Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman

I was in the back and swimming to the front when the cannon went off. Took off very relaxed; the whole goal in the swim portion was to get out of water feeling fresh. The pace was very leisurely, and my sighting was okay, as I was able to look at the side and go off distance to the shore.

About a mile in, I got a mild asthma attack, I had to stop at a kayak to hit the puffer and I was off again. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

The last half of the swim I got really lazy. Stopped alot to sight, and my left arm was jello. Realizing my form was gone, I started focusing, and it got me to the end.

Other than a hard hit to the temple, the crowd was not bad. Of course it helps when you are one of the last out =\

Regardless I got out of the water fresh, which was my goal.

More open water swimming. I'm not a 2:50 swimmer, but form goes out the window when I open water swim. All my prior OWS sessions were about 'comfort' so now I need to train OWS like I do in the pool.

T1 went well, Got out of the water, kissed my wife, and went to the tent. I was out of the a lot quicker than most and not sure how it added up to almost 14 minutes.

Nothing.

Started the bike and began picking people off. There was a headwind I was not expecting and was going slower than planned which through the estimates off. Saw bt'ers Calimavs and Kath2163 and said hi.

Second loop my front tire flatted. I was having a hard time changing it until some volunteers showed up and helped. Between that and 6 port a potty breaks I lost signifigant time.

The port a potty breaks were frustrating, I'd pass 20 people, stop, get passed my 30 people, and so on. Some people I passed 5 times and I felt like my best sport was nullified.

The last loop my neck was hurting so bad I couldn't stay in the aero postion for long. During this time, I was being passed by some pretty large and blatant pacelines. Such is life. I was physically fine except my neck hurt and I just wanted to get off the bike.

I got of the bike feeling great, but not happy with my bike time, and kept my HR down and no cramping so overall it was a success.

I was strong on the bike all day, but a sore neck, flat, and an active bladder (which I've always had) cost me a decent split. I just need more time in the saddle to fix the neck, and figure out a better nutrition plan (or pee myself!)

I forgot to take my bike shorts off! Figured it out by the tent and took them off with no real time lost.

Felt great going into the run, my heart rate was in the 120's and I ran (slowly =] ) and walked the aid stations. I tried the Macca sponges on the boobs trick and it works really well!

About 5 miles in, cramps were coming on so I hit the pretzels and chips which seemed to keep them at bay.

The run was painful, my feet hurt, my quads hurt, but most of all mentally I was just beat down. There were times I forced myself to run, and gave myself a point to walk. Once my HR was below 122 I would run again.

I hit the dreaded mile 18...and walked about 1.5 miles. My calf was acting up and I had to give it a rest.

My body was sore but I was in good shape and started to run to the finish. I had a new goal now; there is only one other person at my work who's done an IM and he posted a 14:41 at IMAZ in 08. I would beat that.

Being out there pretty late, I was only one of the few people actually running. At mile 21, a group of 5 walkers completely blocked the path and to avoid them I went off course and almost fell. Another time I just ran through a hole. Most of the time they'd move if you called, but not always.

At mile 23 I was struggling and thought, 'screw my time, I'm walking'. It looked like 14:41 would stand but then a miracle happened. As I walked to the aide station they started playing, 'Firework' by Katy Perry and the bulldog was off the leash! (p.s. Don't tell the bros I like that song!)

The run was all about measureable chunks, I my first goal was 5k, then 10k, then 16.2m, 18.2, 20.2, 5k to go...

About a mile to go I knew it would be close but I concerned myself with something new; finishing in the chute solo. I ran as hard as I could until there was a gap of about 100 yards between racers and settled in. Once I got to the chute I high fived every one in the crowd, smiled and did a few fist pumps. Waiting 3 years, I was going to take my time. I crossed in 14:39 and am the fastest at the office =].

I know its not an 'impressive' run time but I am damn proud of it. Being only able to run 40 miles in the last 3 months, with a 10 mile long run in August, and not much more. The plan was to run until I knew I could walk to 16:59, so my achilles would hold up. Luckily it held and I ran.

My physical therapist grabbed me at the chute (he was working in the ART tent) and congratulated me, then I kissed my wife and hugged my in laws.

After that, went straight to the tent to get pizza, been waiting 3 years to eat that pizza, and it was cold, but good!


I had a great training year until August, when I got Achilles Tendonitis on my long run, and strained my bicep swimming the next day. Then in late September I had awful shin spints and couldn't cycle. Overall, my fitness was poor, but I think I toed the recovery / train line perfectly, I just need to stop getting hurt all the time.


After not finishing St. George in 10 I was really down on myself. Not only did I let myself and other people down, but I focused on the few negative comments and not the hundreds of positives. I probably let it get to me to much, but it drove me to finish IMAZ and we are defined by our successes and failures. St. George is a hard course but now I feel like the monkey is off my back.

There's a ton of people on this site I owe thanks to and its hard to mention them all. I will say the mentor groups, and the IMAZ thread really helped. Without this site doing the IM would be alot tougher as it was my support group.