Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman

27 AG/705 OA. I started near the front (I would rather fight through a bunch of people for a bit than have to make my way through extra water w/a bunch of people) about 3/4 of the way over to the left. Same as '09--but much more crowded. This ended up being much better than I thought I was going to be.
- The highlights first: first time I've worn a full sleeve wetsuit at an IM (or any race) and my arms haven't felt fatigued by it--yay, finally put it on correctly. Actually caught some feet to draft off of several times on the way back. I think my navigation was fairly good. I swam inside the buoys nearly most of the route (minus around turn buoys)--sun is super bright on the way out though. Otherwise, I felt like I kept my stroke pretty solid and I wasn't worn out when I was done.
- The low lights: could definitely tell this was a more crowded swim than '09. Also, men are jerks (okay, not all of you, but many of you in the water). I do realize there is contact in OWS in tri's. I'm fine with that. But, it seems like every race I do w/men these days, they are increasingly more violent. It's one thing to catch a foot or an elbow, or even repeated tapping of feet by someone drafting--I can live with that, but it's another thing to be completely dunked, leg grabbed over and over, swam over (and these guys are almost always going diagonally too, i.e. they can't swim straight) and other intentional acts. I direct this at men because everyone that did one of these things had a green cap on. There were a couple of collisions with my fellow pink (blech, would they please stop using pink for women) caps out there, but each time we would look at each other apologetically and then carry on. It's not repeated. I feel like I need to repent of the thoughts that crossed my mind of what I wanted to do some of these fellas out there. It's an OWS boys, not an MMA match! Okay, vent over.
I did find myself inhaling more water than I have before after an especially hard whack from a fellow swimmer. The turn buoys were the typical nightmare, I wish they created more of a chute so everyone didn't converge on the same 3feet of area. Then some just lolly gag--I actually said, at the first turn buoy, "people, it's a race, just go!" On the way back in I had a lot more open water and that was nice. Much less violence, many more feet to follow and much easier to navigate due to the sun behind us. Unfortunately, at about 2/3rds through the swim my right calf cramped up. Every IM race I have done, this has occurred. I do not know why. Some say the cold does it--the water temps felt great to me and I was not cold in the least. So, I then swam a few strokes with out legs, then just kicked withe left leg. After a few minutes of that, I went back to kicking with the right. The cramp was mostly gone, but I could still feel it some. Then, hitting the Mill Ave. bridge, it cramped up again. Dag nab it. So, I just worked through it. Really wish I knew why this happened. The only time it happens in training is during long sets and always after pushing off the wall. Granted, IM is long--but there are no walls.

Swim more before hand. Truly, I intentionally didn't focus as much on the swim because a.) I didn't want to and b.) I wanted to focus on the bike and run more and c.) pool times at my pool were whacky and not helpful. So, the fact that it was faster than CdA in June and just slightly slower than '09 IMAZ, I'm okay with this. BUT, I do need to swim more. Not sure if a wetsuit actually helps me or no, but most likely IMTX will not be wetsuit legal, so if I want to compete there, I need to swim more for it. Because of the violence in the swim and some of my run ins with fellow swimmers that resulted in too much water down the hatch, I really thought I was going to end up being out the water at 1:15+, so 1:13 actually makes me happy. I would really love to see this sub 1:10, but not sure when that might happen.

