Gulf Coast Race Report

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Gulf Coast Half Ironman Race Report, Panama City Beach, Florida

First off, I want to say I love flying. But things seemed to be challenging for us (Dan Nichols and I) before we even left London. We were both busy all week, so we didn’t get packed and ready to go until late Wed night. We left my place at about 10pm to drive to Toronto,(our flight was at 6:55am). I guess the customs officer woke up in a bad mood. I was sent back because the name on my ticket was, "Shawn Reeder" and my legal name is, " Michael Shawn Reeder". So, I had to get a new boarding pass. This took way too long and I was getting really tired of hauling all of my luggage and bike box back and forth through the airport. Finally, I get through, I find Dan again, and we only had about 10 min to get on our flight. I remind myself, I still love to fly….

We arrive in Panama City Beach Florida and it is HOT!!! 88degrees with 90% humidity! We get to the race site, check in and go for a swim in the Gulf. The water is warm, 73 degrees and clear. Saw some sting rays near by and some dolphins abit further out. I’d forgotten how beautiful it is here.

Fast forward to the night before the race, and we are both getting pretty nervous. Dan is to bed early and I’m up late doing my usual pre race tinkering with my stuff.

Race day; 1hr before the race and still no confirmation on wetsuits or not for the pro’s. Surprised to see Spencer Smith is just as agitated with this as I am. We need to know so we can change into our race uniform and set up our transition area. Finally Charlie Crawford,( the head referee) confirms the water temp is 73 degrees, no wetsuits today. This is good news, and I can get ready to race now.

Start; Smooth start, with minimal contact. I notice about half way that I’m in 5th place with Dave Harju on my feet. With about 1/2km to go Uta Mukel comes flying past us. I tried to stay with her for abit, but wow, she can swim! So I settle into my pace again and Dave and I cruise onto dry land. Smooth T1 and off I go on my bike. My main goal now is to eat, drink and load up on salt for the next couple of hours. And oh yeah, ride with good technique. I felt awesome! Things seemed to click for me on the bike today. Held a strong pace on the way out into the wind. Saw Dave on the side of the road with a mechanical,( too bad cuz he was making up time on Spencer and Alec Rukosuev at the time he flatted). This put me in 5th place on the road. My head is filled with positive thoughts today, all the people back home supporting me. I really do feed off of you guys, (you know who you are) so thanks for your warm wishes and words of encouragement before I left. Another big help is that I have the sounds of Nickleback pounding in my head all day! A couple of extra salt caps before rolling into T2. Feeling well fed, and reasonably hydrated. Looking forward to seeing how my running legs are today. About 3miles in I’ve overcome some muscle cramping and have settled into a comfy 6:30 pace. This is when I move into 4th. I continue to reassess my effort and realize I’m going to have a pretty good day . All I have to do is hold my pace and avoid further cramping. From 4 — 12 miles I couldn’t see anyone in front or behind me, so I’m in cruise mode. Still, the heat is getting to me,( 91 degrees and crazy humid), so I have to make a conscious effort to maintain my fluid and salt intake. With less than a mile to go I see someone up ahead. So I surge abit to see if I can catch him,……not today. Coming into the finish shoot, I’m elated with my first triathlon of the season! What a great Day! As soon as I stopped running I start cramping, everywhere!!! Calves, Hams, Quads, in both legs, rotating from one muscle to another. This was my first trip in a wheel chair to the medical tent. HAHAHA, I can laugh now, but man it hurt, BAD!! About 1 1/2hrs and 2 bags of fluid and I’m ok to walk on my own again. Feeling really good about how the day unfolded. For me. Dan and I jump in the Gulf of Mexico for a quick rinse before gathering our equipment to go back to the hotel. Unfortunately for Dan, he had mechanical problems that cost him about 30 — 35 min early on the bike course. He did finish and seemed happy with his effort today. The awards ceremony was really exciting for me. I think today I really felt s though I earned my place as a pro triathlete. I look up to Spencer Smith and didn’t ever expect to find myself shaking his hand on the podium. We even spoke abit about how each of our races went and what we’d be doing the rest of the season. He really is a classy guy. Writing this on the plane back to Canada, I’m so looking forward to getting home and thanking some of my supporters in person. A great big hug from Sage is also an incentive for me to get home. Overall this has been a great start to this years racing season. Hope you all have good experiences with your first race this year and maybe I’ll see you at Lakeside in June. Happy training to all.

Shawn Reeder

Dear Shawn,

Congratulations on your participation in the Gulf Coast Triathlon at Panama City Beach, FL. We hope you had a great race experience!

