Volunteering at Ironman Florida

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by my coach, P, who wanted me to volunteer at Ironman Florida.  Her reasoning was sound:  if you volunteer you are guaranteed a spot in next year's Ironman and she believes that I will be strong enough to finish a full Ironman next year.

So, after a few back and forths on my work schedule (it was an insane week at work) and trying to find out whether or not a friend was going to come back from a deployment (unfortunately he was delayed a couple of days), I was able to drive to Panama City Beach Friday after work.  I got out there, checked into my hotel, and went down to the site to get a volunteer briefing and t-shirt.  I decided to volunteer at the "wetsuit stripper" section.  Basically after the 2.4 mile swim, there is a station that volunteers pull wetsuits off of people, so that the swimmers can transition to their biking gear a bit more quickly.  Unfortunately, it was right out of the water and mostly in the sand, so the people that had their suits removed got sand on them…and sand STICKS to bodies.  It's a real pain, so I felt bad for the people who just went full on, sit down in the sand and get their suit removed, because that sand was most likely clinging to them for the **entire day**…and a 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run with sand everywhere does not sound like the making of a good time.  It's doable, but not the most pleasant way to go about it, I'm sure!

The pros were (of course) out of the water first--some managed to swim the 2.4 miles in right about an  hour…incredible!!  The longest allowable time was 2:20; standard triathlons rules do not allow the swim to go on for any longer than that.  A few people (maybe 10?) did not make the cutoff, which I know had to be crushing.  All that time and training to be stopped at the first obstacle…that was rough.  The majority made it through, though I think swimming in open ocean for people from landlocked states must be a bit of a shock.  The Gulf of Mexico is not a particularly bad place to swim, it has its tides and currents, of course, but it is generally very warm and very clear water.    But getting salt water up the nose and dealing with the strangeness of the ocean for the first time on race day could not be easy thing to do.  There were three or four who walked into the water but only managed to get out to the breakers before turning back…again, that must have been rough to deal with.

After all of the swimmers were in, I meandered around for a while.  What I should have done was gone back to my hotel and grabbed a shower so that I could have stayed out to watch the end of the race.  But, hindsight is always 20/20…instead, I decided to volunteer in the women's change tent for the transition from bike to run.  The first female finished her ride around 1230…the race started at 0730 and she had managed to complete a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride in five hours.  FIVE HOURS.  I cannot imagine being able to move like that.  The next female was a few minutes behind her and then the gates opened and we were crazily busy.  I did see my friend, A, who was doing her first Ironman in the tent--she honestly did really well and I was sorry not to be able to see her finish that afternoon.  

I finished in the change tent around 1700 and I was exhausted.  I had no idea how much work either of those events were going to be and I was fried.  I decided I had to go back to my hotel room and crash…though I did run into P--her son, A, and a few other people from the area were going to be finishing in a couple of hours, but I just could not stay.  If I were to volunteer at one of these again, I would pick only one area to volunteer and work one shift, because I heard the end of tri was amazing.  People were  finishing at the 17 hour mark and with all the cheering and support from the crowd, it sounded like a blast.  Next time!!

The next morning, I got up at 0500 to get over to stand in line to register for the next year.  Nervous energy is how I go, so I had to make certain I was there early enough to get a spot.  I stood in line with a scores of people for about three hours to register.  It was really a fun time--we all just kind of stood around BSing.  I was next to a lady who was saving a spot for her husband and daughter and then we started chatting with a couple from Quebec, Canada.  Since I am from this area, the Canadian couple had a lot of questions about the water…mostly involving tides, sharks, and jellyfish.  Jellyfish seemed to be their biggest concern, but I explained that (with a few exceptions) they really aren't too bad.  Portuguese Man o' Wars are a problem every so often in this area but the common jellyfish are just uncomfortable.  They sting, of course, but it's not incapacitating or even all that painful.  I find the sting of a bee to be much worse than the sting of a jellyfish…and I even had one in my bra at the first triathlon I did back in September.  Not fun but not drown-worthy.  Sharks are in the area, of course, but I don't think they would have gone near the triathlon swim…mostly because it was just an insane mass of people and it probably would have freaked them out more than anything.  I'm not saying it's impossible that a shark would wander up, but I do think they would go to quieter waters for better fishing that morning.  Lord knows I can pretty much guarantee there wasn't a fish anywhere near that area during the swim!

Anyway, I signed up.  I was almost hoping to be turned down, but I would have been so upset had I not been able to register.  There is a real fear associated with this…but, like I said earlier, "if your dream do not scare you, then they are not big enough."  I think this is big enough…!!

