IM 70.3 Florida race report: Pre-Race

 

After a 60-minute, ~3600 meter long course swim on Wednesday, we returned home to pack up the car and we headed down south to Jacksonville, FL around noon. The ~6 hour drive (with stops) was fairly uneventful and it was nice to listen to triathlon podcasts, knowing that we would be participating in a triathlon event in just a few days. Thank goodness for hot spot as we both could get some work done as the other person was driving. 

When we arrived to Joe's house (our good friend, assistant coach at Trimarni and long-time athlete), we were greeted by his son Weston, Erica and my favorite Weimaraner Reagan. Karel and I ate our Chipotle that we picked up just before arriving to Joe's (we both got Sofritas on rice, w/ black beans, veggies, cheese and guac). I had a bit more work to get done after dinner and Karel and Joe put the final touches on our athlete's new Scott Plasma tri bike (Karel built it up the days leading up to our trip and we brought it for our athlete) in Joe's fit studio. 

On Thursday morning, we went for a run (not together) and included a few pick-up efforts during the run. Karel ran 44 minutes (6.5 miles) and I ran 53 minutes (6.6 miles). It was so nice to run on flat roads! We have very little flat around us (except for the Swamp Rabbit Trail) so the change in terrain is always nice - plus water and palm trees are nice to see while running. 

Side note: we lived in Jacksonville, Florida for six years before moving to Greenville, SC in 2014. We are very happy with our current living (and training) situation but it is nice to see our old friends when return back to the state of Florida. 

Around noon we packed up the car and made our trek even more south to Haines City (south of Orlando) and after dealing with some traffic and a Publix stop for subs (I got the tofu option which was delicious!), around 3.5 hours later we finally made it to Haines City to our rental home. Joe arrived just before us as he didn't make the Publix stop. 

Our roomies Ashley and Zach (athletes of ours) were not arriving until the evening as they were flying in from the midwest. After unpacking the car in our roomy rental home in Southern Dunes property (just a few miles from the race course - this is where we typically stay for the race), I went to Wal-mart for a big grocery shop. 

We had a nice dinner of bread and lentil soup and then went to bed around 9:30pm. 

Friday was a fun day. We rode 32 miles (1:45) of the bike course (the first and last part of the course) and I also did a stationary swim in the backyard pool w/ our swim tether. I hadn't worn my wetsuit since Nov so I wore it during my tether swim (we didn't know if it would be wetsuit legal or not until race morning - the race day water temp was 78 so not wetsuits).

After working out in the morning, we checked in at our scheduled 1-2pm slot. The process was extremely smooth and efficient and it was very safe. The volunteers were great and we were in and out in less than 15 minutes. After a quick walk through the expo, we made our way back to the rental home. 

A few hours later we had our team pizza party with most of our racers. It was so great to have so many familiar faces in one house. Most of our racers were fully (or almost fully) vaccinated which also made for a safe evening. 

It was early to bed before the day before race day. 

On Saturday I ventured out on my own and rode my bike from our rental house to the race venue and did a recon of the new run course. Some of it was familiar but most of it was new. After the bike I went for a 20 minute (2.5 mile) run to shake out the legs. We then checked in our bikes at our designated check-in time of 1-2pm and it was such a great feeling to see familiar faces and to be one sleep away from the race. Of course, my pre-race routine included some dog kisses. 

Our friend Stephen,  Karel and Joe on the same rack. 

Karel noticed this man who was struggling with his bike chain falling off. Karel went to help. We later learned this man won his age group! 

The "new" pre-race aspects due to Covid were very welcomed. The check-in procedure was much more efficient and quick, the bike racks allowed for much more room between bikes and overall, there were less crowds (which meant less waiting around). We had to wear masks at all times inside the transition area and for the start and finish of the race (not while racing). The downside was that the transition area was double the size which meant a lot of barefoot running on race day. The Ironman staff did an exceptional job with the new rules and procedures and the Haines city community was very welcoming (as always). 

It was early to bed knowing that the night would probably be a restless one for sleeping. And it was. I felt like I never fall asleep. Oddly enough, I wasn't nervous for the race. Neither was Karel. I had a lot of positive energy, no expectations and just joy for the opportunity to race. 

When my alarm went off at 4:45am, I got myself out of bed and as usual, needed to go to the bathroom to empty my bladder. After I was done, I quickly found myself starting to black out. And just like what happened four years ago on the morning of the IM 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, I fainted from the toilet. Only this time I did not smash my face on the hardwood floor. Luckily, I softly landed on the carpet. When I woke up and realized what happened (it all occurred so quickly), I found myself covered in sweat and completely exhausted. I moved myself to the bed and Karel came into the room - surprised why I didn't get him up. I told him what happened and he was worried for me again. I told him that there was no way that I could race as I was just exhausted and wanted to go back to sleep. 

Karel helped me go through the motions of the morning. I had a glass of OJ and sat on the couch with my feet up. I also had my normal pre race meal of waffles w/ peanut butter, syrup and banana but I couldn't finish it all as I was a bit out of it still. I told Karel that I just wanted to go back to sleep but he convinced me that I should try to race. After all the tests that I had done the last time this happened, we knew nothing serious was going on with my body. Still not knowing why this happened (although rare - twice in 4 years with a very similar scenario each time but no other fainting incidences in my adult life), I waited until the very last moment that we could leave (it was nearing 6am) and I finally started to feel a bit better. Because my normal routine was a bit off, I felt a bit rushed in the morning but also just focused on being grateful that I was able to start the race after a very stressful and scary morning. 

When we arrived to the race venue, I started to feel better. I was starting to feel more alert and the energy was coming back. It was so nice to see our athletes in the transition area and to run into so many familiar faces. 

After laying out my transition area, the next 20 minutes were a bit hectic. I went for a pre-race jog and then went to the port-o-potty and as I was jogging back to the transition area, there were already lines of athletes for the self seeded start. I saw the 30-34 group walking to the beach as I was still jogging back to the transition area. I quickly changed out of my pre-race gear, grabbed my cap, swimskin and goggles and sport drink and quickly ran barefoot w/ my mask on toward the front of the groups (each group had a leader holding a sign) until I found Karel and Joe. Our athlete Yannick joined us as well. 

But after all that rushing, we waited in corrals (which were supposed to be 6-feet apart by athlete but we still had plenty of space on the beach). We then waited for a good 20+ minutes in the sand. I sat down just to relax a bit but I felt a lot better and much more normal. 

Once the age group start went off (after the pro men and women), the lines moved rather quickly and a few minutes later we found ourselves ready to jump into the lake for our first half Ironman event in almost a year. 

Photo: Paige Prave

Race report coming soon.....

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