Home
Derrick B's Ironman Journey
Welcome to my Ironman Journey! You will find my race reports here as I work towards my next Ironman event. Big thanks to my sponsors, Zoot Sports and Hammer Nutrition. Click the link to save 15% on your first online purchase from Hammer.
IM Barcelona 2023 Race Report
After racing in Italy and Portugal, it was time for another epic destination for my 10th Ironman race! After making a list of exciting possibilities, the only reasonable airfare option led me to IM Barcelona! This course looked ideal, with a single loop for the swim, and a flat bike and run. My wife and I flew out on the Wednesday before the Sunday race, landing on Thursday.
The check-in was smooth. I was now used to the European ways of racing. QR codes on my wrist, timing chip pickup during the bike check-in, and needing to remember to wear my bib during the bike leg. But other rules still caught me by surprise, like needing to have my helmet buckled and bib on my waist before I’m permitted to check in my bike. Everything was in English, so there were no language issues.
IM Hawaii IM 70.3 2023 Race Report
There’s no more beautiful place to race than Kona, Hawaii! The big island. This was my first 70.3 distance race since Panama City Beach Florida, 2021. I entered the race under trained due to a couple of last minute trips to see my parents and work travel. A race in paradise can’t be bad! Thankful that my father was out of the hospital, I was glad to be able to focus, and proud to dedicate this race to them.Ironman Portugal 2022 Race Report
IM Cozumel 2021 Race Report
Ironman Cozumel was an excellent race! A very fast course, beautiful location, and well supported. I had a goal of earning my fastest race and I did, finishing at 12:27:58. The ocean swim is downstream, strong current, and a .5 mile short of the standard 2.4 mile swim. The 112 mile bike didn't have the typical high winds, but they were replaced with tropical storms and major road flooding. The run was warm and humid with amazing crowd support. Everything was in place for everyone to have their fastest race ever. Read on for the gritty details. If you have read my other reports, this is will be another very long read.
2021 IM Tulsa Race Report
2021 Ironman Florida 70.3 Race Report
Finally! I am racing again after the world shut down due to COVID. IM Florida 70.3 was in Haines City, Florida. 1.2 mile swim in Lake Eva, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. I completed it with a leg injury in 6 hours, 22 mins. My last race was IM Italy, in 2019. This was followed by several race deferrals, and cancellations. 2020 was spent enjoying the swimming, biking, and running lifestyle, not knowing when the next race would actually happen. Surprisingly, IMFL 70.3 was proceeding as scheduled, and that left all the participants rushing to get into race shape! Unfortunately, after driving to Haines City from Atlanta, I was too eager to go for a shakeout run and loosen up my legs. My calves were already tight from my training, and failed to follow my own advice. I should have loosened up my legs first with some dynamic stretches. Instead, I went running and quickly pulled my right calf muscle!!! I couldn't even run slowly on it. Big Bummer. This was just a training race for me to help prepare for IM Tulsa 5 weeks later, so I was not too disappointed. Anyways, this report describes what it was like to return to racing with new safety guidelines, and the details of my race.