Race Review - Ironman with Coach Nick in Panama City Beach, FL

Wow. Racing is great. All in all, I had a great day and really enjoyed myself. Something you don't hear from every triathlete, I know. But I mean it, truly.

If you know me well, you know I'm 1. Not a swimmer; 2. Only like racing in "nice" places (see: Tropical, warm weather, HOT); 3. Love to suffer on the bike; 4. Love a good race experience.

This race, despite a DNF finish, satisfied ALL of my desires. to get it out of the way first, I had a DNF on the run when my persistent ankle injury kicked up in a big way again and, just like the Vic Marathon a few weeks ago, I was reduced to a painful walk... Not good, and I don't care to suffer long term for a short-term gain like a finish time.

To start things off, I have had the amazing pleasure of staying with friends I met earlier this year. This makes for an unbeatable race experience. Nathan and Alison have been the most gracious of hosts and exuberant supporters! I can't say enough good things about these two and how they DEFINITELY made this one of the most enjoyable race experiences one could ask for. From picking me up at the airport, to feeding me, taking me on bike rides, and providing the best race day support these two (third coming soon!) were absolutely wonderful. Nathan has completed the Gulf Coast 70.3 which occurs on much of the Full distance Ironman course, and was able to provide me some great context to the race I signed up for. His knowledge really helped set the tone for the whole week & weekend race. I'll skip the details, but know that a large part of my positive experience was shaped by these two.

The event itself is very well organized and provides both a very accessible opportunity to race and a great challenge to seasoned athletes. The expo, check in, and briefing are all very tightly organized in one area with T1/T2/Finish line within a block of the expo, and a vast parking lot provides ease of access all weekend to participants and spectators/supporters all weekend. The transition zone is in a parking lot in a large (very American) shopping area. There's lots of space in transition and there is ample parking right up to the transition zone. Navigation and signage is very easy to access, and the closeness of everything makes it very easy for those with limited mobility (such as an 8-month pregnant Alison) very easy access to the venue and plenty of spaces/restaurants to keep spectators entertained during the long periods of their favorite athlete's absence on course. The 2-loop ocean swim that is generally wetsuit legal makes for a very accessbile course for those attempting their first Ironman, and the Aussie exit (exit the water, run through the timing gate and re-entering the water) is a fun challenge for the seasoned athlete as well! The beach swell adds to the excitement, wading out a few meters before you can really start your strokes is a fun challenge and pays off when you return to the beach with a little bit of an opportunity to body surf in again! Clear water and a pier that goes out part of the swim course makes sighting and navigating the water simple, even with the sun in your eyes on the return part of the course. This swim course makes me enjoy swimming in Ironman, and that says A LOT! I was using my FORM goggles and took full advantage of the navigation feature with great success! The slight current that pulled athletes West was easy for me to around, I would set my point and maintain my line between sighting. I had both my average pace and heartrate on my HUD so I was aware of how hard I was working and how efficient I was throughout. Now, my GPS on my watch did give me some issue with the HUD data, but knowing the distances of each lap gave me the confidence to not have to worry about that. My GPS lost connection 2x in the swim, but it didn't affect my race or strategy in any way. I had also taken some anti-nausea pills prior to the swim as I knew the waves would affect me, and there were a few dizzy/motion sick individuals when I exited. I still had a bit of nausea, but it was for the most part alleviated. The distance from the water exit to T1 exit is about 900m, so it is a lengthy distance to get to your bike and transition out, but quite manageable. I appreciated the freshwater showers, but had to slow down during the transition as the pavement in some areas was a little more abrasive than my tender feet would like ;) Coming out of T1 I felt great, I took in some water and a few dates to get me going and feeling comfortable. I had a bottle of water on the back, and 8 servings of Glycodurance + Electrodurance in my BTA (between-the-arms) bottle, and about 20 dates on my top tube. I used course nutrition to cover the remainder of my nutrition needs. Aid stations were frequent, every 20-30km apart with electrolytes, bananas, Maurten gels, and water at every station. This course is primarily flat with some light hills, which is perfect if you are able to just sit in your TT bars all day and play with gearing & cadence to match your terrain. All of the major intersections are well established with signage and volunteers/police/traffic control to keep you safe and going in the right direction. I LOVED this course. I felt strong and was able to hold a consistent power & heart rate the whole time, keeping myself in my upper Zone 2/lower Zone 3 for most of the ride. There's a few fun little twists and turns in the last 20km to give you the opportunity to turn around without crossing the major arterial highway (you go under it via a walking path/boardwalk area). This was a 10/10 bike course and I would love to ride this again. The run is where I obviously fell apart, If yo didn't know already, I had to bow out of the Victoria Marathon only a few weeks ago due to a persistent ankle injury (which will be my fall/winter goal to rebuild this year). I was feeling great coming out of T2 and had a big smile after that amazing bike course. I started with a steady effort and felt totally in control. My ankle was already feeling a little agitated but I had put on my ankle brace to hopefully mitigate the full self destruction of my ankle. It didn't work. My strategy was to run between stations and walk each station to get adequate nutrition & hydration, as well as ice to stay cool. Each Aid Station was well laid out, and my only gripe would be how tight (narrow) the run course is. There's some areas with less than ideal foot placement, which did not bode well for me. I felt really strong out to the turn around, but I had already started to modify my gait to try and reduce the pain that was developing in my right tibialis posterior. This is a 2 loop run course, and close to 12km is where I really started to feel the pain set in. My heart rate and perceived effort were in alignment, and I really felt good aerobically and am very proud of my aerobic capacity at this stage of the race. However.... by the time I hit 16km, I knew I wasn't going to finish this race well. This is the point where I decided that the pain of running was too much, and the fact that the pain didn't dissipate while walking meant I would potentially do some longer term damage if I kept the effort up. My internal calculus was that I could finish this race and probably not be able to run for 3+ weeks, or I could walk to the second lap turn around and quit there, hopefully maintaining some ability to run again and focus on enjoying my life outside of racing. This is a no-brainer for me. I had a positive walk back to the second lap, everyone I had passed in the first section was passing me again and I cheered them on amidst their supportive words. Ironman really is an uplifting experience. I have no regrets about walking back, and I made it to the finish area, walking around the outside to give the officials my timing chip and let them know I was safely leaving the course and bowing out of the competition. I was permitted entry to the massage tent and had a 15-minute massage on my right leg only. I really helped. My hamstrings and calf was VERY tight, and I left that massage tent with probably 20-30% less pain than I walked in. I appreciate that very much. The massage therapists at finish lines are truly saviors. I'd like to say I'd do that course again, but there are so many races that I want to experience I'm not sure I'll make it back again. I can however say with full certainty that if you are considering a race, this is a great one to sign up for. Not only does it provide the challenge we seek when signing up and training for these events, but it also provides the atmosphere and course that makes for a very memorable experience. I enjoyed every aspect of this race, and look forward to hearing the stories of any of you who have either done this course or plan on completing it! That's it, thanks so much for reading and I'll chat with you all again soon!