Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Ironman Florida



I found reading other people's ironman writeups useful, so I hope this can help you prepare for your own swim/bike/run adventure.

Last Saturday my friend Misha and I competed in Ironman Florida. I arrived in Panama City Beach on Wednesday after a weeklong florida vacation. Panama City Beach is rather cold in November, with temperatures in the 40s overnight and 70s during the day. It is also quite windy.

Because of the tight real estate constraints (everything happens on the premises of one resort) the athlete's village is quite small and parking is very limited. I was glad we stayed at a hotel within walking distance. I had used Tribike transportation to ship my bike to the start, and picked it up on Wednesday night. It's really nice to get your bike delivered fully assembled!

On Thursday morning I went for a short bike ride to make sure my bike was completely functional. I rode the first ~22 miles of the course and I got a first taste of the wind on these flat and open roads. I also noticed my crank was loose, crazy how these things happen... There were many people riding their bikes, the proportion of aero wheels is incredibly high (if it was ~50% in 2007 - Arizona it was at least 90% here in Panama city). Also disc wheels became common (~30-40% of bikes) and pretty much everyone was wearing aero helmets. Of course Misha & I had none of these, but we also live in the mission district so we have to keep it real :) I registered and picked up my packet after my bike ride. I also attempted to go swimming in the afternoon but the water was too choppy so I gave up after a few minutes.

On Thursday evening we all went to the Athlete's banquet, a long drawn pep-talk/charity event/athlete's briefing. The room could barely contain the thousands of athletes and their families so it was a real pain for us (baby and super pregnant wife in tow). I know these things are mandatory, but I might skip it next time around.

On Friday I went for a short swim again, then checked in my bike and gear. My son was very excited about dolphins he found in a magazine at the hotel, so we went to see a dolphin show at the local marine world. On our way back I noticed my legs were cramping up for no reason, I blamed it on my poor diet in the last week and of course worried a lot. We had a big pasta dinner in our room at night and went to bed early.

I woke up around 2AM from pre-race excitement. I stayed in bed until 4AM, then got up to eat some oatmeal. I relaxed some more and headed out to the start around 5h15. I checked on my bike and borrowed my neighbors pump to get my tires ready. 5h20AM, nothing more to do. I could have spend another 45 min in bed. I got into my wetsuit around 6h15, then went to the beach to activate my timing chip.

The beach was cold as advertised in other writeups. The water was perfect: the wind had quietened down and there were no waves to speak of. It also felt really warm so I stayed in the water while waiting for the start.

The mass start was even rougher than what I remembered from Arizona. Perhaps because it's a 2-loop thing and the turns are tighter. I was wrestling my way through foreign bodyparts for the full first loop. I did not get punched or kicked in the face too hard, so all in all it was a success. Coming out of the water for the first loop the clock said 45min. What? It turns out it was set on the Pro time so it was actually 35 min, but not knowing that really put me down. The second loop was slightly better in terms of human traffic. Lots of jellyfish (Pink meanies - venomous) could be seen in the beautifully transparent water. I ended up swimming the 2.4 m (4km) in 1h13 min which is good for me given I don't really know how to swim or care to practice that art.



The transition was a mess, mostly because I get out of the water with the bulk of the people. People were going way too slow and some were even stopping in the fresh water showers. I tried not to be too brusk but I did push a few people away. Peeling happens on the beach, so you have sand *everywhere*. There were not enough chairs for everyone in the transition tent, and the whole thing was a zoo. For some reason my biking socks are drenched wet as I take them out of the bag, grr, I don't like the way this is going. This made for a slow-ish T1 time of ~8 min.

My bike was all the way in the back of the racks, so I had quite a bit of jogging to do to reach it in my biking cleats. The temperature after sunrise was not as cold as I had read in other writeups, and I did not put my armwarmers on. The bike out area was too narrow and clogged by a mix of mounted and dismounted riders, probably lost 20 sec in there.

