Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 14)

Great job!!

This is similar to what I have planned this weekend.

It is time for the big mileage.

Bring on the PAIN!!!!

I can tell you that last year the run aid stations had 3-4 different flavors of gels and I think 1-2 of powerbars. I didn't see any of the bike course though and I do not know what they will have this year.

I booked my tickets to IMAZ yesterday!!!!! I did it last year and had an absolute blast!!! I am volunteering in the medical tent from 9pm-12mn and DO NOT want to see any of you!!!!!! Going to sign up for next year....cant help it....got to do it again!!!!

Wanted to recommend a good read to all. There is a new book out called You Are An Ironman by Jacques Stienberg. Its available on Amazon. It follows 6 "ordinary" people on their quest to complete IMAZ 2009. It is very inspirational. One of the people in the book is Bryan Reece ,he has been my mentor on BT for the last 3 years. Bryan is also racing IMAZ again this year!!!! Read it on the plane...or in your free time when you are tapering. I dont think you will be disappointed!!!

Good luck to you all in your last weeks of training. You are almost there!!!!!

Oh, no, it's not hilly!!! It's not without a few hills, but it is NOT hilly.  You go up and over some bridges in a up and around type fashion, but it's not that long and in '09 they had an aid station just after you got to the top and people were cheering you up. Most of those are pretty short, a tad steep, but short.  When you go through Clinton Park you go up and that's probably the longest incline.  Yes, you do it 3 times, but nothing from that run made me think "oh man, there were more hills than I thought"--they kind of helped break things up a bit in my opinion.  And none of them are super super long. IMCdA changed their route and had you go all the way up and over and down and then back up and over and down a legitimate hill that kicked most people's butts this year (mine included).  None of the hills in AZ kicked my butt.  You'll be fine.  If you add in some short steep climbs to your run occasionally it might prove helpful, but I wouldn't fear them!

I'm just hoping the weather is EXACTLY like '09, cause it was pretty perfect that day.  Less wind on the bike is always fine, but in general it was just awesome. I'm getting pretty excited about this race!

I'm getting pretty amped myself!  CdA seems like a long time ago....and I want that feeling back!

I have a 2.4 mile ocean swim race tomorrow morning in Oceanside....my suit still had some Lake Cda sand in it.  

I agree...the run is not hilly but it is a bit rolling.

PMTEXASGIRL: I remember seeing you at IMAZ in 2009.  I think your bike was near mine in transition.  Did you do the Janus Charity Challenge that year?

Yep! I was there in 2009 for my first IM! I had a great day then and can only hope for the same or better this time around! Red head and wearing the Army Tri top.  This year I'll be in same gear as my avatar here along with several teammates, so it should be fun!

Hi guys,

I am doing IMAZ as my first full distance Ironman. I have a question for those who have done this race before (and excuse me if these have been answered before):

On the bike course, I see that the elevation gain over the length of each loop is only about 600ft (over almost 20 miles), which is pretty flat even for someone from the Houston area. What kind of cassette did you guys use? or would you recommend? Is it an 11/21 type of course? or is it more like a 12/25. I usually use 11/21 for flat (e.g. Galveston or San Juan) 70.3 races and used 12/25 for Buffalo Springs. I am just not sure how to (or if I need to) take into account the fact that I am doing twice the distance, when selecting the proper gearing.

Thanks for your help.

Maybe it's the Eagle Scout in me, but I carry two tubes/cartridges on me to start and then I put a third tube/inflator in my special needs kit.  Overkill?  Probably.  But if I flat before I get half way, I want a back-up in the special needs bag just to make sure.   If I hit special needs without a flat, I just leave it there - the $6 is worth the peace of mind.

At IMSG last year, I stopped to try and help a cyclist who was on her third flat.  She'd been waiting for a support vehicle for 20 minutes.  Unfortunatley, she was riding on 650's and I had a 700 tube.  At Vineman, I threw my extra tube/cartridge in my jersey to a guy stranded 5 miles from T2. 

I have very good luck (knock wood) with flats, but while riding one loop last year to check out the course, I flatted in 15 miles due to those nasty thorns.  I may put 2 in my special needs bag, just in case!  LOL.

Thanks for the responses. I completely spaced the special needs bag. I'll definitely drop some extra tubes and co2 in there.

On another note...anyone else really feel full of energy? I'm tired, but this week it seems my body has said "ok...you want to workout this much? Fine, I'll adapt". I feel as though my fitness level took a quantum leap over the past week. Not letting it get to my head, but it's a nice feeling from being absolutely exhausted all the time, even if it's only short lived. I'm loving the peak training time right now. Bring on IMAZ.

Damn.  Fast.

I have been fighting injuries for the past month and these next 5 weeks are going to define my IM. I had to take my last month off training but I'm pretty optimistic as I have not lost much during my recovery.

Last month I had really bad achilles pain to the point I could't run. It just came out of nowhere but I think hill repeats and too much float in my pedals caused it. Then the next day while swimming something in my triceps 'popped' and was in pain for a few weeks. My swim coach had me change my stroke to use my lats and tris more, and I should have lowered my volume. My swim times were dropping in bunches, which makes it all the more frustrating.

After that I thought my race was over but there is still plenty of time. My run wont be there, but I plan on a 100 miler every week, which may work out better. I don't know what my swim will be, but I have to put in yards and be smart at the same time.

I've been rehabbing with ART, Kinesio Tape, Graston, deep massage, icing, compression socks, eccentric loading, and electrical muscle stimulation. It all seems to be working but I'm always one overly ambitious run away from reinjuring it.  

meh.   Injections in the spine on Monday.  Should be cleared just in time for my peak week.....

Training in my head....visualizing!!!

It's sneaking up on me! 75 tomorrow morning and 18 on Sunday. I was in a holding pattern a while back at 60/13 to avoid peaking too soon and that became "trivial." Next time, if I have to stall my training, it'll be later in the season. Maybe I'm just in one of those self-doubt slumps. Still have some time to turn it around for one last big push to my peak in four weeks!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Here are my September totals.  Feeling pretty good about where I am right now.  This time around Im definitely focusing on volume and not distance which has me feeling really strong.  I ran 27 of 30 days this month, and rode 21 as well.  Swimming has just started back up, but I did a 2.4 open ocean race last weekend in 1:18 and that was with a current against us the whole way. Pretty confident I can best my CdA time of 1:09 in AZ.  Really, really looking forward to this race!

Swim:  7800 yards

Bike:  520 miles

Run:  165.2 miles