Brian Hagan - 2018 Ultraman Florida Race Report
Background
Ultraman Florida is a three day ultra-distance triathlon. It takes place in the central Florida Orlando/Clermont area (Feb 16,17 and 18). Day 1 (Friday) consists of a 6.2 mile open water swim and a 93 mile bike. This is the only day that consists of a transition. Day 2 (Saturday) is a 172 mile bike. Day 3 (Sunday) is a double marathon (52.4 miles). Total distance is 323.6. It is supposed to be 321.6, but hurricane damage led to some re routing for this year on the day one bike adding 2 miles.
The race has a real family feel to it. There were only 39 athletes at registration (35 finishers). I got to go to a camp in December with 5 other athletes, and three former athletes that were providing support. By race week, a lot of us had formed friendships and bonds that really made this experience unique.
Before I get to far I want to mention how much a appreciate the support from the Endurance Nation Family! From @tim cronk and @Simon Shurey providing inspiration, guidance and direction to @Stephanie Weldon sharing the journey with me, you all helped me prepare and complete this journey. The EN Zwift GroupMe crew helped make my indoor training sessions something to look forward to. I thought of all of you guys many time throughout the race, and am very thankful.
There are no aid stations, so you are required to have a 2 to 4 person crew. I ended up with 4. My crew consisted of @Francis Picard, a few of my friends from home (Ed Giroux, Rich Bazzy and Kurt Bortels) . All of these guys volunteered right away and I knew we are going to work well together and have fun. I also had the kayak support (Kathy Reid) for the swim that I hired through the race. These guys were the best! I appreciate everything they did for me!
The crew!
Each day was point to point with different starting and ending locations. Unlike Hawaii, you can stay in the same condo for the whole event because you are never more than 45 minutes from a start or finish. We stayed at a condo in Kissimmee that was about 25 minutes from the host condos. The main reason we stayed there is one of my crew member had access to it, and it saved me a lot of money. I’d recommend either staying at the host condo, or somewhere out of the chaos of Disney like Clermont. Day 2 ends near Clermont and day three starts in Clermont and ends close to Clermont.
Monday – Arrival
I flew in Monday and was able to visit my parents.
Tuesday – Bike Check
I checked into the condo. 2 of crew arrived around 1:00 with my bikes, so we unloaded and then went to bike check. I had my primary bike (TT 2013 Specialized Transition) and a backup road bike (Felt F4). You are allowed to go to a backup if the primary bike experiences a mechanical failure to such an extent that it cannot continue to be used. Both have to pass inspection. The intent of the inspection to ensure both bikes are safe. You are also required to have mirrors either on your sunglasses or bike and working front and rear lights.
Wednesday – Did a 5:15 AM open water swim in Lake Conway with a local athlete that swims there 3 days per week. Lake Conway is the lake where the swim portion of the race is held. I did not see much of it, because it was dark. Why did I do it? First, the athlete (John Riordan) is a really cool guy who was the run course captain (lead volunteer) for 4 years. He’s a great guy. I knew it would be cool to be with another athlete to help calm my nerves a bit. I also needed to test my wetsuit that was recently repaired by Roka. I am sure sleeping in would have been a wise option, but I would do it again. It was helpful being with a fellow athlete and also getting a few extra pieces of advice before Friday.
Athlete Registration – This took a bit longer than planned. They take each athlete and spend a lot of time reviewing the course, the rules and suggestions. Also, you get a 15 minute interview with Steve King, but I had to wait a couple of hours to get my interview. He is the announcer and does a great job getting to know each athlete and then mentioning things about the athletes throughout the weekend.
Me with Steve King!
Me at registration
My wife, Lisa, got in late Wednesday night. Luckily, Rich and Eddy volunteered to pick her up from the airport, so I was able to get to bed early.
Thursday – Sleep in day! - There is also a mandatory athlete and crew captain lunch. Rich Bazzy was my crew captain, so he and I attended. When we got back to the condo @Francis Picard arrived. Later that evening Kurt arrived.
Breakfast – Veggie skillet at Perkins, plus breakfast again at the athlete brunch.
Evening Meal was Chipotle (same as Wednesday evening).
Oh... and I shaved my beard, legs etc...... the mustache was soon eliminated as well.
Friday – 6.2 Swim and 93 Mile Bike
Woke up early and had 2 Vega bars and two large glasses of Naked Smoothie. We arrived at the Lake Conway swim start at about 5:15. I met Kathy who I had briefly met on the phone a few days prior. She explained to me where should would in her kayak after the swim start. She had a yellow kayak which was nice, because most of the other kayaks were red.