3/118 in AG
Getting out of Tempe Town Lake isn't that easy. There is no shore, just steps. Thankfully, volunteers were there. I don't remember having trouble getting out in '09, but this time I had a hard time pulling myself up and out, so a volunteer did help. That did a couple of extra seconds though. Another nice volunteer helped unzip my suit. I then found one to strip off the suit, that took a moment, but still faster than I could've done it myself. Then, it was off and running to the tent. It's a pretty long run to the tent--lots of fans, and I'm always excited to have the swim done, so I was whooping it up with the crowd some. Having worked T1 bags last year, I knew exactly what I needed to do here. I saw the lady w/microphone yelling numbers and looked at her and said "245" "245" and she called it out, and as I ran down I looked over at the people near my bag (thankfully, first row) and again, shouted "245" several times, by the time I turned the corner and ran up the aisle, they were right there with it. Bingo--great job volunteers, thank you! Be proactive people, and you can get that bag easier! I also had written my number in big letters all over my bag so it was easy to find. Once I had it in hand, I ran to the changing tent, found a spot and started getting the bag untied. Finally got it open (note to self, just minimal tying--it wasn't a knot, but it was too much), and then a volunteer was there. Got my shoes on, the helmet out and on--though fumbled a bit with the lock, race belt on, volunteer did the velcro on the shoes, handed me my glasses and I was off (waited to put glasses on until I was closer to the bike so they weren't fogged up--finally did this right). I was one of the first racks near bike out, but was way on the far right side. I yelled my number as I got close and then ran towards my bike. A volunteer was able to get it off the rack and hand it to me and then I took off to the exit.

Not tie the bags like I did. Otherwise, this was pretty smooth, and given the long run in and out, of transition, I really didn't waste any time here at all. I cut over a minute off my time in '09, so that's a great improvement. I could be slightly faster here--and some of the pros are, but they also can keep shoes on their bike and being positioned in the race where they are (before AGers) most have someone read with their bikes so it's less of a run for them. So, I consider this successful.

AG rank (5/118) is total time, overall rank is position (463) I finished at overall on bike. I was 11th in my AG off the bike, but had the 5th fastest bike time. I truly enjoyed the bike. The first loop probably had the best conditions in there was only a slight headwind heading out on the Beeline, but total tailwind heading back. I settled in and just pushed was comfortable and I was feeling really solid and pushing some really good numbers. I didn't worry so much about speed and just did my best to stay comfortable. I was passing a lot of people. After the first turn around and about 1/2 way down the Beeline I noticed that I was really REALLY uncomfortable on my seat. My legs felt great, but I felt like I was pinching a nerve on the inside of my leg. Ugh, I felt so great, was I really going to be this miserable for the remaining 90 miles or so. I did a few different things to try to get comfortable, but none worked. I thought, maybe I have to "go". I tried to "go" on the bike--but I have never been successful at this. I didn't really feel like I had to go, but maybe I did. I have tried practicing this on the bike, but it doesn't happen for me. This discomfort was really that bad that I thought it'd ruin the day. So I made one of the best decisions of the day for me--at the last aid station heading back in on loop 1, I stopped. I have NEVER stopped on the bike before in any race, but I pulled up to the awesome volunteer near the porta potty, got off my bike as she grabbed it, and headed to porta potty as quickly as I could. I did need to go a bit, finished up and hopped back on the bike. Evidently I was pinching an important part of my internal plumbing and I did need to "go". I had no more pain after that. I was doing pretty well with my nutrition and was filling up my aero bottle every aid station. I really felt strong and was having a blast. I actually had a lot of open road for riding. I saw packs of riders drafting, but they were always on the opposite side of me. A few twosies and threesies would come around drafting, but it wasn't as much as '09. I did a bit of leap frogging with one guy out there, and at one point heading back in on the 2nd loop, another rider (decked out in Timex gear--when will people learn it's not good drag their organizations/sponsors through the mud w/unsportsmanlike behavior) comes past me and then moves in right on this guys wheel (I was in the legal draft distance) and sits there. This had happened with a few groups coming past me in the day--and it's probably the only times I truly pushed too hard on the bike--because I didn't want to drop back farther to stay legal while this guy sucked wheel. So, I accelerated past both the riders, and made sure to yell out to the Timex dude, "Hey man, how's that wheel taste cheater!" I already had another line ready to use on that dude if I saw him do it again, "What, not man enough to actually do the ride on your own?!?" However, maybe calling him out worked because I looked back and he actually dropped off the other guy and we continued our game of leap frog for the next lap and a half. As I finished the 2nd loop, I was glad to see I had not been caught by the pro-men. I distinctly remember getting passed by that entourage of motorcycles and fast cyclists on loop 2 in '09. This time, I never got passed by any of them and just saw them across the road. As I went out on lap 3, they were coming in to finish up their ride. They did luck out on the wind conditions. Heading out on the last loop I knew we were going to be in for some "fun" wind. The way out and up the Beeline was by far the fastest of the day. The only thing that could mean is we had a fantastic tail wind. Which also meant we would have a fantastic headwind on the way back. Sure enough, once we hit that turn around we were smack dab into headwind. Granted, it wasn't the strongest headwind ever--I've had worse, but it was decent and it was full on headwind. Thankfully, I did have good open road, just stayed aero (neck was somewhat sore, so could drop the head some at times to relax it) and did the legal distance thing when possible. Did have at least 4-5 more surge moments on that way down because apparently the wind scares the crap of some triathletes out there and they find the need to try to draft, so I get away from that as fast as I can. But I was still feeling fantastic--ready to be done with the bike for sure, but feeling great and excited to know what I had just done on the bike. I virtually did all of this training on the Computrainer. To be honest, my logged numbers probably aren't right--they're probably conservative because I thought I wasn't calibrating my CT right and there was no way I was going as fast I was on the CT as it said. But, looking at my Half REV at Cedar Point and my numbers and feel from here--I think it IS right. Had we not faced that headwind on the way back, and take out the at least 1 min, maybe 2 from the potty stop--I bet I could do this ride in 5:20-25. Anyhow, I was pretty pumped and excited to run after how this bike was going. Unlike '09, I never had a moment where I felt like I needed to be out of the big chain ring. I felt quite strong. I stayed aero very well, and I really enjoyed this bike. The only times I would say I went to hard was when I had to do some surging to stay out of draft groups.

