing that I probably was walking too much it was time to run. Maybe it was having the new clean shirt, a few goodies in my stomach but I took off (maybe took off is to strong of words, more like a shuffle) and ran the next two miles. As the sun dipped into the Gulf of Mexico the run became a shuffle, became a jog, became a walk and that is when I met Jennifer. Now I did know her as Jennifer, her first name was SPEED WALKER. Now I keep a pretty good walking pace to the point I can walk almost faster than I can run at this point, but SPEED WALKER shot right past me. I didn’t give her much thought, until she past me again and again and again. We came up to the state park and I finally had a few words with her. She was having bathroom issues, so she would pull ahead of me, I’d pass her again while she was doing her business and she would pass me again. This happened the entire remaining part of the race.

By the time I got to the state park it was dark, except for a few flood lights along the course it reminded me of a small portion of IM Wisconsin. The difference in Wisconsin I was slow enough to have the glow sticks handed to me, this time I made it into the park before they handed them out. It was a clear night so the moon provided a small bit of light but it was dark and now I was alone. My guess the state park route was a little under two miles, dark and lonely.

I did have SPEED WALKER, which by this time her name changed to PORTA POTTY GIRL just ahead of me most of the way and as I exited the park. This meant THE FINAL STRETCH! I entered the 20+ mile part of the run. I started to think about the journey once again and with perfect timing I understood why I do these things called Ironman. At the time I thought how wonderful is it to be a part of something with so many like minded people. As I started the way back to the finish line those of us on the second loop began to talk to each other more. Some told their stories, some told jokes, some bitched and complained but soon said this was the greatest thing they have ever done in their life. Here I was doing this for the second time!

As the battle of PORTA POTTY GIRL and I built as she passed me once again. I said see you after the next porta potty stop, my mistake she stayed ahead of me (within sight) the remainder of the race. The miles slowly ticked off, 21, 22, 23, 24, and finally 25. I caught up to a gentleman from North Carolina, crying. During that last mile we talked about the accomplishment about to happen. He reminded me of a certain person 14 months ago. He was about to accomplish the single most important moment of his life, he was going to become an Ironman. What he didn’t realize to me he was already an Ironman the day he signed his name on that dotted line almost a year ago. See he was soon to be an Ironman FINISHER! The Ironman itself is having the guts to do something that most think is crazy, but in turn it inspires others to be better than they were the day before. Seeing the importance of this moment, I told him go ahead and I will make sure he has the finisher chute all to himself.

We turned the final corner I slowed down to let him have the moment. This in turn gave me a few moments to reflect and the smile that I had been missing for most of my training found me. Whether I finish only two Ironman’s or go onto countless more I will always get emotional. That is my I GET MOMENT! I ran closer to the finish line and noticed I was going to come in under my 9 pm hopeful time. I crossed the finish line at 13 hours and 54 minutes and 33 seconds, with the finishing song of Little Bit of Monica in my life….?!?!?!?!?!?

Well not exactly the finishers song I was hoping for (9 pm it is Ironman tradition to play U2’s Streets Without No Name and it just sounds awesome!!!) Oh well. I went though the finish line waiting for the volunteer to catch me and the dude ran right past me!?!?!? What’s going on? The person that finished right behind me tripped, again oh well. I didn’t really need anyone to catch me, other than a few tender parts I felt great.

I walked through the finishers area, got my hat, got my medal, got my mylar blanket and walked away a 2x Ironman finisher beating my previous record by 1 HOUR and 40 MINUTES!!!!!

I soon past PORTA POTTY GIRL and and thanked her for pulling me through the second loop of the run. It turns out her name wasn’t PORTA POTTY GIRL after all, her name was Jennifer and she was from Ontario, Canada.

Soon I met up with the gang and even with the Key’s. This was the first time I saw Robert all day. My ultimate dream of beating was not meant to be with him finishing just over 12 hours. Also back on the bike recap I mention I passed a Triathlon Coach named Joe, well he smoked me on the run as predicted. Again, oh well…

Ironman Wisconsin finishing time 15:35:07

Ironman Florida finishing time 13:54:33

Not a bad day…

• Ironman Wisconsin 2010  results – 15 hours 35 minutes 07 seconds
• Ironman Florida 211 results – 1 hour 17 minutes 02 seconds

so far…

The evening before my new found weather forecaster, Robert Key was trying to explain to me why the bike ride was going to be fast and smooth. Something about the winds would pick up in the late afternoon and even then they will be coming out of the Northeast and by that time there would be a tailwind all the way back home.

