Gulf Coast Half Ironman Triathlon

What a weekend!
We packed up the J-mobile and headed south Friday morning. We arrived in Panama City Beach around midday, unloaded our stuff at the condo and headed down to the Boardwalk Resort for registration. After signing in and getting all of my race stuff (race numbers, timing chip, etc.), we headed down to Pineapple Willy's for lunch. We decided to eat out on the pier which goes out near the water. Our table was at the very end of the pier. The wind was howling and the waves were crashing into the beach. Not really the conditions I wanted to see the day before the race. After lunch, we headed to the grocery store for a few supplies and then crashed at the condo for a couple of hours. We headed back down to the Boardwalk Resort mid-afternoon for bike check-in. I racked my bike at the assigned spot and walked around the transition area to get a feel for how traffic would flow the next day. We looked around the vendor expo for a while and then headed to the pasta dinner/athlete's meeting. After getting my fill of pasta and attending the meeting, we headed back to the condo to turn in early. I'd need all the rest I could get to propel myself 70.3 miles the next day. After checking and double checking that I'd packed all my gear for the next day, I climbed into bed, hoping to get 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Thirty or so minutes after getting into bed I was off in dreamland, peacefully resting, however, this peaceful rest would not last long. An hour after going to sleep.....it started. I was suddenly jarred out of my slumber by the sound of a racing motorcycle engine at the stop light out in front of the condo. This was the first of many such awakenings. I managed about 3 hours of sleep before getting out of bed 2 minutes before the alarm was to go off at 3:30am. Nothing to do but press on. We arrived at the race around 5am. I went through body marking and then set up my transition area. I got into my wetsuit just before 6am and headed down to the beach to wait for my wave to start at 6:55am. It was quite a sight to see so many people on the beach so early in the morning. The buoys looked WAY farther out than I had envisioned. I just kept telling myself I'd done the distance dozens of times and I knew I could make it. The sea still looked rough, but not as bad as the day before. I gave DJ and KJ a final goodbye and headed into the holding area 5 minutes before the start. It was quite a surreal feeling to finally be standing there on the beach waiting to start. I'd thought about that very moment so many times, and now I was here.

Suiting up before the swim

Me and KJ on the beach before the start

Are you sure that isn't 10.2 miles?

The cannon sounded and we started. I lined up at the back of the pack to avoid the worst of the carnage. The sea seemed rough to me at the beginning and I swallowed a good bit of sea water. After 400 yards or so, things settled down a bit. I had trouble sighting due to the waves and zigzagged all over the place. Once, I looked up and was a good 15 yards out away from the others. I finally made it to the first turn buoy and made the turn to cross over to the next buoy which marked the turn to head back into the beach. I was very happy to make it to the last turn buoy. I'd settled into a good grove by that point and was feeling good. Just after making the last turn, a foot came out of nowhere and kicked my goggles off. I stopped briefly, emptied out my goggles and continued on. Though I continued to zigzag, the return swim went by quickly and I exited the water in 38:20. A great swim for me. I ran up to T1, removing my cap, goggles and wetsuit along the way. I took my time in T1 and exited in 5:09.

Here we go!

Heading out of T1

I took it very easy the first few miles of the bike. I saw the first of many riders on the side of the road with flat tires within the first few miles. I’d allowed my heart rate to settle down by the time I made the turn to head out of town on highway 79. I made it to the bridge soon and took it easy going over. The course turned onto highway 388 just after the bridge. Highway 388 is pancake flat, but several miles of it have pavement that is in poor condition. My Accelerade was sloshing out of my aerobottle many times due to the roughness of the road. I made it to the turn-around on 388 and was feeling very good. I’d kept my pace average at around 18-19 mph. As soon as I made the turn-around I felt the wind pick up, but it wasn’t enough to cause me to slow too much. I made it back to 79 and crossed the bridge at a much slower rate than before. The headwind on 79 was really blowing. The ride back into town on 79 was a struggle. The wind blew the entire way and I averaged around 15 mph on this stretch of road. Finally I made it back into town and into T2. I’d completed the bike portion in 3:12:34 at a rate of 17.4 mph. I was satisfied with my time, but when I got off the bike my legs felt like lead.
I made my transition and exited T2 in 2:30.

Starting the run

The heavy feeling in my legs soon subsided, but I never seemed to get it together enough to really give it a go. I was running 9:20 miles the first few miles, but by mile 4, I knew I would not be able to maintain that rate. I followed my nutrition plan exactly, took in water and stayed cool with ice and sponges, but I was getting tired. I entered the state park feeling pretty good and had a spike of energy. I took advantage of the spike and increased my speed. I looked at my watch and did a little math and decided I’d be able to finish in under 6 hours if I could maintain my current rate, or even a little slower rate. But, a mile later, the spike was gone and I’d slowed back down. At mile 8 I started having spasms in my calves and hamstrings. I had to slow even more to prevent an all out cramp-fest. I continued on, taking in Accelerade, water, and a little Gatorade. Mile 10 came and as I looked at my watch, I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish in under 6 hours. I would have had to complete the final 5k in 20 minutes. I knew I didn’t have that left in me. I was in survival mode the remainder of the race. Mile 11 and 12 came and went with my goal being to just keep running. As I made the final turn toward the finish line, I could hear the crowd. Soon I could see the finish line and knew I’d be able to make it. A couple hundred yards from the finish line, I heard a familiar voice shout “Daddy”. I ran over and grabbed KJ’s hand and we crossed the finish line together. Soon DJ found us and we celebrated a bit before heading to transition to gather up my gear.

Nearing the finish line with KJ

70.3 miles later

My finish time, 6:14:47.
This being my first half Ironman, I think I raced the smartest race I could on that day. Could I have gone faster on the bike? Yes, I think I probably could have. But it was all uncharted territory for me and the only map I had was my plan…which I followed to the T.
I’ll definitely be back next year looking to set a new PR.