Road Trippin' - The Biggest Loser RunWalk Panama City Beach 2014

People no longer ask us if we have any vacation planned. Neither do they ask us what we plan to do when we get there. In 2014, we had 22 weekends on the road, all but 2 were for races.  So when Ron's parents decided they wanted to bring the family out to Orlando, Florida to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, it was one time where we didn't have a race planned. Then the vacation pushed back a week and lined up with The Biggest Loser RunWalk in Panama CIty Beach. Even though it was a 380 mile drive from the Disney World area, it immediately got on our race calendar. So much for a race-free vacation.

About the only thing we had to do was get back in time for the anniversary dinner at 6PM at Forte back near Orlando.  We'd be cutting in close. By 7 AM Saturday, we were on the road for the 6-ish hour drive. Without traffic, we'd be in time to stop for a driver change and catch the 2 - 4 PM presentations by Danni Allen and Dan and Jackie Evans. We also were going to meet our friend Tawni who was flying down just for the weekend to earn Diamond status on Delta.

One thing we totally spaced on was the fact that Panama City Beach is actually in Central time, not Eastern.  While that helped us get to the Expo and presentations with plenty of time to spare, it did pose a problem on the return trip with losing an hour. We'd have to race at 7 AM, try to walk the half in 2:40 or less, head back to the hotel, shower, change and get back on the road by 11 AM. Then we had to hope we don't hit traffic.

We checked in to find Callie and Christina at the Solutions desk. You may remember Callie from TBL Casper earlier in 2014. We're trying to get her to join us in a race walk clinic some time in the next year. We also found out Christina is engaged!

We missed Gina McDonald's presentation at noon. Gina was the (Season 14 At Home Winner). We did get a photo op with her though. The TBL contestants are generally down to earth and grateful for the opportunities they've been given so they take as much time as their fans want. 

Danni and Gina from Season 14

We wandered the expo until 1:30, catching up with our friends Amy and Dave at Gypsy Runner, then got seats for Danni's presentation.  She's a dynamic speaker and like a lot of former TBL contestants has found a career as a personal trainer. She discovered how much she loved running when she was on the show and work toward a sub-4 marathon. Her first one was close (Chicago in 2013, just under 4:10). She's just getting started.

Dan and Jackie closed out the presentations. Jackie struck a chord with a lot of moms in the audience saying she went on the show because she felt like she had failed her son, Dan. She gave some interesting advice though. "One of the most selfless things you can do is take care of yourself." If you don't make yourself a priority, you won't be able to give your best. And that rolls down to all the things you want to do and the people you want to help.

Dan and Jackie with the "Before" picture in the background.

On the way out, we met a young lady who was doing her first half marathon. I thought I heard her name as Marquita Miller, but I can't seem to find her pictures. She was in People Magazine in the last year for having lost over 300 pounds! She was one of the most amazing stories among dozens of inspiring stories in the audience. We heard a lot of 30, 50, 100, 150 pound weight loss stories.  If anyone wanted to kick off New Years resolutions right, this was certainly the place to find the motivation!

Tawni joined us for a quick dinner at Montego Bay Seafood House. One of the disadvantages of being in Panama City Beach in December that Yelp won't tell you is that some restaurants close for the season. Montego was undergoing some remodeling, but the food was good.  Dan invited us to the staff pre-race party later that night. Seeing he race crew the night before really gave us an appreciation of what they're putting into this. They have dozens of races all over the country and this is their passion.

We arrived at Pier Park about 45 minutes before the 7 AM start. The new start location was ideal since it was right across from the mall and parking was plentiful. We had lots of room to stretch out on the park lawn and get in some warm ups in front of the stage. Dan and Jackie were joined by other former contestants to send us off.

Someone in the first corral dropped her iPod. The entire stage called it out and returned it to a grateful runner.  

It was quite a bit warmer that we saw in the forecast. After shivering through IRONMAN Florida, we had to adjust to a mid-60s starting temp with what felt like fall Florida humidity. Susan and I started in the front of the second corral with the faster walkers. It should be noted that TBL doesn't enforce form in the Walk division. It's kind of understood that walkers walk most of the time like Fresno. There is not separate bib or course, so we're on an honor system.