Ah, right…

Stayed tuned…

Running into Transition #1 (T1) I grabbed my bag ran into the hotel conference center ready to redeem myself for my slow IMWI T1 time of 14+ minutes. I ran around the corner and slammed on my brakes! Why? There standing in front of me was sea of sweaty, salty naked men trying to change into their bike gear. The room was so packed I walked up and down the aisles looking for an empty seat so I could start my process of changing into my bike gear. I walked back and forth for few moments and finely found an empty chair in between (you guessed it) to naked men. Well I made the best of it, changed into my biking gear, ran outside, had the volunteers glop on some sunscreen and I was off to my bike.

Volunteer note: They are wonderful! I came around the corner with a volunteer holding my bike cheering me on.

As I ran in my bike shoes towards the mount line I always take it slow there is no traction with these shoes, plus it is so crowded with people mounting their bikes. This time I actually found myself running a pretty good distance past the mount line before I got onto my bike.

T1 time – 11:12 better than Wisconsin, but still not under the 7 minute mark I was thinking of…

As soon as I got onto my bike, their they were… my cheering section, Kim and the gang were all there screaming and cheering me on. After a few quick turns it was time to settle in for the first long straight stretches of the bike course, about 6 miles long as we hugged the coastline. This is the first time to settle in during the race, I find the swim portion and T1 portion crazy and you do everything to just move through it as fast as you can. Now with the chaos over this is where the day really begins to sink in, I am on this stupid thing for 112 miles.

The bike portion of an Ironman is suppose to be a non-drafting event. There really big advantages in finding a group of riders and drafting off someones back wheel. They do all the work, while you sit in their draft pulling you along. That being said when you come out of T1 with hundreds of other riders it is almost impossible not to draft in some form or fashion. You might think they don’t enforce this, but there are course referees on motorcycles watching. Yes even in this mid pack where I was and they were handing out penalties that you must serve by stopping at the next penalty tent.

I used this 6 mile stretch to relax, get into a routine and started to eat and drink. At this point the wind wasn’t to bad and started to think maybe Robert was right on his forecasting skills… Well that thought didn’t last too long…

As we turned inland the proof that is was going to be a long morning and into afternoon smack all of us right in the face. They might as well put up a sign that stated HEAD WINDS NEXT 56 MILES! Come to find out we headed in winds blowing easily at 15 mph with gusts exceeded 25 mph. This is where triathlon bikes have an advantage called the aero position. You simply tuck into this position giving the wind a smaller object to hit and slice through the wind. There is a catch, staying in that position takes a lot of practice and well I am not the best at it. During such a long ride I am constantly changing my position to remain as comfortable as possible. All it took was one good wind gust and it reminded me to stay in the aero position as long as I could.

Driving the course a couple of days before was a good idea, I was able to picture in my mind what was coming up next, unfortunately on this course there are not too many landmarks. I play a game of a metal checklist. Once I get done with one landmark, I checked it off and move onto the next one, that wasn’t going to happen on this course. This course had town and there were long stretches, very long stretches of straightness! These long straight stretches were carved out of forests of tall pine trees. When they did this they simple made a wind tunnel for the wind to funnel through making it that much windier.

The course is mainly flat which plays to my Illinois strength. This meant a lot of peddling and not a lot of coasting, knowing this I was good idea to do many of my long rides on the trainer at home. The trainer simulated much of the day.

As we turned I knew the first landmark at a rather large bridge that went over the inter-coastal waterway. The bridge is the “biggest hill” on the course and we would have to ride over twice. In Wisconsin terms it maybe was a 5 or a 6 on the 1 to 10 sucky scale. Know that a good portion of the athletes come from the southern region, they too have little experience in climbing hills. I was surprised how few I noticed did not change gears. I mean these bikes have 20+ gears for a reason, use them. I popped my bike into the easiest gears, put my Wisconsin face on peddled up and down this “hill” with ease. As we headed out it was very easy to feel the winds picking up. The winds that were not suppose to torment us (Robert Key) were starting early. As we approached the one and only town of Elbro we turned and the real war began. Up to this point the winds were not 100% in our faces, now they were…

I guess in some good way I was glad to have people around me during this point of the race, there was drafting. Also this portion of the race had a sneaky part to it you did feel or see when you drove it. There was an incline! Nothing major, but it lasted 15 miles, combine that with the wind the sufferfest was on.

After the 15 mile sufferfest came the next turn, once you made the turn it was like being shot out of a cannon. Finally a tailwind!!!!!! It was very easy to maintain speeds above 25+ mph, which made wonder what the pros speed was during this portion. So the tailwind brighten the mood, for two miles. That is when the road was making a turn, you guessed it back into the wind.

I would have to say the Florida roads up to this point are some of the best roads I think I have every rode on. It seemed like they laid down a new road just for us. That would soon change….

