Ironman Brasil Update

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- IM Brasil Update -


The resting part is almost done and tomorrow I will embark on a tough 8.5hrs +/- of suffering at Ironman Brasil.  At the end of this last year I decided to forgo the usual North American Ironman because...well frankly because I had done most all of them numerous times and they just weren't that exciting for me. It's important to be excited to do whatever you do within your season. Sometimes it's a change in race distance and sometimes it's just the race itself. So I looked around and tried to find an early season race with a similar climate to WI's spring and also one that I would be excited for. What I decided on... IM Brasil (For all you spelling geeks, the country is spelled with a "z" and the race is spelled with a "s," now you can relax).

If you have considered doing a destination Ironman, I highly consider IMBrasil and coming with Ken Glah's Endurance Sports Travel group.  Everything is provided and it makes things much easier in a country where there aren't too many who speak English.  The beaches are amazing, the people are genuinely kind and the excitement is embraced by everyone surrounding the race. I am definitely staying slightly off the beaten path, but it's nice being a part of the local culture in some ways...it adds to the sense of adventure.

The bike and body have made it down in one piece and healthy.  The sleep as been good and all systems are a go for the race tomorrow.  The weather looks pretty ideal on what is a fast course, but with a few challenging sections thrown in.

I am going to keep this short, but here are a few highlights for you.

- Swim is a mass start with Pro and AG.

- Penalties are 10minutes, 2nd penalty is a DQ.

- The event is "carbon free," which means no waste at all.

- There are no gels or bars on the course.

- If you want special needs on the bike, you need to pull off, rack your bike and get your own. You also need to get your own on the run.

- There are only 4 buoys on the swim course. They are 20-25ft tall orange beacon turn buoys.


That's about all from Floripa for now. I hope those of you back in the US are enjoying Memorial Day weekend and in Madison you are having fun at the Madison Half Marathon and Bratfest!

Thanks to everyone for their support, I wouldn't be able to do this without it. You can follow the race starting at 5:00am Central Standard Time over on Ironman.com They should have text updates and an athlete tracker.

Until after the race...

Blake




Comments

Summer said…
Wow, exciting to hear that the race is carbon-free, as well as the penalty structure. I hope more races start enacting stronger penalties like that, because the current numbers don't seem to be enough of a deterrent to drafting. Have fun BB, just do what you know how to do. We'll all be rooting you on!
11:06 AM
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