Here are your official times as recorded by Sommer Sports ChampionChip Race Timing Services:
SWIM: 31:46
SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION: 2:06
BIKE: 2:24:48
BIKE TO RUN TRANSITION: 0:46
RUN: 1:31:45
FINISH 4:31:09

BACK

		Gulf Coast Half Ironman Race Report, Panama City Beach, Florida First off, I want to say I love flying. But things seemed to be challenging for us (Dan Nichols and I) before we even left London. We were both busy all week, so we didn’t get packed and ready to go until late Wed night. We left my place at about 10pm to drive to Toronto,(our flight was at 6:55am). I guess the customs officer woke up in a bad mood. I was sent back because the name on my ticket was, "Shawn Reeder" and my legal name is, " Michael Shawn Reeder". So, I had to get a new boarding pass. This took way too long and I was getting really tired of hauling all of my luggage and bike box back and forth through the airport. Finally, I get through, I find Dan again, and we only had about 10 min to get on our flight. I remind myself, I still love to fly…. We arrive in Panama City Beach Florida and it is HOT!!! 88degrees with 90% humidity! We get to the race site, check in and go for a swim in the Gulf. The water is warm, 73 degrees and clear. Saw some sting rays near by and some dolphins abit further out. I’d forgotten how beautiful it is here. Fast forward to the night before the race, and we are both getting pretty nervous. Dan is to bed early and I’m up late doing my usual pre race tinkering with my stuff. Race day; 1hr before the race and still no confirmation on wetsuits or not for the pro’s. Surprised to see Spencer Smith is just as agitated with this as I am. We need to know so we can change into our race uniform and set up our transition area. Finally Charlie Crawford,( the head referee) confirms the water temp is 73 degrees, no wetsuits today. This is good news, and I can get ready to race now. Start; Smooth start, with minimal contact. I notice about half way that I’m in 5th place with Dave Harju on my feet. With about 1/2km to go Uta Mukel comes flying past us. I tried to stay with her for abit, but wow, she can swim! So I settle into my pace again and Dave and I cruise onto dry land. Smooth T1 and off I go on my bike. My main goal now is to eat, drink and load up on salt for the next couple of hours. And oh yeah, ride with good technique. I felt awesome! Things seemed to click for me on the bike today. Held a strong pace on the way out into the wind. Saw Dave on the side of the road with a mechanical,( too bad cuz he was making up time on Spencer and Alec Rukosuev at the time he flatted). This put me in 5th place on the road. My head is filled with positive thoughts today, all the people back home supporting me. I really do feed off of you guys, (you know who you are) so thanks for your warm wishes and words of encouragement before I left. Another big help is that I have the sounds of Nickleback pounding in my head all day! A couple of extra salt caps before rolling into T2. Feeling well fed, and reasonably hydrated. Looking forward to seeing how my running legs are today. About 3miles in I’ve overcome some muscle cramping and have settled into a comfy 6:30 pace. This is when I move into 4th. I continue to reassess my effort and realize I’m going to have a pretty good day . All I have to do is hold my pace and avoid further cramping. From 4 — 12 miles I couldn’t see anyone in front or behind me, so I’m in cruise mode. Still, the heat is getting to me,( 91 degrees and crazy humid), so I have to make a conscious effort to maintain my fluid and salt intake. With less than a mile to go I see someone up ahead. So I surge abit to see if I can catch him,……not today. Coming into the finish shoot, I’m elated with my first triathlon of the season! What a great Day! As soon as I stopped running I start cramping, everywhere!!! Calves, Hams, Quads, in both legs, rotating from one muscle to another. This was my first trip in a wheel chair to the medical tent. HAHAHA, I can laugh now, but man it hurt, BAD!! About 1 1/2hrs and 2 bags of fluid and I’m ok to walk on my own again. Feeling really good about how the day unfolded. For me. Dan and I jump in the Gulf of Mexico for a quick rinse before gathering our equipment to go back to the hotel. Unfortunately for Dan, he had mechanical problems that cost him about 30 — 35 min early on the bike course. He did finish and seemed happy with his effort today. The awards ceremony was really exciting for me. I think today I really felt s though I earned my place as a pro triathlete. I look up to Spencer Smith and didn’t ever expect to find myself shaking his hand on the podium. We even spoke abit about how each of our races went and what we’d be doing the rest of the season. He really is a classy guy. Writing this on the plane back to Canada, I’m so looking forward to getting home and thanking some of my supporters in person. A great big hug from Sage is also an incentive for me to get home. Overall this has been a great start to this years racing season. Hope you all have good experiences with your first race this year and maybe I’ll see you at Lakeside in June. Happy training to all. Shawn Reeder Dear Shawn, Congratulations on your participation in the Gulf Coast Triathlon at Panama City Beach, FL. We hope you had a great race experience! Here are your official times as recorded by Sommer Sports ChampionChip Race Timing Services: SWIM: 31:46 SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION: 2:06 BIKE: 2:24:48 BIKE TO RUN TRANSITION: 0:46 RUN: 1:31:45 FINISH 4:31:09 BACK