Ironman Florida Race Report

Final race of 2022 is done and dusted! I am so relieved to close the book on my 2022 race season and put my feet up for a while. I’m sure I’ll go stir crazy after the first week, but I am certainly ready for a short break.

Jake and Brooke

Pre-Race: This was one of my favorite trips to a race venue. Normally 16 hours in the car wouldn’t sound like fun, but I had great company. A large part of my success this weekend was thanks to Jake and Brooke (two athletes I coach). They drove the entire way down to Florida, and I just focused on relaxing. Everything went according to plan from check-in, final tune-up rides/run, and getting to the start line plenty early. I am also very thankful for my Dynamo teammates helping me fill tires, carry gear, and get my wetsuit on. 

Swim (1:00:30 - 32nd OA): This was the toughest swim I’ve done in terms of water conditions (and jellyfish). Kona was tougher from starting in the last wave. Thanks to my teammate Robert, I started very close to the front (probably 30th into the water). Being with the faster swimmers and not having the course congested made the swells and waves much more manageable. On loop 1, I went out hard into the waves and eased up after the first turn with them at my back. My first little jellyfish sting was on the palm of my right hand, and it just tingled for the rest of the swim. After loop 1, I was told 29 minutes (on pace for an hour), so I was very happy to get that feedback. Starting loop 2, I stayed inside of the buoys to avoid as many loop 1 swimmers as I could. I found some feet to lead the way and stayed on them until we had the waves going with us again. Somewhere in there my right foot got stung on the top and the bottom, but again just tingly after. On that final stretch to shore, I got stung on the face and was mostly just wanting to itch my nose after. Finishing the swim, I was happy to be close to the 1 hour mark.

T1: First transition was pretty smooth. I got my wetsuit down to my waist before the peelers, and had it off and handed back quickly. It was a long run on concrete, and I felt pretty winded for most of it. I didn’t have the fastest time, but I did move up 14 places. I opted to carry my shoes (no pre-mounting in this race), and I ran with them and my bike until the mount line before quickly slipping them on. 

Running Mitch's disc

Bike (4:49:24 - 13th OA): Early into the bike, I felt ok holding my power target. I made a few passes in the first 10 miles, but also had several guys blow by me. I was fortunate to have a very gusto cyclist pass me as we started into 10 miles of headwind to the first turnaround. I opted to keep my power slightly under goal and sit 20 meters behind him. We had the bike marshal buzzing around us constantly, so I was sure to be plenty far back. He skipped the first 2 aid stations, so I put in some surges to stay with him. After we turned, he started to fade and I went back up to goal watts without anyone in front of me. We had a long section coming up with a tailwind heading north, and I knew we’d have a strong headwind coming back. I opted to lower my watts again with the tailwind and sat up every so often to get the body ready for a long stretch staying as aero as possible. Going into that final turnaround, I was concerned to not see my buddy and competitor Robert on his way back. I figured I had just missed him, but really expected him to be leading the race. More to come on that. After I turned, I bumped the power back up and was ready for a solid hour into that wind. After turing out of it, we had 1 last out and back section that was by far the dumbest bike section I have ever seen in an event. I felt like I should have been on a mountain bike to navigate it. After surviving that, it was a final 6 mile push into the wind to get to T2. In every Ironman I have done, this is where I let up a bit to focus on the run. Instead, I held power and leaned into the effort the rest of the way in. I was very happy with a 17 minute bike PR (easy course I know) and 23.2mph.

203W average at 208NP with an avg HR of 150bpm. Goal was 211-216W.

T2: Flying dismount was successful and I got my bike to a catcher right away. I was quick through transition with 2 guys in the change tent. On my way out, I was about 50 yards behind one of them. He looked like he could be my age and was moving fast.

