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 Swim
Comments: OH MY!! stroke, stoke, hyperventilate was pretty much it the first 1000yds. I was thinking to myself if the whole swim is like this..its gonna be one VERY long swim. Fortunately things cleared up after the first 1000yds and it was pretty much free sailing except for the few strays that were terrible at siting or worse..were sitting in the water watching everyone go by. (I couldn't for the life of me figure that one out.) These peeps weren't struggling or tired just sitting there chatting about how much further they had to go..blah blah blah..My hands got numb the last half mile or so and that slowed me down a little, but not much. I swam to the finish, was helped up the stairs, wetsuit stripped and then heard my kids yelling at me..I stopped and high 5'd them and then off to the changing corral. What would you do differently?: I don't know..maybe I could start up closer to the front but then Id still have people crawling over me..When you are swimming with 2300+ of your friends its bound to be a slug fest. It is what it is given the venue.  Transition 1
Comments: I all I can say is I had no help...there weren't enough volunteers in the tent..where I was standing anyway. Given the fact that alot of the women around me were shivering uncontrollably and REALLY needed help even standing up, I was ok with getting my shit together on my own...just took a little longer. I dried off with a towel put on dry clothes which included ghetto arm warmers tri top,bike jersey and wind jacket the only thing I kept on from the swim was my tri shorts..Mr. Smoke suggested I not change them..that was a good plan. I am so glad I had on all those clothes..because wind and rain to come!!! Oh and I saw my kids coming out of T1 again..ha they thought I got lost I was in there so long!!! What would you do differently?: find help?? I looked around there really wasn't anyone near me.  Bike
Comments: Ok lets pre-empt this by saying I am not a cyclist. My plan was to just get through the 112miles without a)falling off my bike b)having a nutrition fail. This course has a potential for being the easiest one out there. Flat as a pancake..the 20mile pre-ride on Thurs was nice!!..ok now for race day. The ride was mostly coldish but I was nice and toasty with what I put on. The first head out..I was averaging 16-18mph with little effort and thought, wow..this could make for an awesome bike split!! Um yeah..I didn't realize I had a nice 20mph tailwind until I hit the turn around and that 16-18mph turned into 10-12mph. Ugh...First saw Smoke on my way out, he must have been 8-10miles ahead of me.. he was doing awesome for having a rough past month!! Next I saw Mavy right after I turned around. She soon caught up and passed me, only for me to catch up to her when she stopped to help some poor bloke that crashed and brokt his hip. I didn't stop; she and another lady were already assisting until an ambulance got there..did tell a few of the riders coming the other way to tell the ambulance peeps about the crash since it happened farther down the course between us and ambulance (Mavy would have had to hop on her bike and back track to notify them if they couldn't hear or see them waving in the distance)..not sure they even heard me as it was quite windy. Mavy caught back up to me fairly quickly as I struggled with the head wind..Almost back into town and there was that a stretch on McClintock..omfng!!! Flat as a pancake and I couldnt get past 8mph..it was a windtunnel!! Fortunately not more than a quarterish mile but still not sure what was up with that one little section. Saw my kids and the Valle clan at the last turn into town they were a bright spot in the day..oh and then it started to rain at the turn around in town..yay!! just great!!...so glad I had my jacket on!! The next loop I played the wind game and pushed the out portion a little and averaged 18-20mph with the tail wind..which was still matched with the 20-30mph head wind on the way back so was riding at 10-12mph again. This was pretty uneventful saw Smoke and Mavy again. They were both making great time. I stopped at Special needs to reload fuel and this is the ONLY time I stopped if you catch my drift.. The last loop SUCKED..I looked out in the horizon as I was leaving town and saw huge dark storm cloud over the general area of what was the out turn around..thought, "oh boy what am I heading into!?"..The wind at this point had shifted and now was a head wind on the way out..but figured fine no relief, but at least I should have a nice tail wind on the final slightly downhill stretch back in. I never did get into the big dark cloud..it had dissipated by the time I got out there and probably saw my 3rd rainbow for the day. I later heard from others it was hailing and the wind gusts were knocking people over right and left...HEY sometimes it pays to be slow!!!!! Yay me!!! So shortly after the turn around I finally saw Joshy for the first time that day..was relieved to see he was out there as I was concerned something happened to him somewhere..oh and yay the wind shifts again and Im back in the 20-30mph headwind..I call NOT FAIR!!! Oh well..I made it back saw my kids as I was coming in and headed into the tent to change for the run...I mean parade. What would you do differently?: Do more century rides..get better on the bike..I did try this past year..but eh..still its a struggle. Transition 2
