Ironman Florida 2006 Part 2. Where to eat in Panama City Beach  

Waking up the morning after our long travel day, we were so looking forward to a good hearty breakfast. Hoping to relive our Houston days, where there was a breakfast joint on nearly every corner. It seemed like you couldn’t drive 5 minutes without passing a Denny’s or IHOP. But that wasn’t the case in Panama City Beach. I fully expected to drive a couple of hundred feet up the road and find an old reliable chain, and after months of training and careful dieting, I didn’t feel too adventurous and really wanted to stick with something tried and true. After driving up and down Front Beach Road for about a half hour, the only recognizable sign was for the Waffle House. Tammy and I never ate there before, but we figured it would be ok. Ok for Tin Cup, and probably a lot of other folks, but it was a little too greasy for my pallet. Especially for a fine tuned ironman machine.

I did find a IHOP straight back route 98, and across the Hathaway bridge in Panama City right on 23rd street. That was our first stop the morning after the race.

Our favorite place was Appleby’s on Hutchison Boulevard. They had a pretty large menu with lots of choices to keep me clean and lean for my race. The staff were excellent, and the portions were huge. We ended up brining home enough for a second meal or snack in the evening.

I found that the most convenient way to stay fed was to prepare my own. I made sure to book a room with a kitchenette. Ours had a decent size fridge, a double burner stove, and a coffee pot. All I needed to stay nourished. I bought my food at Wal-mart on Front Beach Road. I also bought Shampoo, sunscreen, socks, and extra clothes due to the cool temps. The grocery section, unlike here in St. John’s was exceptionally well stocked with fresh fruit, and most everything else an Ironman athlete might need for race preparation. If you do the same, just be sure to shop early in the week as the Gatorade section tends to get cleaned out during race week.

The only deficiency was finding good coffee. If you are a caffine junkie like me, then the Maxwell house or folgers blend just don’t make the cut. You can get a hot cup at the afore mentioned Waffle House, but my preference is a good Starbucks dark roast. We finally found one, across the bridge in Panama City right on 23rd street, not far from IHOP. But we didn’t find it until the day after the race, and it was a bit out of the way to drive to every morning. The next time, I will bring my own stash, Ground from the beans I get buy Costco. Provided I can get it past Customs.