Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman

The pro men started at 6:45 and the pro women at 6:50. They should be forced to fight it out with us if you ask me. Those first 2 cannons going off really made me think: "Yep, shit is getting real". Others were freaked out. I was psyched up!!!

I started in the front on the right side. Talked to a few swimmers around me and they were all hoping for 1:00-1:05 swim time so I knew I was in the right group. The National Anthem was sung and people were getting really testy. Several behind us started to crowd up and I knew the first few hundred yards was going to be rough. The kayaks left us and my heart rate started increasing along with my excitement.
Cannon went off. BOOOOOOM!
I took off with a nice patch of water that was quickly taken by the mass of humanity around me. Bumps, legs, elbows, some boob action (my apologies ladies... hehehehe), heel to the jaw, etc, etc, etc.... then....... clear water. I had clear water for a while. Made sure I wasn't off course and was sighting well. Bouys were still to the left of me and the bridge was still infront. I just kept things smooth. Never really felt bad at all. In fact, I was loving it. The water felt great. I was not cold, stressed, or anxious at all. I decided to pick up the pace. Looked at my Garmin and I was on a 1:32 / 100 pace and wanted to be quicker so I picked it up just a tad. Rounded the last bouy and headed for the stairs. Right when I got to the stairs my left calf cramped. The volunteer said sit on your butt, we will help you out. Got to me feet, cramp was gone, ran to the wetsuit strippers. (confession: I really like strippers. Especially the kind that take off my clothes. :-)

Peelers are a god send if you ask me. I had my wesuit down to my hips by the time I got to my peeler. She had it off one leg fast. Stuck on my left heel. We worked that out and I was off and running. I glanced at my watch... 1:03!! Nice. Perfect. The plan is working well!.

Not much. Could have pushed harder in the swim earlier on, but really, what the hell would that have gotten me? Maybe a minute or two off my time.

Great swim. Really happy with the performance.

Transition was the most "unknown" for me. I had no idea how it was going to roll. I had my bike shorts on under my wetsuit during the swim with my tri-shirt on already. I planned on sitting outside and putting my socks, shoes, bike jersey, and loading up with nutrition. This worked very well. I was glad I threw a little towel into my bag because the dead grass was all over my feet. When I was done, I handed my bag to a volunteer, got lubed up with sunscreen, and ran to my bike. Grabbed my bike just fine, got to the mount line, on my bike and I was off. I saw Teresa and Larry, then I saw Stacey, Becky, Jayme and the rest. Holy crap!!! 112 here I come.

Not much. It went well. I could have ran harder from the tent to my bike, but that may have saved me 15 seconds but I was happy with T1.

Going into IMAZ, I had not ridden my bike this far in one day. I knew that I could, but truthfully, I had no idea how it was going to go.

This segment of IMAZ was going to be fun. I love being on my bike. I have been training for the last year to make sure that my bike segment was fun. After leaving T1, the crowd was crazy energetic. I was sooooo pumped to start pedaling, knowing that for the next 5-6 hours I would be pushing through this bike. Everything felt good at the start and as I took the turn away from Sun Devil Stadium, I was feeling primed for a great ride.

The course was not too crowded on the first loop. That was to be expected. As we turned on to the Beeline I saw my pace and cadence were dropping. The wind was picking up slightly and I was struggling to maintain 20 mph. This did not bother me because I knew it was a long ride ahead. The first climb up to Shea was tough but fun. I passed a ton of people up the hill. All the hill training that I get back home was really paying off. I needed to go to the bathroom and I decided to stop at the port a potty just after the turnaround. Wow, that was a huge piss. I mean, a long full steady piss. The kind of piss you want to write about in a race report.... HAHAHAHA!

Got back on my bike and started rolling fast. 30 mph, then 32, then 36.... Awesome.

The downhill was great. Zooming by some people, but others were whipping past me too. I did not care one bit about what anyone else was doing. Ironman is an individual effort. I'm not racing the others. I'm racing myself. My own body. My own emmotions. My own fears. And I felt like I was winning!!! The only issue I had with other bikers was to make sure I did not crash.

Coming into town at the end of the first loop, I saw the whole gang of fans. Stacey, Jayme, Becky, Teresa, Larry, Gary, Tony, Hannah, Emily, Aaron, and Hadley. It was pretty awesome. They were cheering me on and that gave me the boost I needed. The turnaround was epic with the crowd. Really amazing how many people were there.

The first loop went well and I was off on the second. The wind was picking up but really a non-issue. I was staying on my nutrition plan eating a Stinger every hour and a gu on the 20 minutes after the Stinger. Plenty of calories, I thought. Along with water, gatorade, and the Perform drink, I felt well hydrated and fed. Peed many times on the bike. In fact, somewhere on the second loop I was riding next to another guy trying to pee and we fist pumped our "pee-brother" status when we both finished.

