Ironman Arizona (Page 2)

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Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman

View Member's Race Log View other race reports

Tempe, Arizona
United States
Ironman North America
90F / 32C
Sunny

Total Time = 12h 38m 57s
Overall Rank = 658/1943
Age Group = W25-29
Age Group Rank = 22/51

Pre-race routine:

Flew into Las Vegas from New Orleans. Drove done to Tempe on Friday. This is normally a 5 hour drive, but we ended up getting to Tempe at 3:45pm (8 hours on the road)...very nervous about missing registration. Acclimated to Tempe on Friday and Saturday, drove the bike course and continued to get more nervous about the heat and the 8 mile incline in the middle of the desert. Ate pizza and Thai food Friday night (not the most healthy, but it sure was good!) and pasta and salad on Saturday night. Went to bed at 10 on Saturday, woke up at 2, ate a Powerbar, drank a gatorade, went to sleep and woke up at 4:00am to get to the race. I had one more bottle of water and was ready to go to the race site. I was dealing with anxiety that I wouldn't finish the race bc of the heat, but my husband and parents kept telling me I would finish and to take it easy on the bike (my worst of the three events).

Event warmup:

I got into the lake 15 minutes before start. Swam to the start line and nervously chatted with the surrounding athletes. I was given a white swim cap (which is what the boys got) and the guys around me kept calling me "dude." I wasn't too thrilled with that.

Swim

1h 09m 23s
4224 yards
01m 26s / 100 yards

Comments:

I did not sight at all and went with the surrounding swimmers. In retrospect, I would try to sight a little better. I definitly a little more than necessary on the way back with a lot of zig zagging. I felt great getting out of the water even though my husband said I looked like I had been punched in the eye. (luckily there was no bruise.)

What would you do differently?:

I think I can swim a bit faster and probably should have done longer swims closer to the race in the past month. I think I peaked in swimming about a month ago.

Transition 1

07m 13s

Comments:

Transition was okay. I had too much stuff to carry though. I forgot to put my Gels in my Bento box and had them all in my jersey. I needed suncreen and needed to change out of my wet shorts into dry ones.

What would you do differently?:

I would try and stay in the same tri shorts as the swim. I think with the arrid weather, the shorts would have dried pretty quickly.

Bike

6h 47m 41s
112 miles
16.48 mile/hr

Comments:

I need to get stronger at bike. I come from a distance running and swimming background and my biking abilitys need some work. Hopefully, I will get speed with practice.

What would you do differently?:

I needed to spend more (A LOT more ) time on the bike training rather than focusing on my strengths of running and swimming.

Transition 2

08m 12s

Comments:

My transition was slow for one reason, my body was too hot. I got off the bike and started to jog to transition and my legs screamed NO! I almost fell, and I thought I cannot walk 26.1 miles. I trained to run the entire marathon, and I was having problems walking to get my transition bag? I sat in the tent, poured 2 cups of water on my head, 2 cups of ice down my sports bra, and started to feel better. The volunteers were amazing. I ran back into transition to get my chapstick, which I lost on the first mile anyway.

What would you do differently?:

Not be so overheated while riding the bike. I probably pushed to hard the last 5 miles so that my quads were not cooroperating on land.

Run

4h 26m 30s
26.2 miles
10m 10s min/mile

Comments:

I had a really good run and met some really cool people. When I got to mile 23, I started to pick up the pace a little and was passing people left and right. I was so excited to get to the finish, I took off my hat, put it in my shorts so that it would not be in the finish line picture, and was running pretty fast...when this guy with a USC jersey (who had been walking when I passed him) sprinted past me and stole my picture. He passed the finish line 1 second before me. I missed the picture breaking the ribbon and I was pretty heartbroken about it. The volunteer grabbed me, looked at me asked if I was okay, I said yeah, but I really wanted that picture. She started laughing and said I looked great for just finishing the race. I smiled big for the staged photo op.

What would you do differently?:

Sprint faster at the end and listen to my husband when he is yelling RUN FASTER at the end of an IRONMAN....I had a great run and considering the heat and cycling conditions, I am very happy. I had been hoping on a 4 hour marathon, but with a stomach acting up, I am very content with my time.

Post race

Warm down:

I hugged my parents and husband, they said they loved me and were proud of me. I was starving, but could only finish one piece of pizza. I immediately had to go home and found that I was extrememly dehydrated (I found this out the hardway, as I had only peed twice all day, and there was a bit of blood in my pee when I got home, but I later found that this was normal)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

First and foremost the heat. Then my training on the bike.

Event comments:

The race was very well organized for its 2nd year. Three laps (in my opinion) is a good idea, so you get lots of spectator support. I had a blast and hope that I will do another IM race in the future.

