Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman

Started near the buoys which was pretty clear. There were only a few of us over there and it made for a pretty clear swim. I got the occasional hand on the leg or bump into someone, but nothing rough. I had no idea where I was going and because there were so few people around me I kept looking up to see, but couldn't see anything in front of me! The first half of the swim seemed to fly by even though I stopped a few times to figure out if I was still going the right direction. I made it to the brige and started to feel a cramp coming on in my calf. I knew it was something that I was going to have to deal with during the swim, but I didn't think I'd have that problem until I was closer to the finish. I had to stop and breast stroke a bit to get the cramp to go away. I ended up doing the 7 or 8 times. I also ended up pretty far away from the buoys and spent some time trying to figure out the best way to get back on course. I finally rounded the last buoy and swam the best I could dragging my legs behind me so they wouldn't cramp up. Made it to the stairs and I was done!

Pay more attention to the swim course layout. Figure out what is causing my cramps (I eat tons of bananas already!). Spend more time in the pool and get in some open water swims before the race.

Got my wetsuit stripped and headed for the tent. Heard my family cheering for me so I waved as I ran. Then I stopped to wave to my daughter. My husband had to remind me to keep moving! DUH! Changed my shorts because i hate riding in wet shorts. Put on my tri top which I will wear during the swim next time. Dried off my legs and put on my socks and shoes. I was starving so I took the time to eat half an uncrustables. Put on my helmet and sunglasses put some swimmer's ear in my ears and headed off to get some sunscreen. Ran down and got my bike then headed to the mount line.

Not take forever! It didn't seem like 12 minutes, but oh well. I did everything I needed to do.

I had been dreading the wind, but what can you do? I hoped to average 16, but ended up closer to 14 after all my stops. The first loop was my toughest. My rear derailleur was messed up and I was pretty sure I knew how to fix it, but I figured I'd wait for the Landis Cyclery guys just to be sure. My nutrition plan had been gels, perpetuem, uncrustables, salt tabs and water, but that went out the window during the first lap. I kept running out of water which I had in my aero bottle. I still had my perpetuem but I didn't want to drink too much of it and even when I do drink it, I like to have water with it. So I tossed out the perpetuem and grabbed some Gatorade. I'm not a big fan of the stuff and I'm even less of a fan of orange, but at least I had something to drink when I ran out of water. My plan soon switched to having a gel every 30 minutes and drinking a full aero bottle of water every aid station. I would drink some Gatorade between the gels to make sure I was getting in a few extra calories. I had planned on right around 230 cals and hour on the bike and I was pretty right on with that. I'm glad I had researched how many calories were in the foods on the course so I could figure out what i needed to reach my 230 cals. At the end of the first lap I saw my family and that was great because I was feeling pretty unsure of things after having to change my nutrition plan, having trouble with my bike, and going so slow on the first lap. Right after I saw my family I saw the Landis Cyclery tent and pulled in for them to fix my rear derailleur. My husband ran over and asked what was wrong and when I told him he was so confused because he had checked out my bike the night before and nothing was wrong with it. I had also ridden it and nothing was wrong with it, so this was a big surprise. Once it was fixed and I took off on my 2nd lap things were much better. I was able to shift gears as needed and my speed picked up a bit. I had to stop every 20 miles or so to pee and I stopped 2 times to stretch my leg hoping that would help my knee.

At mile 50 my knee started hurting pretty bad. It had been a dull pain before but this was a sharp pain, so I took some Advil. Once I got to SN I rubbed some Biofreeze on my knee and hamstring hoping that would help. I rode the next 10 miles or so trying to use my left leg as little as possible which was hard considering I was headed into the wind. About an hour after I took the Advil I finally felt some relief which means it went back to a dull pain.

I was able to finish the third lap without the sharp pains again which had me very hopeful for the run. There never was a point on the bike when I thought that I wouldn't make it. I knew that I wasn't going to finish the bike in the time I was hoping for, but I was doing the best I could.

