Posted: November 12, 2004

Triathlon: Tom Evan's Ironman Florida Race Report

Tom Evans Wins Ironman Florida

Hello again! What a way to end the season! I was not sure what to expect at this race. The recovery after IM Canada took awhile, and I actually missed a few workouts which I generally do not do. I used a few fun races to break up the training. Xterra Canada was a blast, and I can see myself doing more of these in the future. I also did the Kelowna Half Marathon, and got into a sprint finish...fun stuff.

The race in Florida was shaping up to have a strong field. I decided to be very conservative in the swim and just stayed in the lead pack. Once on the bike I just stayed behind Lothar Leder until Bjorn Andersson went passed at about 10 miles. I kept Bjorn in sight for 10 miles but decided to let him go as the big Swede was really moving! I do respect his aggressive style of racing, it will take him far in this sport. The winds this year were stronger than last year, and the flat course eventually got to me. I was happy to get off the bike.

I started the run very conservatively so I would not make the same mistake I made at IM Canada. I had about 3 minutes over Lothar at the half way point of the run so I just kept the pace the same knowing he would have to run 6 minute miles to catch me. On the 3rd quarter of the run my lead grew to 6 minutes and I still had about 10 minutes on Olivier Bernard. I then just cruised the last few miles to get my second IM win of the year. I am now very much looking forward to a bit of down time.

Overall this season has been so much better than I expected. Working with Joel is the main reason I have been able to progress as much as I have. I am very much looking forward to next year, and I know that if I do what Joel tells me, I will race fast. As for next year's race plans, the only one that is finalized is the 50 km skate ski race in Kamloops on Jan 23rd. I bonked really bad there last year so I have to go back and get it right this time :-)

See ya next year,

Tom

For more on Tom Evans: www.competitionzone.com.