One of the athletes was a Catholic Priest (Alexander Serna) from Columbia. He gave us a blessing in Spanish. I do not even remember if the anthem was played. There were athletes from 12 countries, so you could always hear Spanish, Portuguese and of course English being spoken.
Steve King led the countdown and at 7:00 and we were underway. I was surprised that there was a bit of contact to start the swim. There were kayaks and swimmers all over the place. After about 5 or to 10 minutes things spread out pretty good.
I wore a Roka Maverick Pro wetsuit as the water was in the low to mid 60s. I chose not to wear the bootie or neoprene socks, but I noticed a few did. The cap they gave us was Silicone, and I was comfortable with that the whole way.
Swim
My nutrition plan was to take a gel per mile. One major flaw in this plan is the flask I gave the kayaker only held 5 gels. I remember when I handed her the gel flask she said with surprise “that’s it!”. We stopped every 35 to 40 minutes, and I’d take a hit with some water. I also had to adjust my goggles as they were way too tight over the swim cap.
There was no wind or cloud cover as the sun came up. The water was as smooth as glass and the sun was bright. I really enjoyed the swim. You basically do 2 triangles. One is on the south side of a bridge and the other on the north. We started at the far north end of the lake heading south. We completed the south tringle and under the bridge again to complete the north triangle.
I started to slow down the last hour and really wanted to get out of the water and on the bike. I completed the swim in 3:38:25. Also, I swam an extra 1083 meters. I was 19th overall for the swim.
It was really hard to stand as I approached the swim exit. I was really out of it. I remember Francis handing me a cliff bar. The guys stripped off my wetsuit and I ran out of the changing tent to go pee. I did not pee at all on the swim, because I couldn’t make myself pee with the female kayaker.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1410325698
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I saw Lisa on my run back to the changing tent and gave her a kiss (she later cold me that I was really out of sorts). I changed into my EN bibs (that were loaded with DZ Nuts), HR monitor, socks, shoes and jersey and then took off on the bike. I believe the transition time was a little over 8 minutes. It is included in my bike time.
Bike – You have to follow all of the traffic laws on the bike. For stop signs you have to stop, unclip and put your foot down, look both ways and go. You have to stop at all traffic lights and wait for them to turn green (except turning right). There were a lot of them at the start of the bike.
My nutrition plan for the bike was one hit of concentrated INFINIT (I use a custom vegan blend). @Francis Picard made 3 hour bottles, and 4 healthy sips were enough for each hour. I also drank one 24 oz bottle of Gatorade (lemon lime) and one 24 oz bottle of Smart water per hour.
About 45 miles into the bike, I really started to struggle. I was starting to have doubts about finishing the race. I could not imagine riding the 172 the next day, much less the run on Sunday. I was getting grumpy and tired. My eyes were even starting to close while I was riding. In hind sight, I had the perfect nutrition plan except for the swim. Francis showed me the gel flask that I thought was empty on the swim, and after resettling, it still had one hit left in it. That meant I only has 4 gels on a 3.6 hour swim. In hind sight, I should have had double that.
I stopped at the car and Francis made me eat a Vega protein bar. He started giving me oranges as well. I did not immediately feel better, but this is what saved me for sure. At around the 70 mile mark (I’m not sure) I stopped again. I believe Francis made me eat another Vega protein bar. I had more oranges, but I also took 2 salt tabs and a Red Bull.
Roughly 3 people had passed me in the last hour or so. Another person passed me and all of the sudden I felt a bit competitive. I did not want to lose any more ground and I wanted to get out there and catch a few that had passed me. My overall goal was to finish, but I still wanted to place as good as I could.
Within a few minutes I started to feel awesome! I don’t know if it was the salt, the red bull or just the overall calories digesting from earlier but I suddenly had energy. I also started getting a nice tail wind and some smooth asphalt. For the last 20 miles my speed was over 20 MPH (when I was not at a stop) and my last 10 miles were the last of the fastest of the day.
I felt awesome at the finish! Total bike was 5:32:30 (26th Overall). Total for the day was 9:10:55.(23rd Overall)
https://www.strava.com/activities/1410769245
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After a few photos and a bathroom stop, I got in the car with Lisa and we drove back to the area of our Condo, stopped at Chipotle and I went back to the room. I opted to not get the “free massage” at the day 1 finish in favor of more food and sleep. @Stephanie Weldon loaned me her husband’s recovery boots. I was able to sit in them and eat and watch some TV. Francis kept making me eat. The crew and Lisa went out for dinner and I was in bed by 8:30.
