Friday, November 03, 2006
IMFL day 1 pics part 2
Here is Buttercup's new decal on her top tube. She must have liked it - she did a good job out there on the bike course.
The five gear bags waiting to be packed: Prerace/postrace, Swim/bike transition, Bike special needs, Bike/run transition, Run special needs.
This is what nearly the entire bike course looked like, punctuated by a few ramshackle trailers and lots of "false flats" (gradual long uphill grades). Plus the first fifty miles of energy-sapping headwinds, followed by twenty miles of rough washboard rural two-lane back road without shoulders.
This is the one big bridge which we crossed on the bike course at about Mile 12 and Mile 100. It's bigger and more demanding than it looks - it's high enough for sailboat masts to pass underneath.
The five gear bags waiting to be packed: Prerace/postrace, Swim/bike transition, Bike special needs, Bike/run transition, Run special needs.
This is what nearly the entire bike course looked like, punctuated by a few ramshackle trailers and lots of "false flats" (gradual long uphill grades). Plus the first fifty miles of energy-sapping headwinds, followed by twenty miles of rough washboard rural two-lane back road without shoulders.
This is the one big bridge which we crossed on the bike course at about Mile 12 and Mile 100. It's bigger and more demanding than it looks - it's high enough for sailboat masts to pass underneath.
IMFL day 1 pics
The pre-race dinner on Thursday night - the incredible Adam "Mr. 140.6" is on the immediate right.
Race gear! Plenty of selection!
Ellie at the race beach
Bolder, Jenny (eventual Athena 40+ winner, and my personal race day Ironman angel!), and Comm at the pre-race banquet
The beach two days prior to the race
Race gear! Plenty of selection!
Ellie at the race beach
Bolder, Jenny (eventual Athena 40+ winner, and my personal race day Ironman angel!), and Comm at the pre-race banquet
The beach two days prior to the race
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Day 1 in Florida
Everything is fine here, but hectic. Except one thing - the airline managed to crack my laptop screen. It is still more or less usable, but there are visible cracks and a black spot about 2 inches square in the center. Of course, their disclaimers say they're not responsible for electronics, etc. BAH! It might be fixable....
AND I had to return the rental car to the airport because the gas gauge was broken and it read empty and was continually dinging at me!
AND the tuneup had not been done on my bike, so I had to spend some time getting it worked on today, getting the chain and derailleur fixed.
So I hope troubles come in threes and we're all done with those vexations!!
BIG SURPRISE! Two of our good friends from Calgary, Alberta - Dawn and Dianne - showed up to surprise me and Ellie! They phoned us - we thought from Calgary - then simply walked up to us at the expo! Both came all this way just to cheer us on! (And soak up a little Florida sun, too!) I was so surprised and touched that I almost cried!
The energy here is high - huge gathering at the big dinner tonight where I finally met many, many long-time online friends face-to-face - and otherwise it's lots of fun but a little nerve-wracking too. Quite windy today, hopefully calmer tomorrow.
I'll post a few photos when I can - right now the priority is getting some sleep!!
THANKS for checking in on us - another busy day tomorrow doing all the final preparations for IRONMAN DAY on Saturday. Packing the gear bags, doing final checks on the bike, checking the bags in, perhaps getting in a swim, and driving some of the bike course.
Can I do 140.6 miles under my own power on sea, bike, and foot - within 17 hours? Stay tuned to find out on Saturday along with me!!! Remember, www.ironmanlive.com will have updates for me (#2484) and about 2500 other triathletes making the attempt starting at 7AM central time!
AND I had to return the rental car to the airport because the gas gauge was broken and it read empty and was continually dinging at me!
AND the tuneup had not been done on my bike, so I had to spend some time getting it worked on today, getting the chain and derailleur fixed.
So I hope troubles come in threes and we're all done with those vexations!!
BIG SURPRISE! Two of our good friends from Calgary, Alberta - Dawn and Dianne - showed up to surprise me and Ellie! They phoned us - we thought from Calgary - then simply walked up to us at the expo! Both came all this way just to cheer us on! (And soak up a little Florida sun, too!) I was so surprised and touched that I almost cried!
The energy here is high - huge gathering at the big dinner tonight where I finally met many, many long-time online friends face-to-face - and otherwise it's lots of fun but a little nerve-wracking too. Quite windy today, hopefully calmer tomorrow.
I'll post a few photos when I can - right now the priority is getting some sleep!!
THANKS for checking in on us - another busy day tomorrow doing all the final preparations for IRONMAN DAY on Saturday. Packing the gear bags, doing final checks on the bike, checking the bags in, perhaps getting in a swim, and driving some of the bike course.
Can I do 140.6 miles under my own power on sea, bike, and foot - within 17 hours? Stay tuned to find out on Saturday along with me!!! Remember, www.ironmanlive.com will have updates for me (#2484) and about 2500 other triathletes making the attempt starting at 7AM central time!
