Florida 70.3 - as a spectator

Craig Alexander on the way to winning Florida 70.3.

Once again this year I found myself as a spectator at another event. This time it was the Florida 70.3 that took place yesterday morning. Its been an interesting year for me. After coming off the high of my first IM I have been relegated to being a spectator this year because of continued foot problems. At this point its starting to look like there may be no racing for me until next season. At any rate this is the first year that I have gone out to races as a spectator and not a competitor. Its been a very interesting experience and one I would recommend to any racer. It has given me the opportunity to see more sides of the races. I have spent more time supporting others and cheering on people I dont even know. Its been pretty good despite the fact that I am not racing. Yesterday I also saw for the first time people in tears as they were told they missed the swim cutoff and would not be allowed to continue. It was different than being pulled out of the water because they completed the first task. Its was pretty heartbreaking to think these folks put in what they felt was time and effort and probably had support of family and friends only to feel like they let others and themselves down. You just wanted to give them some sort of reassurance they would be back to try again another day.


Katja Schumacher (middle) on her way to winning Florida 70.3

Other notable sightings.


Karen Smyers - she took 2nd place.


Simon Lessing - 2nd place at Florida 70.3

As far as my opinion on this race, Disney has never done a great job in offering a good course and its always a pain getting around because you have to take Disney shuttles, but the real issue is that its not a Disney race, so in some senses you can tell Disney doesnt care that much. Its more an Ironman race and Ironman just rents the Disney property. I have done this race 2 times and mainly just because its in my backyard, but its not one I would recommend to others. I wish Ironman could find a new venue for Florida 70.3. On a positive note it was near perfect weather conditions.

Band of Brothers

I watched the other night the "Band of Brothers" mini series, which chronicles the journey of Easy Company in World War II. If you havent seen it, its worth your time. Anyway, it reminded me for obvious reasons of the King Henry V's speech that Shakespeare put into literature, and I thought it would be fun to modify a small part of it tailored to the Ironman journey. So tell me what you think.

For I am not covetous for gold, nor care I for material flourishments. But if it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for today that shares this pain with me shall be my brother.

He that finishes this day, and comes safe home, shall stand a tiptoe above all others. Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember, with advantages, what feats he did this day. This story shall the good man teach his son, and forever in their flowing cups will it be remembered; from this day to the ending of the world!

- Shakespeare's King Henry V's battle cry to his weary soldiers before the battle of Agincourt. Modified for Ironman.

Training Stats

Just for kicks I went back to my training logs for IM Florida. For a period of 6mos this is how it broke down.

Swim - 151,600 yards ( I think thats 86 miles give or take)
Bike - 1,644 miles
Run - 311 miles

Thought it was kinda fun to take a look at it again. I will say it almost looks like I barely did any run training. So what does this mean,,,,well lets see.

It means at its most narrow point I could have swam the English Channel 4 times.
I rode my bike the equivalent of Orlando to Boston (and then some).
I ran the equivalent of Orlando to Tallahassee, FL my home town, with 50 miles to spare.

Its not always about triathlon!!!

Ok, I just took this pic right outside my glass sliding door. This is what you get when you live on a lake. Its a double edged sword. I DO NOT like snakes, but we dont want to kill him because when you live on a lake, snakes like this keep the small rodents away from the house.

The worst part is when he saw me, he went underneath our washing machine,,,,,and I have wet clothes in there. Maybe I will give him a little time to leave before I put my clothes in the dryer :).

St. Anthony's Triathlon

This past Sunday was St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL. I decided defer my entry this year because of the foot problems I have been having but I still went to support Amy. This was the first year she has done this race and I was happy to be there to help out where I could. Overall Amy did really well. The swim in the the salt water Tampa Bay and conditions were perfect, the bike is good and flat and the run is a flat course too that is an out and back that runs through some nice neighborhoods in the area.

Here is my thoughts on the race. I think the race is a great venue and well organized but at this point I feel they have allowed it to get too big. For the last 2 years they have continued to grow the field so this year it was at 4,300. Its so big that although the race started waves at 7am, Amy's wave didnt even go off until 8:50am,,,,thats ridiculous! I guess they are making alot of money so they dont really care, but I think there are safety issues and I dont think they should hand out alot of drafting penalties because the bike is getting so crowded sometimes its unavoidable.

So whats the bottom line. I would still recommend the race because its a great venue and well organized overall. But if you decide to do it be prepared for the large field. It can be a little frustrating.