Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 17)

Originally posted by KebaNYC

Now that October is here I am getting super paranoid about something happening and I'm getting overly cautious, especially on the rides.

Totals for September:
Swim: 4 hours (I have only been swimming one day a week because of a shoulder injury that probably needs surgery.)
Bike: 24 hours
Run: 11 Hours

This race can't come fast enough. Here in the north east the weather has been great but the shorter days and kid back in school is really compressing the amount of time I have available to get out during the week. Usually one of the mid week workouts has to give but I am making sure all the long rides and runs get done.

Keba

Originally posted by blackorcutt



Do what you can and keep your focus. I personally feel if you are mentally prepared you can complete this race. It's going to hurt but its best for you to be as healthy as possible race day. I am also paranoid and have been extra cautious.

Originally posted by siouxcityhawk

Really?   Is this all in one day?  God I hope not.  My plans don't show anything like this on the schedule.  Makes me think that I am not even close.  I did have a great September of training.  Swim and Bike are strong.  Run will probably be a sufferfest but I'm sooo excited.

Holy Jesus 46 days.

Originally posted by Mikeylee

Here are my numbers for September:

Swim: 11h 52m 56s - 23,525 Meters
Bike: 29h 38m 31s - 466.84 Miles
Run: 23h 26m 60s - 99.91 Miles (I would har run that extra 1/10th of a mile to go over 100 miles for the month had I know I was so close!)

I am slow, but these are so much better both in volume and pace than I could ever imagine. Looking forward to race day! Say hi as you pass me!

Originally posted by 101abp40




^^^^^ This x 100.

Originally posted by devilfan02

Leaving town for the weekend tomorrow so I had to switch up my training schedule. Did a 5 hour ride (on the Beeline) and four mile brick this morning. Today was my first Beeline ride where there didn't appear to be any wind but there was a lot of pressure heading south. I know that sounds weird but there's no other way to describe it. I even stopped once to see if the trees were moving but it was only a gentle breeze. Felt way stronger than that once you got going and I was working a lot harder while going 3-5mph slower than usual on that stretch. Happy I experienced that today and not on race day.

Doing a 20 mile run tomorrow morning on the new run course. I'll pass along any details although it should be pretty straightforward.

Originally posted by devilfan02

Did my 20 mile long run on Friday morning on the new run course. Wanted to pass along some notes for those who haven't had a chance to see it yet.

First note is make sure to you run on the correct path. I initially thought the run course by TTL was on the flat, dirt path directly next to the lake. Well, there's also a concrete path about 20 yards above the dirt path that is much hillier. The IMAZ run course is on both paths.

Here's some of my observations.

Miles 0-1 - Be careful here. We'll run out of T2 on the concrete path which is hilly the first mile. This will be a difficult stretch as the hills will make not going out too fast that more important.

Miles 1-2 - After a hilly first mile, we'll run under the Rural bridge, then run up a shirt but steep switchback in order to get back to the upper concrete path. Once there, it's dead flat to the 2mile turnaround point.

Miles 2-4.5 - Probably the easiest stretch on the entire run course. We'll turnaround at the 2 mile mark the head west primarily on the dirt path right next to TTL. This entire stretch is basically flat.

Miles 4.5 - 6 - I'll refer to this as the Priest bridge section. When heading west, there's a short ramp to run up in order to get to the bridge. It's not too bad and the bridge itself isn't bad either. Once across the bridge, we'll head east towards the TTL path down a pretty long downhill stretch. All pretty simple...

Miles 6-8 - Pretty straight forward here. Most is along the TTL dirt path which is flat but we'll also run through the marina parking lot. Easy segment.

Mile 8 - In order to get to the turnaround point at mile 8, we'll need to run up a tough section under the 202 freeway. This won't be too tough the first lap but the second lap your legs will feel it.

Miles 8-9 - Not too bad. Some of this is on the upper path which consists of rollers. Run through the parking lot again and down College Ave which is when you'll want to start preparing yourself for Curry Hill

Miles 9-10.5 - Curry Hill! In my opinion, this stretch isn't that difficult and far too many people psych themselves out. Is it a tough hill? Sure, but two-thirds of Curry Hill is actually down hill. Go into this segment mentally prepared for a difficult hill to climb but know that there's a long downhill stretch coming behind it. In fact, after Curry Hill, we'll turn left at Lake View Dr. which is even more downhill than the downhill section of Curry.

Miles 10.5-12 - Return to the TTL path after the Lake View stretch. This is flat until the uphill climb towards the Priest Bridge. I thought this climb was fairly difficult. Run to Rio Salado is flat, if not downhill. This is a good stretch to hydrate and get your HR in-check.

Miles 12-13.1 - You won't realize it at the time but the entire run on Rio Salado is uphill. My HR in the segment started to spike and I thought I was tiring. I returned to normal after turning left and getting back on the flat TTL path.

13.1-14.1 - We'll run through transition which should get everybody excited. Be careful because the hilly stretch immediately after T2 will further escalate your HR. Try and run through this stretch in a calm manner.

Miles 14.1 - 18 - Flat and easy. Really focus on your pace and hydration/nutrition during this stretch because you'll need some left in the tank for the last 4 miles. It's really easy to run too fast on this stretch.

Miles 18-22 - This stretch starts out with the Priest Bridge section which isn't too bad. The run out to the turnaround part is relatively flat other than the climb to the actual turnaround point at roughly mile 21.

Miles 22-24 - Curry Hill. Get over that damn hill for the final time and know that you have a LONG downhill stretch until you get back to the TTL path. This will be tough but you'll have around 1.5 miles to recover.

Miles 24-26.2 - Almost there! The climb to Priest Bridge will be tough on shaky legs. Recover over the next mile until you get to Rio Salado. Rio Salado will be a tough stretch... It's a false flat that will use up your last bit of energy. It will probably also be dark and lonely... Run right past the Hardy Dr turn and you'll only have about a mile left. You'll take a 90 degree turn to the right then approach your final turn to the finish line. One last turn left and BAM, the finish chute will be smack in front of you!

Originally posted by todds

The athlete guide and event schedule are up!!!

Originally posted by devilfan02 I noticed tickets to the Welcome Back Dinner on Friday night are $30/ea. That's pretty expensive for crappy food... Has anyone gone to this before and is it worth it?

Originally posted by devilfan02

^ That's a good point. To make it more simple, here are the more difficult areas of the run course to watch out for (in my opinion) -

Miles 0-1 (& 13.1-14.1) - Rollers that finish with a climb up a short switchback at mile 1 (and 14). The hills alone aren't that difficult but they can be if you don't focus on other factors (overly excited coming out of T2, running too fast off bike, keeping HR down, etc.).

Mile 8 (& 21) - Uphill run towards the turnaround point.

Mile 9 (& 22) - Curry Hill

Mile 11 (& 24) - Uphill run towards left turn on Priest bridge.

Mile 11.5 (& 18.5) - Rio Salado stretch. Seems flat but it's uphill and requires extra energy. Be aware of this and run accordingly.

Not sure when everyone is getting to PHX, but you can ride your bike along the entire run course before the race. The only exception is the dirt path along TTL but you can see it from the concrete path. Super easy and quick ride.

Originally posted by siouxcityhawk

Someone on the Facebook Group posted this question and got a range of answers from "Absolute must attend" to "Skip it and eat where you want to".

I guess there are good videos and Mike Reilly does a good job getting people pumped up.

I have not decided what to do yet but I was budgeting going.