Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 2)

Welcome Tommy!  I too live in a small town in SC but I am more outside of Greenville.  Sorry to hear about Louisville. IMAZ will be better!

When I volunteered this year, I stayed at the Quality Inn about 2.5mi North of the venue on N. Scottsdale Rd. I had a "King Suite" room for $49/night. As the name suggests, there was a King Bed in the bedroom. The room had a small fridge & microwave. They also have rooms with a "full" kitchen. I don't exactly remember the price on those rooms. BUT, I want to say the full kitchen rooms were $89/night.

As far as the quality......no pun intended......not the worst hotel/room I've ever been in. There are nicer, but you also pay more for those. 1 block South there was a Hampton Inn and 1 block North there was another hotel/suite place, but I can't remember the name right now. There's also a Quality Inn right by ASU Sun Devil Stadium, but I don't think they had any rooms with kitchens, fridges, or microwaves.

Name: Mikeylee    Real Name: Mike

What is your Ironman resume?  Zero, Zip, Nadda! IMAZ 2013 is my first IM!

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona?  I live 30 minutes from Tempe Town Park (the starting line), and it is first time IM friendly.

What are your goals for IMAZ 2013? Cross the finish line hand-in-hand with my wife (Noodle67) in less than 17 hours! Before that, toe up to the start line well-trained and healthy.

What are you most looking forward to? Training hard with my wife and crossing the finish line with her.

Veterans, any advice you can give?  No advice from this newbie.

This will be my third IM...did IMAZ in 2010 and 2012. I love this course! Its so specator friendly. Its hard enough to drag your family to an IM...at least they should have some fun too! Its a great venue and a well supported race.

Looking forward to 2013. Of course I would like to improve my time but making it to the start line is my main goal.

I was naively thinking I was going to start this thread, but looks like I'm already 2 pages too late ...

Name: davide    Real Name: Davide

What is your Ironman resume?  2011 IMCDA, 2012 Full Vineman, 2013 IM Mont Tremblant, 2013 IMAZ (Hey Birkierunner, we are both doing IMMT and IMAZ next year.  Cool!.  And nice to see phatknot, a fellow 2011 IMCDA vet, is on this forum too)

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona?  My wife and I are always pushing each other, so for 2013 we decided to do two IM each.  After picking IMMT, the ideal candidate for the second round was IMAZ as it allows for plenty of recovery. 

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? First goal is to finish alive, second finish with a big smile, third to beat my current PR of 11:28, fourth go under 11.

What are you most looking forward to? Besides the lots of training, have fun with the fine folks on this thread and possibly meet them come race day.

Veterans, any advice you can give?  Not quite a vet here with just two IM under my belt.  But one thing I learned from my past races is that training more and harder doesn't necessarily result in better performance.  I did much better at the Vineman this year than at CDA last year with less training and no hard workouts.

Great to see you back on another IM Davide! That CDA was a b@#$%! It nearly put me out of the IM game for good (1:34 swim in 53 degrees EEEEK!).

Thanks for all the suggestions on rooms everyone.

Yeah, that swim was brutal.  I remember spending around 25 min after the swim in the warming tent in company of a bunch of dudes shaking like leaves.  Despite the hilarious situation, I wasn't laughing as I was busy shivering too  

Hope the lake in Tempe is going to be a bit warmer...

I'm lucky with lodging.  My sister lives in Scottsdale and will let me and my buddy and our wives stay there all week.  We plan on driving from Iowa (24 hours) and making it a fun trip there and back.  Hoping to see some sights while in Phoenix and on the road!!

Just got my bike on the trainer (December 2nd) which is a month later than last year.  Pretty good weather here in the midwest!

Have a great week of training everyone.

MC

Not sure what your budget is like but it's tough to beat the Mission Palms.  You'll pay more than say a Quality or Holiday Inn but you'll save money by not needing a rental car.  It's located in the heart of Tempe and is a short walk to Tempe Beach Park.  You'd be right in the middle of all the action.

I am excited to be back for more fun in 2013, having completed IM AZ in both 2011 and 2012.  I live in Scottsdale and ride/run/swim the IM AZ course pretty often, and am happy to give any feedback on course difficulty, milestones, or general landscape.

Name: 101abp40 Real Name: Patrick

What is your Ironman resume? IM Arizona 2011, 2012, IM California (Oceanside) 70.3 2012

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona? It is in my backyard, I know the course and climate, and my family can enjoy spectating there without travel burden.