The second loop was significantly more crowded than the first. This was to be expected. I did start seeing more flat tires and I nearly got into a wreck. A spectator tried to cross the Beeline, right in front of me. I swerved and nearly took out a biker passing me. Would have been a mess but everyone came through just fine.

At the end of my third loop there was a biker in front of me that ran into a parrell crack on the road. He was really messed up and was already getting attention. His IMAZ was over.

I came into transition, hopped off my bike, handed it to a volunteer, took off my bike shoes and I was off and running to T2.

I loved this experience. The plan worked well. I felt good. Legs were not sore at all. My neck was a little tight from the long day in aero but I was fine after I would sit up and stretch. I may have been able to push a little harder, but at over 20.6 mph for 112, what do I have to complain about? It was a great bike!

After jumping off the bike I was running pretty good towards my Run Bag. A volunteer handed it to me and I went into the tent. A young kid, maybe 14, was helping me. Opened my bag, dumped everything out in front of me. First order of business, lose the bike shorts. I told the kid I was going to be naked in a second. He laughed and turned his head. Pretty good kid. The running shorts I chose had a nice liner to keep the C and B's from bouncing too much. I quickly changed my socks, put my shoes on, took off my Hawkeye Bike Jersey, threw on my Hawkeye Running Hat, added a couple of gus to my tri shirt, and was heading for the exit.

Volunteers loaded me up with sunscreen. I grabbed a couple drinks of water and started off running.

First time experience and I think it went well. I did not spend too much time there but just enough to know that I was ready for the run.

I had a plan and I wanted to stick to it. Walk the aide stations but just keep running in between. 26 - 1 mile runs. Should be easy enough. Right?

Well, referring bak to Mike Tyson's famous words: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face".

My "punch in the face" happened somewhere around mile 8 when the first leg cramp happened.... But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Coming out of T2 was crazy. The crowd was really amped up. It felt like I was running on the Tour de France road with as many people lining the sides of the trail. Just under the bridge I saw my family. I gave Stacey a sweaty kiss and said, "Holy Shit. I have to run a frickn' marathon now!!!" The people around her all laughed and I slapped high five to a ton of people. I was ready for this. I kept telling myself to start slow and keep things cool.

I had my bright blue tri top, running shorts, and my Hawkeye running hat and was ready to go. I started with a bandana for sweat but ditched that somewhere. I don't even remember what I did with it. HAHAHA.

It's amazing how motivating a "GO HAWKS!!" out of nowwhere is. In fact, I saw the same die hard Iowa fan 3 times on the bike and at least 1/2 dozen times on the run. She always said: Hawkeyes never quit! I was not going to let her down.

The run felt really good at first. I was going to stick to my plan of walking aide stations and running at about 8:45 pace inbetween. The first 5 miles worked like a charm.
Mile 1: 9:16
Mile 2: 9:06
Mile 3: 9:22
Mile 4: 9:57
Mile 5: 10:06
At this point I was still feeling pretty good. I was getting ready to climb up the little hill to the the Priest Drive bridge. I knew my pace was slowing but nothing to worry about.

Mile 6: 10:26
Mile 7: 10:47 .... uh-oh
Mile 8: 11:45 QUAD CRAMP. My legs were talking back. I started popping some potassium pills and loading up with water. From this point going forward I was in a mental and physical battle. I just received my "punch in the face".

Mile 9: 11:32 (Curry Hill)
Mile 10: 11:56 and from this point I was in the 12:00 and 13:00s for the majority of the run.

My plan worked fine for a while. When the cramps started in my quads I knew I was in for a long run. I simply ran until the cramps built up and walked until they loosened up. And I always walked the aide stations. From about Mile 16 until the end I was in total survival mode. I was enjoying the aide stations and the crowd very much. Even though I was cramping, I was loving my IMAZ experience.

I met "Veronica" on the course. This was a well endowed super friendly spectator about a mile before Curry Hill that was jumping up and down cheering us all on. I know her name was Veronica because the guy I was running with stopped to flirt and get a closer look at her well-endowdness..

:-)

When I had 4 miles to go I was at the bottom of Curry Hill, and my watch said 6:05. Could I really break 12 hours with this piece of shit marathon time??? I had a renewed sense of energy. I was going to do it come hell or high water.

The second time I took on Curry Hill I told myself "You are running that damn hill. The whole hill, and not stopping until the top!!!" I ran that entire hill. I think I passed 200 people in the process and when I got to the top I jogged it out a bit and walked some as the leg cramps took over. Awesome. Small goals throughout the day really kept me focused.

Running back over the Priest Bridge was epic. Seeing the people going in the opposite direction and knowing that I was done with those steps felt great.

At the end of the bridge my Garmin said I had gone 25 miles. Holy shit!!! 25 miles. I had 25 minutes to run 1.2 miles and break 12 hours. The entire year, my first and really only goal was to finish on me feet. I had some time goals but if I went under 13 I was going to be happy and a super stretch was probably under 12. Now that reality was in my face. I took it easy for the last mile so that I could run the finish shoot.