We made one more major turn and we were back into the direct headwinds. The sad part of this course there were very few spectators throughout the entire course. There were pockets, but nothing that compared to the support in Wisconsin. As we all peddled into the head wind of death I looked down and we were quickly approaching the mid way point. I was feeling good, eating like I was suppose too, drinking and all in all I was pretty close to my 3 hour halfway mark, even with the wind. Then it happened…

Mile 52!!!! Everything changed! We went through this intersection and we came out the other end on some of the worst roads I have ever been on. Every two seconds there were railroad bumps. s. These are the bumps that jar every bone in your body. Triathlon bikes are very stiff, there is no give on these babies and you feel everything! Soon you saw the carnage, people off to the side fixing blown tires, water bottles everywhere, bike parts (YES PARTS OF BIKES) everywhere, so many items it now felt like you were in an obstacle course. No matter how I positioned myself everything hurt, everything was miserable and  this was the first time my mood went south. I just kept on think those sons of ______ who laid out the course are laughing now! Did I mention this was all in that headwind I have been talking about?

All I knew was the 56 mile turn around point was coming and soon after that the special needs bag stop. That four miles in seem to take forever, but finally the turn around point! 56 miles in, 56 miles left and since it was mostly head winds out to the 56 mile point, that meant the tailwind all the way home that Robert Key promised…

Soon after the turn around point the special needs bag stop came. I found my bag, stopped, took care of some business, looked through the bag, replaced my empty water bottles, ate a few things and I was off. It too me 8 minutes, but I figured I’d make that up in the promised tailwind.

Now it was back on the rough 4 mile road, which seemed shorter because there was a tailwind but it still was equally rough and soon I found myself turning on a smooth new road! You could hear everyone around simply thank God for the new road. I was excited for another reason, soon we would be hitting a small portion that reminded me of Wisconsin. First a small twisty turny portion which was better than the long stretches of straight we endured for the first 60 miles. That was followed by a steep quick turn onto to some rollers, actual hills that went up and down for about ten miles. After the rollers we reconnected with the road we took all the way out and simply retraced our way back to transition with a small detour (more on that in a bit.)

Remember me talking about a tailwind? I mean we fought the headwind for 56+ miles, we deserve the “Robert Key tailwind”, right? Well I was expecting a full on tailwind, that didn’t happen. It was there but it came more from the sides or maybe from the corner. I can’t really complain too much after battling to keep my speed around the 17 mph range on the way out, it was much easier keeping a 20mph+ speed on the way back.

Now the miles were click off, the 70’s became the 80’s and soon that became the 90’s. Around mile 90 I did make a quick stop to give my back and shoulders a rest costing me 2 minutes, but soon found myself back on the road. up to this point we basically retraced the bike portion back to the transition area, but we had to make a quick 3 mile in and out detour. I normally would have not mentioned this but the highlight of my ride happened in this portion of the day.

Coming up to mile 95, I was able to make out a familiar body, I was about to pass the owner of the Triathlon Club I sometime run with! Now I don’t know Coach Joe as well as I should but wasn’t he supposed to be way ahead of me? As most passes go I we said a few good words to each other as we hit the turn around. Now I know he was pacing himself and will run past me in a blaze of glory on the run, but this really perked my spirits up 17 miles of the ride.

Had I become a better cyclists? Hmm…

I hit the turn around sped back to the main road and soon found myself facing the big bridge once more at mile 100. At this point this is where the field opened up, for the first time on the bike I found myself by myself. I looked down at my watch and I couldn’t believe what I saw. I had a real chance to break 6 hours on the bike. To go from a IM Wisconsin bike time of 7 hours and 10 minutes to riding under 6 hours went way past what I ever dreamed of doing. I entered PCB and make the final big turn down the road along the beach and it felt like I slammed on my brakes!

THE WIND! Head winds, cross winds, tail winds, winds that felt like it was blow straight down, blowing straight up, seriously at times the wind was blowing from everywhere trying to knock me off the bike. The last 6 miles were not going to be fun. If there was no building a cross wind that blew from the left. If there was a building the wind bounced off of that and blew from the right. The last 6 miles it was all I could do to hold on. I knew at this point the 6 hour mark was lost, but still I was going to finish better than I ever hoped too.

Finishing times

Ironman Wisconsin 7:10:37

Ironman Florida 6:09:05!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking back if I didn’t take the 8 minute break at the halfway point, plus the 2 minute break around mile 90, this ride would have been under 6 hours. Oh well, the things you learn.

I got off my bike feeling good, not worn out out like at IM Wisconsin and was ready for the next 26.2 miles.

To be continued…