Ironman Florida '12 Race Report

The week was finally here! All week all I could think of was the race I do not know how many times I planned every single minute of my day leading up to the race! I arrived in Panama City Beach on Halloween night, it wasn't to bad of a drive being that its the 3rd time I've been down their this past year. The weather was a lot warmer compared to the arctic temps we were having in Atlanta. 

I check-in at the Ironman Expo the following morning. I only wait in line for about 5 minutes, we got these sick swag bags! its going to be my new triathlon bag since its much more compact then my TYR one. I packed my gear/special needs bags that day and hung around till Friday when my family and friends were getting there. During taper I had some free time so I made them IM FL Survivor Guides and got each of them a cowbell, a poster, and a hand written note. Just something to show my appreciation for the support they've given me and taking time to come cheer me on! 

Race Day 

I tried going to sleep around 8ish end up falling asleep for 45 minutes then was up till 11:30. The nerves/excitement woke me up at 4am, 15 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I did my race morning routine. Trying to make as little noise as possible, since people were still sleeping in the room. I usually eat 1.5 bagels with peanut butter, I could only stomach 1 bagel.  I decide to eat a poptart instead. Got dress made sure I had everything and was out the door at 5:45. A few minutes later then I wanted to but o well.

Got everything set up with 15 minutes before transition closed. For some reason had a really hard time putting on the wetsuit. I sort of forgot how to put it on if that makes any sense. But the temps were great and the wind was calm so I was relieved at the moment. Walk out to the beach and was shocked to see the swells. It look rough out their but tried not to freak out, since I had swam in worse. When I went down to a training camp in PCB on Labor Day weekend. 

Swim

I decide to position myself towards the right of middle about 1/3 of the way back. The start by far one of the scariest moments of my life. Thankfully I was never swam over but I was smack, kick, elbowed, even had my leg pulled. I felt like I was playing a full contact sport rather then swimming. it was like that till the first turn buoy.  Exited the first lap a little sea sick end up puking a little bit right before I entered the water for lap 2. For the start of lap 2 I ran to about where we started the swim and made my way up that line. For some reason I was swimming way off course and end up about 75m wide by the time I got to the second to last turn yellow buoy. A kayaker flag me down and told me to get on course. Not really sure how this happened since the current was going from right to left. but pretty sure this why my 2nd lap was so much slower then my first. I end up swimming 1:29, which was a tiny bit disappointing, but with the rough surf and swimming off course accounted for it. Finished the swim in 1896 OA and 26th in AG. Stop at the strippers to get my suit off and I was running to translation. I took everything out of my gear bag and replaced it with my wetsuit. Got my helmet on and race belt before I reached the changing area. Leaving only my shoes giving me a 5:49 T1 which was a lot quicker then most peoples. 

Bike 

All of my training was done with Heart Rate, so I was planning on using my HR to pace my self on the bike. Riding the course in September plus my other long rides gave me that I need to stay under 165 bpm or middle Zone 2 in order to be able to run after. But my HR monitor decides not to pick up my HR 2 miles into the bike. I was going to have to do this entire bike ride by feel and hopefully I know my body enough that I'll have gas left in the tank. This course is flat except for 3 hills on the back stretch and the bridge you cross twice. So your constantly pedaling, and staying with pretty much the same few gears. I was feeling great on the bike not once did I feel tired or feel like I was working to hard. But I did get frustrated a bunch of times because people would get bunch up and stay bunch up at one point I found myself surround by 30 people or so. I accelerated a little bit because I didn't want to get stuck in a pack and get a penalty called on me. Everything was going great for it being my first Ironman. My nutrition was good I was drinking a little bit more water then I had planned. I end up having to pee around mile 95 so I waited till I was on the downhill side of the bridge to do my business. This was due to the conditions being about 82 while we were on the bike. The only time I experience a head wind was after the turn around heading toward special needs. The winds were only blowing at about 6 mph, so we were really lucky there. Got off the bike after 5:57 3 mins faster than goal time. Avg 18.8 mph on 121 watts, I was happy with the results! 