Race setup: 2010 Felt B2R, HED Jet 60/90 combot, Torhans Aero20 bottle in b/w aerobars, nutrition bottle on downtube, small repair under seat. Bento box on bike. Rudy Project Wingspan helmet. No bike gloves. No stop at special needs.

Learn to pee on my bike. Maybe change my nutrition up a bit as it is fine for just cycling, but I don't think it works for the run anymore. Otherwise. I really rocked this bike. I averaged nearly an entire 1mph more than in '09 and that results in a 16 minute faster ride. I'm going to continue to work the CT sessions hard and get stronger here. One thing for sure, all that trainer riding makes racing on the road SO MUCH FUN!

1/118 in AG--fastest by 17 seconds.
Yay, I improved this time from '09 by 20 something seconds as well. I got out of my shoes before the finish, and I hopped off the bike (no flying dismount, my legs are too short) and handed it to a volunteer and would've been faster to get my bag if it weren't for some other racers in the way, no worries, only 2-3 secs of weaving. Called out my number loud (again, had written it on the bag) and ran up to where it was and a volunteer got to it before I did and had it ready to hand to me. I had my helmet off before I got my bag. Took off for the change tent. Maybe two other people in there. Immediately had a super volunteer. Found a spot--again, my bag was tied to neatly (just normal bow ties, but it was problematic on this day). Got it undone. I got my socks and shoes on, she got my Garmin out and on. I grabbed my hat, my fuel belt and Garmin and took off. unfortunately, a bottle fell out of my fuel belt right before I hit the timing mat for T2, stopped, picked it up, and went.

Not drop a fuel belt bottle (probably won't be using fuel belts again for the run); easier tie on the bag. Otherwise, let's just say it doesn't look like I'm going to lose a race due my transitions. I am truly FOP in the transition category and I'm happy about that. No wasting time here. Small things like taking my helmet off after handing off the bike actually save seconds.

