2006 Ironman Florida Race Report, or How I Raced Ironman Florida with Fuzzy Slippers, Hubig’s Pies and the Love of My Life

The day after:  note the pink fuzzy slippers, the Ironman finishers' medal, and (if you can see it) the engagement ring.

Today is  Ironman Florida, in Panama City Beach.  I wondered if I still had my race report from the last time I raced it, back in 2006.  Amazingly, it's still in the Documents folder on my computer.  For fun, I thought I'd post it.  Much of it is "you really had to be there"- lots of references to things that you'd only know if you were there.  Basically, it was cold, it was fun, it was 140.6 miles, I finished, there was lots of barbeque involved-- and Allen asked me to marry him that evening.

Hubig's pies, for those not in the now, are a New Orleans delicacy-- deep-fried turnovers filled with fruit, chocolate or coconut filling.  Check them out here.

The couple of days leading up to IMF were a blast. We had a great condo at the Summit, decorated in bright yellow with fishies everywhere, which proved a great home base for the race. We did our two practice swims in the beautiful Gulf (later, the really choppy not-so-beautiful Gulf), ate pancakes, hung out with our friends, and spent time packing the ol’ bags for the race. At the Summit Beer Blast, following the Beer Run, on Thursday night, we were given a handful of Hubig’s pies from our dear friends, straight from New Orleans, LA. Biggest decision was what flavor to put in which special needs bag ( I went with Pineapple for the bike, Apple for the run).



Weather forecast started looking a little dicey for race day--- breezy and cold ( at least for us Floridians). So I took some excellent advice and got myself a cheap pair of shoes to wear on the beach in the a.m.—fuzzy pink slippers with hearts. Best $4.88 I ever spent.


Race morning was COLD!!!!! Holy crap!!!!! Body marking was an ordeal- didn’t want to take my warm clothes off. Allen and I finally got into our wetsuits and shlepped down to the beach—him braving the cold, me with wetsuit, pink hat, gloves and fuzzy slippers! Sadly left the fuzzy pink slippers with our buds right before I entered the water (and the hat and gloves, of course).


Having never raced in the Gulf, I was not aware that the conditions actually sucked. I saw a stingray in the sand- that was cool. I made it through the swim fairly uneventfully- got knocked in the chest once by someone breaststroking—then into the changing tent—


I am sure I overdressed for the bike, but I am a big wuss when it comes to the cold. The Zipps were a little hard for me to handle in the crosswinds coming off the beach. The headwind, combined with the hills, was torture, but I knew there was a tail wind somewhere waiting. The tailwind was great, albeit brief.


I caught my bike special needs bag like I was a pro in the peleton, but then almost lost it and the bike- wheel went out from under me. Caught my balance again, then pulled over for the PIE!! Woo-hoo!!


I knew I had left the water before Allen, but didn’t see him catch me. Most likely he got me around mile 70- I had to stop and stretch our my foot and relieve the pain caused by a neuroma—I saw his bike in transition and was HAPPY!


Left T2 looking for Allen- cheered on by all the peeps on Thomas Drive. Finally caught up to him around mile 6-7—he was around 10 minutes ahead of me at the turnaround. I told him to go on and I would try to catch him….. which I spent the rest of my run trying to do.


Slow and steady run for me—nothing world class, but I was running when a lot of people around me were walking, so that made me happy. Didn’t recognize many people out there, but I see lousy in the dark.



Finally, rounding the corner at around mile 25.5, there was Allen, walking and waiting for me!! We rounded the corner and went in together, though a few seconds apart from each other so we could have our own finish--- I jumped up into his arms at the finish, alarming the volunteers who thought I was going to knock him over!


Apparently the whole thing was on the ironmanlive.com video feed, because we’ve been getting calls and emails that say that people have seen us smooching at the finish line!


The plan was for a big finish-line BBQ party with all our friends at midnight, but the cold weather, wind, and exhaustion had dispersed most of them. So we picked up our bikes, balanced our bags on top of them, wrapped our blankets around us and went back to the condo.