Run

This was about to be my longest run of all time let alone the most mileage I had covered in a week. My longest run before this was 13.1 miles at Augusta and my biggest weekly mileage was 21 miles. So this was going to be fun. I went in with a plan to stay running in Z2 and let me HR dictate the pace but that wasn't going to happen since my HR monitor broke before the bike. The goal was to run near 9:45 +- 5 pace and walk the aid stations to grab adequate nutrition and fluids. The conditions were pretty hot! I grabbed water and ice sponges at all the aid station and kept it in my hat till the sun started to set. The first mile felt great my legs felt a little heavy, but disaster hit around mile 2.5 I got a horrible pain in my right knee right above my knee cap. I had experience a similar pain back in middle school XC after hitting it. I wasn't sure what it was from. Their I decide I was going to run 4 min walk 1 minutes for the rest of the marathon. At first it was tolerable. I was able to keep the 4 minutes no problem. but by the time I got to mile 14 I was in a lot of pain. the 4 minutes felt like 10. That is 

when I saw my amazing support crew as well as a few other people I knew that were cheering me on. I stopped for a second and gave them a hug and filled them in on the pain. They ran with me for a couple 100 feet cheering me on which really lifted my spirit. My girl friend was waiting for me around mile 15 and it was relief to see her. Gave her a hug and kiss then she ran with me for a bit, then I was off on my way to the park. Around mile 18, I could barely stand the pain.  I kept staying with my 4 min run 1 min walk. Though four minutes felt like an eternity. I had to keep convincing myself to just run the 4 mins then you can walk again. I dug super deep, I went to some places I didn't know existed. At mile 24, I could hear the noise from the finish line, I told myself I was going to give it everything I had. Turned out to only be 11:00 pace but that felt like 5:00 pace. 

Finish Line 

Once I got in the finishing stretch, it was an experience I will always remember! I was filled with energy, emotion, excitement  I slowed my pace down to make sure their was a gap between me and the person in front for the picture. I was giving high-fives as I went down the line. It was amazing! Then when I heard him say "CHRIS ALFONSO YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" Everything went to slow motion! I took off my hat and sunglasses and jump as high as I could for a split second everything seemed to stop as I took in the moment! I finished in 12:24. 24 minutes slower then goal pace but it didn't matter! I had just finished was I had set out to do 2 years ago! Finish an Ironman for my 21st birthday! I felt pretty much invincible I didn't notice my knee pain, or how drained I just felt a few miles before. I was on that IRONMAN HIGH!! By far a memory I will cherish the rest of my life. 

My Support Crew 

You guys are amazing! Not to many people would wake up before the crack of dawn for me and let alone spend 12:24 minutes watching a triathlon! Seriously LOVE YOU guys so much!! Seeing you made my day and help me keep pushing forward. Thank you for all the support you gave me during the year leading up to this event and putting up with my ridiculous scheduled. Attiya, DQ, Elizabeth, Lupe, and Salman thank you for driving down from Atlanta for 6 hours and make all though signs that put a smile on my face when I was in pain. Mom and Tata, thank you for driving 10 hours from Miami to see me race! Having you there made me keep going because I knew with each step I was closer to seeing everyone again. Though few seconds seeing everyone would help me finish the race!   It was amazing to have you all there! Y'all are amazing!! 

My insane journey for my first Ironman might be over but this for sure won't be my last. There is always a new level of crazy! Next year its time to get faster at the Half Ironman distance in order to qualify for 70.3 World Championship in Vegas. :) 

Taper Time.... AKA Tapper Madness

Wikipedia definition for tapering the practice of reducing exercise in the weeks just before and important race. 

My definition for tapering the practice of reducing exercise in the weeks just before an important race causing you to have way to much free time on your hands that you didn't have before so you do not know what to do. So you start to check race day weather everyday, your bouncing off the walls with energy, you begin planning every minute once you arrive at the race location, you clean your bike everyday, you basically are going crazy, and cannot wait till race day!!