Free at last, zipping along the shoreline on my bike. I am going a lot faster than in Arizona, and I can tell because I keep passing people. You are not supposed to draft, so I end up biking off the main line and pass hundreds of people in the first hour. The wind is pretty bad on our way out so I tuck in low in my aerobars and focus on my form. My watch says I am still way above 20mph (32kmh), so I am not worried just yet. I know the wind will pick up some more during the day.

I see my first crash at the 12-mile aid station. Note to self: stay wide on these.

The bike is going well, my legs are loose and despite the initial headwind I am hovering around 22mph (35.5 kmh). I see quite a bit of drafting, but I also see quite a few people in the penalty tent, so all in all life is fair. I am constantly passing people, I am making great plans to become a faster swimmer. The 100-mile mark is reached well below 5 hours, I am very pleased with myself and start to relax my back in preparation for the marathon. My final split is 5h23 (21mph or 33.5kmh average speed). Mission accomplished.


Nutrition: I had decided I am not going to use any "hydration system" instead solely relying on the single bottle cage my cervelo carries. This ended up working perfectly fine, I swapped bottles every 20 miles (missing only one aid station and going thirsty for 10 miles). I had packed 3 granola bars (18-rabbits) and 3 protein bars (cliff) and I forced myself to eat one every 30 min. Along with the perform bottles I believe I took in 2000 calories on the ride. Not great but that's really as much as I could do without throwing up.

The marathon is my leg (I am a runner). I get in and out of transition fast (~5 min including a potty stop). My legs feel springy and fast, and I blow by the first couple of miles well below 6h30 min/miles. I very much enjoy professionals (in their second loop) asking me whether I am a pro as I fly past them (they do this to decide whether they should chase me). I feel great, I go a lot faster than everyone else on the course at that time, passing hundreds of people. The course has quite a few turns and goes over curbs and bumps, so it does not lend itself to speed that well but then again: speed is a relative concept at this stage of the race. I get to the half marathon mark well below 1h30, and I get a glimpse of Maureen who came to support us at the turnaround point. At this point I am pretty certain I'll easily beat 3 hours on the marathon. Life is good.

On mile 16 I get my first warning shot: my left calf cramps up. I am limping along trying to loosen it up when my right leg joins the cramping fun. I have a short debate with myself whether I should take my chances and gun it for 9 more miles (risking a complete blow out and abandon) or cash in on my performance so far and just bring it home safely. Reason wins and I force myself to slow down to 8 min/miles. Like clockwork I cramp up every 0.5 miles until the finish line. 3h17 marathon, better than DNF. The clock says 10h09min when I hear the words: "Cedric, you are an ironman". I could not have wished for a better race.

Best of all: Misha also had a phenomenal race, which he wrote up here.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Tummy times

Tummy times are either really funny, or really tiring ...


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A bunch of first times for Theo

Besides his first month birthday, lots of first times for Theo this past week:

First trip to the wine country and his first fan club (mostly girls of course ;-).


First trip to Tahoe and first hike in the snow


First picnic in the park


First bottle with his daddy


First Google visit

Friday, March 12, 2010

Theo Dupont

Our little Theo was born a few minutes after midnight on February 20th. He came into this world in the Astroboy position, probably because we kept calling him Astro in utero.

He is already very social and had lots of visitors: Marie-Catherine, Goeric and his buddy Timothee, Auriane, Sebastien and Tristan, Benjy, Misha, Mizuki, Beth, Trystan and Mirabelle, Marisa and Steve, Nathalie, Olav and Audric, Vijay and Ursula, Loyda, Scott and Luca, Catherine, Quentin and Antoine (visiting from Belgium), Ines, Olivier, Victor and Antoine, Alex, and of course his Grandma. All that in 2.5 weeks.
He is excited to discover the world and to meet more of you.
Maureen

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Urban farming - do it!


