It’s almost November and that means its back to the races. This coming Saturday, November 1st, is Ironman Florida. Known for it’s flat and fast course, and fairly consistent weather this IM has long seen a quick sell-out on registration day. The host of Panama City Beach, Florida has long been a favorite destination spot for Ironman Coach Rich Strauss. He travels throughout the year to most North American Ironman events but can’t wait for November to roll around to return to his ole’ stopping ground ‘The Waffle House’. It was quite a ‘virtual’ tussle to get him to consider a different restaurant for the EN Pre-race gathering. But I digress – here’s who we have racing:
Stuart McFarren – First IM for Stuart – who joined us up in Lake Placid for our Epic training camp. Stuart heads into race day feeling very satisfied with his training. His swim and bike is where he feels the most improved. He is mentioning some recent time on the sidelines due to a case of plantar fasciitis – at best he will go into the event sure of no residual run training fatigue in the legs. Stuart also tells me about a rotator cuff injury leading to a ruptured bicep tendon which, as you can imagine, has impacted his swim training of late. All things come in three’s – then Stuart talks about a bike crash – which slowed everything down with a shoulder separation. But Stuart has the glass half full and says the Physical Therapist is a miracle worker and he will be at the start on Saturday hoping for a steady race and a strong finish. Stuart will have plenty of family at the event with his better half Tamara, also an ENer. Tamara will be in the Volunteer line-up on Saturday! His ‘one thing’ thoughts: “relax, slow down, have fun”.
Jenni Wingad – also one of our Lake Placid campers racing Florida. This will be Jenni’s second IM and first time in Florida. No injuries for Jenni – just a new job and move to a new city. All that aside she is feeling confident going into Saturday and has especially seen a boost in her riding. Her thoughts on race day: “After finishing one other Ironman, I can’t go with the ‘ignorance is bliss’ approach. Looking to execute well and finish with a smile!” Jenni’s one thing on race day will be to put the memory of an out of shape retired college athlete to shame. Her support crew Saturday will include her parents and her brother and her big yellow lab GUS. Gus will be the Endurance Nation supporter with the goofy face. Probably wondering what everyone is running for there is not a ball in site.
Dominic Malleo – this will the second IM for Dominic who is also fresh from his race rehearsal at the Chesapeakeman. The Aquavelo race was a big confidence boost for Dominic. His training has been going well this year and quite a long year he has had. He has been training since October of 2007 starting up with our Off Season group – taking only a brief mid summer break before a focused prep for Florida. He is looking to stand down from IM racing after Saturday – at least for a while. Looking to spend more time with the family, he’ll likely throw his hat into a HIM or two. As one of your Charter members, Dominic has this to say about his tenure in the haus: “With all of the pacing guidance that Rich and Patrick have helped us with, I have set very specific time goals for myself at IMFL versus just having the goal to finish IMLP last year. I do believe in the “jinx”, so I’m not going to share those goals widely, though I’m coming in better trained than last year, with a tri bike, and am now 10 pounds lighter so I’m pretty confident that I can meet my time goals. I have to give so much credit to R&P and everyone that gives feedback on the site who really help me focus and know that if I stay in “the box” that I’ll have a great race no matter what the outcome. I’ll also be cheering VERY LOUDLY for my fellow ENers out there on the course and they can look for me in my Endurance Nation gear. ” Injury-wise Dominic reports a 99.9% recovery from an Achilles strain. His ‘one thing’ – “that’s closely held and hidden. Suffice it to say, it gets me over the line every time.” He does mention that he will dedicate his day and his race to his wife Tracie. I’m sure it has been a long year for her too- earning IronWomen in her own right. Dominic, like many of us, would not get to the start line without family support. He’ll be traveling without the family for this race (see photo of the Malleo draft pack below). But he looks forward to getting home after a successful race to hear his kids do their best Mike Reilly impersonation of “Your an IronMan“. Hope to hear those soundbites in the Forum!
Gina Hamel – former IMFL volunteer – signed up last year and will be on the starting line this year. Also a long training year – another EN Charter member starting up with October 2007 group with her focus was IM Florida. Gina says the hard part of IM training is the day-in/day-out dedication to getting the work done. Gina thought she might not make the start line due to a SI joint dysfunction. She has also managed to get some of that miracle Physical Therapy – thanks to twice a week PT (there’s that PT again,PT must not be traded on the New York Stock Exchange). She is a bit worried about the run since she reports no more than a 2.5 hour run for her longest. I suspect this will turn out to be less is more on Saturday – as long as she is healthy. Gina will have plenty of support race day with her partner Susanna, her three sisters, Susie, Cathy, and Anna spectating and close friend Larry will be on the course with her racing his second IMFL. One concern she has had all training year has been a concern for her parents and their health. Her Father turns 80 years on November 30th. He has had several run-ins with health issues but has always kept plugging forward with a positive attitude. This past week he has had a relapse of heart failure. Gina will dedicate her race to him. In her eyes, “he has been an Ironman 100x over with his undaunting spirit.” Gina’s other ‘one thing’ race day – “To be an Ironman!!”
