Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 22)

As a first timer as well, I can't answer most your questions. However, having trained on the Beeline all summer, I can help you with a couple things -

* I've heard you can do both at SN's - stop or grab your bag & go. They won't force you to keep moving because it's dangerous to go through your bag on the go. I have heard that bike SN's gets crowded though...
* There ain't no grass in the desert
* You don't have to stop only at SN's. The Beeline has HUGE shoulders for you to pull off and rest or you can even go into the desert to stretch/rest. Trust me, the Beeline is notorious for flats and every ride you see cyclists in the desert changing tires.

I worked bike special needs last year. you can stop at mile ~66ish and again at ~99ish although you are suppose to stop only once, they do not stop you from stopping a second time. Once you stop the first time, your bag is put into one of the boxes that are used to return all the bags to the transition area, so if you do stop a second time, it may take a few minutes to find your bag again.
As you are riding up yell out your number and someone will grab it for you and hold it open for you to get whatever you want. you basically just stop at the side of the road and they will assist. all the bags are laid out by numbers so low numbers will be at the very beginning of the station and the higher numbers you will need to ride further toward the end of the station.
if you are a slow biker, the station will be packed up around 4-4:30 if i remember correctly. so if you plan on stopping on your last loop and its getting late, you may miss them.

Devil fan, how often do you flat on the Beeline in training? Will the road be cleaner than the shoulder on race day? Trying to strategize on number of tubes and CO2 I should pack on the bike.

Last year I think I saw 1, maybe 2 people flat for the entire 3 loops.


As for S/N. They say it's only available once, if you just do a grab and go they MAY put it back in the box if you ask them. I don't know that for sure or what they get instuction wise so who knows, but I have heard that. Each box contains 50 or so bags in it, so you will pull up to where yours is. One might be 1401-1450 for example.

If I remember correctly there is an area, the shoulder of the road basically, that you can pull off right after special needs and take a break. There may have also been porta potties in this area for use. The shoulder is huge on the beeline, we will be racing on the road, so there will be plenty of room.

Best thing to do is to have a plan, and try to evaluate how you will approach it when you pass on the first lap and get an Idea where you will be stoppping etc.

I got three flats this summer on the Beeline. All three were strange because my tires were fine when I got home, but flat the next morning. During training, we have to ride on the shoulder which is littered with debris - glass, nails, car parts, thorns, etc..

The beauty of IMAZ is we finally get to ride on the actual Beeline road (not the shoulder). The road is SMOOTH and and debris free. In addition, the city will sweep the Beeline the week of the race so we shouldn't have any problems... Knock on wood.

I'm going to carry two tubes and two CO2's. I'll also have a spare tube and CO2's in my SN's bag along w/ a bottle of nutrition (will only stop at SN's if absolutely necessary). Total overkill but I'm being cautious.

Edited by devilfan02 2013-10-22 12:21 PM

Have thought about it, but was also considering the Conti Race Lite butlyl tube.

thats what i run in my race wheels. will have conti4000s with latex my spare tubes will be just standard. Will carry 2 tubes and 2 co2. if i flat more than that i will throw my bike in the desert and cry

Thanks, it sounds like your plan is pretty consistent with mine. Current setup looks like this:
- BTA water (Speedfill)
- Downtube: 3-hour nutrition bottle (Perpetuem)
- Seattube- 3-hour nutrition bottle (powder only; mix with water at half way point)
- Behind the seat- flat kit (tube, 2 C02, etc.)
- 2nd extra tube in back jersey pocket

I'll also have some Hammer gels in the bike jersey pockets, but not strapped anything else to the bike. Will leave extra flat supplies and an extra 3-hour bottle of Perpetuem powder in SN, just in case. But trying not to stop if I don't have to.

Anyone else dialed in their setup?

My bike set up:

Water in Seattube
Water in Aerobars.
Infinite strong mix (4scoops to sip with water) on downtube
Sparetube and CO2 in seatbag
GU in Jersey Pockets

SN Bag:
Infinite replacement
Another tube and CO2 in case needed
Payday Bar
More GU

BTA perform bottle
Behind seat water
switch these out as needed
honeystinger waffles
Co2x2 and tube in dsw bento
spare tube under seat

no special needs

The spectator guide is up on the IM website........

Bike Setup:

-Water BTA in Speedfill A2.
-Infinite concentrate mix on downtube.
-Spare tube and 2 CO2's in empty water bottle BTS.
-Spare tube taped under saddle
-Jersey pockets - 2 Powerbars, Fig Newtons, Pro Bar, Payday bar
-Salt Sticks, chap stick, small sunscreen in bento box.

SN Bag (don't plan on stopping):
2-hour Infinit concentrate mix
Spare tube and 2 CO2
Powerbar & Fig Newtons

Good article from Triathlete Magazine on the 2013 IMAZ. Here's some of my notes -

Slide 3 - Bad picture - we don't step foot on McClintock during the run.

Slide 10 - This is a good representation of the two paths we use on the run and what I was talking about in my run course review. The path to the left is the dirt path that surrounds the lake and is dead flat. The concrete path to the right is directly above the dirt path and is also on both sides of the lake but consists of rolling hills. We run on both paths during the run on both sides of TTL.

Slide 11 - This is Curry Hill and as you can see, it's not that bad. What you see in this pic is the extent of the hill. I measured the distance during a run last week and the uphill portion is only 0.30 miles. The downhill portion, which ends at the bottom of Lake View Rd, is 0.75 miles. Plenty of time for recovery... I meant to write an update to my run course review with all this info. Also, the sign you see in the distance in this pic is the back of a 40MPH sign and is the exact spot where the uphill portion of Curry ends. Remember that on race day so you know where the big effort will end.

