On Saturday, November 1, 2025, I completed Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach. It was an incredible and grueling experience.

Ironman Florida Race Report

Background and Build Up

I ran my first two marathons when I was 18. Since then, I’ve considered myself a runner. I started running marathons more seriously and consistently about 15 years ago, and before Saturday I had completed 31. Sometimes people would ask if I had ever done a triathlon or if I ever would, and I would usually say something like, “Someday, but right now I’m happy just running.” Last fall Ironman announced that the Ironman 70.3 Boise was coming back, so within a few days I decided that now was the time to give it a try.

I didn’t really know how to swim and I didn’t have a bike. I mean, I could “swim”, but I couldn’t swim. Last October I started swimming at the gym about two times per week. My good friend who had completed an Ironman and was a decent cyclist, found a bike that would fit me on Facebook and I bought it. It was really too cold to bike at that point, so over the fall and winter I ran a lot, swam a bit, and used the spin bike in the gym a bit.

In April I did the Boston Marathon, so I didn’t do much cycling before that as I didn’t want to hurt myself. Once the marathon was done, I started cycling a lot more. I signed up for a local olympic distance triathlon in early June and that gave me some good experience. I kept training and completed the Ironman 70.3 Boise in late July. It was a blast, I did ok, and I was in good shape, so the next day I signed up for Ironman Florida.

I trained pretty hard over the rest of the summer and into fall. In August I averaged ~11.5 hours of cardio per week, and then ~12.5 hours per week through most of September and October. My biggest week was 14 hours. I dialed in my nutrition and gear (including a used triathlon bike – 2014 Cervelo P2). I watched lots of YouTube videos to help with all things triathlon, and especially swimming. I did two ~90 mile rides, a 102 mile ride, and a 20 mile run. I also raced a half marathon three weeks before the Ironman (and set a PR at age 43!).

Cyndi joined me in my tri-cation to Florida. We did a red-eye on Wednesday night. Got signed in and built my bike on Thursday. On Friday I did a one mile run and then a brief practice swim in the ocean put on by Ironman, then relaxed the rest of the day (even went to a movie). The practice swim was super helpful in calming my nerves. I didn’t sleep at all on Friday night. During the night I ate an Uncrustable and drank an energy drink. I left at 5am to go to the race. I forgot to eat my bagel, so I ate a Bobo’s PB&J that I had intended to eat during the Bike portion.

Ironman Florida Swim

The Ironman Florida swim is two laps around a pier. I lined up in the front of the 1:11-1:20 target section, and it seemed like I got to the front of the line quickly (way more quickly than Boise). I wanted to complete it in 1:15, but I knew I had a shot at a little faster as I had done some 4000 yard swims in the pool at a <30min/mile pace (equivalent to 1:12 for 2.4 miles). I ran down the beach, waded until the waves were up to my chest, then started swimming.

It’s so chaotic at first. I’m not used to a wetsuit, so it was hard to get my strokes down. Plus I was trying to spot the buoys and not run into too many people. I realized that I mostly just needed to watch the people next to me and they would do the spotting work for me, so I relied on that a lot. On my first lap I did a great job of just keeping 5-10 yards from each buoy even though my goggles were pretty foggy. It took about 500-600 yards before I felt like my stroke really got into a good rhythm. That was due to being unaccustomed to the wetsuit and nerves. I noticed my shoulders were getting really sore and I think it’s because my stroke was messy. When we started heading back to the beach on my first lap the sun was right in my foggy goggles and I couldn’t see any buoys, so I just tried to follow the people next to me. I was passing people constantly, which surprised me, although that’s what happened at the Ironman 70.3 Boise as well. I ran into several people, and sometimes it was like I hit them perpendicularly, which was funny.

The water was pretty clear and honestly the scene was beautiful. It was so fun to be out there even as I was huffing and puffing. I didn’t mind the salt water and luckily I didn’t take any big swallows.

It was a little daunting that I had another whole lap to do. Finally my hands touched sand so I wobbled to my feet and ran through the crowd on the beach with a big smile on my face. I was looking for Cyndi but I didn’t see her until I was passing her and heard her yelling. That gave me a big boost. I defogged my goggles while I was jogging and I was super happy when I glanced at my watch and saw 35:xx! That meant I had a shot at my goal.

On the second lap I started wide of the first buoy, and then I stayed wide all the way through the second turn. I may have added some distance, but it was actually somewhat nice because I wasn’t running into people. My stroke was decent, but I was definitely getting a little tired. I tried to focus on using my arms and not kicking much since I wanted to save my legs for later. I got close to the second red buoy (the second turn) and then I was in a crowd of swimmers again. The sun was a little higher so spotting was easier, but I had to barge my way through some swimmers.

