Ironman Florida Bike Course Preview

The bike portion of Ironman Florida begins in front of the Boardwalk Beach Resort in Panama City Beach. The course is a one loop 112 mile ride that includes a few out-and-back sections on mostly rural roads. Most of the roads are fairly well paved from what I have read with only a few sections of bumpy or cracked pavement. Due to the proximity to the coast, most of this course is flat with only a few minor hills and false flats. The one possible issue with this course will be the winds. If the winds are strong on race day then more energy will have to be used to pedal against it. In my bike training I used a computer program on my indoor trainer that simulated the topography of the course from previous years exactly as it would be on race day. It made me feel confident in what to expect from the terrain and when to expect it. Of course all that is relatively useless now because a couple of weeks ago the race officials decided to alter the bike course from its original format by adding some different roads and eliminating others. It still should be close to the same terrain, but I just won't know when to expect the ups or downs.