Comments: This one went MUCH better I had an AWESOME helper. I took off my bike jersey and changed tri shorts. Put on new socks..kept same tri jersey and put on real arm warmers, put my wind breaker gu's with race belt..hat and headlamp as it would be getting dark sooner than later.. What would you do differently?: nothing..Im fine with it  Run
Comments: To start, I wasn't sure how this would go.I did very few runs off bikes and absolutely 0 on long rides. I have been suffering with some problems with my SI joint on both sides and it tends to wreak havoc on my hips and ITB on long distance. The first three miles I felt surprisingly good and managed to work my way down into a 9-10ish pace for the 2nd half of it. When I hit the 2nd banquet I didn't need to stop but did because well its a long race and its what I figured I was supposed to do. I managed to make it through the first 11ish miles running in between picnic stops. I tried a little of everything to see what felt right could probably have not carried all the gu I had on me because I was gu'd out and didn't take a one during the run leg. By the 4th table I decided it was all about chicken broth and grapes. Right around 11 miles my hip and knees started to ache and was more than a little worried about having ITB pain take over.. and then I started calculating...ha dont give Beth time to calculate!... How much time it would take me to run/walk to the finish..how much time it would take me to just walk to the finish etc etc. Then moved on to calculating where my homies were. I knew Josh was probably a half hour or so behind me..I had bumped into Marianne on the first loop as I was on my way out to dark neighborhood and she was on her way back..at that point she was about 30min ahead..I hadn't seen Smoke since my way in on the 2nd loop of the bike when he was on his way out for 3rd..I started figuring out where he might be on the course according to where he was last time I saw him and what I know are his running capabilites and his time from IMKY. Hmmm if I saunter for the next few miles..he may catch me right around the transition area as he comes in for his finish before I go out on my last loop...hmmm how much would this hurt my race..hmmm..really not a big difference between a 15:30 and a 16hr finish..hmmmm..yeah so I sauntered about 2-3miles in hopes of this..as I neared the transition was hoping to see some of our sherpas that could confirm my calculation..would have loved to high 5 him and see him head down towards the shoot..but darn it all..I didnt see any of our 3 entourages during the run at all, and they still weren't there..should I sit 5mins and wait??...hahahaha who would do that??..yeah I WOULD consider it!!..but not knowing for sure my calculations were right..I moved on and stopped the sauntering and started speed walking. The rest of the race was just fun..I knew I would pull in somewhere between 15:45 and 16:00 and was savoring every minute!! The only downer was when I came into run special needs rolled out my quad with the stick and proceeded to forget my jellybellies when I left..I had really been looking forward to them. boo. The last few miles I picked up the pace and passed a few peeps but still was technically walking...finally at got the transition area and saw my long lost kids..(yeah gave them the dickens for abandoning me on the marathon but it turns out there was confusion as to where everyone was.) I jogged in high fiving peeps along the way. Got caught by Mavy and I think her mentor friend (sorry forget his name..but so cool he came all the way from Texas to surprise her!!) They tried to wrap me in one of those milar blankets but I was HOT..had plenty of clothing on!!..I got a rather homely finish shot taken. Al's pics are MUCH better. Forgoed the massage tent nad post race cold pizza or whatever they were serving. I wanted the world's best burger and a beer!! What would you do differently?: Not have SI issues and umm its a race dont slow down to wait for your friend to finish..you will see them at the end! Post race
Warm down: Chatted with the Valle clan then busted out of there to grab a burger and beer at the Vine Tavern with Smoke and his friend Sully...seriously "World's Best Burger" I would not lie about this. What limited your ability to perform faster: Ive never done an IM before I was just there to finish and enjoy the experiance. Next one will be more about the time. Event comments: This was a GREAT experiance and am hoping on going for number 2 either next year or 2012 or both!!..I am thrilled I got to do this race with 2 of my very dearest friends Smoke and Mavy..their support is inmeasurable in all aspects of my life. I will never be able to thank either of them enough..also cant forget to mention the other BTers there..Joshy, Colin, Pam, so fun to have a crowd of people to do this with. And great that my kids could be there too..although think they were more looking foward to the vaca to the Canyon after...Also a big shout out to the many at home who have cheered me on from start to the finish of this adventure; I was surprised by some of the people that actually took an interest in it!..Made for a very special first IM! Last updated: 2009-11-23 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironman North America
60sF / 0C
Overall Rank = 2061/2361
Age Group = 44-49
Age Group Rank = 72/85
Ha I laugh at the climate input above..can I put all three including hail and wind??
