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 Swim
Comments: First off, I am paranoid about all the other race reports from previous years that cite how much treading you have to do before the start and how awful the sighting is in the water- and how dirty the water is going to be. However, I didn't experience any of these problems...just hop in the water once the yelling through the bullhorns got to be annoying, place myself right under the bridge and keep my arms and feet out trying to take up as much space as possible so that when the cannon goes off, I won't be on top of anyone. Am just wearing my wetsuit and cap- no booties or neoprene cap. Water is cold, but nothing too bad. The national anthem is exciting to hear and it feels really cool to be completely immersed in a sea of pink and green caps. Lots of people whooping and yelling, but I am not about to waste my energy on that. I feel completely calm and ready. When the cannon goes off, I start- it's a bit of a cluster to start out, but the areas quickly thin out- I keep to the far inside right up against the buoys and volunteers on boats- feels like there isn't as much traffic in that area. I keep focused on form, really stretching out my stroke, and breathe every 3rd stroke- unless someone gets too close to me. The water IS DISGUSTING, but when there's that many people, it's not like you really need to know which way to go- so I just pop my head up occasionally and keep going. Make it to the turn before I know it- and I'm actually enjoying myself. I get a minor calf cramp on the way back and roll over for a second to massage it out and then keep going. I don't use my legs when I swim except to occasionally keep my balance...so wondering if this is why I cramp up a little. Once I round the last bouy and head up to the ramps, start kicking to get circulation going in my legs and reach up to the volunteer to help pull me out. Big pull, and up and out of the water I go. What would you do differently?: I would have started more to the front as opposed to the middle- I tend to stay behind people as opposed to swim over them, so this could have been one of the reasons my pace was slower. Also, would have pushed more- I was so nervous about pacing myself that I think I could have exerted much more effort here and been fine. (My pace was quite a bit slower than it usually is- I was pretty bummed when I realized this- usually more in the 2.05 per mile...so I was going much slower than I thought!)  Transition 1
Comments: I don't let the strippers take off my wetsuit when I get out of the water, just make my way with a fast walk through the chute to where our transition bags are. Transition with changing tents and frantic people= not something I want to be a part of. So I sit down by myself outside of the entrance and take off my wetsuit, and start going through my bag. I'm wet. There's grass all over me. My little towel is annoying me as I am trying to clean off my feet! Other triathletes are freaking out around me. Ugh. OK. Jersey on. Food in jersey. Helmet on. Glasses on. Gloves on. Socks and shoes on. Can feel my neck- definitely rubbed raw from swim. That's going to be a pain later. Sunscreen everywhere. Burns on the neck! Handful of chamois butter down the pants. Hand bag off to a volunteer and off I went. I see the clock says 9:05 and make a face. Was I in transition for 30 minutes? What happened? Oh well, no time to think about it- time to get my bike from volunteer and get going. What would you do differently?: Use the volunteers! What was I thinking? "Can I take off your wetsuit?" Nope. "Can I help you get your things for the bike?" Nope. Jeez. I need to learn that it's ok to ask for help and I don't need to do everything by myself. Character flaw. Also- Body Glide everywhere. In every bag, in every pocket.  Bike
Comments: Off on the bike I go! Goal is 15 mph...right away I notice that going out on the loop is going to be a little rough- I have no idea what the wind is- or even if there IS any wind! Just notice it's requiring some effort to get out there, especially once I get on the Beeline. This is when I notice my stomach is feeling a little...weird. Oh crap. Literally. Sigh. I become acquainted with the aid stations as I have to stop 6 times due to my GI issues. On the plus side I am reapplying chamois butter every chance I get- so i feel like that's a good thing. And I am sticking to my nutrition plan down to the letter- it feels good that something is going right. Every time I stop, my speed drops by about .4 per mile, so then I am jumping back on my bike and pedaling to get it back up - only to have it drop again with the next stop. Again, what are you going to do? Just keep pushing forward. I do see my family and friends in before the first and second loop- so that is nice- but I still am wishing I was going faster! After I hit hour seven, I notice that not only is my tummy still bothering me, but the chamois butter isn't working as I had hoped. Pain inside and outside of the body. Well...this is the Ironman, so keep going. Other than my GI stops, I did have to get off of my bike at mile 80. Just had to have a little pep talk with myself. Nope- you aren't gonna let this deter you. Yes, you are going to keep going. Plus side? What back problem? Everything is kind of hurting at this point, so it's all kind of turning into a nice little blurry pain! Plus side? No flats! What would you do differently?: I have NO idea why I had GI problems. So I'm not really sure there. Also, I was one of the very very few out on the course on a true road bike...and every person who went past me looked so content on their aero bars...if I do this distance again, that's the route I'll go. And- I clearly need to work on my power. Transition 2
