IMAZ: Go Denise! Go Laura!

[KnottedYet]

Yay Laura and Denise! You did awesomely under gruelling conditions! We're proud of you guys!

[Tuckervill]

Raising a glass! Cheers!

Like someone said, you're miles ahead of all of those who didn't even start!

I really enjoyed that video, BTW.

Karen

[Running Mommy]

For the first time in a LONG time. I had a huge weight lifted off my back.
Last year when I dnf'ed I felt horrible about it. I swore I'd be back to get that dnf monkey off my back. But last year my life was much different. Ironman was all I did. It was my identity. Over the last year my life has changed dramatically. I'd like my new identity to be getting women riding. And of course maybe into triathlon as well.
Going into this race I was doing it for others. Because they were so excited for me and thought it was soo cool that I did Ironman. You know the whole "chubby girl does Ironman" thing. But I now realize that deep down in my belly- I didn't want it. To put your body through the months of training and extreme pain, you really have to want it.
So I'll hang up my ironman shoes for awhile and focus on helping others. Maybe in a couple of years I'll be ready to race one again. Who knows, maybe the move to November will be better??

On another note..

I was sad to see that Laura didn't finish. But from what all my friends said, it was BRUTAL. They said the day just got worse. When the winds died down the temp's spiked. So you got beat down by the wind, and then finished off in the oven... UGH..
I hope she's ok. She made it far considering the conditions and that she'd been sick.
{{{{{{{Laura}}}}}}}}}}

[Running Mommy]

Just looked at the alminac on wunderground for the date of the Novmeber race. Looks like it was cold on that day last year- like in the 50's and 60's. But in the 05 and 06 it was in the low 70's. Last year still had a bit of wind, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. BUT a big thing I noticed was the sunrise and sunset times. Sunrise is 7:06 am, and sunset is 5:21 pm.
The swim starts at 7:00, so I wonder if they are going to change that. Also the bike cut off is 5:30. With sunset being at 5:21 I imagine they will have to change that. My guess is there's going to be stricter cut off times.

[Running Mommy]

sorry for the multiple posts, but check this out.. WOW

If you are wondering how tough things were out on the course today, all you have to do is check out the number of DNF's at today's race.

Of the 2035 athletes who started the swim, 2033 finished in time to start the bike.

Of those, 1,874 managed to get through the hot and windy bike course.

1,830 of those started the run.

With just under 40 minutes to go, 1,574 of those athletes have finished.

The high attrition rate is no-doubt due to the extreme heat we experienced here today, coupled with the high winds.

[Over50Newbie]

Laura and Denise,

You ladies are awesome!

Lynette

[mommelisa]

BUT a big thing I noticed was the sunrise and sunset times. Sunrise is 7:06 am, and sunset is 5:21 pm.
The swim starts at 7:00, so I wonder if they are going to change that. Also the bike cut off is 5:30. With sunset being at 5:21 I imagine they will have to change that. My guess is there's going to be stricter cut off times.

in florida, the sun sets around 4:00 the first week of november when imfl is held. almost everyone finishes in the dark - well, except the pros i guess and those really fast people. i finished in the dark. :-)

i'm sure they're going to be very strict with the bike cutoff, for safety sake.

[Tri Girl]

My guess is there's going to be stricter cut off times.

Probably so. I'm just glad the weather will be cooler in Nov. than it was for you yesterday- which I'm sure is the big reason they changed the date. The wind I can handle. It's rare that I DON'T have to ride in 10-30 mph sustained winds. The dry air is what will get me. I worry about that, since I'm so used to training in the humidity. Still, with earlier/later sunrise/sunset, I wonder if they'll mess with the times. My guess is probably not. You'd just better get your butt off the bike by sunset or you'd better put some blinkies in your special needs bike bag.

And like I'm hoping to finish in daylight anyway. HA! This time I'm not hoping for a new PR. The goal is to finish in under 16:59 and have a good time doing it. This is my vacation IM.