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2021 Ironman Florida 70.3 Race Report

Created: Wednesday, 21 April 2021

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.

Ironman Maryland 2018 Race Report

Created: Tuesday, 09 October 2018

This is my 3rd Ironman! As usual, I had my adventures and mishaps to go along with it. I had a great swim, and bike, but had a tough run. This journey brought me up to the Eastern shores of Maryland to conquer a 2.4 mile swim in the Choptank River, 112 very windy bike miles, and a 2 and a half loops to complete a 26.2 mi run.

Tugaloo Triathlon 2018 Race Report

Created: Tuesday, 09 October 2018

My 8 year old God-daughter has been swimming and running, and told me “Uncle Derrick, I want to see you race!” How could I say no. Although I haven’t raced in Georgia since 2015 when I completed my first half Ironman in Augusta, I signed up for the Olympic Distance Tugaloo Triathlon. Huge thanks goes out to Hammer Nutrition for sponsoring me in this race. Although I had a lot of stress entering the race, I was relaxed by approaching the start line treating it as an Ironman training day. My only goals were to have 3 excellent legs, and don’t suck!

Ironman Ohio 70.3 Race Report

Created: Sunday, 29 July 2018

It was time to finally race in my home state! Both of my parents came down to Delaware, OH, from Cleveland to support me. It was the first time my Dad has seen a triathlon. My wife joined me, so this race was special. This looked like an enjoyable race: 1.2 mi lake swim, 56 mi flat bike, 13.1 mi two loop run with the finish line in the stadium of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Ironman Gulf Coast 70.3 2018 Race Report

Created: Tuesday, 29 May 2018

My 2nd race of the season, 2nd in two weeks, 2nd race in Florida. This was my first time in Panama City Beach, FL though. I felt ready, and eager to test my abilities. I learned from my decision two weeks earlier, I now plan to wear my Zoot wetsuit. My goal, was not to be the slowest swimmer. The bike is flat and fast, so the plan was to crush it at 20 mph. I knew it was going to be hot, so plan for the run is to be fully hydrated before I start, stay cool, and just hold on until the finish.

St. Anthony Triathlon 2018 Race Report

Created: Saturday, 28 April 2018

This was my second time at this race in St. Petersburg, FL. My goal was to improve on my time from 2 years ago. I was successful! Beat it by 5 minutes. It wasn’t easy, but it was a great race. I swam 0.9 miles in 38:27. Averaged 21.4 mph on the 25 mi bike, then ran a 9:07/mi for 6.2 mi to finish at 2:48:02.

Ironman Louisville 2017 Race Report

Created: Sunday, 15 October 2017

Ironman Louisville was all about redemption for me. Although I finished my first Ironman in Chattanooga last year, I wasn’t pleased with my performance when I succumbed to the extreme heat that day. I want a strong Ironman race, and was determined to make it happen this year.

Then, life happens. My job assigned me to work in the desert in California (I live in Atlanta). Since January, I’ve been trying to find ways to train while traveling 1 - 2 times a month while living in an unfamiliar area. Not to mention, it stays hot as hell in the desert! So training was very tough. I increased my swim skills by joining a local Masters swim class. I purchased the Zwift membership to ride on my trainer in my hotel room since the roads were unfamiliar and dangerous. Runs were all short, since it was just... too hot. Add in vacations, and it was clear that I was under-trained this year. The weekend before the race, I was actually in South Africa!! Through it all, I continued to train hard and I felt ready for the race despite not having biked a single century (100 mi) or long run (over 14 mi).

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