Ironman Arizona 2015 : Official Thread (Page 2)

This thread needs a kick in the pants! WAY too quiet.

How is everybody doing? Just over 3 months out :D

Thanks for jump starting. Getting excited for first full. Was almost over before it started this weekend. Went down on bike. My fault, but luckily no major issues. Just bumps, bruises and 8 stitches on chin. Thank god for helmets. I have a 70.3 next weekend, so hoping to get a good gauge on fitness.

Hope everyone's training is going well.

Gah! That sucks! Glad you're ok!

My season may be over - will find out on Tuesday if I have a stress fracture in my foot. Damn.

Training is going well for me. Using "Be Iron Fit" this time around and I've never swam so much before.

Did both Vineman 70.3 and Vineman Full Aquabike last month and realized that I really need to focus on my nutrition. In the HIM I messed up on the bike and did not drink enough, which led to problems on the run.

Live and learn! Now I'm trying Tailwind on my long bike rides to get more calories in and liquids. So far so good.

Hope everyone else is doing well. Stay safe!

Chris

Good luck with that. Hoping for the best

They just announced that there will be a rolling swim start this year at IMAZ:

2015 Update: Due to overwhelming support for the IRONMAN® SwimSmart™ initiative, IRONMAN Arizona will utilize a rolling start format for the 2015 race. This swim format has been successful at many IRONMAN events across the globe and we believe it will further enhance the athlete experience while reducing athlete anxiety during the swim in Arizona.

The course will remain a one-loop swim and follow a clockwise flow, with athletes exiting the same stairs that they entered from. Athletes will enter the water in a continuous stream through a controlled access point at the stair entrance as they enter the water, similar to how running road races are started. An athlete's time will start when they cross timing mats at the stairs. Athletes will be directed to self-seed on race morning based on their projected swim time. Volunteers and staff will be in the staging area with signs and will assist with this process. Self-seeding will not be mandatory, but will be encouraged.

The professional men's field will start their day at 6:40 a.m., and the professional women will start at 6:45 a.m. Age group athletes will follow at 6:50 a.m. We anticipate that all athletes will be in the water by 7:20 a.m. All athletes will still be given the 2 hour 20 minute time limit to complete the swim portion of the race; however, the current overall cut-off times for both the bike and run course, as well as any intermediate cut-offs, will remain in place.

It was nice racing with you at Vineman 70.3 man! Yeah, drink well during the bike at IMAZ. Maybe we can meet up there and wish each other a great race.

I had an Oly 2 weeks after Vineman so I took some time off to rest. I started up again this week and will ramp up wisely.

Edited by kloofyroland 2015-08-07 12:31 PM

Sorry to hear that. I hope you replaced your helmet! Be careful out there!

I for one and happy about the change to the swim start. I've only done 1 mass start and it was for a 70.3 and I didn't like that it took about 1/4 mile into the swim before I could actually SWIM. This is my first time at the 140.6 distance and I'd like to use the swim fitness I'm building up for the actual swim and not the wrestling meet that becomes a swim. This may make me a bit of a pansy but I have enough anxiety finishing the distance without the prospect of having to fight 2,500 of my closest friends at the start. That's my opinion.

I'm coming into my 2 biggest weeks of training. I'll be ready for the recovery week after. I'm happy with where my bike fitness is right now. I think I'll always be nervous about my running fitness up to the day of the race.

I hope everyone is staying safe in your training and staying healthy!

Condolences and well wishes for a speedy return to health to those with injuries. After watching the beginning of last year's swim, I too am happy for the rolling start. However I suspect that the self-seeding process will not play out as the organizers desire. Still a good move in my mind. Considering I just swam 49 minutes in the Steelhead 70.3 last weekend, you can bet I will start near the back in Tempe, LOL.

Edited by kalish 2015-08-11 10:57 AM

I have a question regarding clothing...

Is anyone thinking about changing into a pair of cycling shorts/bibs for the bike and changing out of them for the run?

Hmmm, I have never tried that. Was planning on doing the same as I have done for HIM: tri shorts the whole way. How/where would you change into and out of them?

I recommend you wear your tri kit during the swim. I'm considering changing to running shorts and wicking shirt for the run to be as comfortable as possible but I'll test how it feels to run in my tri kit for 3+ hours first. There's a men's and women's change tent where you can do this without showing your goods to the public, hehehe.

It's possible to use your tri kit the entire race but if you want to change at T2, you can do so inside the change tent.

When I did the race in 2012 I used DeSoto 400 Mile tri shorts for the swim and bike (the changing tent is really crowded after the swim).

After the bike I changed into my club tri shorts as the padding on the 400 Mile shorts is too bulky to run in. I also recommend having a change of socks to change into before the run.

Best of luck to all with the training!

I will be wearing DeSoto 400 mile shorts for the first two as well.
I will also wear tri shorts on the run. When I raced in 2013 I wore a skirt and the chaffing of my undercarriage was BAD and this was a skirt I had run in many times. Some tri or compression shorts will be worn on the run this time.
I also wore a full zip bike jersey on the bike and will do that again, I like having the extra pockets and my shoulders protected from the sun. I will also wear sun sleeves and will keep those on for the run.
I wore same socks but had a pair in T2 and special needs run just in case.
I also added calf sleeves in T2.

That is some good info and suggestions. Thanks, Roland, Chris, and KeriKadi!

Alright, I got another question...

..how cold is the water? I have a sleeveless wetsuit and have done St George 70.3 in it with no issues (although St George was COLD). I have heard a few people mention the water in Tempe Town lake is cold but I'm curious if a sleeveless wetsuit will be ok or would those of you that have done this race before recommend a full suit?

10 weeks to race day! How' everyone training coming along?

That is very nice to share that link mikfinne, thank you very much !

I keep checking the Race website to see if they will update the swimcourse information, it's still the old course diagram.
I too am trying to figure out how they will manage the swim start now.

Training has been going pretty good. Bike and swim are pretty much ready. I want to PR IMAZ so trying to lose 5-6 lbs until raceday and stay injury free.

FYI...

Chris-
Thank you for reaching out and unfortunately we will not have a warm up swim on race morning. I am sorry about the inconvenience and if you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.

Best wishes,

ALYSSA UPDEGRAVE
Coordinator, Athlete Services

Thank you for sharing that news, Chris! Does anyone else know what options are available to us for warmup? Can we swim near but not on the course?

I recommend a dynamic warmup routine like swinging your arms in circles, side to side, freestyle motion. Anything that will warmup your swimming muscles on land and get your heart rate up a bit but keep it short.

I think some of us are not happy because this will not make it better. Instead of taking several minutes to get acclimated to the cold water and warm up a bit before the cannon people are going to be going hard from the get go because their time has already started. A staggered start at IMTX made the swim even tougher than the mass start from the reports I have seen.

Will there even be a cannon? Will they just shoot it off with all of us standing on the shore?
The mass start in 2013 was not bad at all, I swim middle of the pack with a time of 1:25 and had contact with ONE other swimmer.

It is what it is, I just wish IM would stop saying they are making it better when we all know they are not.