Ironman Arizona - Triathlon

Combat swimming 101, 3200 swimmers in one shot gun start on a narrow course. The lake is down quite a bit and it narrowed the course and made us swim .4mi out to the start. Really, I'm happy with my result. It was a tough swim, I don't like busting out the gate, I prefer to build to a good rhythm and this kind of start made that difficult.

Not really sure, do more hard speed work so I could bust out super fast and get clear of the other swimmers quickly.

Ironman, so you can't put your helmet on at the same time you remove wetsuit. Transition was a long way so the time reflects that.

Remember to put a towel in my bike bag.

Head wind going out and tail/crosswind coming back. Got worse with each lap.

New bike.

Full IM, they take the bike.

Nothing.

Very good, passed a bunch of folks and felt strong all the way.

Get a new GPS watch, battery died at 10 hrs.

Hot chicken broth, Chocolate milk


Bike performance, need a newer bike.


Race recap: First and foremost, THANKS to all the 3,000 volunteers!!! IMAZ does an amazing job with the athletes. From the check-in on Friday to the Finish on Sunday they take great care to ensure all the athletes have a positive experience. Examples for those who have never done a Full Ironman: At the swim finish they had folks helping pull you out of the water, up the stairs and wetsuit rippers to peel you out your wetsuit in record time. Then once you have your Bike Gear Bag another volunteer helps you clean your feet, make sure you don't forget you helmet, socks and they take your wetsuit and put into your gear bag for later pick-up. Exiting the transition there are numerous volunteers to put on bullfrog sunblock (super important). During the ride I never even came close to running low in nutrients, they passed out energy drinks, GU's, bananas, oranges, water, Vaseline, any thing you could think of. They had several assistance vehicles to aide with flats. At the Bike to Run transition (I did this last year), volunteers grab your bike and put it away for you. You announce your number and a volunteer grabs you Run Gear bag and points you to transition. Again you get a personal volunteer to help get you from biking to running, you get in and out in record times. Along the run course there is an aide station every MILE you pass 26 stations along a 26.2mi course. Boston doesn't have that! At the Finish line, 2 volunteers grab you as you cross the line check to make sure you're stable. Then, walk you to the picture spot, get you water, chocolate milk, hot chicken broth make sure you are stable and Congratulate you on being an "IRONMAN". The cost for these races is very high, but I have never experienced the professionalism, organization, or true care for athletes as I did at this race. Thanks to IMAZ!