(P.S…I plan to blog about my next year of insanity here!!)  :D

200 miles in Florida

First, I want to thank everyone who donated to the ride!!!  I raised almost $1600 for the Wounded EOD Warriors and I'm really proud of that!!!  :)  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

My 200(ish)-mile bike ride went really well.  It started in Niceville, Florida, by the EOD Memorial on Eglin Air Force Base.  We kicked off at about 0830 and the morning went by pretty quickly.  The crowd this year was pretty good--there were about 50 of us and I think the year before only had around 20.  It's awesome to see this cause growing, as the WEODW is something very near and dear to me.

The route had been adjusted from last year, just a bit…and it was a really good change.  Last year, we went through a lot of the smaller range roads, on the north side of Eglin range.  They are not dirt roads, but they're just a step up from that…a very small step up!  Luckily, this year we were only on one of those roads for about 10 miles at the start of the ride.  The bike I have is a tri bike, which means very thin, light tires that does absolutely nothing for shock absorption.  So, but the time I got off of that road, I was SO glad to see it go--my teeth were rattling from all of the jarring!  Other than that stretch though, it was a really good ride.  I rode by myself, which is never a bad thing, but my husband rode support and helped me out every ten to twenty miles.  It was always great to see either him or the regular support crew--a chance to stretch my legs, get a nice cold drink, chat for a few minutes.  I like to update my FB page as I'm going--why not?? ;)--because I like to think I have people cheering me on and it gave me a goal to keep moving.  My husband pointed out that a lot of the pics weren't interesting--hard to make scrub pines and live oaks into a good picture--but I was just so happy to be out there and feeling good that I didn't care.  It was a lovely day, weather wise, just a bit warm and partly cloudy.  It's nice to get the occasional break from the sun beating down; amazing day for a bike ride!

The first day took 6:52.  Sub-7 hours for the 100 miles, so not too bad.   I will mention that I found EVERY hill in Florida--they're all on the north side of Eglin range.  But the hills are fun; getting up them takes effort, but getting down them is just fun!  And the momentum normally will take me to the middle of the next hill.  So, a little give and take as far as effort goes.  The worst part of the ride was the last five miles.  I know that sounds obvious, but it had more to do with the location of the last five miles--on a very crowded road in Panama City Beach, during a high traffic time of day.  Didn't get squished (BONUS!!) and finally got to the hotel we were staying at.  As soon as I got off of the bike, my legs cramped.  Right quad and left calf, so I just gimped around until it all settled down and then we checked into our hotel room and I got HUNGRY.  I wanted some real food and, after getting a shower, the hubby and I headed downstairs for a surprisingly delicious meal.

I ate during the ride, of course, but I can only eat so much GU, Honey Stingers, fruit, Gatorade, and other high-sugar foods before I crave something different.  Sugar (and salt!) is necessary--riding for so long is a real carb burner and the glycogen stores need to be (have to be) replaced.  I can tell when I need carbs, thinking becomes waaaaaay more difficult that it should.  Simple math is a real problem and that's when I know I need to eat more.  I'm not a fan of public math to begin with, but the problems I try and figure out are simple:  "I'm at 14.23 miles right now.  How much further do I need to go to get to 20 miles?"  If I REALLY have to think about it, it is past time to eat something.

The second day started out really well too.  A couple of people had mechanical issues right off, but I was lucky enough to avoid those.  Again, I rode alone but enjoyed myself anyway.  The route back was far more typical Florida--flat, flat, flat.  I really thought I would prefer the flat, but it turns out the hills were easier.  It is some work to get up them, but--as I mentioned earlier--there is a lot of give and take with hills.  The flats are just work and nothing to look at…the roads just go on forever and, as I was riding along, I could see just sameness well into the distance.  My favorite part was near the end (again, I know that seems obvious!), riding by the bay.  It was so pretty and shady and just made me happy to be there.

Day two's ride was around 85 miles instead of 100, so I finished it a bit faster.  I think that one was sub-6 hours, but it was more than long enough!!

I managed to escape having any major issues.  No flats, no injuries, no sunburn, no almost getting run over.  The only thing I noticed was the occasional squished snake on the side of the road.  I don't mind snakes, so I wasn't all that happy to see that they were dead, but the first one I saw really scared me--a big old diamondback rattler that was as big around as my arm and very long.  While I wished he was alive, I would not have wished to see him so close to me and alive, that's for certain.  Other than that, no major animal-related incidents either.

I would really like to do this again, but I do not believe I will be able to do this ride next year; I signed up for a full Ironman and only three weeks are between those two events.  I volunteered at Ironman Florida on 2 November and decided I REALLY want to be an Ironman…but that's a story for a different day.  :)