About a mile out we caught up to Marko and Larry. They actually WERE walking B-rules (no loss of contact). They were also relatively local so they had the advantage of timezone and humidity acclamation.  Pile on the fact that we hadn't worked out seriously since San Antonio and we were in for a bit of a race.  Marko, Larry and Susan made the turn at mile 6.5 within 10 feet of each other and I was about 20 seconds back.

Right about then both of us felt like we hit a wall. Susan reminded me we had a slight tailwind on the way out and with her allergies acting up, the headwind on the way back was a bit of a challenge.  I tried to close the gap on Marko and Larry and got to within 7 seconds, but my heart rate was in the mid to high 170's by then. I knew I had to dial it down a bit or I'd be likely to have a very unpleasant 6 hour drive home. Marko and Larry pulled away, but turned to check on us on the last left turn before the finish. Marko and Larry crossed the finish line 1st and 2nd overall in the Walk division.

Susan finished about 7 minutes later, high-fiving Gina and Danni at the finish line. Susan was the first woman I saw to walk across the finish line, so as far as pure walkers, I'm pretty sure she was the fastest on the course. We caught up with Tawni who had a solid sub-2:30 to finish out her race year. We even got a surprise Repeat Medal for having done Casper earlier in the year!

We said a quick goodbye to Tawni, Dan and Jackie, got back to the hotel and on the road by exactly 11 AM. We got caught in a few back ups on I-95, but made it to dinner in time to finish off appetizers and order our main course. Dessert, of course, was required.

It's great when you get to spend time with family. Getting to see more than one family in the week? 

That's priceless.

~//~

The Biggest Loser RunWalk Panama City Beach 2014 was the third year of the event. There were 412 finishers in the Half Marathon (312 RunWalk, 100 Walk) and 542 finishers in the 5K (349 RunWalk, 193 Walk). The participants ranged in age from 7 to 78.

The course was out and back along Front Beach Road with only 120 feet of total elevation gain/loss for the half. The course was a little long (13.5 miles by GPS), but I look at it as bonus steps.

Ron finished in 2:39:36. That was good enough for 3rd overall and 3rd in age group for walk. Overall (run and walk) it 149th of 412 (14/20 AG overall). 56.47% age grade. I'm going to need another few weeks to give my stress reaction in my foot to get better.  Susan was disappointed with her finish time of 2:46:07, but it placed her at 7th overall in walk, 3rd in age group. It was also 174th of 412 overall (21/57 AG overall). Her 59.58% age grade placed her 2nd overall in the walk division. I didn't check the other age groups, but she may have been 2nd overall on AG%. Disappointment, it seems, requires perspective.

Looking back on 2014: we finished with a total of 62 races between us (1 Ultra, 4 full marathons, 47 half marathons, 6 10K's, 1 3.35 mile, and 4 5Ks). We crossed over the combined 150 half marathon mark in December and have 183 events at the Half/Full/Ultra distances. 112 of those are Rock 'n' Roll races.

January of 2015 marks 10 years since we started our first marathon training season. Back then, we thought it would be a one and done. That's when we got hooked. And started Marathoning for Life.

Here's to an awesome 2015!

Upping our (spectator) game - IRONMAN Florida 2014

Last year we made a rare trip to Austin (without a race) to WATCH our first Triathlon. TriRock Austin was our first glimpse at a live swim-bike-run event. In the theme of "every year better than the last" and with Susan this close to getting Southwest A-List Preferred status, we added a few additional flights to go watch our friend Al at IRONMAN Florida in Panama City Beach.

Fortunately for us, we had veteran IM support traveling with us. Caryn had the pre-race routine memorized and she and Al laid out a great plan for support on race day. The swim and bike routes are loops so the only place we could see people was at the start and hope to catch specific people at the transition. The run segment was two out and backs, so we could be in full support mode for those into the late afternoon and evening hours.

This was our first time in Panama City Beach. If any place screamed "Spring Break," PCB certainly fits that description. Driving into the host hotel, we saw the rows of themed restaurants, bars and entertainment you'd expect from a tropical resort.