Day 2 – Bike 171
I had the same breakfast as day 1 – 2 Vega bars and 2 large glasses of Naked Smoothie. We had a long drive out to the start, but got there with plenty of time to check in and get the bike ready to go. They had us line up in previous days order to start. I will say, there was no verification and I think with all the languages barriers this was not organized very well. Regardless, at 7:00 we started to pedal.
I felt pretty good. Drafting is allowed for the first few miles, since everyone starts off together. It was not long before people started to separate. I worked my way up to the front of the second pack and (from what I was told) was 5th overall for a while. My HR and watts were well into their limits, but I think everyone was just being cautious.
I did notice I was seeing a lot of the crew cars and they were providing nutrition on the fly (like an aid station). When I saw my crew, I asked that we do the same and keep moving. We were doing that for the most part, but all of the sudden I had to pee. I started to go on the bike, but then decided I did not want to sit in that all day. I pulled over and went in the woods. I ended up going a lot, maybe 10 times the whole day. I was drinking a lot, but I was really thinking that this was not normal.
The nutrition plan was the same, but I know Francis was putting salt tabs in the water and Gatorade. I could taste it.
The course is mainly flat for the first 105 miles. We were doing everything well. I am not sure, but I started hitting the Red Bull a little earlier and Francis continued to push Oranges and Vega bars into me every time I stopped. We got to ride the hilly section twice during the camp in December, so I was just looking forward to getting to them.
Sure enough, at mile 105, I hit Dewey Robbins Road out and back. This is a section is a bit like IM Louisville with long and a few steep rollers. I did start having issues with my chain dropping while going into the small ring. At one point we had to duct tape the rear brake cable under the bike frame. The breaks still worked, but it was just cut too long. I was feeling really good. Also, I remembered it being much worse than it actually was.
Yolo!
After I turned right onto the highway and hit a section of flat road until I got to Sugarloaf Mountain Road. No, it is not a mountain, but I believe it is the highest point in Florida. I did see someone walking their bike up it, but I was so fired up to see it. It is pretty steep and I was in the 39/28 and standing up put pedaling. One of the guys from the Indian crew was running next to me (they were awesome). I believe I also remember Francis and Kurt running next to me. It was really fun. I also love to descend, so I went down the back side as fast as I could. The road was a little rougher than I imagined, but it was over quick.
After that, you ride for about 5 miles and then you hit a section of rollers at about mile 145. Francis and crew along with the Indian crew were running along with me on all of the climbs. I remember saying “all done with the climbs” and then realized there was a couple more. I did not care, because I felt good new the end about an hour away.
Sometime around here, Francis gave me the cold brew. I believe he said over the last hour I passed 5 people. I just felt great. I even passed a guy who ended up drafting me for a couple of miles. Later on, he would run a stop sign and pass me. I let him go, but I knew we were close in the standings.
I finished in 9:53:40 (21st), 20 seconds behind drafter. My total for day 1 & 2 was 19:04:35 (22nd).
https://www.strava.com/activities/1412677193
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My wife had Chipotle waiting for me, so I decided to eat it and get in line for a massage. Also, the ride back on day 2 was a lot quicker than day 1.
We got back to the condo, and I got right into the recovery boots. The crew ordered pizza. I made a peanut butter sandwich, drank some Naked Smoothie and Vega Protein bars and took 1 piece of pizza. Again I went to bed a little later (maybe 9:30), but I think I was still wide awake from the Cold Brew and Red Bull.
I was also pretty full. Francis did a great job at making sure I was eating all the time. Tim Cronk said it’s an eating contest as much as it is a race. He is so correct!
Day 3 – Run
The run started an hour earlier (6:00) than the other 2 days, but we had a shorter drive and less admin with no bikes. Lisa got to sleep in and the crew and I all left close to our regular time. The starting line was moved this year to start at Starbucks in Clermont.
The run started in the dark, and for some dumb reason I decided not to wear a headlamp. The fast guys (and girl) took off and I somehow ended up in front of a group of people. I was not sure if I was missing turns or not, so I slowed down to make sure I was not the one getting us lost.
Here is me before I decided to take off the headlamp....
The start of the run was a lot hillier than I expected. Clermont is far from flat. I committed to a 9 minute run and 1 minute walk. There were a lot of stop lights at the beginning of the run, so it took a while to get into a groove. The original plan for nutrition was water from my hydration pack and Gatorade chews every 40 minutes. I stopped to pee a few times in the first hour and I was thinking “not this again”. I decided I would try to get more salt.
I saw the crew about and requested more salt. Francis started running with me. He and Kurt alternated. At some point, @Francis Picard took over carrying the vest and started handing me the straw every 4 minutes. After a while he would carry a Red Bull in one pocket and a cold brew in the other. When it got hot, he started putting ice in the pockets. The guy made it so easy for me.