Hanging with Thiago

Run (3:14:03 - 6th OA): This is going to be a jumble of thoughts because that’s how this run went for me. Good luck following along! Starting out, I felt like I was running slow but saw 6:45 pace on my watch that first mile. I took the first 2 miles to bridge up to the next athlete, and was already at my HR limit. I thought I heard I was in 2nd place AG, but wasn’t sure how far back 3rd was. I didn’t see my Dynamo teammates for splits, and this made me more concerned about not seeing Robert. Before I made any conclusions, I decided to wait until the first run turnaround to see him. At this point, I was flying a little blind and just wanted to put down a solid run. On my way out to the 6.5 mile turnaround, I ended up running shoulder to shoulder with the guy ahead of me. We didn’t say a word, and I didn’t want to ask his AG. As it turned out, this was Thiago, an athlete from Atlanta that knew my teammates. After that introduction, we started talking and found out we were different age groups. We got to the turn around and never saw Robert. Based on this, I knew there was an accident on the bike, but there was nothing I could do. I just wanted to finish and find out if he was ok. I also knew he would want me to close it out and grab that Kona slot, so that’s what I aimed to do. Around mile 8 I really started to struggle. My effort felt harder, HR was dropping and my legs didn’t want to go. I was on top of my nutrition and salt, so I thought maybe I needed more fluids (despite carrying a bottle out of T1). I told Thiago that I was suffering and thought I needed to start walking aid stations. He told me to wait until lap 2. I kept pressing on and we took turns leading. We started the 2nd loop and still no sign of my Dynamo fam, and it started to hit me a little harder. I hung with Thiago until mile 15, but the elastic started to break. I had no response and started walking the aid stations. At this point, I was still averaging just under 8 minute miles even with the walking. I told myself, you can run 10 minutes and then walk. Turns out this is just what I needed as my pace slowly dropped back down to the 7:30 range. I hit the final turnaround and felt like I was moving decently well. Focused on ice and fluids during my walk breaks, I got to that final 5K and started to pick it up even more. With 2 miles to go, Thiago came back into view, and I actually felt motivated to put in the effort to catch him. With one mile to go, I gave him a fist bump and he told me to finish it. I brought it in around 6:30 pace, and probably showed the most emotion I ever have on that red carpet. I’m not normally one to beat my chest, but I took in several high-fives and came across pumping my fist. Far from the win, I’m not sure what got into me.

Finish (9:14:23) - 4th OA: 

Overall, I ran my way to 4th place, held onto 2nd AG and was the 1st American across the line. I was very happy with my swim considering the conditions, and I believe I landed as expected placement-wise. I am also happy with my bike power and speed, but I gave up way too much time to the leaders. Even if I ran the time I thought I was capable of, I’m not sure I would’ve run them down. Despite my run being 1st AG and 6th overall, I’m pretty displeased with the time and how I fell apart. Before beating myself up too much, I am proud of how I rallied back to close that last 10K around 7:15 pace. I punched my ticked to the Ironman World Champs for the 3rd time as my primary goal this race. Secondary was an AG win and third was the overall. I am continually humbled every time I race, but that will simply drive my hunger next season.

Without saying too much, I’ve alluded about my friend Robert Swan. He was in fact hit by a car while Leading the race at mile 50 with a ~2 minute gap. He was brought to a hospital before I even got to where he was (yeah, I was getting my butt kicked). I can say he is back home now and recovering, but will leave the rest for him and Devon to share via social media. @devonandrobertcoaching. This is the first time I’ve been directly affected by one of these incidents. I am so heartbroken and cried several times post race. I was told one of his goals was to beat me, and I have no doubt he would’ve been waiting for me at the finish.

Had a crowd for my post race massage

For me, that is a wrap on 2022 and I am so happy to be taking a break. I knew I had a season of fatigue during this race, and it thankfully didn’t really hit until mile 9 on the run. With Kona secured, that will be my only full and sole focus for next year in the 30-34 AG. 

As always, I appreciate everyone for following along and motivating me every time I toe the line.