On my way!
Just after 4:30 AM for a 6AM flight.
Early morning wakeups are the worst thing about this sport. Yawn. OK, this is just training for race day morning!
SEE YOU IN FLORIDA! And if you're not there, thanks for cheering for us from home!
Early morning wakeups are the worst thing about this sport. Yawn. OK, this is just training for race day morning!
SEE YOU IN FLORIDA! And if you're not there, thanks for cheering for us from home!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Go Nancies!
There are seven Nancies in Ironman Florida 2006. I'm practically in the middle!
- 2316 SNYDER NANCY 39 F AGE W35-39 STATESVILLE NC UNITED STATES STAY AT HOME MOM/ NON-PRACTICING ATTORNEY
- 2423 WILBURN NANCY 45 F AGE W45-49 CAPITOLA CA USA UNITED STATES NURSE
- 2427 SUMMERS NANCY 45 F AGE W45-49 CLIFTON VA USA MANAGER
- 2482 MARQUETTE NANCY 48 F AGE W45-49 ROCHESTER MN USA REGISTERED NURSE
- 2484 TOBY NANCY 49 F ATH W45-49 ARLINGTON VA USA MOMMY
- 2494 KLUTENKAMPER NANCY 49 F AGE W45-49 LAKE ST. LOUIS MO USA RN
- 2505 JAMES NANCY 50 F AGE W50-54 LADSON SC USA TEACHER
My Ironman Florida goals
I like ShirleyPerly's Ironman Florida goals a lot. I think I'll just steal them, except she might tell me "Get your own d*mn goals and quit sponging off mine!"
Actually, they do sound a lot like my goals!
Last New Year's Eve I wrote out these objectives, and I still think they're pretty good ones:
Ultimate objectives:
And before I forget (yes, it's natural to become a teensy bit self-absorbed in these things) GOOD LUCK and PLEASANT TAILWINDS to all my fellow athletes and friends who will be at the starting line with me on Saturday - and THANK YOU SO MUCH to all those volunteering on race day, too! I couldn't do it without you all there too!
Also thank you again for the good wishes that I've received from everyone back at home. Thanks for following along - I do appreciate it greatly!!
Still, I can't believe that I'm missing the World Championship Punkin' Chunkin' this coming weekend for a trip to sunny Florida for a silly old triathlon.
Actually, they do sound a lot like my goals!
Last New Year's Eve I wrote out these objectives, and I still think they're pretty good ones:
Ultimate objectives:
- Train intelligently and effectively for an iron-distance triathlon while keeping my life in balance with my other responsibilities.
- Get to the Ironman Florida starting line (Nov 4) in the best shape of my life.
- Enjoy every race day as a celebration of my training, bringing away lessons from each race.
And before I forget (yes, it's natural to become a teensy bit self-absorbed in these things) GOOD LUCK and PLEASANT TAILWINDS to all my fellow athletes and friends who will be at the starting line with me on Saturday - and THANK YOU SO MUCH to all those volunteering on race day, too! I couldn't do it without you all there too!
Also thank you again for the good wishes that I've received from everyone back at home. Thanks for following along - I do appreciate it greatly!!
Still, I can't believe that I'm missing the World Championship Punkin' Chunkin' this coming weekend for a trip to sunny Florida for a silly old triathlon.
Three more sleeps
Race day is three sleeps away! Well, probably 2.5 sleeps, since I'll be staring at the ceiling a lot of Friday night, I'm certain.I'm glad I'm getting advance reports from people who are already down there, because it just doesn't seem quite real yet!
It will seem real when I start seeing the palm trees (hopefully NOT blowing in heavy winds) and the bikes with disc wheels going whop! whop! whop! as they fly past me.
I fly down tomorrow morning at 6AM.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Tracking athletes at Ironman Florida on race day
Ironman Florida race day is this Saturday, November 4th. The race begins with the mass swim start at 7AM local (central/Chicago) time which is 8AM east coast/New York time, fortunately for me.Online coverage should begin about a half hour before the swim start. You may be able to find a link to live streaming video coverage from either http://www.ironmanlive.com/ or http://www.ironmanflorida.com/
If you want the latest split data for an athlete, go to http://www.ironmanlive.com/ and click on the athlete tracker, then do a search for them. To track an athlete using the system, you need to know either their race bib number or their surname. If your athlete has a blog, you may also find the race bib number posted on their blog recently.
Be aware that the system is often flaky and may fail to update for an hour or more at times of heavy usage. Don't jump to conclusions that something awful has happened to me unless you hear DETAILS from someone!
Finding athletes: You can generate a list of all participants and their race numbers here. If you don't know a semi-anonymous blogger's real surname but you know their first name and where they're from, you may be able to figure it out from this list.