On the backside of the second lap I had briefly spotted a very small jellyfish. When I had about 200 yards to go before the beach I felt a sudden spicy sensation on my left foot. It was a jellyfish sting! The sting wasn’t bad, just a slight burning and felt like eating a pepper but on my skin.

When my hand touched water again, I stumbled up and was happy to be done with the swim! I saw Cyndi again and gave her a salty kiss as I ran by.

Swim time: 1:11:37.

It was a long run up the beach, across the road, under the freshwater shower, down the ally road, through the T1 bags, and into the changing tent. I hustled, but T1 still took me 0:08:24. Maybe I could do it faster if I didn’t put socks on?

T1 time: 0:08:24

Ironman Florida Bike

After mounting the bike I sped up as we wound through the initial roads through town. My target was 21mph. I don’t have a bike computer, so I was just going by my Garmin watch. I watched my speed, heart rate, and paid attention to how I felt. I was somewhat worried about a flat or some other gear failure. At the Athlete Briefing they said they get 25-30 flats per year – so that’s about a 1.5% chance.

6 miles in we went over a bridge which was the steepest “hill” in the whole course. After coming down the bridge there was a sharp turn right and a truck turned in front of me and went into the bike lane, cutting me off so that I had to come to almost a full stop. Besides that I didn’t have any issues with cars. Most of the course is either two lane roads where the cars were being very careful, or four lane roads where they just didn’t come into the far right lane. I rode in the right lane almost the entire race and didn’t bother with the bike lane. I did this to help prevent flats and because the white line was often bumpy.

This is what I did for nutrition during the bike:

• ~750 kCal, 190g carbs: One 25oz water bottle filled with my homemade energy drink (maltodextrin, sugar, salt, cream of tartar)
• ~100 kCal, 25g carbs: One bottle of Mortal Hydration once my energy drink ran out
• 890 kCal, 123g carbs: Three Uncrustables and One Bobo’s eaten at miles ~15, ~40, ~65, and ~90
• 300 kCal, 75g carbs: Three Maurten gels
• 350 kCal, 37g carbs: Two other gels
• ~9 liters of water total

Total was about 2400 kCal and 450g carbs. Not bad, but in hindsight, I think I should have done a couple more gels as I ran out of gas on the run.

Miles 10 to 40 were pretty tough as there was a direct headwind, although I think it was probably only 7mph or so. Finally we turned west around mile 40 and had some downhill mixed in with rollers and a decent tailwind. I felt like I was flying at this section and my average speed was around 21.5mph. I felt like I was passing people quite a bit for the first half of the bike course, although I was also getting passed by some fast riders. There were a few guys I was playing leapfrog with. Some were really annoying as they would pass me, then immediately pull to the right and sit up to get a drink or something, so I’d end up just passing them back. This was fine as long as they would get far enough ahead that I wasn’t breaking any drafting rules, but sometimes they wouldn’t. Around mile 65 I saw one of these guys pulled over at the penalty tent and I chuckled.

At Mile 60 we turned north and this was the toughest stretch. Slight uphill and headwind. Luckily it was only 10 miles and we turned around at mile 70 and started flying again.

BTW, I may have found this video very helpful. I watched it just two days before the event and I’m glad I found it.

Athletes were getting very spread out by this point. It got lonely sometimes, with a rider 150+ yards from me in either direction. The bike started getting really old, and when we got around mile 80-90 the wind was changing directions and the ride got tough. It literally felt like we had a headwind the rest of the race. Several times, starting around mile 40, I would think to myself, “How am I going to run a marathon after this?!”

At mile 97 I got stung by a bee on my upper thigh. It hurt a little, but at least it made things interesting. Our last turn-around was about mile 104 where we turned onto a little trail and walking path under a road. I tried to keep my pace for the last few miles, but I couldn’t hold 21mph and eventually my average dipped down to 20.9 right near the end. I saw a kite flying at the beach and it confirmed to me that the wind had completely flipped directions from the 10-40 mile stretch.

Bike time: 5:21:24 (20.9mph)

I was so happy to finally hop of the bike. Cyndi was there and it was good to see her. I went directly to the portapotty and quickly grabbed my stuff, changed my socks and shoes, put on sunscreen, and set out for the marathon. I wanted to drink an energy drink, but my stomach said no.

T2 time: 0:06:08

Ironman Florida Run (Marathon)

I tried to take the run easy from the start. I actually felt really good for the first couple miles and my pace was around 7:00/mile. I knew I’d slow down, but it felt fine initially and my heart rate was under control and everything. It was pretty warm, 70F, so I dumped water on my head at every aid station and drank Mortal Hydration to make sure I was getting sodium. I also grabbed ice and dropped it down my trisuit where my bib belt held it in place. It was a life saver.

