Race Coverage

By Joe Adriaens (trad.tradriaens.com)

 

Ironman Florida. As I sit here to write this report, I am finding it difficult to put this race on paper. So much went into this race.  Not just this year, but several years in the making.

 

Let's take a step back. In 2010, I weighed 230 pounds at my heaviest.

I was unhealthy, unhappy, and kind of lost. I realized I needed to make a change. That's when I met Emma. She caught my attention from the second I set eyes on her. Infectious personality, happy, fit, and beautiful. We started hanging out and I learned quickly that I wanted to get into better shape not only for myself, but also to get her attention. That was the start of my new lifestyle. I started running with her and felt a sense of peace within myself. I was happy in my own skin.  The weight melted off, my attitude 180'd, and I was getting fit. As years passed, Emma got me into triathlons and 2012 marked my first ever triathlon. From that moment on, I was hooked. I want to give a special thanks to my wife, Emma, for saving my life and introducing me to my passion. I love you babe.

Enough of the sappy stuff. Fast forward to this year. At the beginning of the season, Emma and I talked about what it would take for me to take triathlon more seriously and actually race. For the past 5 years, I had been participating in triathlons.  This was the first year I would be seriously racing all distances and utilizing a coach to drive our training with data and measuring tangible improvements that would ultimately culminate with an Ironman race in the fall....

The past two Ironman races I did (Ironman Wisconsin 2015 and 2016) were participation races with the goal of the second to improve on the first, which I did accomplish. That experience left me feeling hungry. I wanted more. I wanted to go faster. I wanted Kona.

I need to thank my coach for agreeing to work with me and push me continually (thanks Andy). It is so nice to have a coach who is as data focused as I am. From the first workout he gave me, his coaching style clicked with my training style. I was excited to work hard and see what we could put together this year. I won't get into all the details, but you can read through all my long winded blog posts to see the results from the season.

When we sat down to plan out the season, we agreed to race Louisville in October. It was a new venue and would give us a lot of long distance training blocks as well as giving Emma the confidence to get back to racing Ironman post hip arthroscopy. The season was unfolding extremely well for both Emma and myself.

After qualifying for 70.3 worlds in June, we decided to move our registration from Louisville to Florida as that would give me time to recover from worlds and it would give Emma additional time to gain some fitness and confidence.  READ MORE