Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 10)

devilfan, I feel ya on the Gu flavors. I only like a couple of their flavors. And, of course, my favorite flavor is exclusive to REI. SO, I have to pay full retail for Cherry Blaze Every other Gu flavor I can get a pretty good discount on. I REALLY like the Apple Cinnamon Hammer gel. Tastes like apple pie filling!!!! But I don't want to lug a bunch of Hammer gel around all day.

Interesting... I've been gagging down the cherry lime flavored Roctane's. Might have to try the Cherry Blaze!

Pumps are in short supply in the am. If its easy for you to bring one...I would advise it.

This is my third time at IMAZ and I have never needed anything from my special needs bags. I have been able to find them the day after the race. They are in big boxes that you have to sift through. But I wouldnt put anything in there that you really want to get back.

Hope everyones training is going well!!!

Bike special needs...
Nothing

Run special needs...
Nothing



I wish i had access to these bags that everyone fills up and never returns to get them! Worried about the beeline is unfounded I ride it all the time with no more flats than any other ride in the valley and on race day you ride in the road and not on the shoulder. Will have 2 tubes and 2 co2 on my bike.

Live off the course for nutrition... had to get use to the stuff they have but i am not luggin a bunch of crap around for 11 - 17 hours.

Agree - Live off the course for any fluids/nurtrition. Only stuff in SN - Bike: CO2, Extra Tubes, Chamios butter; RUN: Socks, arm warmers, body glide, long sleever shirt if cool (<50F).

Wondering how many people wear a sleeveless wet suit. That is what I have. or should I buy a sleeved suit. I live in Northern IL
Any thoughts? Could not figure out how to start a new thread.

When I volunteered last year I saw 4-5 people with sleeveless. There could have been more. That's just what I saw personally. It depends on your tolerance for cold water. Water temps, historically, for IMAZ are in the low 60s.

Me, personally, I LOVE to swim in water with temps in the mid 60s.I generate a lot of body heat/sweat, so it doesn't really bother me after a minute or two. BUT, the only swims I've done in water that cool have been Olympic distance. 1.5K isn't even mile. I did it sleeveless and I was just fine. I'm not taking any chances in November though. I'm renting a full sleeve wetsuit.

Just my 2 cents

Why don't you have access to your special needs bag? Don't we all have the same "access"?

Hey all...i feel the need to brag that my wife, noodle69, and I rode our first century bike ride ever. Of course, it is in preperation for IMAZ! We even rode it at a pace which would get us in before the bike cut-offs! I know many (most?) of you have done many century rides, but the first is always the best.

just meant that i wish i could go through all the bags that people dont pick up... would never need tubes, or gels again!

Ah, now I see what you're sayin'

Jinkies! One of those days when the bike was really tough and I question what in the heck I am doing?!
Plan was to go 80, made it 72 and was pretty miserable the last 25 or so.
I have Redman full aqua-bike in 3 weeks! The plan for that 'race' is to go easy and just make the distance.
Really not looking forward to 7+ hours on the bike.

Hi everybody,

long time no hear - did quite a lot of training recently.

2 questions that came to my mind:

1) Is it possible to ride the bike-loop in the week prior to the race, or is there no way, when the traffic isn´t closed.

2) swim start - where are the pro´s / fast swimmers starting - more on the left or right and is it true that there is a rope on the left side all along the river until the turn ?

Not so many weeks left - getting excited

greetings from Europe,
Erwin

KeriKadi,
Your training is great. You cannot predict a race from one crapola training ride. It will come together for you on race day!

Edited by Mikeylee 2013-09-02 7:45 AM

You can ride it any time! There is a couple supported rides that Excel and Beyond coaching puts on as well as T3 Racing. Check them out ill be there!

Faster swimmers start to the right usually from year past.

Lets set some goals with 12 weeks left!!!

1. Finish Standing and no injury! (happy)
2. Finish under 12:30 (happier)
3. Finish under 12 hours. (happiest)

I have never needed a SN bag. The only time I used it was to put my empty gel flask and other junk I was carrying like arm warmers and this was only the Run SN. I'm trying to figure out where to line up for the swim, I should be in the 1:06 range so I'm not sure if I should get in the front and let a few swim over me or get into the 3rd to 4th row and battle.

Actually!!!!! It's 10 weeks, 5 days and a wake up!!!!

1) Yes, the bike course is on public roads and you can ride it anytime. The portion through Tempe is a little dicey (small-to-no bike shoulders) but the Beeline has a wide bike lane. Just bring extra tubes and C02 cartridges cause flats are common.
2) Pros usually start off front left if I remember correctly. I don't believe there is a rope along the course, just buoys.

This is my first IM as well so I'm trying to stay modest with my goals. That said, I'm shooting for a sub-12 finish as my primary goal, sub 11:30 stretch goal. Those times could all change based on the next two months of training.

Good month of training in August with volume increasing the last couple weeks. Also feel confident in my nutrition plan for race day which is a relief. Crazy to think that we still have two hard months of training with volumes many of us have never experienced before. Here are my totals for August -

Swim - 18.53 miles, 10:42 hours
Bike - 489.05 miles, 29:57 hours
Run - 107.08 miles, 15:56 hours

Am doing a couple races in the next two months on the IMAZ course - Nathan's Tempe Tri (Oly) on 9/22 and Soma (HIM) on 10/20. I'm also doing three swim races in Tempe Town Lake from now until IMAZ. I'll be sure to pass on any relevant info based on my experiences at these races.

I am curious is it easier to train in a hotter drier climate then a hot and very humid climate? Here in SC it has been miserable with the humidity (I don't remember it ever being this bad before) anyway I had a major shut down yesterday on the run and I am just hoping that the humidity just got to me and with that it got me thinking which is worse the southeast climate or the southwest.

Edited by krazytallchick 2013-09-02 4:41 PM

it has been humid here in phx also.

Both dry and humid conditions are tough on the body, but humidity causes the body to work harder in order to stay cool.

Our bodies first reaction to heat and humidity is to cool itself down. We do this by increasing sweat secretion and blood flow to the skin. The higher the air humidity, the higher the heat perception, which causes the body to secrete more sweat and direct more blood to the surface of the skin. If precautions are not taken or you work too hard in heavy humidity, your performance will be significantly impacted or you run the risk of dehydration and heat stroke.

Define humid. My family lives in phx and their idea of humid and my idea (Houston) are very different. When I just Googled weather in Phoenix it said 45% humidity. Not sure when the last time I saw anything below 50%, surely it was January or February. Current humidity at 10pm is 79%, it is nice.
Anything below 90% is lovely IMO.


Edited by KeriKadi 2013-09-02 10:09 PM