Pineapple Willy's was right outside of Al's hotel. The motto "Smile Big, Eat Big, Drink Big" was backed up well by the menu

Prepping for multiple events takes on a whole different level of complexity. The forecast was in the low 40's with winds up to 40 mph gusts at the 7 AM start time. Usually, we would just throw on a few layers and tighten our hats, but the brutal crosswinds had a lot of people worried about their wheels on the bike segment. Wheel rental was probably brisk as people traded down disc wheels for spokes for better control.

What was really uncertain was the tides. Up until the night before, the surf had been black flagged due to strong rip currents. From the hotel, we could see white caps out for hundreds of yards.

Race Day:
With a 7 AM start time, the plan was to be into the hotel parking garage by 5 AM. Road closures pretty much required that since the bike route went right by the garage. I wonder what it's like to be a non-participant in a hotel where everyone is up at 4 AM.

Al needed to be up early for body marking and bike check. As a veteran, he'd been adjusting his sleep cycle to be on east coast time for weeks so this wasn't a big deal. We were ready to stand in the wind to cheer people as they went by on the bikes. I can't remember the last time we were bundled up that much standing next to someone in what Susan called a 'onesie'.

The IRONMAN community is very tight. On the plane over, we struck up a few conversations with people who were on the way to the event. Even though we were on the outside looking in, we know it's a huge deal for people, especially the first timers. As we made our way out to the immaculate white sands for the swim start, we ran into Lisa Marie - a first timer - and her partner Ken who Al had met earlier in the weekend.

A few minutes before 7 AM, things changed drastically. Race officials, in an abundance of caution, cancelled the swim leg. The rip currents still hadn't subsided and white caps were visible for a mile out. Even the boats that would be monitoring the swimmers were having trouble negotiating the currents.  The bike segment would be a time-trial start format starting at 8 AM.

The decision made sense to me. Better to not risk lives. But for first timers like Lisa Marie who started planning this journey five years ago, it was a tough blow. Would this really be an Ironman? Does this count? Al spent the next hour talking her down. Having 34 Ironman events under his belt gave him perspective we'd couldn't begin to comprehend.

After stripping out of the wet suits ("I thought of something completely different when you mentioned there would be strippers!"), we waited about an hour before heading over to the bike start. Lisa Marie would be taking off around 8:30 and Al would follow about an hour later. Al's swim leg is usually his warm up and without that, he made the last minute call to add a windbreaker to his equipment. Fortunately, we had one handy.

9:34 AM: Al comes out of the bike start, Double Live Jacket and disc wheels equipped.

This is where the waiting starts. The 112 mile bike course is a single loop. Since there are strict rules about pacing or aiding IRONMAN participants, it didn't make sense to try to get out to the course, even for an enthusiastic music or cowbell station. We're used to seeing people for 10 - 20 seconds on the marathon support. Going out for 1 - 2 seconds on bike support, especially with the wind gusts didn't make sense, so we spent the next 5 hours back in the hotel watching the live tracker until Al hit the mile 91 mark. We were still in the hotel when Lionel Sanders finished his day with a 2:44 marathon time.

The run course was set up for multiple support points. Caryn handled the start/finish of the loop so she could have a change of sunglasses ready as the sun set around 6. Susan and I drove out toward  St. Andrews Park. Susan took a position at the 5K point, cowbells and coaching mentality ready. She actually got recruited into directing runners and cars near the crossing of Hilltop and Treasure. I'm thinking she made a big difference on the second loop since it was a pretty dark stretch of road. The checkpoint lead gave her a Volunteer Shirt for her troubles.

I was able to get into the park. Thanks to the Ranger at the gate for letting me in without parking fees since I was clearly not there for camping! The stretch between miles 6/19 and 7/20 was under trees and some open beach front. I didn't go all the way to the turn at the end of State Park, but I heard it was pretty exposed. I did my best to call out names and encouragement, ringing the cowbell for all I was worth.

At some point, I wasn't actually consciously ringing the bell. I was just so cold standing there that my arm was shivering.

Lisa Marie started her bike about an hour before Al, so we were looking for her first. I have to say, technology really rocked this time for communication. It's a huge deal for people supporting a race to be there for their athlete. Knowing when they were coming was a great help.