Comments: Coming into T2 I am a sad girl. I'm hurting everywhere. I see my friends holding up signs- and I just can't even smile at them. The announcer is yelling something at me and I'm just mentally done. I also don't know when I'm supposed to surrender this darn bike...apparently I am supposed to keep riding for a bit until the end of the chute! Oops. I give up the bike and pretty much never want to see her again. Take off my shoes and start getting into T2 to get my bag. I run into an old friend volunteering. Poor girl- this is NOT the time to have a catch up conversation- I'm a little grumpy to say the least. Then...I find Body Glide in my T2 bag! YESSSSSSS. Things are looking up. I put on my running shoes and they are like little clouds of love wrapped around my poor feet. I change out of my bike jersey into my running singlet, more sunscreen, visor on, sunglasses off (bc the sun is about to go down due to my turtle pace), grab a Gu and get going. What would you do differently?: I would've smiled more. This is the Ironman and it's not supped to be easy. Darnit.  Run
Comments: Time for the run. I have two marathons under my belt and am a little scared of the unknown here because obviously have never run a full marathon after 114.4 miles and over 10 hours of other activity before. After I leave transition I know I have just under 7 hours to get this sucker DONE. I am a run/walker for long distances- and I always will be- don't try to change my mind! I start out and am immediately cheered by some of my college friend who have popped up at exactly the right time! I take off on my run/walk- with my normal 3/1 ratio feeling...ok. My legs aren't as heavy as I thought they would be. I get through the first loop and honestly I am feeling pretty great. I'm no speedster- but I'm making good time! I hit the halfway mark just about 10 minutes over my usual 1/2 marathon time...good stuff! Then I think my body realizes I have to do that all again...and that's when I start to slow down. Miles 13 trough 16 get exponentially slower- and at mile 16 is when I realize...holy hell I might not make this! I've always been terrible at math, so I'm running numbers through my head- all the while speed walking as fast as I can. Throughout all this - I must say there are some good things happening. I'm in pain, obviously- but my body hasn't broken down- there are no severe muscle pains anywhere, stomach has finally shut up. Mentally- I'm a little fuzzy- but no wall has popped up yet. Around the beginning of loop 3 I run into a woman in her 50s as I am stretching my calf. She offers me some Motrin and tells me if I can stick to a 15 min mile pace- I'll make it, then kinda scurries off. I look after her and clear up a little. I'm thinking ok, girl, get it together- this woman is in her 50s and clearly wiping the floor with you mentally- run after her! So I do. I drink water and either coke or broth at every station during my 3rd loop and continue to chase after this focused lady....all the way until mile 24. At this point we have 42 minutes to go the rest of the way. I keep running in spurts because darned if I am going to miss that cutoff by just a few minutes! The last mile I am walking and the volunteers walking home from their shifts look at me, look at their watches and start offering up their congratulations. I run a little more. I'm almost at the chute- and I can hear the party. It is LOUD. As I turn into the chute- I lose it and start crying and laughing- this is UNBELIEVABLE. I run through the chute and everyone is screaming their heads off and leaning over the wall to give me high fives, I see Mike Reilly and am running towards him. He grabs my arm and says those 4 amazing words...and then Linsey Corbin medals me! I think I scared her bc I was so excited! I can't believe I finished- and then I turn around and see the clock- 16:55:26....holy crap I barely made it. But you know what they call the person who comes in at 16:59:59? An Ironman. And so am I. What would you do differently?: Work on my running endurance. My volume was not up to par before this race and I was well aware of it. I wasn't aware that it would almost cost me the whole race though. Must work on it. Again, nutrition was good- never bonked. Post race
Warm down: I felt pretty good when I was finished, standing was fine. My left arm was really bothering me- but I was turned away from the medical tent as they were shutting down (um...what??) so I just shrugged it off. Went with my support team to IHOP, and getting out of the car was pretty painful, and then hobbled to the restroom where I promptly threw up. Ugh. Made my way back to the table, ate two pancakes and then was in bed by 2:30a with some painkillers in the system. What limited your ability to perform faster: I wish I had more time- in life. I feel like I truly did the best I cold leading up to this race- Like so many- I work 40+ hours a week, and spend a LOT of commuter hours in the car. I think the quality of my workouts could definitely improve...and I think training alone for my first IM may not have been the best choice. It's a lot to think about moving forward, IF I decide to do this again. Event comments: I love the volunteers. Love love love them. They were fantastic. Also- feel like the race was well organized, though I couldn't find my special needs bags the next day (oh well) and waiting in line for finisher merchandise took for-ev-er. Last updated: 2012-11-20 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 2365/2940
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 98/103
PRE RACE INFORMATION:
FRIDAY: Got up Friday morning and took a nice easy ride around my hometown. Left elbow was bothering me a bit- but nothing too painful. Everything else was feeling good and rested!
