Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 12)

How was everyone's weekend?

I know some of us NorCal folks were racing at Big Kahuna and Pac Grove. I did the relay at Big K with some friends, ran 4 miles while our cyclist was out on the bike course then finished off with the half marathon. Was fun to get some training in while racing! I'm in a recovery week this week (yay!) before getting into the last build and peak stuff in October. I feel like IMAZ will be here before we know it.

Just did my first HIM on Sunday and, now that the memory of the pain is starting to fade, I'm getting re-energized for IMAZ! I feel like I got my nutrition and pacing nailed down. My run (which included a lot of beach sand and hard-packed trails) was only three minutes short of my standalone half marathon PR. Of course the bar wasn't very high.

Took yesterday and today completely off. Going for a recovery 5k tonight, back to masters swim tomorrow night and then it's a return to business!

This weekend was fantastic. Nailed the bike nutrition again, so I think I've got a solid plan. Next Saturday will tell for sure as I'm riding 100 then running 10 with some friends. Sunday I ran 12-13 (lost my gps last weekend, so not sure) and felt great after the first mile.  My confidence is starting to get stronger. Suddenly I feel like a person "actually training for an IM" since I just started the peak phase and it lasts for 6 weeks.  Enjoy that recovery week!

stltrade - Sounds like you have a really good level of fitness now. Is your family ok with you continuing to train, but just not as much as you have been?

My training over the weekend went very well.  I spent the weekend in DC visiting family and friends, so this required training in a new area.

My Sat am ride started great as I planned to bike from Annapolis to Baltimore. About 1 hour into the ride, my back tire sustained a flat.  I thought, "no big deal" - then I looked at my tire and observed a large (> 2cm) gash in the tire.  I attempted to replace the tube and watched a bubble protrude through the hole as I inflated the tube.  This caused me to abandon my ride and knock out my long run.  

I switched my long ride/brick run to sunday and bike from DC to Leesburg and back with a 45 min brick run.  My bike nutrition is dead on.  I will start adding run nutrition from this point forward as I began to feel the effects about 35 min into the run. 

My second race of the season is this weekend, Syracuse 70.3.  This will be my second HIM, and I am hoping to break into the sub 5 hour category!  

Anyone else racing this weekend?

The good news is we're not that far out from race day.  If you can get a solid few weeks of training in, you'll start tapering off and hopefully spend some quality time with the family before hitting IMAZ. I don't know what your schedule is like but I'm a single dad and have to do some odd hour workouts.  Usually swimming at lunch time and getting up at 4:00am to do some indoor cycling workouts.  

By skull cap I assume you mean a swim cap? If you don't own one already, then no, there is no need to buy one as you will receive one with your race packet specific for race day.  As to whether folks have used them in the past, virtually all tri's in North America, minus some w/pool swims have colored swim caps as part of the race to distinguish different waves and allow for easy spotting in lakes/oceans, etc.  I personally use one all the time for swimming as I'm a girl, I a have long hair, and it gets in the way. A swim cap takes care of that!

A... gotcha on the neoprene ones for the cold! Lots of people had them at Ironman Coeur d'Alene this year.  I have one that I took, but ended up not using. I didn't personally feel I needed it, and the under the chin strap seemed a little awkward.  I did IMAZ in '09 and the water temp was around 64 which was really comfortable for me.  That said, it is really cold for some people, and depending upon how long you are out there, the more it may impact you.  Last year I volunteered at T1 for IMAZ and some of the later finishers in the swim (water was 61-62) were absolutely frozen and shivering.

So, if you are sensitive to cold and think that it is something that might slow you in the race, then you might want to consider it.  Some other options include doubling up on swim caps (wear an old one under your IM one) and putting vaseline on your face (just not near googles, you want those to seal--I did this for IMCdA--water temps of 54--and it worked quite well).  It really comes down to how sensitive to cold water you are.  I doubt that Tempe Town Lake will be colder than 60 degrees unless it is just a really frigid November.

While we are on the subject of cold water, what about booties?
Are they legal for this race and did many people wear them?

thanks

So, I'm pretty sure I saw them last year by a few participants, primarily some of the older swimmers who were in the water longer.  That being said, I do believe it's a race week call on whether booties are allowed or not. I'm not entirely sure on that, and the homepage doesn't say.  I do know the caps are fine if you want to wear them.  But really, I didn't see many wearing them at IMAZ last year as they came out of the water.  

I volunteered at IMAZ last year and did see people with booties ( I was surprised they were aloud to wear them). I asked somebody about this and I believe the answer was that if the water was 65 degrees (or under 65..not sure) then booties are aloud.  I saw a lot of people coming out of the water VERY cold (it was a cold/rainy day) which has made me really consider the cap option.  I have a really hard time in very cold water but then again I heat up very quickly so I am on the fence right now regarding cold water swim options.

That's outstanding news!