Later, after getting cleaned up and with me dozing on the couch and looking out at the Gulf, Allen told me he had something to give me- an engagement ring! The answer was YES!!


Next day, our friends came over for BBQ pork sandwiches, beer and champagne for our engagement party…..


An incredible weekend…..thanks to all our friends, family, volunteers and complete strangers who have encouraged us on all these months. I’d nearly given up, and dropped out of the race, a couple of times this season, with family and health issues. But I persevered because of the support that I received; the fact that I was now raising money for a great cause by racing; and that I knew that Allen would be waiting at the finish line for me…

I'd rather go through childbirth again than.....

This is a big weekend in the triathlon community. Ok, maybe not for those triathletes returning from the Ironman World Championship in Kona, but for a lot of my buddies. There are at least two big iron-distance races this weekend, including Ironman Florida, in Panama City Beach. The Big Dance, we call it—a party with 2000 of your closest friends. A 2.4 mile ocean swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. It is an extreme test of physical and psychological strength and endurance.



Discussing the upcoming event with Allen last night, I was contemplating my future in iron-distance racing. I commented to Allen that “Ironman is like childbirth—once you forget how bad it hurts, you’re ready to do it again.”


Later, as a seasoned veteran of both experiences, I began to consider their other similarities and differences. But, most importantly, I tried to come up with an answer to the question: “which is easier—Ironman or childbirth?”


My initial assertion: “Pshaw! Finishing Ironman? Try pushing a 9 pound baby out through a very small (and very sensitive) place. Now that’s hard!”


But, being a Libra, I am open to looking at both sides of an argument. So I have compiled a short list of the positive features of each event. I will let the facts (according to me) speak for themselves. I will leave it to others to draw their own conclusions.


Why Having a Baby is Easier than Racing Ironman:


1. You can eat as many Twinkies as you want in the weeks before the big event.

2. You get to lie in bed to do it.

3. You only need to push: you don’t have to paddle, peddle, or shuffle.

4. You don’t have to pay to do it (you just pay for the rest of your life).

5. You are allowed outside assistance.

6. No PowerGel.

7. You actually want  medical treatment.

8. The finisher’s award is way cooler.



Why Racing Ironman is Easier than Having a Baby:


1. You look way shittier after having a baby.

2. PowerGel tastes better than hospital food.


3. Much more crowd support.

4. You can actually sleep through the night in the days after the big event.

5. You are encouraged to keep moving, even while
wearing monitoring devices.

6. (Hopefully) not as messy.


7. You get to buy cool toys for yourself, in addition to buying them for someone else.


8. Being chafed down below really beats the alternate scenario, if you know what I mean.

The Meaning of Tri

As far as triathlon goes, I am in what I like to call a “rebuilding year.” I have plantar fasciitis, and my foot needs some serious rebuilding before I can continue comfortably in the sport. My training and racing this year has been minimal.

My love of the sport, and the triathlon lifestyle, remains, even as I sit on the sidelines. Triathlon, for me and for many others, has its own mystique.

Why the mystique? It’s a question that I’ve often considered. What is it about the sport that attracts us? Why do we do it?

The easy answer, of course, is that most of us in triathlon are uncommonly driven, and the extreme endurance needed for the sport provides the challenge that we crave. But there’s more to it. Tennis is challenging; swimming is challenging. But what is it about triathlon, specifically the race itself that catches our attention and imagination so much?

In short, for me, triathlon has been about celebration and commemoration. The extremeness of the sport, besides attracting us Type A’s, leads athletes to ascribe special meaning to the endeavor. We use it to celebrate life and important milestones in our life; we use it to punctuate and commemorate special moments.

This very subject was also of interest to the people at Mindset Triathlon. They sponsored an essay contest on The Meaning of Tri, exploring the topic. The winning essays were posted in an e-book by the same name. Somehow, my take on the topic was selected as the winning entry. It’s also been published on the USA Triathlon website, if you want to take a look.