The turn to the finish on Rio Salado was sureal. I saw the lights. I saw the people in front of me and I was ready to run. I said to myself remember to smile. Look for Stacey. Arms in the air.

I crossed the finish line in 11:55.30 with my arms held high, smile on my face and screamed at the top of my lungs. Done. Loved it.



Other Run Thoughts:
Ben told me that Coke is a wonder drug. Gives you a boost of energy that should carry me to the next aid station. Boy was he right. Once you start it, don't stop it. Thanks Ben. That was a life saver!!

Bananas and oranges were like coccaine to me in the second half of the run. I wasn't even looking at the Gu people or the Perform. No way in hell.

I ran in running shorts but I could have worn my tri shorts too. My running shorts looked like I took a bath in salt water when I was done. "Gross" doesn't even begin to describe the nastyness of those shorts.

I saw Forrest Gump during the run or I was halucinating.

The 80s themed aid station was the best. The David Lee Roth look-a-like let me hold the microphone for a couple words of "Hit me with your Best Shot". I wanted an encore on loop two, but there was a pretty serious rendition of Eye of The Tiger being sung by an over zealous Joan Jett look-a-like.

I need to figure out the leg cramps. Maybe it was a fitness level issue. After all, I am the father of three small children, a working man, husband, coach, etc, etc, etc and there is only so much time in the week to train. Maybe I needed to be a little slower on the bike so that there was more left in the tank for the run. I really have no idea other than I had never run more than 19 miles in one stretch and I was going after a marathon for the first time as my finishing leg of an Ironman.

The run was tough and what I would do differently is nearly impossible to tell.

I guess: "DON'T FUCKING WALK" is probably what I would do differently next time. Excuse my French.

Warm Down? Whatever. That's hillarious.

After crossing the finish line a volunteer wrapped me in a blanket and escorted me to the photo line. I stood there delirious of the current state of my body waiting for a picture. After my photo I walked into the athlete area and saw Stacey and Becky behind the fence. Then I started to not feel so good. I was light headed and my stomach started to feel really f-ing bad. I gave my finisher shirt and hat to Stacey and told her that I needed to go sit down. A volunteer helped me to a chair and got me another blanket. I sat there for a few minutes and then told a volunteer that I wanted to go and lay down. He brought me to a patch of green grass and I just layed there for a few minutes. Not sure how long until the Medical guy came over and asked if I was alright. I kept saying that I just wanted to chill. He said he would give me a couple of minutes but he does not want me laying down unattended and would take me to the medical tent. At that point I got up and walked over to a chair and sat there for about 2 hours until Chad finished.

I did eat about 2 french fries but my stomach was rejecting the notion of any foot whatsoever. No way. No how. Then I started getting chills. This concerned my sister, who is also a nurse, and she gave me her blanket and sweatshirt. Stacey showed up with my bag of clothes and I put them on and started to warm up finally. I was still cold though. In Arizona, with 2 sweatshirts, clean socks, long pants, and dry shoes, from Iowa, and I was still cold. What a wuss.

After Chad finished his 4th or 5th piece of pizza (what an a-hole LOL), we got up and made the trek back to the bikes and car.

I fell asleep in the car. Got back to the hotel and layed down immediately on the bed. Stacey wanted me to get up and eat something. I instead went and took a long hot shower. That felt great. I even peed in the shower and it was clear. I wasn't dehydrated but somehting was up with the stomach.

I went to bed. Attempted to sleep between various leg cramps. Woke up, sore as hell but hungry.

When it's said and done I should have gone to the med tent, but I just wanted to sit there. I wanted to be left alone and I wanted to relax. Weird feeling because I normally feel great at the end of every race, but this is Ironman and Ironman had a different plan for me.


I blame the weather being too nice and too perfect.

LOL. I have no idea other than the leg cramps and my sore vagina (a/k/a stomach).



What can be said other than IMAZ was one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I have ever put myself through. When I first got into the sport of triathlon and completed my first Sprint event, I never thought that an Ironman would be in my future. NEVER!! Now I can call myself an Ironman and I'm frickn proud of it!!!!!

The host city stepped up. If anyone asks me how it was I tell people it was awesome. Hard, but awesome.

My coach, Ben Cagle, used me as a guinea pig in his first year of coaching. I was happy to let him test out his theories on me since this was my first attempt at Ironman as well. We came together with a good plan and he helped me reach my goal (tattoo anyone??). Without Ben's thoughts and analysis, I might not be looking at this good of a finish, or even a finish at all. Thanks Ben!

On Monday after IMAZ I was sure I was never going to even consider another IM again. The amount of time required to effectively train, along with the money and race day pain was crazy. Now, a week later, I'm ready to think about it. I want to do it again. I may even want to do IMAZ again, but not until I try a different race.

Ironman was hard but I'm looking for round two!!!