A listing of our friends and volunteers who will be at Ironman Florida is here. I've added some of the bib numbers that I can find to the list.
If you're just joining us, my name is Nancy Toby and my bib number is #2484, by the way. This post should help you interpret the times that pop up for me on race day so that you can see if I'm having a good day, or not!
Usually the Ironman races are boiled down to one official hour-long telecast, which will probably be broadcast in a couple of months on the Versus cable channel, but don't count on seeing anyone you know unless they finished in the top five.
Words of inspiration?
If you have any SHORT SHORT inspirational or funny words for me to read on race day during my inaugural Ironman attempt, Linae has graciously agreed to print them on index cards and stuff them into my transition bags for me (so that I can read them as a surprise). On index cards so that I can stuff them in my jersey pocket and save them to read at low points.
Her email is onlyspirit@gmail.com - please send direct to her.
Thanks in advance!!
Her email is onlyspirit@gmail.com - please send direct to her.
Thanks in advance!!
What would failure be?
I'm actually feeling pretty good, despite eating my entire body weight in Halloween candy the last few days.
Success for me at Ironman Florida is easy for me to define. Cross the finish line by midnight, and hopefully do it upright with a smile on my face.
What would failure be for me?
If I don't finish by midnight, I'll be disappointed not to get the medal, but I won't consider that a huge failure. I had a great year, and that can't possibly be a failure. Maybe I didn't train as much as I could have to prepare my body to handle the distance, or I didn't execute my race plan well on race day, or I had an accident or unexpected injury. Any of those can lead to DNFs, and there's no shame in that. It's a high-risk high-investment venture, and putting all the emphasis on one day leads to a certain concrete probability of non-completion.
For me, I would count an extended visit to the medical tent as a failure - that would mean that I pushed my body past its limits and put my health in jeopardy, and that's not a line that I wish to cross. I have two little fairy princesses at home that are counting on me to come home in fine shape. Those two are much higher priorities than any silly old race!!
The outcome is binary in one way - finish by midnight or don't. But there's a vast array of other possibilities in store for the actual day.
I guess it would be a failure to me if I didn't HAVE FUN. And if I failed to thank the volunteers and encourage the other triathletes along the way. I'd count that as a failure in spirit.
I'm just amazed that I'm actually looking forward to it. I was expecting to dread it. But now, it's just a really long swim in the Gulf, followed by a longer bike ride in the Florida sunshine - and hey, how about a run too?
Success for me at Ironman Florida is easy for me to define. Cross the finish line by midnight, and hopefully do it upright with a smile on my face.
What would failure be for me?
If I don't finish by midnight, I'll be disappointed not to get the medal, but I won't consider that a huge failure. I had a great year, and that can't possibly be a failure. Maybe I didn't train as much as I could have to prepare my body to handle the distance, or I didn't execute my race plan well on race day, or I had an accident or unexpected injury. Any of those can lead to DNFs, and there's no shame in that. It's a high-risk high-investment venture, and putting all the emphasis on one day leads to a certain concrete probability of non-completion.
For me, I would count an extended visit to the medical tent as a failure - that would mean that I pushed my body past its limits and put my health in jeopardy, and that's not a line that I wish to cross. I have two little fairy princesses at home that are counting on me to come home in fine shape. Those two are much higher priorities than any silly old race!!
The outcome is binary in one way - finish by midnight or don't. But there's a vast array of other possibilities in store for the actual day.
I guess it would be a failure to me if I didn't HAVE FUN. And if I failed to thank the volunteers and encourage the other triathletes along the way. I'd count that as a failure in spirit.
I'm just amazed that I'm actually looking forward to it. I was expecting to dread it. But now, it's just a really long swim in the Gulf, followed by a longer bike ride in the Florida sunshine - and hey, how about a run too?
Deep thoughts and not-quite-final words
I wish I had something profound for you here as we get down to the last few final days before I attempt the Ironman Florida triathlon in Panama City Beach, Florida on Saturday.
Bolder has some deep thoughts. So does Comm.
I don't. Yeah, it's the journey, not the destination, and I've had a really fabulous journey of discovery this past year. Amazing. Pretty unbelievable, in fact. The fact that I'm no longer paralyzed with fear of the swim leg any more may say it all. Or that a flat tire is just another bump in the road, not the end of the day. Or a six mile run is just a warmup for a half marathon.
But as for me, I don't have profound things to write about. I'm doing mundane last-minute tasks like making sure my hair is RED which we all know is FAST.
And figuring out where I can get an Internet connection so that I can maybe post a few quick updates from Florida.
And smiling at good friends (and even strangers) who send positive wishes our way for a great day on Saturday.
And trying to figure out what to put in my suitcase, now that most of my gear is (hopefully) waiting for me with my bike Buttercup alongside the transition area by the hotel.