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? I managed to drop 1hr+ from 2011 to 2012 (2012 time 11:52:57), so I set my sights high again - 10:48:00 for 2013.

What are you most looking forward to? A less hectic year.  I raced in 22 races in 2012, and dialed that down to 13 for 2013.

Veterans, any advice you can give?  Don't sweat the small stuff (i.e. don't worry about neoprene booties 6 months before the race), know your limits, listen to your fellow athletes (but make their advice fit YOUR plans, not vice-versa), and HAVE FUN.  Regardless of whether you PR, make the podium, or struggle through the entire day, when you cross the finish line, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN.

Name: Jim

What is your Ironman resume? IM St. George 2010, IM 70.3 St. George - 2013

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona? Close to Vegas, very spectator friendly.  And most important, much flatter than St. George. 

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? 1) Finish   2) Finish in less than 15 hours

What are you most looking forward to? Having a fun and challenging day.

Veterans, any advice you can give?  Salt up!

I'm in but just now checking in.

I booked my hotel at the Hyatt Place.  I wanted to get a room at the Marriott right on Ash but couldn't get anything.

Name: James but everyone calls me Panda, apparently because I'm Asian and round. 

What is your Ironman resume? 2 HIMs, a handful of HM and a few sprints.  This will be my first full

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona? Close to home and mostly flat.  Also there will be 11 from my club racing and another 5+ volunteering.

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? To stay healthy and finish well.  I don't want to just finish but actually finish and not have the run be a death march.

What are you most looking forward to? Eating post race pizza and drinking beer.

Veterans, any advice you can give? This will be my first full so I've got nothing.

Hey everybody, just checking in! I'll be staying at the Best Western "By the Mall" on S. Priest Dr. I stayed there for this years event to volunteer and had no problem getting to and from the event (You will have to rent a car or drive depending on where you're coming from)

Name: Kenrick

What is your Ironman resume? IMAZ'13 will be my first full distance triathlon!

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona? Flat, fast, spectator friendly, and positive vibe from the crowd!

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? Cross the finish line with a smile on my face in less than 14 hours.

What are you most looking forward to? Race morning nerves, sweating, pain, and smiling A LOT!

Veterans, any advice you can give? Not an IM vet, but my advice would be to keep up with your nutrition and keep on smiling!

Name: Matt

What is your Ironman resume? IMAZ 2010 & 2012

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona?  Good opportunity to visit my parents

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? go sub 14 and reach goal of sub 13

What are you most looking forward to? Enjoying the experience of ironman again

Veterans, any advice you can give? break the race into smaller segments.

so im dealing with a stress reaction/fracture and im already a bit freaked out without running. stupid i know. im on my third cycle of feeling better trying out and then having recurrent pain so having to shut it back down. UGH!

anyone starting off with some injuries?

same boat, I had to shut it down at the end of June, ran a little in August had to shut it down again, now running good but still have some slight pains. I'm told it can take 6 months to fully heel.

Name: Sean

What is your Ironman resume? This will be my 2nd IM.  Completed ChesapeakeMan in September 2012

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona?  Peer pressure, have a friend doing it and it is also my tri club's IM for the year. 

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013?  Any number that starts with a 10.

What are you most looking forward to? The training, long bike rides in Texas wind...

Veterans, any advice you can give?  Train in Zone 1 and don't over do it with too much outside of that. 

Lodging: Hyatt Place

There was parking structure with a fee very close to the event. However, we parked in the residential area a little walks away(no more than 1/2mi) and had no problems at all getting to and from the event. To be specific, it was around W 5th St. and S. Roosevelt St.

What's up everybody?

Name: Ben Coy

What is your Ironman resume? IMAZ 2012 was my first. Finished in 10:32.

Why did you choose Ironman Arizona? Tempe is closest to Orange County. IMAZ 2012 was my first and I signed up for 2013 the next day.

What are you goals for IMAZ 2013? Now that I have an IM under my belt, I am more confident in talking about goals. Not ready to get specific, but, I am aiming for sub-10. 

What are you most looking forward to? I'm looking forward to another journey. This time, I will go in knowing so much more. That should help in training and on race day. Of course, I am looking forward to race weekend. It's like no other event I've been a part of.

Veterans, any advice you can give?  Stick to your plan, but don't sweat getting off track for a day or two. It's a long journey. Always stay positive - in training and on race day...bad stuff happens, but you'll always make it through with the right mindset. 

Cheers!