AG rank (27) is my time in relation to others in AG. I finished in 13/118 AG--so others poor runs meant I only had a net of 2 in my AG actually overtake me on the run. I should've done the overtaking though.
So, I felt great starting out and was going at what should've been a sustainable 8:45ish pace. I held b/w an 8:45-9:10 for all the first lap. I SHOULD have maintained that the whole run. Heck, I could go to a 4:15 or less run time and still PR this course and go sub-11. No worries. However, on the first loop I still felt decent, got in a gel, some water--but the gel kind of gave me a bit of reflux, and I started noticing my stomach not right. It wasn't hurting really, but it was a tad uncomfortable, and the idea of getting calories in was just not right. It's hard to describe how I felt other than not right/gassy but w/o producing (to the happiness of my fellow runners I'm sure). So, when I should've forced calories in, I did not. That meant that on the second loop energy began to fade and fade fast. I just didn't feel like I could take anything in...but I knew I needed to do so. I did get a gel down and I felt the positive effects of it and kept up some decent running after a decent bit of walking in mile 9-10 as I had gotten a tad light headed and knew I needed to take that gel and let it get in. I still thought I'd be okay, but I'm afraid I may have gotten too behind on the calories. I could pick it up some, but by the 2nd half of the 2nd loop and most of the 3rd loop, I was walking all or half of the aid stations. I couldn't do gels anymore at all. Took some Perform, took some banana, and took some orange. Slowly, but surely, the average pace and the PR were slipping away. I was a tad frustrated, but at the same time, it is what it is. So, i did the best I could and ran as much as I could. I loved going by my cheer section twice each lap w/Kate and Kathy, and then Sally/JT/Boys were out there too, and I could always run when I was near the cheer dense areas (or pride forced me to! ha!). On lap 3 I did stop and quickly use the porta potty thinking that maybe that would help me out like it did on the bike. But, it did not. So, I just plugged away--I cheerfully talked to many people. At mile 20 I decided I should take in Coke. Dag nab it...I should've started that SO much sooner cause that stuff really worked for me and I picked it up for the last 5 miles or so. Not way fast or anything, but faster. I ran up "the hill" in Clinton park each time, and 2/3 times I ran up the hill heading up to the Mill or Rio bridge. It's not that I'm not capable of doing the 3:56 I did here in '09...I just screwed up my nutrition. I needed a better plan B and instead I just "didn't." Energy faded....I think I'm going to take some pepto or gas-x tabs with me in the future and see if that can help out. Anyhow, in the last 3 miles I was running next to the guy I'll call AF Nate. We were both doing decently, but walking aid stations. We chit chatted and really picked it up in the last two miles. We skipped that last aid station, though he stopped for a moment to stretch out and I just finished (we had already agreed that if one of us needed to stop, that the other could just go). But, going those last few miles with him was really helpful. Once I started the turn towards the finish, I was pretty happy...no, I hadn't had the day I wanted. The run was NOT what I am capable of, but it was still a fun day with a lot of positives and I was still finishing way faster than CdA. As I rounded the last corner to head in the lady ahead of me (who ended up being a lady I know from my neighborhood in San Diego--we swim at the same pool and have talked before, she did CdA as well--too funny) took off and I looked for my roomie along the finish. One of the things that Team RWB often does is finish with the American Flag--we do it out of a sign of respect for those who have and are serving. Team RWB is about supporting our wounded veterans and we do it because we care about our country and we care about those that have paid more than we have. The US Flag is our rallying point, it is our heart, it is truly our banner. I had told Kate that if I was clearly going to meet my goal time (and not pushing to just make it) or if I was over my goal time, but in good spirits, then I wanted to take my flag (it's been flown in Iraq by me both my trips over, and it is the one I ran w/at REV3 CP on 9/11 this year) over the line. I wasn't under my goal time, but I was in good spirits, and I wanted to represent Team RWB, the US, the Army, and my heart as I crossed that line. So, I grabbed the flag, put it behind me and took it down the chute to lots of cheers and Mike Rielly telling me that I was an Ironman. There were 12 of us who raced IMAZ that day--some with fantastic days (incl. BT'er Cordova78!), some with bad days, some with just decent days (like me). But, it's the most we've had at a race of that distance (we're just a year old) and it was special to be a part of it and have helped w/it. I hit some low points on the run where I couldn't believe I was so light headed and that, despite giving myself so much cushion on that bike, that I couldn't knock out at least a 4:15 marathon and beat my goal time. But, then I just took it with a grain of salt and drove on--playing in my head what I knew I should fix and ALWAYS remembering that this is fun and what an amazing opportunity I have to do this--thanking God that I'm physically capable of doing it. I was amazed I had done (was doing) this thing for the 3rd time. I got to talk to some people, and that was nice. I had fantastic support crew in my roomie Kate, Kathy Rakel, and all the RWB crew that was cheering--not to mention so many friends and family watching. For so many reasons, it was special to be out there again. So, the lows sucked, but they didn't last and I still finished well. I can and, God willing, WILL do better in the future.

