IronMan Florida

Welcome to Our Zoo

IronMan Florida

Quick Post Swim Rinse

There Goes Jim - Black Strap on Left

That's Janes's Arm

Heading out on the Bike

Run Bags Ready to Go!

Running to Mile 11

Mike Rielly, voice of IM, Cheers in FL Finishers

Jim Finishes Strong and Running

My Ironman

Waiting for Daddy

Post Race Run Down

Team Knaack

The Man

Spring Training @ Carribean Coast

Some Pre-Race Scenes at Panama City Beach

A Leisurely Morning - Pre-Pancake Breakfast

The Boys Outside the Janus "Inspiration Station" Where Jena/James Made Signs to Cheer Me On

content

Friends and Family -

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement over the past months (and, of course, sense of wonder at my sanity). IronMan Florida is upon me and I want to share it with everyone.

You can be with me for the entire race and sit back with a beer, wine, soda, etc. while I am sucking down Cytomax and Gatorade Endurance over 2.4mile Swim, 112mile Bike, and 26.2mile Run.

For those unable to join TeamKnaack at IronMan Florida, November 5, 2005:

I encourage you to take a few moments to check out the IronMan Website to check in to see whether I make it through each of the three legs of the race. The webspace stuff below are all free to users:

1) Simply click on the IronMan Florida banner at the top of the page and follow the links to the IronMan Live Web space.

2) Click on Athlete Finder and enter Knaack in the box on the left sidebar

3) Assuming I am the only Knaack (and the site is working properly) you can see what my times are for each of the three portions.

4) Click on the Audio and Video section to pull down the streaming video of the race. The entire race will be webcast from 7am CST to 12Midnight CST (EAST-COASTERS NOTE: THIS IS CENTRAL TIME). You can enjoy all 17 hours OR use the athlete finder to estimate when I will (hopefully) be coming across the line.

For those making the trek to Panama City Beach to Join TeamKnaack:

If you are going to be in Panama City Beach the week of November 5, 2005 (and I know there are a few of you that will be there), TeamKnaack will be on the following schedule:

Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005

4am - TeamKnaack Travel to Panama City Beach

7pm - Arrive at Host Hotel

8pm - Jim short run workout

Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005

7am - Jim swim and bike workouts

9am - 5pm - beachtime, run workout, race prep, IronMan Village

5pm - Athlete & Family CarboParty

7pm - Athlete's meeting

Friday, Nov. 4, 2005

8-9am - Athlete's Pancake Breakfast

9am - 5pm - beachtime, race prep, IronMan Village

7pm - Pre-race Dinner

9pm - Bedtime

Saturday, Nov. 5, 2005

5am - Jim to Transition to Prep for the Race

7am - IronMan Florida START @ Boardwalk Beach Resort - Gulf of Mexico Beach

3-4pm - Pro Men and Women Finishers

6-7pm - TeamKnaack at finishline (I hope)

7-8pm - dinner

8-11pm - Finish Line Party to cheer on finishers

Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005

SLEEP IN, BREAKFAST, RACE RESULTS BOOKLETS, PHOTOS

12noon - Depart for Alexandria, go as far as possible

My Estimated Times for Each of the Three Legs of IronMan Florida:

Swim Start: 7am CENTRAL (right at sunrise)

- First Swim Loop (1.2mi): 7:45

- Swim Finish (2.4mi): 8:40

Transition 1: 8:40-8:50

- First Bike Loop (56mi): 12:00noon

- Bike Finish (112mi): 3:15pm

Transition 2: 3:15-3:25

- First Run Loop (13.1mi): 4:15pm

FINISH: 6:00-6:30pm (yes, it will be dark by then)

IM Florida Race-Week Journal

Wednesday (Travel day)

We got off to a good start on Wednesday morning (4am) and pretty much on time. Jena and James were very excited to be on a road trip and decided to keep the driver (daddy) company for about an hour before getting back to sleep. The trip was fairly uneventful with the packing pretty easy since we have had so much practice packing the morning of races and moving the troops into the Subaru to trek off to our various races. We stayed on track time wise for most of the trip until we hit the 13 hour mark and Jena refused to take a nap. It was all too exciting with a hotel stay and the beach looming, so we understood why she would be a little uncooperative on sleep.

When we arrived the first thing we saw upon hitting Thomas Road was the Giant (2 story tall) Gatorade bottle and the race fencing lining the road for a 1/2 mile approach to the Hotel (Boardwalk Beach Resort). We checked in and the bellmen took the gear and bike to our room while I drove the car the 1/4 mile to the secure parking lot set aside for guests of the host hotel. Our parking lot at the resort is the transition area so no on-site parking.