Last updated: 2006-04-12 12:00 AM

Swimming
01:09:23 \| 4224 yards \| 01m 26s / 100yards
Age Group:	16/51
Overall:	549/1943
Performance:	Average
Suit:	Ironman Stealth
Course:	I am a pretty strong swimmer and wanted to get as close to the front as possible. I ended up right in front...in retrospect, I was definitly not as fast as the front people and got bumped around a bit. Lost my watch (which was terrible bc of the run) but managed to keep my googles on and thus kept my contacts on. The swim was very relaxing once I got into the grove and I focused on only the swim and did not think about the grueling day yet to come.
Start type:	Deep Water	Plus:	Shot
Water temp:	70F / 21C	Current:	Low
200M Perf.	Average	Remainder:	Good
Breathing:	Average	Drafting:	Average
Waves:	Average	Navigation:	Below average
Rounding:	Good

T1
Time:	07:13
Performance:	Average
Cap removal:	Good	Helmet on/ Suit off:	No
Wetsuit stuck?	No	Run with bike:	Yes
Jump on bike:	Yes
Getting up to speed:	Average

Biking
06:47:41 \| 112 miles \| 16.48 mile/hr
Age Group:	37/51
Overall:	1379/1943
Performance:
Wind:	Some
Course:	Okay, the course was hot and unshaded. I am a very inexperienced cyclist and had only done a 95 mile ride in 60 - 70 degree weather. I was very very nervous about this ride. As I passed my Dad cheering on the course, he cheered for me to take it easy...and that is exactly what I did. Though easy is not what it felt like. The first lap my stomach started swelling and I felt like total crap. By the second lap, the only thing I could eat/drink was water/E-gel (Crank) and salt tablets. Those three things saved my race. I was not getting in enough calories and I was worrying about finishing the bike. With 6 miles left on the course I was faltering big time. Then....a fellow athlete yelled to me "you can do it, you are almost done!" I thought to myself..I will give it a try. I passed him on the next mile, thanked him, and hammered my way to the finish line. My dad yelled he was proud of me and I got all choked up with 0.5 miles left on the bike.
Road:	Rough Dry	Cadence:	85
Turns:	Average	Cornering:	Average
Gear changes:	Good	Hills:	Good
Race pace:	Comfortable	Drinks:	Just right

T2
Time:	08:12
Overall:	Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes		Bad
Jumping off bike		Bad
Running with bike		Below average
Racking bike		Good
Shoe and helmet removal		Good

Running
04:26:30 \| 26.2 miles \| 10m 10s min/mile
Age Group:	14/51
Overall:	348/1943
Performance:	Good
Lap 1: 8.6 miles (9:45 mph pace) Lap 2: 8.7 miles (10:21 mph pace) Total Run: 26.1 miles (10:10 mph pace)
Course:	The run was 3 loops. Once my legs were cooroperating again, I knew that I was going to run the entire marathon course (while walking through aid stations). I feel like this was my strongest event coming in. The three loop course was actually really nice, bc by the end of the second loop you knew exactly where the aid stations were. The course was little hilly, but nothing too bad.
Keeping cool	Good	Drinking	Just right

Post race
Weight change:	%
Overall:	Good
Mental exertion [1-5]	5
Physical exertion [1-5]	4
Good race?	Yes

Evaluation
Course challenge	Just right
Organized?	Yes
Events on-time?	Yes
Lots of volunteers?	Yes
Plenty of drinks?	Yes
Post race activities:	Good
Race evaluation [1-5]	5

{postbutton}

georgialaw

2006-04-12 7:22 PM

Member

new orleans

Subject: Ironman Arizona

My Race Log

oceanannie

2006-04-12 7:44 PM

in reply to: #395149

Expert

957

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Awesome job! Great times for your first Ironman!

hdhtri

2006-04-12 7:56 PM

in reply to: #395149

Extreme Veteran

402

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Absolutely great race. Congratulations! welcome to the world of club ironmen/and the even smaller club of ironwomen. Enjoy!

My Race Log

MikeB

2006-04-12 8:03 PM

in reply to: #395149

Veteran

213

Los Angeles, CA

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Great race and a great marathon to top it off. Way to go!

Mike

My Race Log

BodyCheck

2006-04-12 8:06 PM

in reply to: #395149

Elite

2661

DC Metro, slowly working my way to NC

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Congratulations on a great race, Ironman!!

My Race Log

zia_cyclist

2006-04-12 8:16 PM

in reply to: #395149

Master

2381

Dallas, Texas

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Great race...Ironman!

My Race Log

BeCivil

2006-04-12 8:33 PM

in reply to: #395149

Expert

1070

North Carolina

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Great times especially being dehydrated!! Congrats on becoming an Ironman!!

My Race Log

parrj

2006-04-12 8:59 PM

in reply to: #395149

Elite

2999

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Melissa, Congratulations. For your first IM that is amazing. I hope I can do as well some day.

My Training Log My Race Log

Manatee Express

2006-04-12 9:42 PM

in reply to: #395149

Master

2314

Gulf Shores, AL

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Awesome job Ironman! Holy Cow, Kona could be in your future.

My Race Log

max

2006-04-12 11:33 PM

in reply to: #395149

Champion

8903

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Great race and fun report to read too. Congrats on becoming an Ironman!

dhlundblad

2006-04-13 12:00 AM

in reply to: #395149

Master

1902

Berkeley, CA

Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Hey Melissa! You had a great race! I was there as a first-timer too, and I totally agree with you about the multiple loops... I was pretty much being carried by the cheers of my family and friends!

Despite your 'weak' leg, I think you did amazing!!! And sure you placed 16 and 14 in your strengths, but you were still 37 out of 51 for your bike! That's pretty dang fine!

Dana

My Race Log

thegoddess

2006-04-13 6:01 AM

in reply to: #395149