Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman

I started in the middle of the lake, maybe 2-3 rows back. Very cool start, with the helicopter flying in low and the bridges crowded with people behind us.

I made an effort to take it very easy at the beginning of the swim. The swim outbound was pretty uneventful. I stayed pretty wide of the buoy line and only had a few close encounters with other swimmers. I enjoyed watching the changing scenery on the shoreline to my right- the high-rises of downtown Tempe, Hayden Butte, Sun Devil stadium.. and we were soon at the first turn buoy. I really wasn't able to find a good draft on the outbound leg, but I was there at about 31:00 and feeling good- no problems with the wetsuit.

On the return trip, I made the mistake of getting too close to the buoy line. For about 15 minutes, I was boxed into a group and got pounded. I tried to find some clean water, but got a cramp first in my left calf, and then in my right a few minutes later. Fortunately- probably because the water was so cold- I was able to continue swimming, and eventually the cramps eased up. At any rate, I was glad to see the exit stairs, but a little disappointed with the finish time.

I was a little worried about the cramps reappearing as I got out of the water, but the volunteers at the swim exit were tremendous.

Sacrifice a little distance for clean water.

Wow, this was just awful. I was absolutely freezing going from the wetsuit strippers to the change tent, and I just couldn't get warm.. fumbling with my equipment and trying to engage my brain. I didn't stop moving during the transition, but everything was so slow. I gave up some serious time here.

Most everything.

I had high hopes this time for the bike, which has always been my weakest event. I had put in a lot of training over the past year and had some decent results in shorter races. I also had rented a pair of Zipp 808s from Race Day Wheels, and this was my first race with aero wheels.

The first loop went pretty well- felt good heading out towards the Beeline, then hit a strong headwind going outbound.. I tried to keep my effort under control and was reasonably successful, I think. Started the nutrition plan- GU on the 40s, GE on the 15s, with solids (Clif Bar or Shot Blocks) at the 2-hr points.

Cruised down the inbound portion of the Beeline at 25+ MPH and to the first turnaround in 1:54. I had been worried about flats with some of the reports, but they had done a great job sweeping the road, and I only saw a few people throughout the day with mechanical issues. Good thing since I didn't have experience changing tubes with the aero wheels / valve extenders. Dumb, but it worked out.

The second loop was slow mainly because of stops- once at a porta-potty and a much-too-long stop at special needs. Also watched some kind of desert animal (jackal? do they have those in the southwest?) that was trotting along the bike course, but I don't think that cost much time.

The wind had really died down on loop 2, so the trip up the Beeline was much easier. At SN, as I was putting some more sunscreen on, my sunglasses somehow broke at the lens.. nothing I could do about it (or nothing I could think of at the moment). The awesome volunteer holding my bike offered her sunglasses, but I couldn't take them. So... last 50 miles without eye protection.

Fortunately, it wasn't much of an issue at all, even with the bright sun. I ended the second lap at 3:54 of biking time, though it was longer race time, because of the auto pause on my watch when I stopped.

On the last trip up the Beeline, the wind was almost negligible, maybe even a slight tailwind up the hill. Was able to say on my nutrition / hydration plan and felt pretty good throughout the last loop. I finished up the bike at 5:57 of biking time, though 6:09 official time with the 2 stops. Overall I was happy with the time, though I regretted the lost time on my stops. It was a 48-minute improvement on my 2007 IMLP time, and I felt that I raced cleanly and conservatively enough to leave something in the tank for the run.



Shorten the stops.. practice changing tubes in aero wheels.

More time wasted. Changed shorts, etc. Did I take a nap? Wow.

Move, man, move!

Definitely an experience of multiple ups and downs. I started off much too quickly, at an 8:30 pace, and stayed at sub 9-minute pace throughout the first 5 miles.

My nutrition plan on the run was the same as it has been in the past. Take gels every 4th aid station as long as I can stomach them, and then take in what looks / tastes good. Very scientific. I was able to get two gels down, tried a couple of cookies, and settled into a pattern of chicken broth, flat coke, occasional gatorade, and water. I also started taking tums every mile starting at mile 10 (until I lost them about mile 20), which worked well. Salt tabs every aid station- also helped a lot.

Anyway, I felt good for the first 6-7 miles, then started to go downhill a bit. I had purposely capped my long training runs at 2 hrs (typically 14-15 miles) to avoid injury, so I was expecting to have a pretty long last half of the marathon. When I got to mile 9, I told myself I'd walk for a few minutes at mile 10, run a couple of miles or as far as I could, and repeat.

Fortunately, I started feeling well enough to continue running at mile 10 and beyond.. then, when the sun went down around mile 13 or 14, that really helped a lot- changed the temperature and the experience enough that it took my mind off the pain. I did have an "interesting" moment when an excited spectator facing the other direction whacked me in the chest with her camera as she was cheering.. but hey, probably a good thing so I could focus on the pain in my chest rather than legs.

I also didn't know how I would react mentally to a 3-loop course, but I actually really liked it- the setup created a lot of twists and turns and kept things interesting. Also great to be able to see my father 6 times during the run- a very spectator-friendly course.

Despite concerns with my long run volume, I was able to run the entire marathon, only walking briefly through aid stations. Felt great at the end and was REALLY happy to turn left rather than start another loop.

The volunteers on the run course, like all of them throughout, were just awesome.

Pretty happy with the run.

Met my father, made a couple of calls home, and walked back to the hotel after collecting my gear. Shower and limped down to the restaurant for a cheeseburger and beer. Nice.


Transitions and stopping on the bike. 11:45 was totally realistic if I had only average transitions / stops.


I didn't know how much I'd like this race- wasn't my first IM choice this year, but it was really terrific. Very different feel in many ways from IMLP, but we enjoyed Tempe and the whole experience.