Ironman Florida 2014 Race Report

Here it is on Wednesday, four days removed from Race Day. I will separate this review into four parts:

1) Logistics and Lodging
2) The Swim
3) The Bike
4) The Run

Logistics and Lodging: Panama City Beach is way up north in the Florida panhandle, closer to New Orleans than Miami. Unless you plan on driving there, you will almost for sure have to make a connection to get to this town. This is not a major city. It's also not that easy to get around without a car. I do recommend renting one for sure.

Having T1 and T2 in the same place is very convenient. So many venues are not like this anymore. The nearest hotel is the Boardwalk. It was clean and convenient. If you stay somewhere further away and need to drive back after the race, there is plenty of parking on the nearby roads. It will be just a bit inconvenient compared to staying at the Boardwalk where you can easily walk from the finish to your room.

My only experience in Panama City Beach was for Ironman 2014 and I have been told that this was a very unique year. My experience is that it is a very, very cold and windy place. I'm from Northern California. While it doesn't exactly snow here, I know what cold is. Race morning was in the 40's. The wind was blowing so hard that garbage cans were being blown down the street. The ocean temp was perfect at around 70F. But when they sent the safety kayaks out to start the race they were quickly in need of rescue themselves!

It was announced on the beach that the swim was cancelled. New format would be a time trial bike start with the pros first at 8am and the rest of the field by age group. 4 riders at a time, every 10 seconds or so. 2,700 athletes waiting by their bikes in the freezing, windy cold for up to two hours. Such bullshit. But I digress.
Not too proud to admit that I found a discarded sweatshirt on the ground and put it on. Never done that before!

THE BIKE
Ironman has had 16 years to fine tune this race and they have done a magnificent job. If there were a swim, after getting out of the water it's about 200 yards from the beach to T1. The changing 'tent' is actually a large warehouse right next to where the bikes are. It's warm in there and there's plenty of room. Get your bike and start riding south along the beach.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I was warned by my friend Dustin that the winds tend to swirl around the beach-side hotels and cause severe bike handling problems. He suggested not to be in aero bars during the roughly 5 miles leaving T1 and the same stretch coming back to T2. I am a cyclist who rides many 1,000's of miles a year in much more technical conditions than Florida. So I took Dustin's advice with a grain of salt. DO NOT make the mistake I did! He was absolutely right. While I didn't crash, many riders did. And I understand that it is like this every year in that stretch. Be careful riding along the beach where the hotels are!

The bike is one big 112 mile loop. 99% flat. Not much in the way of scenery. Although we didn't have it this year, I can see that it is a fast course. Practice staying in your aero position for hours upon hours at a time. The pavement is very nice to ride on for 90% of the course. One out-and-back section is on a very poor quality road that is so bad you really can't go too fast without rattling your teeth out. I can't remember exactly, but it was around Mile 50 and was 5 miles out and 5 miles back. I was super happy to be off that road.
The rumors that you've heard regarding this particular race being a draft fest is true. I think they're trying to get a handle on this because I saw many, many red cards. After 7 Ironman races I can honestly say I've never seen so many penalties as at IMFL.

Coming back into T2 a volunteer takes and racks your bike while you are handed your Run Gear bag and back into the warehouse to slip some shoes on and go for a little run. There are volunteers to slather on sunscreen if you want. And off you go.

THE RUN
The run is two loops of roughly 13.1 miles. It is dead flat and fast. It starts out along the hotels and goes along about a mile stretch of incredible spectator support: costumes, loud music, and scantily clad spectators. Soon you're in some residential neighborhoods which are much more quiet and peaceful. Another stretch on a main street. The turn-around happens in a State Park that is quite nice.

Since I didn't get started on the bike when I normally would have, I got a chance to see the run course at night :/
At night the run course becomes a lesson in contrasts. Within about a mile on either side of the starting line, whether you're coming back to start your second loop or heading to the finish line, the crowds are festive and rowdy. It really is super fun there! Once in the neighborhoods it's dark, quiet, and lonely. Back down at the State Park turn-around it's (mostly) lit, but still quiet. It's during those dark, painful last miles that friendships are formed. Who but another person on the course can understand the demons at that moment??

IN CONCLUSION
Would I race here again? Probably, if the circumstances were right. I've done Ironman in four countries and three states. There's a lot of venues out there in the world that I'm still interested in. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Have a fit day, y'all!

IRONMAN CANADA 2014 RACE REPORT WHISTLER

Here it is on Thursday, four days removed from Race Day. I will separate this review into four parts:
1) Logistics and Lodging
2) The Swim
3) The Bike
4) The Run

Logistics and Lodging: Unlike most Ironman events, very few people actually live in Whistler. It's a destination venue and the town is pretty much a 'master planned' community designed to accommodate tourism. They executed perfectly. Maybe too perfectly, because Whistler Village seems to have a cookie cutter feel to it. I don't mean this in a bad sense at all. Just saying that if you really appreciate local character and flavor you really must visit nearby Pemberton. That's all I'll say there.

