Florida Dirty Double Part 1

I have always thought that Florida was a place where old people go to die. That is, old people who wanted to acclimate to the heat before heading to Hell. But seriously, concrete sidewalks to run on, high heat and humidity, miles of strip malls and ads for boob jobs and butt lifts, and elderly drivers with eventual lefts isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. However, although Amber and my trip is just beginning, I'm already starting to see another side of Florida.

Amber, who will be writing a race summary(feel free to view the below videos for a basic idea), started our Florida trip off well by kicking butt at the Miami 70.3. She was thinking about running down former Kona Champion, Leanda Cave, for 6th place but realized that we would have to stay around for awards so she let Ms Cave take 6th. With our freshly created free time, Amber decided to reward me for my sherpa duties by taking me out to a great seafood restaurant.

Then this morning we started our road trip up towards Panama City where, on Saturday, Amber will be competing in the second half of the Florida Dirty Double. After stopping in Boca Raton for a great lunch at the third Juice & Java(we have already explored the other two in Miami Beach and Aventura), we went up to Jupitor(the town, not planet) and spent some time at Juno Beach(don't tell her coach). In addition to the gorgeous beach and water, I was most impressed by the copious amounts of free parking. Little things...

Now we are currently resting our heads at Coco Key Waterpark and Resort in Orlando for the evening where Amber just got a massage and I have found a good selection of microbrews and hard ciders at the nearby Whole Foods. Tomorrow morning, after riding the slides and dipping our heading under the waterfall, we will continue to make our way north. No rush and no plans. So much better than acclimating to hell.

Up Next: Likely a few more blog posts before IRONMAN FLORIDA on Saturday!

Some Race Videos:

The host hotel's pre-race "motivation"

The Swim Start

Amber transitioning to the bike

Amber transitioning to the run

Amber kicking some butt on the run

The view from the bridge

Amber still looking awesome-clearly we cannot communicate

Amber Ferreira is a Beast!

Atlanta Falcons vs NE Patriots with the brothers

During the last weekend in September while I was down visiting my brothers in Atlanta, Amber raced the Kearsarge Hill Climb which is  an 8+ mile bike ride from the center of Warner to (almost) the summit of Mount Kearsarge. The first 4 1/2 miles are rolling but all uphill but once you hit the access road it turns into a serious climb. Anyway, probably no surprise to anyone but she won that:) Results here.  The amazing thing was that was during hour two of a five hour bike ride. Then this past weekend she had a 6 hour bike ride! Why all of this riding?

Despite the weather turning cooler in NH and people are thinking about Fall/foliage etc, Amber's triathlon season is not yet over. In fact, she has her most audacious portion of it still to come. On October 27th, she will be racing Miami 70.3 a notoriously competitive race that always brings a slew of A-list athletes vying for early season points(Fall races count for the next year). Judging by the depth and quality of this year's pro list, 2013 will be no exception. This race in itself will be a good mark of her continuing fitness and skill as a pro triathlete but the real test will come only six days later at Ironman Florida.

That's right. Amber's doing a 70.3 on a Sunday, driving the length of the state of Florida and then competing in a full Ironman that following Saturday! Crazy right? Not so much if you've seen her lately. She has been tearing up training and looks more solid than ever. I'm not sure if it's a testament to her fitness or my lack thereof but I couldn't keep up with her on a 30 minute transition run after she had biked six hours and I had only sat on my butt(probably my conditioning).

 Either way she looks good and still has a couple more weeks to put the finishing touches on her conditioning before the last two big races of her 2013 season commence.

Here's the Pro Start List for Miami 70.3

1. Marie Danais
2. Gisele Bertucci
3. Mary Beth Ellis
4. Emma-Kate Lidbury
5. Simone Calamai
6. Stephanie Jones
7. Tine Holst
8. Mariana Borges de Andrade
9. Nina Kraft
10. Katrien Verstuyft
11. Magali Tisseyre
12. Erika Csomor
13. Caroline St-Pierre
14. Kirsty Smith
15. Anna Cleaver
16. Karen Thibodeau
17. Lisa Mensink
18. Mirinda Carfrae
19. Beth Walsh
20. Amber Ferreira
21. Allison Stewart
22. Heather Leiggi
23. Helle Frederiksen
24. Michelle Mighdoll

 Up Next: This Saturday is the Warner Fall Foliage 5 Miler, October 20th is the Granite State 20 miler and then it's time for THE MIAMI 70.3 and IRONMAN FLORIDA DARING DOUBLE!