For context, I ran a half marathon three weeks earlier at a 5:52/mile pace. My last few marathons have all been in the 2:50’s, so about 6:45/mile. My recovery runs are typically around 8:00-8:15/mile. I hoped to be able to run 7:30’s or 7:40’s for the marathon, though I knew that was a stretch and if I blew up it would be out the window. I’ve had many marathons where I slow down to 8:00-9:00/mile in the last few miles after hitting the wall.

Around mile 3 or 4 my stomach suddenly started hurting. It had bothered me a bit on the ride, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. I realized this was going to be a tough race and my pace slowed to ~8:00/mile. I knew that I needed some fuel and I had brought a Huma gel, so I forced one down my throat even though I didn’t want to consume anything. After a mile or two of pain, my stomach suddenly felt better, I got my energy back, and my pace picked back up to 7:30-7:40 for miles 7 and 8. I felt great for those few miles. Then the wheels came off.

I suddenly lost all energy again. I knew I needed more fuel. I think I may have choked down a Maurten gel with 100mg caffeine. I know that around mile 12 I forced myself to start eating some energy gummies one at a time, even though I had no desire to do so. Our hotel was around Mile 12 and when I saw Cyndi I said, “I’m hurting.” And she said something like “yes I can tell.” I also asked how our son had done at his State cross country meet that day and it turns out he had done great, so that was good to hear. Mile 12 was 8:26/mile.

Turning around for a second lap was again daunting, but I knew I could at least survive. I suddenly needed a portapotty break, and fortunately I found one around 13.5 miles. At the next aid stations I started drinking Coke instead of Mortal Hydration. It was surprisingly good and I continued that, along with water, for the rest of the race.

I kept my miles under 9:00/mile for the most part. It was a slow jog for me, but I only allowed myself to walk in the aid stations. I wouldn’t let myself walk until I got to the first water and I’d always pick it back up after I left. I needed one more portapotty break during mile 19, but luckily that was it.

It was a slog and it was torture. I kept calculating what my time would be if I had to walk at 15min/mile, but fortunately I was able to keep jogging. My energy seemed to ebb and flow – I’ve never been on a roller coaster like that. It was like I’d get a little energy when some carbs hit my muscles or brain or something. Even at my slow pace I was passing quite a few people, of course, a lot of runners at this point were on their first lap. Getting to the turnaround was a joy as it meant I only had 10K left. Around mile 21 or 22 I remember a late 40’s guy passing me going pretty fast – like 8min/mile maybe. I thought, “Wow, how does he have that much left?” I was thinking maybe I’d have to walk the last 4 miles.

With a little more than 3 miles left something shifted in my body. I started feeling better and my legs started moving faster. I don’t know if it was mental or physical or both. Before I knew it I was going pretty hard and back down to 8:00/mile. I passed that guy that had passed me just a few miles before. I felt like I was flying and I couldn’t believe I had the energy again. I felt good all the way into the finish line.

The crowd at the end was great. As I was running down the red carpet I noticed the first timer bell and I gave it one loud clang and the crowd let out an extra roar. It was so great to finally finish! I was happy that I made it and that I could finally be done with the grueling race.

Run time: 3:40:06 (8:23/mile pace)

Total time: 10:27:40

Post Race

Cyndi found me right away with a smile on her face. I may have said something like, “I never need to do that again.” (Of course, that changed within 24 hours.) I grabbed some food even though I doubted I’d be able to eat any. Sure enough, I started feeling terrible and I thought I would die for about 15 minutes. So did a guy I was sitting across from at the table, but I assured him I just needed a little time. I nibbled on some French fries and drank water. After 15-20 minutes I was able to go with Cyndi to get my bike and walk back to the hotel. I was feeling better although my stomach was wrecked.

The shower was very nice and I also took a brief nap and rested for a bit. Once I thought I could move enough we went and got some delicious shrimp at a restaurant down the road – Local Steamer Seafood Market, which I recommend. I started taking down my bike but finally went to bed around 11:30pm, absolutely exhausted.

I actually felt a lot better on Sunday. We packed up, went for a walk on the beach, attended part of the awards ceremony, went to church, and finally caught our plane for the long way back to Idaho.

Overall it was an incredible experience. It was tough, but it was doable and it was very rewarding. It was fun to be out there with a bunch of other striving people. I felt blessed to be able to train and compete without injury. I don’t know if I’ll do another Ironman, but I’d love to at some point and I hope I get to see some of my kids do one some day.