Slide 12 - Don't take this slide for granted. There isn't any shade on this run course so be sure to wear a hat.

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/10/photos/course-recon-ironman...

Edited by devilfan02 2013-10-22 6:39 PM

The spot where S/N is on the course is also affectionately known as "flat alley" - on a recent ride I saw five (5), yes five (5) people along flat alley changing flats. I held back my laughter as I figured that would anger the cycling gods and I would be next. But it was quite a sight, to say the least.

As many have said, the shoulder is quite wide at S/N and you can dismount, but a word of caution - get out of the way and behind S/N people so you are not clogging up the S/N section your race number resides in. There is a ton of frustration for others trying to pull up to S/N and having to maneuver around someone who decided to take a break altogether.

Someone mentioned expansion cracks - although Beeline is now a much smoother road than years past, when you turn back onto McDowell (there is an aid station on McDowell at the turn) you will hit a bunch of expansion cracks until you hit the decorated cactus (yes, that's right - it is a barrel cactus (or something that looks like one) that someone dresses up and decorates with eyes, mouth, etc. Once you are past it the cracks go away.

On the topic of over-thinking and worrying about every little detail.......

For those who are racing your first full IM - that is natural. Everyone goes through the same things, and each IM you do you worry about less and less. Just try not to let it consume you - when all else fails, remember how hard you have trained, and know that Ironman races are the best-supported races out there. So even if you lose a bottle, drop your Chomps, etc - there are aid stations very frequently. You will not dehydrate (especially in the Nov temps) so long as you use the aid stations, and grin and bear changing your nutrition to match what they have to offer.

For everyone talking about changing your bottle cages, etc - remember the "nothing new on race day" element. If you are going to experiment - DO IT NOW. Otherwise, you really do not know what might happen (maybe zip ties do not hold and you lose your spare CO2's and tubes). You want to be as comfortable as you can, and running with a new setup is not the way to go. You want your focus on the race, so get repetitive with your routine and trust it. It is harder to have fun when you are worried about little things you decided to change or introduce without practicing them.

And whatever you do, do not worry about the uncontrollables. Flats happen, mechanical issues happen, weather happens. Just remember in most of these cases you cannot train for the uncontrollables (other than to know they happen), so just push them aside and enjoy the journey.

Four (4) weeks to go - the jitters are natural and everyone is getting them (rookies and veterans alike) - the veterans just know how they managed them before whereas the rookies are facing the unknown (which is actually pretty cool and I wish I could go back to that sometimes).

Hi all,
I do not me to be Donald Downer, but I ran into a new and unpleasant perspective on my first IM next month. After we successfully finished the Soma HIM last Sunday, my wife and I went home on top of the world! Five hours later we received a phone call our son, Doug, had unexpectedly died at his apartment. Ironman AZ, which has been our focus for 11 months, and is now only four weeks away, became the least important thing in our lives. We were sure we would stop our pursuit of Ironman because it seemed impossible to think about training between now and Nov 17, let alone be on a grueling race course for close to 17 hours. I can only imagine where my mind would go during the emotionally "dark" times I hear great athletes speak of in fear. We were ready to contact our coach, thank him for all he had done and call it quits when I remembered my last communication with Doug via IM in which I was expressing worries about completing IM. Doug told me "your doing awesome and so amazing. You will complete the Ironman now because you don't fail!!!" So, in honor of Doug, we are back to training today with a new found determination and will see you all at the finish line on Nov 17th!!

If you see a slow, older, tall guy on the race course wearing a do-rag with the name "DOUG" written on the back, that is not my name but the name of my son in whose honor I will complete IMAZ. Feel free to pat my back and remind me to kick a$$ for Doug.

Now, back to your regular scheduled programming.

if i see you out there ill be cheering you on to finish for doug

Thanks for the input - I am also considering to use the bike special need - is it a bag what you give there or just a bottle ?

In best case, I would like to give 2 bottles there, to run by bike leg with own nutrition.

If you are a faster biker (somewhere below 5h bikeleg), is the SN and bikeroute already full/packed in the 2nd round ?

Thanks,
Erwin

special needs will be totally empty if you are a sub 5 cyclist. most guys that are that fast wont bother with a SN bag because of the slow down and speed back up.

My sincere condolences. The loss of a child is a devastating experience. Good wishes to you for your family's recovery, and I will be sure to shout encouragement as you pass me on the run.

Mikeylee - Wow, so sorry to hear about your loss. Nothing we say will help w/ your grief but know that we're rooting for you. Go out there and kick IMAZ's for Doug. I'll be looking for you out there...

My family's condolences on your loss MikeyLee.

It would be totally understandable for you and/or your wife to focus on yourselves and not race next month. But I think the fact that you are going to race in honor of your son makes your journey and accomplishment that much more meaningful for you.

You already had a "finish at all costs" attitude and were not focused on time, and you should continue at this effort - Doug will be smiling down on you and your wife the entire day.

You are likely already doing this, but Frank is a warm heart and has so much care for his athletes - open up to him as much as you need over the next 4 weeks. He has great insight and will not lead you off-course.

I'm going to be the clown who starts looking at weather 3.5 weeks before the race. Knock on wood, the very early forecast for the entire month of November looks great. Let's hope nothing crazy happens -

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/phoenix-az/85003/month/346935?mony...