ESI Ironman 70.3 Augusta Race Report

This was going to be my first Half Ironman, I was not playing on racing it since I was using it for preparation for Ironman Florida The week before the race I was going crazy I had a Physics mid term the Thursday before the race. I could not study for this test, all I was thinking about was the race on Sunday. Once, the test was over I could not wait to get to head over to Augusta.

Friday: Me and Lupe arrived in Augusta around 4pm, we immediately went to the Marriott to go check-in. I was expecting a long line at the registration area, but there was maybe 20 people there. We made our way through the Ironman Store. After check-in at the hotel we got some dinner at Carrabbas.  We were playing spot the triathlete, which was pretty easy since all you need to do was looked for the shaved legs wearing athletic clothing. 

Saturday: I left in till around 10am, head over to the race hotel to catch the athlete briefing and some 75% off tri clothes!!! It was a very chill day, I dropped off my bike at transition and ate some lunch and a light dinner. I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible. I laid down around 9:00 but couldn't really fall asleep. 

RACE DAY: 

I was so excited I woke up at 4:20, 10 minutes before my alarm. I did my race morning routine. Applied some Ironman Tattoos (total BAMF). For breakfast I had a 1.5 bagel with a lot of peanut butter and a granola bar, while sipping on a electrolytes drink. Got dressed and Lupe sharpied inspirational messages on my forearms. Head out to the shuttle around 5:30. I parked in the lot next to the race hotel, then took the shuttle towards transition. Once, at transition I realized how many people there were over 3,000 bikes there a sea of carbon! I was about 2/3 of the way back on the left hand side. It was cramp really cramp but I got the last spot on the between two racks, leaving me a tiny bit of extra room. Took the shuttle to swim start and waited around till 8:48am.

Swim: I was wave 20 of 24. The water was 76 barely wetsuit legal, I started off in the front middle of the pack because I felt like my swimming had improved so I could hold my own. The water felt great they opened up the floodgates so there was a 1 knot current helping us along. The swim was pretty uneventful till I had contact with a big weed. It wrap up around my face, I must have look like I was drowning because one of the paddle boarder asked if I was ok. I was like "yea, just got some weed on my face." I continued swimming along the river, swam a 30:39 for the 1.2 miles. I had estimated I do  around 30 minutes so I was quite happy with my results.Came out of the swim a little dizzy, it was about at least 300 meter till T1, the first bit was up a steep boat ramp. The strippers were great but they made a tiny hole in one leg. 

Bike: Got on the bike and was ready for 56 miles. I saw Lupe along the barricades cheering. I kept telling my self I need to relax and race my own race. The first 15 miles flew by, I was passing people all the time. My HR was in the low Z2 and i was averaging above 20 mph. I felt great so I decide to push the pace. The ride was going by so quickly! My nutrition seemed like it was going perfect. The weather could not have been any better, it was overcast with a slight mist, and no wind! I was hammering it, 21 mph for the first 30.8 miles. I hit the hills around this point so my paced slowed down a little. Their were no really steep hills, just 1 long climb leading up to the last aid station. I averaged 20.67 mph for the 56 miles for a time of 2:42:35. I advance from 32nd place to 17th place in my age group and 1620th till 809th. When I got to T2 and looked at my time I thought to myself I am going to die on this run. I pushed it way to hard on the bike. 

Run: I was really worried about this run. I just started running only 4 weeks before, my longest run was only 5 miles or so. I had no idea how I was going to run a half marathon. I kept telling my self just run a long at a pace your HR dictates. I was moving at a 8:45 pace for the first 6.5 miles then I was expecting to be doing like 9:45 miles. I do not know how I was pulling this off. My pace for my longest training run was 9:30 miles. I realized I was going to break my sub 6 hour goal by 30 at least 30 minutes. I end up walking for a few minutes around mile 10, but then got back to running. This course is very spectator friendly, I was able to see Lupe at least 4 times on the corner of 10th and board. It was great when I saw her, I  was like "ok X amount of miles before I see her again." A shout out to Alan from Podium Multisport for giving me some encouragement when I was feeling dead on the lap 2.  Most of the course was lined with with spectator, it was great to have your name on your bib so people were able to cheer for you by name which was really up lifting. I end up finishing the half marathon in 1:57:44 averaging 8:59/miles. I advance to 16th place in my age group and 764th overall.

