Before I waste my money asking experts, I thought I’d confer with my fellow aspirants. My usual biking week includes a punishing hill routine/timetrial which is useful for most IM bike courses but Florida for which I am now, post IMCAL lite, happily bound, is flatter than a very flat thing. Should I stop doing the hills and instead concentrate on grinding up and down the Santa Anna river trail? After all, the swim courses are all flat and I NEVER swim hills in training !
I have never done the florida race but I spoke to a guy this past weekend who has and he said the wind is an issue.
Don’t be misled into thinking that IMFL is totally flat. I’ve done the race twice, so I speak with experience. True, IMFL does not have mountains, but it is a undulating course (with the elevation changes spread-out over prolonged distances). Just don’t take my word. Check-out the course profile on IMFL’s web sight…you’ll see what I am talking about. I like what last year’s men’s winner (Jason Shortis) said at the awards dinner: “false flats”.
My experience has shown that “hill work” on the bike can help. I wouldn’t suggest training for “mountain climbs” (i.e. steep, extended climbs), but being able to tolerate some minor climbing will help. Plus the one interesting thing I’ve noticed…is that upon the return to PCB, you need to go over the causeway bridge (a.k.a. hill in Floridian terms) at about mile 102 and this is where a few of the participants seemed to suffer (5,6,7+ hours on the “flats” and then a noticeable short, but steep climb).
I would have to agree with what I’ve seen so far regarding the course info. While it is pretty flat there are definitely some gradual inclines that are interesting because they’re enough to slow you down yet not steep enough to get you out of the saddle. Another thing is the wind. Coming from Michigan where the wind is almost always out of the west I looked at the course map and thought, “cool, a tail wind”. Well in Florida a wind out of the east is predominant which makes up the majority of the unprotected riding at IMF and the tail wind that you hope for the first 70 miles is a bit blocked by trees in the later portion.
All in all I would have to say that the course isn’t tough, but there are things about it that will test you. Some may have heard (but not saying it’s fact) that in general it’s more work to ride 1 hour on an indoor trainer than it is outside on the road Mostly due to the fact that you don’t often coast on a trainer. Well, that’s IMF.
Good Luck,
Chandler