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Bernie Hall
Great Floridian XII on October 20, 2001

This was my second Great Floridian and second Iron-distance triathlon. I came to Clermont this year in hopes of bettering my time from 2000 by cutting my transition times, not stopping as much, hoping not to have another flat, and possibly swimming, biking, and running a little bit faster. 

I would like to thank two first-time Ironmen, Barry Powell, who placed fourth in the Clydesdale 30-39 group, and Rick Spencer, a fellow teacher and cross country coach; and Greg Springs and Ali Arasta, future Ironman triathletes, for training with me, particularly on some of the long swims, bikes, and runs. These four friends helped me in my preparation, and made the long, slow, distance workouts a lot more fun. I also appreciate the patience, understanding, and support of my wife, Gwen, and kids, Kathleen and Steven, who raced some of the early-season sprints with me, went to cross country practice with me every day, and also ran a 10K with me two weeks out. Gwen and Kathleen couldn’t make the trip this year due to school commitments.

As we know from last year, the swim was probably short. This year it seemed longer, and then some. I started off the front inside and had a good swim, but my time was 8 minutes slower than last year. I think the water was more shallow farther out this year, and it was exhausting running until it was deep enough to swim. I started swimming sooner than most people on both laps. I came out of the 2.4-mile swim in 1:06.17, and headed into T1, which only took me 4:56, cutting my last year’s T1 time by 5:24. 

I saw my son, Steven and dog, Nutmeg, and tried to run my bike out of the transition area. I had put too much vaseline in my bike shoes, and they were almost slipping off of my feet. This year I carried everything I needed with me on the 112-mile bike. I used the Ironman Cocktail I found on the Internet in a 70-ounce CamelBak. I sipped on this continuously throughout the bike, taking a bottle of water at every aid station and pouring it into the front bottle. 

I liked last year’s course much better. I found this year’s course to have much more traffic. There were some bad roads, but I was one of the lucky ones who did not flat. At the Bike Special Needs area, I stopped, ate a bag of trail mix and drank a half a bottle of Dr. Pepper, saw Steven and Nutmeg again, and headed back out for the final 52 miles. My back tire was a little low, but I didn’t try to pump it up. After last year’s flat, flats on Thursday and Friday before this race, plus a minor crash on Friday while riding the run course, I was fairly paranoid about mechanical problems. 

The bike took me much longer (6:30.12) than I had anticipated, and even longer than last year, due in part to the increased difficulty of the course, heat, and winds. This year I left my shoes on the bike pedals, so I could run to the tent a little easier. 

At T2, once the feeling returned to my legs, numb from pulling the last twenty miles into the headwinds, I was ready to run out of the tent in 3:00, saving another 4:47 on last year’s transition, improving my overall transition time by 10:09. 

During the run, I kept running the entire time, including the initial hills, albeit slower as I progressed. I started at 9 minute miles and ended up averaging 10:56 miles by the end. I walked only through the aid stations, where I alternated water, Coke, Mountain Dew, [yes, the dreaded] Ultima, and chicken broth. The only solids I ate on the run were one bag of pretzels, one bag of popcorn, and one banana. 

All of the volunteers at the aid stations were superb. These people, their enthusiasm and encouragement throughout the long day, and the overall family atmosphere are what make the GFT the best Iron-distance race. 

After the initial disappointment at having to run uphill to the "hot corner," I actually enjoyed passing through the crowds downtown. I saw my friend Barry on the second lap. He was alternating walking and running, but faster than I was, so we passed back and forth until the end of the race. At the beginning of the third lap, Steven, who knew I was hoping to break 12 hours, told me to "haul it," but I told him I probably would not break 12, but not to worry about me, that I would not be upset if I didn’t. It was starting to get dark about 2/3 of the way into my last lap, where I got my glowstick around my neck. 

The black biting mosquitoes almost ruined that lap! It sure seemed like a long way to the Mad Dogs Station on the third lap, but the sight of the search light, and the sounds of finish line activity were very reassuring. What a great feeling it was to turn off of the lake trail for the last time at the American Flag and head to the finish! Steven and Nutmeg met me at the hot corner, and we sprinted it in for the last 0.2 of the 26.2- mile run. I think the crowds, who were also great, got a big kick out of seeing our little miniature dachshund running in beside of us. 

My run time was 4:46.13; my finish time, 12:30.36, almost 10 minutes faster than last year. The feeling of accomplishment is every bit as great as last year’s, and the afterglow still burns now over a month later. I look forward with great anticipation towards training for and competing in the Great Floridian XII on October 19, 2002.

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