Arrived in Tempe Friday afternoon and check in was painless. Once they put the Ironman wristband on me, I freaked for a second, but then decided no one else around me looked freaked out, so chin up and carry on. Good swag for this race- an IMAZ backpack- at this point crossing my fingers that I'll be able to wear it come Monday! I drove the bike course and noticed the false flat on the way out on the Beeline- but also that the roads looked nice and smooth!
Next I checked into the Holiday Inn Express on Apache (loved the rooms- awesome beds and nice kitchenette area!) changed, and headed to the athlete dinner with a gal pal, where I bumped into my friend going for her 3rd IM. Very excited to hear from Mike Reilly, watch the inspirational videos, and hear some of the highlighted stories- I also felt better when I heard that there are almost 900 IM virgins out there along with me.
SATURDAY: Got up and transported my T1 and T2 bags into the race-provided bags and fiddled with my bike a bit. One of my friends came back from the airport with a few more of my support team so they walked out with me to load my bike into the back of my Prius...and of course this is when disaster hit. As I lifted my bike into the back of my car, something on the left side of my back all but gave out and I slump over. I've never had any back problems, so this presented a bit of a bummer. One gal pal decided to tag along with me to check in my gear- and thank goodness, because I couldn't really move my left arm, so she had to help me- a lot!
Before gear check in, I stopped at the massage tent to have someone have a look- which resulted in three different people having a look, and a chiropractor declaring my rib heads are out of place and must be worked on before the race tomorrow AM. I don't know what a rib head is, I don't know why it's out of place, but I do know that this is about time to start freaking out. After a lunch with my family and friends in Queen Creek, we headed to Ahwatukee to meet up with the chiropractor only to find that we missed him by 15 minutes. The next few hours consisted of driving to different offices, trying to find a chiro that was open on a Saturday and small bouts of me crying bc I have reached major freakout mode at this point. Luckily, support crew member took matters into her own hands and found a fitness chiro in North Phoenix who said he'd see me at 7:30p. ( I always miss home a little, but had no idea that I'd be reacquainting myself with every city in the valley the day before this race!)
After a visit with this amazing doctor who not only readjusted me but took x-rays and informed me my vertebrae are completely out of whack (yaaaay?), we returned back to the hotel where I ate a turkey sandwich, had some chicken soup, packed my special needs bags and finally got to bed by 10:30- about 2 hours past what I had hoped.
This was most definitely NOT my normal race routine...but at this point, you make the best of what's happening and push on.
SUNDAY-RACE DAY: Up at 4:00 wide awake. Shower, lube up with body glide and put on sports bra and pants that I'll be wearing all day. Breakfast is oatmeal with a half a banana and half a bagel w peanut butter at 4:30. Spend some time going over my race visually, check my bags and leave for race start at 5:40a. Once I get to the race start, I feel a little rushed. Air up tires, put liquids on bike, and food inside my bike jersey. Drop off special needs bags, body marking- and then time to get the wetsuit on. This is the moment I realized I didn't bring my Body Glide with me. How on earth do you forget your glide? I run back over to transition to check my gear bags- nope. All I have is some chamois butter...so I layer that on my neck and hope for the best. Had half a gatorade and a Peanut Butter Gu, dropped off morning clothes and made my way over to the swim start.
Minus the Body Glide slip up, pre race is feeling good. As I wait, I stretch and just run over my day in my head.
None, just stretched as I waited to get in water. More mental warmup than physical.