Scott Alexander – fourth Ironman and second time in Florida. Scott has been training all summer in the hot, hot summer of Texas. The heat had him shuffling the training schedule and moving his long runs to Thursday mornings to beat the heat. Lucky for Scott his manager didn’t mind a late arrival on those days – or lets hope he’s not reading this. Scott has had a nagging injury all year with an inflamed sesamoid bone in the right foot. He has been trying out some fancy kinesiology tape that seems to be working well now. Scott is one of a group of 10 friends racing on Saturday and the one of the reasons he signed up- many of the group will be racing their first IM. Scott’s other reason for racing Florida again on Saturday – he’s looking for a new IM PR. His ‘one thing’ is to “get the PR”.
Jed Vanichkachorn – This will be the second IM for Jed and first time in PCB. His first IM was a lottery slot for Kona! Jed is 6 weeks new to the EN training and racing philosophy. He wishes he had joined earlier since he says he has made more progress in the last 6 weeks than the previous months prior to signing on to EN - Talk about a quick study! No injuries going into Saturday and is taking along a friend to act as Iron-sherpa. His wife has the luxury of arriving Friday for just the essential support – race day. For race day Jed is looking to do a bit more this time than just enjoy the palm trees and a cruise down Alii drive, he’s approaching this one as a race. His one thing will keep him focused on preping for the run and a marathon split time under 4 hours.
Matt Gurtis – first Ironman. The training season has been pretty long for Matt – who joined up with us early this year for training for the Florida 70.3 in May. Just prior to the HIM he strained a calf muscle which I am assuming is good to go now- when ask about injuries he stresses the ‘mental ones’ from letting his friend talk him into this race. I think I may be obligated to keep his friends name confident under EN bi-laws or something…his friend is also and ENer. Matt’s major obstacle going into Saturday is that he really wanted to use his motorcycle for the bike leg. Hmmm…no Matt you can’t do that. He’ll have his wife and two daughters in the cheering stands. He also mentions the paramedics as part of his support crew…not sure if he actually knows someone volunteering for IM medical or if he thinks they may be prospective ’new’ friends on race day. Matt is hoping to stride through the finish line to his family and friends after an enjoyable day.
Hayden Dempsey – has one IM FL under his belt from 2007. He feels he had a well executed race in 2007 and a good finish time. This year he is racing with the “No excuses!” mantra. His goal for race day will be to add some speed to the day while maintaining his experience of good execution. Hayden will also have his wife and 2 daughters out supporting his efforts on Saturday. His ‘one thing’ will be to “Only walk through water stops”.
Linda Patch – Also IM number 2 for Linda, second shot at the Florida course. Linda reports that her training has been “stupendous” and training harder than she ever has in her life – translation – the EN way. Her training this year has given her that ’possibilities’ feeling – she is reporting major gains in her fitness and mental confidence going into race day. Supporting her race day will be hubby/training partner Keith who has given up his usual riding regimen to support Linda on her long rides and also getting a taste of the EN training philosophy. Injuries? Linda mentions a nagging quadriceps in the past…that she has not heard a peep from lately so expects race day to be fine. Her thoughts for race day: “When I go into the Ironman, my hopes go beyond the physical. I want to be fully present for every moment of the day, celebrate this journey, and be grateful. It’s a day all about power–yes, riding my power meter as smartly as I can, but also staying in my own personal power. In that way I can find the flow, have fun, stay focused and relaxed. For me, it’s a day to complete the circle of what began so many months ago, and to relish the triumph no matter what the end result.”
Team Boyle – members are Leigh and Dave. This will be team Boyle’s first trip to Florida, Dave is the rookie and Leigh is the veteran IMer. Team Boyle is excited for Dave to take the IM plunge. He has been having a great season so far with 3 HIM’s under his belt and a PR at Timberman 70.3 in August. He remains injury free despite an amazing lack of flexibility and chronically tight hamstrings. His one thing? Finish and enjoy the day. His other one thing? Beat Leigh! (the loser wins yard duty!) This will be Leigh’s 3rd IM and first time in Florida. After a slow start early in the year thanks to a foot injury, she is having a multi-PR season and feeling faster and stronger than ever. In previous IM’s she has made several rookie mistakes and is determined this go-around to “race” to her potential. Her one thing? Execution. Her other one thing? Beat Dave! (yard work entails A LOT of raking…). Stay tuned to Saturday to see who gets ‘raked’.
Also racing from the Nation:
Paul Jouet
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