Stick with gels, water, and Gatorade from the beginning. Get in more long rides, but with a broken toe 4 weeks out and this knee problem I did as many as I could.

Got off the bike and started jogging just to see how my legs felt. I was amazed at how good they felt. I guess that's what happens when you take it easy on the bike! I kept running into the changing tent. Took off my helmet and put on my hat. Took off my bike shoes and put on my running shoes. Grabbed some more advil and biofreeze.

Move faster.

The first 14 miles of the run were great. I was moving like I wanted and passing lots of people, although I'm sure a lot of them were on their second or third laps while I was on my first! I walked through the aid stations where I ate something every time. I'm a salty sweater and I drink tons of water so I was pretty worried about hyponatremia. I started off with pretzels, water, and my salt tabs but I eventually lost the tabs along the way. THat was alright because I soon started on chicken broth. I had chicken broth at every aid station from mile 4 or so on. I also ate some bananas, grapes, and for the last 6 miles or so I had a cookie at each station. I didn't touch the cola because I don't normally drink it. I stayed away from gels because I had enough of those on the bike! I saw my husband on the 1st loop and he told me our daughter had gone back to the hotel to take a nap so she would be ready to run with me to the finish. I was feeling pretty good at the point so I kept up my pace. I made it to SN and stopped to put on a long sleeve shirt and give my husband my glasses. I told him I'd see him in 2 and a half hours and I was off again. I was alright until mile 15 then things got painful. It hurt to lift my leg off the ground and take the next step. It hurt on the inside, in the back, and all the way through my calf. At that point I was reduced to a run/walk. I'd pick a point and run to it, then I'd walk. I did this from about mile 15 to mile 21. At mile 21 I said screw it because the walking was no longer relieving any pain so I tried to run the rest of the way. I walked up the steeper parts and ran along the flats and downhill sections. I had adjusted my goal to 15:15 and thought it would be cool to make it in 15:15:15, but I knew that would be tough to do. As I was running across Priest I looked over at the bridge and it looked so far away, but I knew I had less than 10 minutes to go. When I finally made it to the bridge I was so excited. I saw my husband and daughter waiting for me and she jumped out and started to run with me. We turned the corner and she kind of got overwhelmed by all the people and slowed down. I stayed with her and we kept on going to the finish line. I made sure I was listening when I was told I'm an Ironman.

Nothing. I did my best.

My catcher person walked with me and kept asking me questions. I was totally fine except I was starving. I just kept asking over and over "where's the pizza?" I got my shirt and hat, took my picture, then headed straight for the pizza. Got my pizza, found my family, and sat down. I ate while they all watched and talked about the race. It was so awesome.


The wind of course, but mainly my knee. Went back to the doctor yesterday for x-rays and an MRI. He thinks I may have a tendon coming off the bone or something like that. All I know is it hurts!!!!


This was an amazing experience. This site has been such an enourmous help with the articles, plans, and forums. I definitely couldn't have done this without my wonderful husband. He did everything (cooking, cleaning, watching our daughter) so I could train after work. He also went out and did all the long rides with me. He wants to do an Ironman, too, but it was just too hard for us to both train for it. Since I was the one that got us hooked on triathlon, I got to do an Ironman first!

I remember my first tri in August of '05. It was a sprint and I was way undertrained. I knew that going in, but didn't think it would be too hard. I ended up averaging 17 mph on the bike and it took me 35 minutes to run the 5k! Even though it was rough I knew the second I finished I would do an Ironman.

The last 6 months have been an emotional roller coaster. There were times I would come home and cry my eyes out because i didn't think my knee would hold up thorough all the training and the race. Then other days my knee would feel great and I could ride 80 miles and then run 9 minute miles off the bike. Training was definitely much harder than the race. I wasn't sure I'd do another one going into this one, but I know I will. I'm looking at Kentucky in '08. I think my husband and I will do that one together since I'll be able to train in the summer during the day while he's at work (I'm a teacher) and he can train after work. I'm looking forward to that...if I can get this knee problem fixed.