It's a calorie/nutrition problem. For this day, I should've forced a couple more gels down and I should've started Coke earlier. It really wasn't my legs--I might have gone slightly hard on the bike, but not enough to warrant this run time. So, I have some tweaking here to do. Sure, I could've saved time from grabbing the flag at the end, but that would've gained me what, 30 secs? It didn't prevent a PR, so I'm not fretting it. Really, the main thing here is fixing nutrition, and I think a bit more running in my program (not necessarily long runs, but just more frequent) would've helped me out there. I probably should do at least one good size brick to test out bike to run nutrition. I thought I had this all nailed down after '09. But I've decided that was my 20's (I was 29 then) and my body has done some WEIRD stuff in my 30's....so time to revamp things up on my total nutrition program. Thankfully, one of perks of the hours I put in with Team RWB is that I've met some fantastic people who have this stuff down and have some ideas for me. I'm going to take advantage of that knowledge.

So, I finished and my great "catcher" grabbed me to make sure I was good. I was initially. Got my picture taken, finisher gear, went over and talked to Kate (roomie) and Kathy and that was great. Handed stuff off and coordinated link up. Then, I went over and got signed up for the massage, and then I sat down to wait. I wish I was one of those people who is FAMISHED at the end of racing. But, I'm not. I didn't want anything. I finally grabbed some water, and drank some of it. Heard some friends get called across the line at 11:37/11:38 (3 RWBers came in w/in a minute of each other--two are friends of mine but also Naval Academy grads. Until I finished, I thought they were ahead of me all day and had finished, but Kate told me that wasn't true. Anyhow, we've had an Army-Navy thing going--going figure--and so I was glad to beat them), so I went and found them and we chit chatted some while they waited for massages. I got a great volunteer, Christine, who was also a physical therapist and she was fantastic. My right knee was pretty sore and stiff and a bit painful when trying to bend it fully. Otherwise, she helped me loosen me up. Once finished up there, I headed out to the spot where I was going to sit and wait for Kate. Now, I know I get sick feeling after an IM, so I hadn't eaten anything, just had some water. While I'm sitting there next to the tree, just yards from medical, I lose everything that is in my stomach (basically, some water, grapes, and coke). I think I'm going to feel better, but I don't. I sit there waiting for Kate to show up, but she's helping out with some other RWB stuff (which was cool). I go find her and tell her I'm going to get my bike and bags. I really wanted to be cheering friends in, but at this point I have lost finish line euphoria and feel like crap...and it's getting worse. I get to transition--walking halfway down the bike rows, and I start throwing up again--but at this point, there isn't anything really left, so it's just gross acid that is killing my throat. Someone asks me if I need a volunteer...but I just say no thanks. Others ask too. Triathletes, y'all are some good people. But, I just let it happen. Finally got my bike and gear bags, headed back to link up point and Kate got me and we headed home. It was no better in the car. I had an empty water bottle, and it soon had the few remaining contents of gross fluid from my stomach. This would happen once more at the house (after I sent Kate to Walgreens to get Pepto). I should've gotten in the cold pool, but I was pretty chilled and feeling like such horrible, horrible crap (I mean it was bad--never felt that bad after a race--I should've gone to medical to get an IV after I puked the first time). I just wanted to be warm. So, I got in the hot tub. Tri shorts, tri