Swim
Comments: I am a terrible swimmer. I had a goal of 1:15 today and beat that. so i was very glad about that. I also was within seconds of my training buddy's who usually bead me by 4-6 minutes over this distance in practice. It was like a washing machine out there for me in that time frame. I have got to take 15 minutes off my swim by next year. My swim always puts me mid pack and way be hind, i then have to play catch up the rest of the day. Got my goggles nocked of twice, and an elbow in the nose once. I was pretty darn glad to get out of that water. The distance was easy, but just slow. What would you do differently?: Pin my ankle chip holder on for extra security. Part way through the swim it came loose and i thought it had fallen of my leg. It had not, but i kept stoppin every few minutes to tighten it and make sure it was still there. Transition 1
Comments: My transition was slower than i had hoped for. I had a goal of 5 min for each. The transistion was very crowded when i came in, but i think what held me up was i was just not thinking very well. Still haveing after shock fromt he swim beating. I saw my best friend and training partner in transition. He beat me out of water by one min. But i always transition faster than him, and was long gone by the time he left the tent. After taking off wet suit i was dressed to ride. Just had to put on number and biking gear. Had to go get my own bike, not enough volunteers for the number of athletes in transition at that time. What would you do differently?: Put my sun screen on my self. I got burned pretty bad out there on my back. The volunteer did his best but missed some spots that burned. Bike
Comments: There were some pretty pot holes out there you had to be carefull of. Seen some pretty back wrecks, came clost twice my self. The side winds would hit you out of no where and just throw you sideways a few feet. I was so glad to get off that bike alive. Got pretty sticky trying to poor drinks into aero bottle due to wind blowing it around on ya. My bike was a sticky mess after. Biggest surprise for me was how i was able to stay in the aero bars the whole ride without too much discomfort. That had been a concern because i dont train in aero as much as i should, but on race day it came together and was not an issue. The wind made you want to stay down and low anyway. I was trying to lay on top of my top tube. What would you do differently?: train in the wind every chance i get, and stop complining about training in the wind here in San Diego, cuz that seems to be the norm for the race in Tempe. Transition 2
Comments: I messed up what could have been a pretty good transition by taking off my shoes before i went into porta potty to pee. I was like crap, no way am i stepping in there without shoes, so i had to put them back on to go in and do my stream thing. Then off with the shoes and glove helmet, and i was out of the tent. What would you do differently?: think more clearly and put my halo on right side out. I ran the whole marathon with my skull cap hallo in side out. How stupid was that. Run
Comments: excellent run course, and a lot of fun. Plenty of aid stations, great mile markers. Always knew where you were at. I had thought coming off the bike in T2 "man there is no way i am going to be able to run this marathon" My legs were fried from the wind. The run is my strongest event, and i was concerned i had messed up by going to hard on the bike. However i left the transition and fell into a nice smooth jog. Legs came back pretty good, and were saying hey "we are still here, let go, lets go" But my stomach was saying "hey i am here, and i hurt" I think i got my H20 to sugar drinks a little off on the bike, and it took about 5 miles for my stomach to settle down. My legs and lungs could have run faster but my stomach said no way. Had to spend about 5 minutes at mile 4 in a porta pottie trying to get things under control there. After that, it was off to the races. I was able to run the whole marathon, never bonked, and felt pretty darn good. the wet sponges were awsome and the chicken broth was excellent for beating back the hyponatremia. On all my running events i only drink water and take goo, thats it. But i tried the broth on this race and it went down well. Best thing about the day was that i had no muscular aches or problemes. Hams strings that normally will get a littl sore and stiff in training were no problem. I was very happy to have no structural problems in the race. It all came together pretty darn good. What would you do differently?: Not walk through as many aid stations. I will always run between aid stations and then walk through aid stations to make sure i get fluid in. I need to be able to drink on the run. Just a little of that would have put my total day race time in the 10 hour range. Post race
Warm down: Just walk around and got a massage. did a little stretching. Was not able to eat anything for a while What limited your ability to perform faster: Short amout of time to get ready for the race having come back from deployment in military from the desert. I came back pretty out of shape. I will now have a full year to get ready for IMAZ 08. Event comments: this was the best race of any race i have ever done. the voluteers were world class, and have hooked me on IMAZ. I will be back every year. It was fantastic. Last updated: 2007-04-18 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironman North America
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 212/2066
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 40/330
First Ironman so everything was a learning type of thing. Got up at 0400 and left for race site at 0420 with my wife. Had car already packed from night before. Drank my high protien shake and ate a bagle. I planned to wear the same outfit all day so thats what i dressed in, and put sweat on for some warmth.
Did nothing for warm up, Just got bags turned in, checked on bike to make sure it was still good to go, no flats. Then went around finding all my friends and taking lots of pictures. Just relaxing. Was surprisingly not nervous. I was taking it all in and haveing fun. Then the pros took off so i got in my wet suit and headed for the H20.