Lisa Marie at the first turnaround. We had lots of daylight left on the first loop of the run segment. 

After Al passed the turn on the way back, I knew I had a while before I would see them again and a while before they got back to Caryn at the turn. He didn't look nearly as chipper as I would expect and I found out later a few things about Al's ride. At a particularly windy stretch of road, someone in front of him lost control of his bike and went down hard, ending up with a compound fracture of his leg. Al had to bunny hop over him to avoid running him over. Al then stopped to help the injured rider until medical arrived.  It explained why one segment was quite a bit slower than previous check points. In the process of avoiding the other rider though, Al landed with his full weight on the aero bars. For the first 6.5 miles, he was having trouble taking in food or liquids and even taking a full breath - not the way you want to start a marathon.

He found out later after seeing his doctor at home that he had broken two ribs and cracked another three. Maybe the cold was keeping the swelling and bruising from showing up, but his doctor said he was amazed he could stay vertical. Al said he wanted to set a good example for us since he's been asking us to push our limits. I'm never going to argue with him on that again.

Making the time pass faster as both a cheer squad participant as well as an Ironman marathoner is a challenge. The couple shown above were holding hands every time they passed us on the course. Now that's built in support!

The sun set a little after a quarter past 5 PM. Lisa Marie was fully into the Bite Me Zone, already planning her retirement from the Ironman. Al came through looking really tired. I tried to honor the no-aid rules and stayed with him as long as I could before letting him go off into the last 6.5 miles. I hope the cowbells were a good incentive and not an annoyance. If anything, people would want to go faster to get away from the noise.

I drove ahead to find Susan holding down the 5K point. I didn't quite get there in time to see Lisa Marie, but Al came by shortly after I parked. By the time we piled into the car and headed to the finish line it was a little after 8:30. Lisa Marie passed Caryn at 8:45 about with about a half mile to go. Al met up with Caryn about 5 minutes later. 

Caryn had watched a few of Al's Ironman races but never got the chance to see him finish. With a quarter mile to go, Al took a break at Alvin's Island to give Caryn a chance to get to the finish line. He ran the last hundred yards at a pretty good clip, finishing at 9:05 PM.

As exhausted as he looked at the finish line, Al has a tradition to come back out and watch the last finisher cross the line. The official cut off time was 12:24 AM (adjusted due to the cancellation of the swim leg). The last finisher came in, unofficially, at 12:47.

Recovery, at least for his enthusiasm, was quick.

Susan headed back to the hotel since she had a long week at work with little sleep. With the crowd dwindling, I hung around the finish area to help hand out water to the finishers. 

Lew Hollander is an Ironman legend. At 84 years, 144 days old, he was the oldest finisher in Florida. He will be racing in a newly created 85 - 89 year old age group next year at the World Championships in Kona. I sent Ann Wessling this picture and told him "Annie sends her best."

Sister Madonna Buder, at age 84 is actually older than Lew by a number of days. She didn't finish IM Florida, missing the cutoff by 6 minutes. The rules are strict. Even for the legends. I doubt this is the last Ironman she'll run.

The last finisher crossed the line 18 minutes after the official cutoff time. Even without the medal, the crowd gave him the honor of hearing "YOU are an IRONMAN".

The day didn't start the way it we were expecting. Without the swim leg, people may always wonder what could have been. First timers and bucket list 'one and done' participants may have to struggle with how they talk about this day. The high winds caused a lot of people to drop out during the bike leg. There are 134 pages of results at the Ironman Florida website and the last 14 of them didn't make the cutoff or didn't start. I like to think that we've gone through a lot of long days, but after being on the sidelines in Panama City Beach for almost 20 hours one thing is clear to me...

...This is way bigger than most people even dream of doing. Getting to finish, getting to the transition, even getting to the starting line, is a huge accomplishment. It was an honor to watch and cheer for every single athlete.

We're already making plans to come back next year. We'll save up some weather luck to keep the currents calm.

And we're holding out hope that we'll see Lisa Marie again. In our minds and hearts, she's an Ironman. It would be great for her to feel like she's earned it.