I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped and encouraged me along the way, especially my loving husband Steve for his constant support, my girls Catherine and Elisabeth for inspiration, our babysitter Elizabeth who freed up lots of training time for me, my special bunch of girlfriends (you know who you are!) including Ironman Ellie who are always there for me, my local training buddy David, the entire knowledgeable TRI-DRS list including Shelley who is always an upbeat and positive example of a great triathlete and mom, Yurtie who coached and coaxed my swimming along from the other side of the world, and all my best bloggy pals, some of whom I'll meet in Florida for the first time. You all rock! And I THANK YOU!
Bolder has some deep thoughts. So does Comm.
I don't. Yeah, it's the journey, not the destination, and I've had a really fabulous journey of discovery this past year. Amazing. Pretty unbelievable, in fact. The fact that I'm no longer paralyzed with fear of the swim leg any more may say it all. Or that a flat tire is just another bump in the road, not the end of the day. Or a six mile run is just a warmup for a half marathon.
But as for me, I don't have profound things to write about. I'm doing mundane last-minute tasks like making sure my hair is RED which we all know is FAST.And figuring out where I can get an Internet connection so that I can maybe post a few quick updates from Florida.
And smiling at good friends (and even strangers) who send positive wishes our way for a great day on Saturday.
And trying to figure out what to put in my suitcase, now that most of my gear is (hopefully) waiting for me with my bike Buttercup alongside the transition area by the hotel.
I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped and encouraged me along the way, especially my loving husband Steve for his constant support, my girls Catherine and Elisabeth for inspiration, our babysitter Elizabeth who freed up lots of training time for me, my special bunch of girlfriends (you know who you are!) including Ironman Ellie who are always there for me, my local training buddy David, the entire knowledgeable TRI-DRS list including Shelley who is always an upbeat and positive example of a great triathlete and mom, Yurtie who coached and coaxed my swimming along from the other side of the world, and all my best bloggy pals, some of whom I'll meet in Florida for the first time. You all rock! And I THANK YOU!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Taper madness
It's easy to go a little bit crazy when suddenly all this time and energy is freed up when you're no longer training heavily for a big triathlon.
I've been posting most of my obsessive weather and surf reports over at our Ironman Florida blog in preparation for the coming weekend festivities. I'm really not calm at all! DON'T BE DECEIVED!
Stop over there if you really want to join in on the craziness!
Commonest costumes
I just learned that we had the commonest costumes of all.
Top Children's Costumes 2006
1. Princess (generic) 11.5%
2. Pirate 5.0%
3. Witch 4.8%
4. Spider-Man 4.4%
5. Superman 3.7%
6. Princess (Disney) 3.1%
7. Power Ranger 2.9%
8. Pumpkin/Jack o'Lantern 2.2%
9. Cat 2.0%
10. Vampire (generic) 1.5%
11. Angel 1.4%
12. Fairy 1.4%
13. Ninja 1.4%
14. SpongeBob SquarePants 1.4%
15. Batman 1.3%
16. Cheerleader 1.3%
17. Football Player 1.3%
18. Tinker Bell 1.3%
19. Monster (generic) 1.2%
20. Star Wars character 1.2%
Those Disney marketers are no dummies. We have been assimilated.
Fortunately our girls are real princesses and not just pretend ones.
Top Children's Costumes 2006
1. Princess (generic) 11.5%
2. Pirate 5.0%
3. Witch 4.8%
4. Spider-Man 4.4%
5. Superman 3.7%
6. Princess (Disney) 3.1%
7. Power Ranger 2.9%
8. Pumpkin/Jack o'Lantern 2.2%
9. Cat 2.0%
10. Vampire (generic) 1.5%
11. Angel 1.4%
12. Fairy 1.4%
13. Ninja 1.4%
14. SpongeBob SquarePants 1.4%
15. Batman 1.3%
16. Cheerleader 1.3%
17. Football Player 1.3%
18. Tinker Bell 1.3%
19. Monster (generic) 1.2%
20. Star Wars character 1.2%
Those Disney marketers are no dummies. We have been assimilated.
Fortunately our girls are real princesses and not just pretend ones.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
One more party
We had one more childrens' Hallowe'en party at our Yacht Club today. Our little fairy princesses in costume were named "Most Precious" in the 1 to 3 year old category. Naturally their parents agreed! Of course, there was a category for every child there - littlest, biggest, furriest, cutest, etc.
Princess Elisabeth had grown weary of making formal appearances in her royal regalia and was ready to go home quite soon after we arrived. We had to wait to secure her rightful bounty of imperial candy, however.
Princess Elisabeth had grown weary of making formal appearances in her royal regalia and was ready to go home quite soon after we arrived. We had to wait to secure her rightful bounty of imperial candy, however.
