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