 My total time was 5:18:22.  I do not know how I pulled it off but it seemed like everything played it self out perfectly on race day. Though tough training days really paid off. Now only if I could have such a race in Ironman Florida on November 3rd. I would recommend this race to anyone wanting to do a half Ironman distance. It is a fast course and a lot of fun! The only thing that bothered me about this race was that transition was 1.5 miles away from the finish line and one needed to walk there and back to get ones stuff. But that's not going to stop me from doing the race again next September. 

I'd like to thank Lupe for being there for me on race day and all though training days during the summer. She is a great supporter, I do not think I would have been able to get back home without her. She held me up when my legs felt like jello after I finished and walked with me 3 miles round trips in the rain back to transition to pick up my bike and gear. Thank you so much mi amor! It means a lot to me!! Love you!! 

If you have any questions feel free to comment and I'll respond ASAP. 

First Half: Half Ironman Augusta!

I'm racing ESI Ironman 70.3 Augusta this Sunday! It is going to be my first 70.3, and hopefully its a good dress rehearsal for Ironman Florida. I am in the 20th swim wave going off at 8:48, 1 hour and 18 minutes after the Pro's start. Hopefully the weather holds up and stays cool like it's been.

If you want to follow me on race day my bib number is 2498! 
You can follow me on Ironman Raceday Tracker by inputting my bib number.

Wish me luck everyone! I can't wait till I toe the line on Sunday!

http://ironmanaugusta.com/

Wilson 100 Century Ride

This was my first official century ride, my only goal was to complete it. I had no intentions to ride it hard I was going for an easy 16.5-17 mph ride. The terrain was nice rollers going through little towns and farm lands.  There were aid stations located about every 20-25 miles, they all were well stocked with food and fluids.

 I felt great through the first 75 miles, I was spinning up the hills and coasting the downhills. The hills weren't to bad, supposedly it is a very similar terrain I will experience in Half Ironman Augusta on September 30th.    The only thing I felt like I could have done a little better was my pacing on some of the steeper hills might have to fast going up. I end up averaging 18.4mph with a average heart rate of 160bpm.  The ride was a great confidence booster. I finished it stronger and faster then I expected. I was very pleased with my self, and it set a great tone for the training camp I had on labor day weekend.

Injuries BLOW!!

Around mid July I was going for a run and got a sharp pain in my left foot. I was just like, "oh I'm just sore," so I took it easy for a few days. I tried to run on it again a week later but that it didn't really happen. I ended up taking 5 weeks off. During that time I tried to bike 6-7 times per week and swim 4 day weeks. This really helped my biking and swimming. I was trying to maintain my run strength by doing some hill intervals

I started running 2 weeks ago. I'm running 6 days a week with low intensity trying to build my volume up for Ironman Florida! If not, I'm going to be suffering a lot on the run. I am doing three short runs two medium runs and one long run every week. Hopefully this will give me enough volume to get through the marathon.

I put her down today...

I was going out for an easy 1 hour training ride this morning. All was going well and I was almost a mile away from home, when I decide to avoid a speed bump. What a stupid mistake that was!! I end up hitting a bump in the road at the wrong angle and it sent me over the bars. I used my hands and left hip to brace my fall leaving me with a fare amount of road rash to match my other hip(from a crash a few years ago). Nothing major happened to the bike, just a few scratches on the bars and a broken aero pad. I'm glad there were no cars behind me because I landed right in the middle of the lane. The experience made me realize you could crash at any moment even when you think your being careful.It could have been a lot worse!


So my PSA: ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!! You'll need it when you least expect it.