He and Kurt were alternating as pacers. @Francis Picard ran 31 of the 52.4 miles with me. He made the time go by and really helped get me through the run. I can't thank him enough for this.
Yolo!
We had cloud cover for the first marathon. This was a blessing, because when the sun came out for the second half it got really hot. According to my Garmin, it was just above 90 for a few hours in the afternoon. My pace definitely slowed for the second half, only by a couple of minutes per mile. The only walking I did was the one minute walk breaks and a few long hills.
Things really started to hurt the last 10 miles. I kept saying that every step was the longest run of my life. Also, I knew at that point I was going to finish. A huge weight had lifted from my shoulders as I was starting to feel excitement alongside the pain.
I ran the last 2 miles on my own. As I approached the finish line I was overwhelmed with emotion.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1414925589
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Although the run day was my longest day, it was my best day in terms of placing. I was 16th overall with a time of 10:18:05.
My final time was 29:22:40 (20th overall).
Comments
Some highlights that stand out to me were:
1) your race started with a Blessing from a Colombian Priest!
2) you are a gentleman ... not peeing in the presence of a female
3) Red Bull saved you from not eating enough in the swim
4) Brother @Francis Picard saved you with sneaking salt into your fluids
5) Cold Brew caffeine dulls the pain
6) integrity to not ride thru a stop sign and follow the rules.
I'm so impressed that you trained through the cold winter. Congratulations!!
My favorite line: "My pace definitely slowed for the second half, only by a couple of minutes per mile." Hah! "Only" is all relative I guess. Do that in an IM, much less a shorter tri, and you'd be singing a different tune.
Ultraman Florida is on my list of epic events. For me, a February race would mean doing almost all of my training indoors with winters in Utah. I listened to your pre-race podcast about how you prepared. How did the indoor training translate to the race? Anything you'd adjust in your training?
@Peter Noyes Yeah I know, but I did not forget so much as I had a bad plan for the swim. I would love to have done a few more swim bike rehearsals.
@Scott Giljum Thanks! I'm glad we got to get a few rides together!
@Jeff Horn - Thanks!
@Sheila Leard You were in my thoughts. I saw your comment about me needing salt Saturday night. That really made me think to take more and really helped get me through the run!
@tim cronk - I never would have applied for the race if you would not have messaged me. I will always be grateful that you did, as this was one of the best experiences I've ever been apart of. I also appreciate the help you gave Stephanie and I.
@Alicia Chase - Thanks! I enjoyed joining you all on a few Saturday rides.
@Paul Curtin - Thanks!
@Bill Manard Thanks!
@Al Truscott Ha Ha - Yes, that was over many miles. The first marathon was 10s and 11s (Mile 22 was 11:11!) and the second was 11s and 12s with a couple of 13s (minute Miles). I also enjoyed your company on the west coast Saturday Zwift rides. Thanks for the kind words!
@Gabe Peterson Thanks! I've enjoyed following your adventures! For swim its the obvious of sighting. I am not sure what I could have done, but I know I would advise using the kayaker more as a guide for going straight during the race. The biggest difference for cycling was wind, shifting and the very rare bad road. A big advantage I feel I had was I was used to pedaling non stop. With the indoor riding, I never coast and was used to just pedaling for hours.
For my training, I would have continued my December plan all the way till taper. In December, I did long run Wednesday and Thursday and Long Ride Saturday and Sunday. In January, I switched to long ride Saturday and long run Sunday. the only week I needed to do this, was the 50K run day.
My niece lives near Clermont...maybe I'll do some training there and could be part of a crew some day. I really don't see doing the race, but crewing could be amazing!
@Trish Marshall - Thanks! I could give you some routes if you do go down. I know @Coach Patrick used to do a camp there as well, so he may have a few ideas as well. I know I would love to crew!
Thats a hell of a huge accomplishment, you were well prepared even if that was the hardest thing you did of your life.
Again congrats my friend ! it was a really honor & pleasure to be part of your crew, the 3 other guys in the car were fantastic, I dont think we got a boring moment in those 3 days. Even if I didnt do the full 3 days, I know this event changed my perception in so many aspects of that sport.
ok, now get back on zwift.
@Francis Picard Thanks again. I will always appreciate the support from you and the other guys on the crew. I am sure I did not even see a fraction of what your experiences were. I'd love the see that crew RR, because I know I was off on a few things.
I definitively experienced the same change in perception for the good. Sometimes its good to step outside and view things from a different angle. Hopefully I will get to race with you at Wisconsin! Take care!