Most people will end up flying to Vancouver, renting a car, and then driving to Whistler. We left 10 days before the race and spent the first three in Vancouver. I highly recommend doing this if you have the time. Vancouver is an active, vibrant city not to be missed! Rental cars in Canada can be incredibly expensive at >$150/day. I rented my SUV from an off-airport site at $348 for 10 days, taxes and fees all included. Dollar Rent a Car on Marine Drive. $12 taxi from the airport and a free ride back to the airport on return. Easy peasy.

Be warned: Vancouver's not a cheap place to stay, but well worth several days visit. We stayed in the Yorktown neighborhood of Downtown Vancouver. A place called Rosedale at Robson. Highly recommended and by local standards very reasonable at $200/night.

A couple things to do in Vancouver:
Swim in Kit's Pool, Run around Stanley Park along the sea wall (10k), visit Granville Island, visit Capilano Bridge Park and Grouse Grind.

Way too many great eateries in Vancouver but here's a few that we found:
-Japadog! Hot dogs like you've never had, guaranteed!
-Rosie's on Robson (connected to the above mentioned hotel). Try the Butter Chicken Poutines!
-Local Public Eatery on Cornwall Ave. Try the Crispy Pork Belly!

Ok, on to Whistler. You can't get lost. There's only one road from Vancouver: The Sea to Sky Highway. It is a stunningly scenic drive on a new, well maintained road. Don't be in a hurry. Stop often for some beatiful sights. If you simply drive straight to Whistler it's about an hour and 45 minutes.

Don't be fooled by the first big sign that says Whistler Olympic Village. This is where they held the actual winter Olympics. Whistler Village is still several more miles of driving. Note that Whistler Village is divided into upper and lower sections. Both sections are walkable to the other but just inconvenient enough that I was glad to be in Lower Village. Even Lower Village has an upper and lower section. We stayed across the street at Stony Creek Lagoons (managed by Whistler Superior Properties) and were quite happy. $116/night total.

Also a ton of eateries in Whistler. Seems to have a pretty high turnover rate but while we were there we enjoyed Peaked Pies and Splitz Grill.

Before I get onto the actual race stuff I should mention that spending some time at Lost Lake is worth it. In our Swag Bag from the Ironman Athlete Check-In were coupons for Whistler/Blockcomb gondola season passes. Only $49 each and good for Peak to Peak as well as unlimited gondola use. Very worth it! Finally, spend a day in Pemberton. While there, drive past Pemberton along the Ironman Bike course and enjoy the countryside and mountain scenary.

THE SWIM
Alto Lake is clean, clear, and relatively warm. It was 66/67 all week. TIP: Everybody wants to do their practice swim at the Rainbow Park starting point. I did that and it was ok. But I also swam once from Lakeside Park across the lake to Rainbow Park and back. This was only a mile but so much more fun. What more can one say? It's a beautiful place for a swim. BTW, Whistler is only at about 2,200 feet above sea level. I live at sea level in California and didn't notice the altitude at all the whole time I was there.

THE BIKE
After getting out of the water it's about 100 yards to T1 on soft carpet. Get your bike and start riding some easy rolling hills through a neighborhood. Soon you're on the highway headed toward Vancouver. Lane is closed to traffic and all yours. In about a dozen miles you turn right up to the 'real' Whistler Olympic Village where they had ski jumping, etc. This climb is long and not to be underestimated, about 10 miles of up. Next it's back down the hill at blistering speeds (I got up to 50 mph) and through some more rolling hills to Whistler Village and on down to Pemberton. Then total flatness for a lovely 30-35 miles through beautiful, lush countryside. The roads in this section are in so-so condition. The rest of the course roads are in very good condition. BEWARE the last 15 miles back into Whistler is a f'ing HARD climb! It's a relentless, nearly 2,000 feet ordeal. It would be challenging all by itself, but this one is at the end of a century. Have fun with that. My Garmin registered 5,978 feet of overall climbing. For those that care, my split was 6:10 at 18 mph avg.

THE RUN
Let me start by saying I have run Ironman courses in some pretty scenic areas from Coeur d'Alene and St George to Switzerland, but the Whistler course is BY FAR the most beautiful run course. It is two loops of rolling hills along the Village and two different lakes. A mixture of paved path and well kept trail. The course takes too many turns and hills for me to accurately describe but it was very challenging. My Garmin registered 1,309 feet of elevation gain overall. Not much flatness at all, mostly up and down. Pace yourself.

IN CONCLUSION
Would I race here again? Probably, if the circumstances were right. I've done Ironman in four countries and three states. There's a lot of venues out there in the world that I'm still interested in. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Have a fit day, y'all!