This is a typical weekly "harvest" from the 3 dwarf citrus trees we have in our backyard. We only get the oranges and tangerines during the winter months, the Meyer lemons grow year round. When you think about how much energy goes into getting a lemon from an orchard into your kitchen via the supermarket it really feels good (and tastes better) to grow your own. Do it! It's easy, its cheap and it's healthy. You don't even need a backyard, they grow fine in a container. Happy farming!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Roadtrip


Given the airlines' no-fly policy for (very) pregnant women we took a road trip over New Year's. First stop was Santa Barbara visiting Nathalie and her newly minted offspring Audric. The town was eerily empty on Christmas eve, but we found an Indian restaurant to have brunch with Alok and Rachel and catch up on things.
We then headed south to San Diego, for a second Christmas celebration with the Spriggs family. Good times: we got to know the kids a little better, had a day at the Zoo, sailed on the bay... a SoCal blessing.

We were running out of California going south, so we headed back north on 395. Stopping at Lone Pine, a funny little town at the foot of Mt Whitney stuck in its old western Hollywood glory days. Next stop was Mammoth and a bit of skiing with friends. This is a *big* mountain with a summit at 11,053 ft (3,369m). It is also an active volcano and you can come across some pretty pungent gases while skiing, some of these are quite toxic and have killed skiers before.
Mammoth is a ~7hrs drive from San Francisco, so we decided to spend the night in Lake Tahoe on our way back home. Luckily our local mountain man Ray was in town, so we got to hang out with him instead of spending the night in front of the TV at the Motel 6. On the way to tahoe we stopped at Mono Lake for a quick stroll. The winter landscape there is absolutely mindblowingly beautiful, so we stayed as long as the bitter cold allowed us to and took a bunch of pictures (unfortunately I only had my point&shoot camera with me). Fun trip, happy New Year!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Babymoon II - north shore



We spent the second part of our trip in the north of the island. The north is famous for its beaches, and there are quite a few gems indeed. The area around Princeville is far more developped than the quaint township of Poi'pu. Mega-resorts, a few large private estates and a multitude of beachfront properties make for a less remote feeling than in the south. Access to the beaches is often tricky given the steep terrain, but once you get there the views are grand. Most of them are secluded (did I mention the difficult access?) and the snorkeling is outstanding. There are also plenty of hikes, but they require diligent application of DEET and we figured that can't be good for pregnant women. A few pictures.

Hotel critic: for this part we stayed at the Westin. The thing to note about this hotel is that rooms come with a washer/dryer and a full kitchen, which is probably really nice with kids. The hotel is on a cliff so access to the beach is cumbersome to say the least (you need to walk down a super steep, muddy, mosquito infested jungle path). There is a shuttle to the St. Regis (formerly Princeville Hotel) which has better access to the ocean and a stunning view of Hanalei Bay, so that's nice if you don't mind hanging out with the rich and famous. I have a suspicion that the Westin is full of consultants spending their Starwoods points, which may impact their "tight" management (why else is parking - $9/day - not included in a $250/night room rate?) For a more relaxed feel stay at the Hyatt.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Babymoon I - south shore



We spent the first half of our babymoon on the south shore of Kaua'i. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Poi'pu (I mention it because this is a fantastic hotel, it outshines any beach hotel I've ever stayed at). The developed part of Poi'pu is tiny (if you are in shape you can jog from one end to the other in 25 min) and the sights include a few beaches, an area riddled with blowholes, and lithified cliffs. The reason you need a rental car is to visit Waimea canyon further to the west, a grandiose valley with a ton of hiking opportunities. It rained everyday, albeit not continuously. Somehow rain does not really matter in Kaua'i, it feels like a welcome refreshment rather than an inconvenience. The island is beautiful, we had some great snorkeling despite the somewhat agitated seas (come in the summer months for calm water). The underwater highlight was a head-on crash into a giant turtle on Poi'pu beach, and spotting one of these alien looking flaunders in the sand.
Best of: Tidepools (favorite restaurant); Lawa'i Beach (favorite snorkeling spot when the surf is up); Pihea trail (favorite hike).
More pictures, and one clip.