Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 2)

Awesome!  Glad you are contributing on BT.  I volunteered Sunday and it was such a great race.  Enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to next year.

I'm in, for #1!! I live in Phoenix, and got the bug last year when I volunteered as a finish line catcher. I decided right then and there that I would gladly go through 17 hours of hell to feel that good when it's done.

And Triplebypat, I'm not a cardiac survivor, but you can see I have a thing for flying pigs! Probably because I'm a pilot and used to be a bit of an oinker myself!

My other moniker (below) was picked up here in the forums thanks to my blistering speed.

Be safe and train hard!

Here is some motivation for the day.....

Tammy, that is funny! Just a side note: anybody who has an affinity for flying pigs (or cardiac issues)is welcome to join the IronHeart Racing group... while largely survivors, there are also a number of "interested" supporters.

Bar92 is correct about that finishing goal. IMFL 2011 was my first full-distance IM, and I am the poster boy for those whose goal is "to finish still vertical" -- I can tell all you first-timers that as long as you train (and we DO have another 50 weeks or so) you WILL finish, and you will likely surprise yourself. My IMFL finish was 1.5 hours faster than I expected. The thrill of crossing that finish line and accomplishing something so few will even attempt justifies every one of those long, slow miles (for me, they are ALL slow). I will say it again - I am not a competitor, I am a participant -- and extremely happy to be able to say that.

Safe training everybody, and enjoy the holidays.

This will be my first, I plan on getting there a full week in advance. I will be driving from Omaha and staying with my brother in-law in Mesa. Plenty of time to ride the course etc.

The biggets challenge for me will be the unknown of the run I guess. I did a HIM this summer on very little training. The swim and bike were fine, the run, had to pretty much walk it in the last 4 miles due to severe cramps. I do not want to repeat that.

I will actually train for this though, I think I'm going to use the BT beginner plan.

I guess I start with 2 questions.

#1 Is it too cold to do it without a wetsuit. I have a full sleve, but I prefer swimming without it, especially longer distances. For some reason even though I do weekly OWS in the summer I just can't seem to get used to it. This is my second wetsuit, and maybe I just have weak shoulders, but it slows me down, and yes it is the right size and put on correctly pulled up high, plenty of extra material, but not to much in the armpit/shoulder and elbow areas.

I will probably buy a sleeveless and hopefully that solves the problem.

#2. This is more of a in-general type question, but on the BT beginner plan I know that the swim and bike long rides will be long enough, but if I remember correctly from looking at it a few weeks ago, the longest long run was 3 hrs. Is this a long enough tranining run for a slow runner, I have no idea how long I'll be out there, but it will likely be in the 5 hr range.

I'm certainly no expert, but I will attempt to give you an answer to both of your questions.

On the wetsuit - I think it will depend on the person and how much cold you can tolerate, but I'd say that you need a wetsuit of some kind for sure for this swim.  Water temps this year were 61 according to the announcements and I didn't see one person without a wetsuit.  Whether you can handle that cold of water in a sleeveless or not will be up to you.  I don't tolerate cold water well, so I will probably be cold even in the full wetsuit.

About the run - again, you may have to listen to your body.  From what you wrote, I am assuming you have not run further than 13.1 miles before.  Some people like to get in some 18-20 mile runs before IM and others just do the 3 hr run (which for faster runners will be in the 18+ range).  Slower runners may only get in 15 miles in the 3 hour time frame.  If you are prone to injury or take a long time to recover, then 3 hours may be the longest you want to go, regardless of the distance.  If your body can handle more and you recover quickly, then you could consider going up to 20 miles even if it takes you longer.  You really don't need to do a run longer than that prior to IM as the last 6 miles is more mental anyway.  Build a good base now and then see how your body responds once you start IM specific training.

I used the exact plan for my first 140.6 race this past September.  Running is where I have the most experience, im an average runner. I thought the runs were right on, my longest run was 3hours and my IM run time was 4:49, I didnt fade or needed the medical tent, if anything the plan is a little light on the bike,

I think I can tolerate the swim, I looked at the history of the water temp so I knew it would be cold. I think I can tolerate 61 in short sleeve. I know from the few pics I saw a few people with short sleeve. As far as without a wetsuit, well I have done some crazy things in my life jumping into ice cold water, but never swimming 2.4 miles in it. I have next spring and fall to test it out around here as the water temp usually doesnt get into the up 60's / 70's until May and goes back down in sep.

As for the run, I have already thought about just increasing the long runs accross the board on the traning plan. Right now 3 hours would get me to about 15 miles, hopefully by next fall a stand alone 3 hour run will be more in the 18+ range. My last tri I was at 1:02 for a 10k, so hopefully with more long run traning I can stretch that out.  I 'd like to be able to hold under 12 m/mile for IMAZ, but babysteps, I have a long way to get there, the biggest goal will be to finish.

I might be wrong, but I thought wetsuits were required at those temps?

Also, one common theme to alot of race reports I've read so far is that folks were ending up in the medical tent because of cold body temps and uncontrollable shivering.  If wearing a full sleeve suit slows you down 5 minutes on the swim, but keeps you out of medical for 15 minutes, then maybe the decision is simple.

I'm totally in the wetsuit camp. That water was cold and I think for an IM distance I would opt to wear one rather then risk getting cold and then spending extra time getting warm again. 

On another subject, what training plans are you guys thinking of using. I'm going to use the Be Iron Fit plan with just a few changes. I'm going to do a 1/2IM in July instead of October and a couple of other races that are fun and repeats from this year.

Johanne

http://doingwhatilikelikingwhatido.blogspot.com/

I'm looking at either a BT custom plan, or possibly Don Fink.

I've tentatively set up a BT half iron plan starting in mid-January leading up to Escape from Alcatraz.  Then after that I'll start a 20 week IM plan from BT with 3 swim, 3 bike and 4 runs each week.

IM AZ 2012 will be my first.

I'm thinking about arriving on the Thursday prior to get to know the landscape and route a little better.  I also will be attending a dragon boat festival in that area in March, so I may bring my bike along with me to ride some of the route.

I think the dragon boat racing area is right where we will be swimming. Except I only need to paddle 500m. :p