We sought out food upon regrouping but the resort pretty much only has a short-order cook making bar food and that just was not going to cut it after such a long day and a goal of not putting on extra pounds of transfats. We spied a few local flavor style restaurants along the beack as we came into town and decided to go back to one called Hammerhead Freds. Pretty good seafood and salads, the beer was great, and the tired babies toddled around the restaurant and looked at the fibreglass fish, etc. Their dinner came on a platter that, once finished with the food, was, in fact, a frisbee, so they had fun trying to learn to throw a frisbee (sorry Joel, "disc") but I think their Uncle will have to give them some pointers.

We got back by about 10pm and got to bed. The room we are in is a little dated (like 15 years dated) but it has a junglegym for the kids to play on (in the form of a bunkbed with a ladder) which has proven to be a source of fun (for Jena/James) and anxiety (for the parents).

Thursday

I know you are surprised to hear that I was up pretty early. I believe I would call it sleeping in, since it was about 6am when I got up (2 hours later than usual) and started to look for food. The thought of missing another day of training (even though I am totally tapered at this point) was impossible so I went for a really short run to clean out the pipes and enjoy the solitude of the morning.

Upon returning I found that the kids were watching cartoons and I could see from the balcony that others were doing as I was planning...a morning swim. Gatorade sponsors the morning swim each day with drink, music, and a gear-drop-off so you can come down and grab a swim before breakfast. I went straight in and got a couple of 15 minute sets (out and back a couple of times). The water was calm, cool, and clear...I could not belive how good I felt in the water and did not want to get out, but I knew I should not blow the glucose in my muscles as I am going to need them on Saturday.

After I came out of the water Jean and the rest of the team were there playing on the shore so I went up and showered really quick and we were off to all you can eat breakfast at the hotel. Following that, we decided to drive the bike course so that I could know what to expect on Saturday. Not surprisingly it was very flat and open on the way out of T1 and up the beach to the first main turn into the country. This is where it starts climbing up and away from the ocean and it truly is a long slow climb that I would not have anticipated had I not driven it this day. We did most of the drive before encountering some resistence from Jena, who had decided she had had enough driving in two days and rebelled. We cut that short and went back to the hotel, via a Winn Dixie for some supplies.

Upon our return we found that we needed some new paperwork to get into our parking lot, but could not park at the hotel or anywhere near to get such paperwork...this is the main problem with being at the host hotel, logistics. We worked that out but instead of dragging the team around from place to place I got them to the Hotel so they could grab a snack and hit the beach.

After clearing that snafu up I stopped to get some sand toys for the younger members of the Team and then decided to check out the IronMan Village on the way back (I figured I would run in and register on the way to the hotel). Boy was that an eye-opener! I found long lines and paperwork at every turn. It was nice however, to meet a dentist from Ann Arbor who is here with his wife for his second IronMan after finishing Wisconsin last year. With registration behind me I got back to the hotel and met the kids with their toys.

My afternoon bike ride was good, however there is so much construction going on along the beach that it was difficult to get into a rythum. Upon turning back, thinking I had been going into a headwind on the way out, I found that there was a SE wind that felt easily 15 mph and that made for a challenging return to base. I am glad that I only planned to get an hour tops today in the saddle (remember, taper). I got back in time to send Jean out for a run and the little ones hung around the room with me while I cleaned up and checked out the swag bag from registration. Not much to speak of in there but a gel packet and my race numbers: I guess the promoters want you to finish before getting any serious swag...makes sense to me as I have avoided wearing anything that says IronMan until I am actually a member of the club.

The carbo dinner was at 5:30 and we were starved after a day out and about. It was great food, drink, and desert, desert, desert (you can tell I have been stifling my temptation to satisfy my sweet tooth for a couple of weeks). The dinner presentations were emceed by none other than the Voice of IronMan, Mike Riley, which was pretty special for those of us who have been watching IronMan for so long yet never been called those magic words while crossing the line. IT was starting to sink in. You are here, the time is now, everyone is there pulling for you to cross the line. Lots of videos from Ironmans past, this year's Kona video, and a hilarious spoof by Huddle and Frey called "The Dos and Don'ts of IronMan Fashion" I wish the entire dinner presentation was on a video we could buy.

After dinner, the rest of Team Knaack retired to our room while I stayed for the Athlete's meeting (mandatory and quite informative actually). Following, I went to our room and tried to get to sleep. A difficult chore with so much on the mind following the dinner presentations.

COMING SOON!

Friday

Race-day

Sunday (Recovery day)