Ironman Florida. What I'd do different  

With Ironman Florida coming up, I thought I would write a little about my 2006 experience.

Keep in mind as I have stated here before, I am not a coach, so you won't find me giving out coaching advice or tips.

I will talk about some of the things that I felt I did wrong, and what I would do different in my next Ironman. Whenever that might be.

1. Make sure the bike is ready. A no brainer for sure, but sometimes in the excitement of a new event, you just forget. Getting the bike ready means getting your food, and checking the bike mechanically. Checking that the tires are hard, and that the gears are set, and your computer is functioning. I simply forgot to check my chain and gears before I headed to the beach for the race start. Just before I was ready to mount, a couple of spectators yelled that my chain was off. It only took a minute to fix, but it was extra stress I didn't need.

A little while after, I noticed my computer wasn't registering. It was only re adjust the sensor on my wheel, it only took a minute, but again it was something extra I didn't need to deal with.

I also didn't bother to bring any food with me race morning. I knew the aid stations would have lots, and I assumed there would be plenty at the transition area. Unfortunately there wasn't. I had to wait for the first aid station to load up.

2. Wear really good bicycle shorts, and use chamois cream. I really don't know how Faris El Satan does it. Five plus hours on a triathlon bike wearing a little speedo. I know it is probably one of the proper triathlon trunks with the little chamois, but it still doesn't offer much padding.

Transition in long races like an Ironman is different from olympic or sprint distance. A couple of extra minutes to pull on a good pair of cycling shorts is not going to make that much difference to a MOP Age Grouper, plus you have the privacy of the tent, so reaching into your shorts to apply some lube is not an issue.

My bike split was 7 hours. That's a lot of saddle time. Part of the course was really bumpy, so every little bit of help is bonus. I am also contemplating a new saddle like the San Salle Marco Triathlon saddle. It is supposed to have a shorter nose, and gel in all the right places to make long rides in the Aero Position more comfy.

3. Eat more natural foods. My race nutritional plan was solid. I did it many times in training. every 15 minutes. Gatorade, gel and water, gatorade, solid food and water. During the race my food od choice were power bars. I had no trouble eating them in the beginning, but after 5 hours, I was really getting sick of them.

Next time around, I plan to mix it up with some bananas, and maybe even salted potato wedges. I may even mix up my own fluid. During the race, we had lime flavoured gatorade endurance formula. I drank so much, I haven't enjoyed a margarita since. Next time I might use a few different flavours so i don't get sick of the one as quickly.

4. Prevent Blisters. Two things. Tape up my toes, and ditch the speed laces. I knew I might be suseptible to blisters. I even had the forsight to change into dry socks before the start of the run, as well as pack clean dry socks in my special needs bag. This did help a little, but by the halfway point of the marathon, it was already too late.

An extra minute to tape my toes in T2 might have saved me a half hour overall. Also, properly lacing my shoes would have prevented my foot from moving around inside my shoe and also would have helped prevent blisters. This was definately the most painful part of the race. It kept me from running the last four miles. It also hurt during the Orlando Outlet Mall Marathon three days later. My wife won that race hands down.

Reading this you might think "Geez what a rookie. Any dummie could figure that stuff out." But hopefully, you might read this and get something out of it. If you are saying to yourself, "hey that's a good idea, I never would have thought of that." Then I have done my job. My work here is done.