top, sweatshirt. Kate had turned the temp down, and I sat there for at least 10 mins...just feeling miserable. When I say miserable, I mean I was telling Kate I never wanted to feel like this again, so why would I even do IMTX. Why would I go through 10-12 hours of hard work just to feel like crap. All while thinking--if I pull out of TX both JZ and Sue and others are going to kill me. And I don't quit. And....yeah, my brain and body were really arguing with each other. However, I actually think the hot tub helped settle the gut. I drank a tad of carbonated water. Then, I went in, took a quick shower, put on my PJs and then just lay on the bed. I feel asleep a tiny bit. Which sucks, cause one of these days I'd REALLY like to feel good enough to go to the late night finishers. One of these days. Anyhow, after laying there for a bit (and after having consumed pepto, which helped too), and Kate continuing to be the most awesome sherpa and checking on me, my brother called. He was just finishing up nearly a month of training at the Nat'l Training Center at Ft. Erwin (he's an Army LT and headed to Afghanistan next spring). I'm not quite sure everything we talked about, but I was definitely beginning to feel better. I had heard Steve come in earlier (he had a really rough race) and he and another friend who volunteered ordered and ate pizza (so jealous). When i got off the phone with him, I did have some water in the room and was able to drink it and tell that I had finally come around. It was nearly midnight and everyone else was in bed. I hobbled my way to the kitchen and saw the pizza box. Opened it. Empty. Darn it. Opened the fridge--there was pizza! Yay! I ate a piece of pizza, drank several cups of water, and ate a small cup of single serving ice cream I had bought. It all stayed down. I went to bed and slept sporadically...but I finally didn't feel like I was miserable.


Need to become a better swimmer; need to swim more; need a new nutrition plan. Fix that nutrition for the run, and I'm sub-11 on a course like this. That is the goal for IMTX in May. I was disappointed, to an extent, with IMCdA this year--if anything because the run literally HURT so bad. Back spasms, other things, etc. It was painful. I was able to fix many of those things (though didn't think nutrition was part of it, but now I do) for IMAZ. I had a better swim and one of my best bikes ever. I was well trained for the run. I didn't have a well developed plan B, plan C, plan D for nutrition. That is where I failed. BUT, I did have a lot of fun at this race. So, I'm going to enjoy some off season, do some planning, do some core work, some nutrition strategy, and come up with a Sub-11 Game plan for IMTX.


I really like the AZ course a lot. It is a good course for me in it's layout. I'm not a climber, and while this isn't flat, it is close to being there. I can pedal ALL DAY LONG, literally, so I like that about this course. I like getting to pass spectators a lot. The run course is a bit confusing, but quite well marked. Tempe is also a very affordable place to stay for a race. It's desert scenery and urban, but I don't mind it at all. Not the most gorgeous course, but it is a fun course. It is getting a tad crowded though. I could tell a difference just from '09 to '11. The volunteers are always great at events, but the volunteers at this one were really top notch and helped my race so much--if you were out there doing that--thank you! I like WTC races and the hype, etc....but they are getting expensive. I didn't spend a dime on Finisher's Gear cause they've gone too generic. But really, I do enjoy this race. Will I be back? Maybe someday, we'll see. IMTX is next up. Not signing up for another IM anytime soon. Doesn't mean I won't do one--or a REV3 iron distance race, B2B, who knows. Lots of options. But, totally enjoyed doing this race with Team RWB and so many BT friends.