I guess you could say the pre-race routine was drawn out over three days. I really did not have much time to be nervous or worry in the days leading up to the race..and trust me I am a WORRIER. There were other things more important on my mind that well.. took away from that, although the events were saddening, in reality it was probably a good thing I wasnt dwelling on the race.
So here it is, I arrived on Tues..did a short run down to the transition area on Wednesday morning and a nice swim that afternoon out in Lake Saguaro with Mavy before retrieving Mr. Smoke from the airport. We all registered and Smoke and I picked up bikes on Thursday morning then went for a short ride with Mavy on the B line Thursday afternoon.Thankfully her friend Chris had taken her out there once already so she knew the route. Thursday night had a super fun dinner with Smoke,Mavy,Pam (Stumfossil) and Al. Yeah yeah Mr. Smoke as usual was quite the entertainment!..Friday I went to a focus group and scored a $50 gc for the Ironman store.Skipped the lousy athlete dinner and went for "The best burger ever" Friday evening with Mr. Smoke. That night after the athlete meeting I had to organize my transition bags..omg..that took me over an hour!! Thankfully Mavy came to my room and helped me separate into 4 distinct piles!! Saturday morning was bike and transition bag drop off, then practice swim with Mavy,Joshy,Mr.Smoke, and also Colin was there but silly kid fergot his chip.boo.(he doesnt need practice anyway..smoking fast..he will be a pro someday I have no doubts!) ... A few words about the practice swim..that water was cold!! Saturday afternoon I picked up my kids at the airport and then we went for dunch at indoor/outdoor Mexican place called Oreganos. Later we went back to the room and just chilled for the rest of the evening.
Race day I got up on my own..my kids decided they would saunter over to the transition area and catch me coming out of the water rather than get up at 4am and head down there at 5 with me. It was going to be a long enough day as it was..The Valle clan and I took separate cars down there since we found a lot to park in that was fairly convenient to the transition area.
We were going to meet Smoke at the big blow up water bottle and Mavy's friend Chris was nice enough to come down at the crack of stupid with his pump so we could pump up our tires. (we had been warned to deflate because last year alot of tires blew sitting out in the heat the day before the race.) Lets just say after getting into the transition area I have NEVER felt so popular for having a bike pump in my hand and Chris was lucky he got that thing back!!
Anywho we all got our shit together..lots of nervous energy in the air..thankfully Mr. Smoke was there once again to bring some comedy relief to cut that up a bit..two funny things I remember is him standing in line to get body marked and some lady borrowed the pump...not sure she asked if she could borrow it, but he knew where it went..when he was done getting marked he yelled out "Hey someone stole my pump!!!" Ha!!..the poor girl look horrified and offered it back before she even finished pumping her tires!! Then there was also the pre-race photo that Josh was almost not in..too funny.. We all headed over to the swim start area and mulled about eventually it was time to get in the water...ironman didn't mention that 4th leg of the race..herding 2300+ people over a metal retaining fence in their wetsuits...Well, that was odd planning!! Mavy, Smoke,Joshy and I all hugged and hopped in the water..I lost Mavy and Josh at that point but Smoke and I stayed together until the gun went off.
About a 25yd swim to get under the bridge!! Then lots of whooping it up with music blasting and crowds cheering...all I can say is wow!! This was freakn awesome!!!