Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 29)

One week out my compadres.  Did a nice 35 mile, somewhat hilly ride yesterday and have a 60 min. run today then it's short, cruise w/o's until the race.

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for the adventure.

What are the thoughts on doing the pre-race swim, yes/no?

FOR THOSE WHO RODE THE BIKE COURSE...

 I'm wondering about the "feel" of the course.  I know it's flat, but the "climb" to the east, does it feel flat or do you ride it wondering "why am I not going as fast as I should?"  Sort of a false flat.  Do you feel the difference between the 10 miles of 0.5% then the 7 miles of 1%?

Then when you turn, do you feel the descent really helping?  Just fly down?  What would you say the speed difference is between the out vs back in?

Just wondering what your thoughts are.  I'm not really worried, it is what it is, but it's nice to get a feel for it.

Both these guys are my training buddies!!!  Good peeps.................Any BT swim meet ups scheduled?

muppetdog - 2011-11-13 2:34 PM

Kido - 2011-11-13 2:22 PM

FOR THOSE WHO RODE THE BIKE COURSE...

�I'm wondering about the "feel" of the course.� I know it's flat, but the "climb" to the east, does it feel flat or do you ride it wondering "why am I not going as fast as I should?"��Sort of a false flat.� Do you feel the difference between the 10 miles of 0.5% then the 7 miles of 1%?

Then when you turn, do you feel the descent really helping?� Just fly down?� What would you say the speed difference is between the out vs back in?

Just wondering what your thoughts are.� I'm not really worried, it is what it is, but it's nice to get a feel for it.

I live in Northern California with lots of hills and I would say it still feels like a gradual, not difficult but gradual, climb in those last 3 miles to the turnaround. I rode 1+ loop of the course on Wednesday - bear in mind I'm not very big (~100 lbs) and get buffeted around by the winds a lot - I averaged 12-13mph outbound and uphill into a strong headwind to the turnaround and then averaged 20-25mph on the way back with tailwind and the downhill. So yes, you definitely feel the speed difference on the way back in and fly back

I figured you would feel the last three miles at 1%.  If you can still do 13 into a head wind, that's good to know.  I have never average over over 20mph in any race and wonder if it's possible here.

My typical ride has a long section of 1-3% and I can do that in 12-13 (with a typical headwind) but also hit 30 on the way back without even break a sweat...  So maybe 20 mph average on the course is doable...

Yeah, ever since I dropped my bike off at Tri Bike Transport this afternoon the official nerves and race obsessing started, especially since I started packing this afternoon too.

I'm channeling the nervous energy into cleaning the house and manically reorganizing our closets and basically trying to catch up on all the cleaning I've not done the past 6 months. Good way to keep myself from thinking about the race too much. 

MAN, no taper crazy here! I'm loving the taper cause I am feeling my body rebound. All my runs this past week have been at easy effort and no more than an hour and w/fairly easy effort and I feel like I'm flying. Another week of even easier workouts and I'm going to be ready to blow that course away!

BE SAFE FRIENDS! Don't do anything CRAZY this week and safe travels!

1.2 mile swim in 60 degree water; no hoodie and really wasn't that bad.  I strained my triceps back in August and haven't really been able to put in the yards, but after this I'm pretty confident it will hold up and I'll finish somewhere between 1:20 and 1:30, a far cry from my 1:50 at IMSG last year.

Anyone else using a myAthlete GPS?

I ended having a really easy week....one swim, 2 runs, and 4 short rides.   The last ride today was actually out on the road for once...mainly just go try out my new wheels.  They're great!

The rest felt great though, and my body feels like it's enjoying the time off.  The next few days are busy ones, but I'll have plenty of time to get everything packed up.  Looking forward to the solo drive out there (the family is flying in on saturday)...just some good music, tasty snacks, and plenty of time to think about the race.....a far cry from me driving by myself with the 3 kids all the way to CdA in June!

Last long run done, had to make myself go slow and felt like I was crawling.  When I say long I am talking 6 miles.  Packing things up today and driving in to Tempe Tuesday.  Now that I am done with work and all significant training nerves are starting to hit a little.  Not that I feel unprepared, I looked back at my training log over the weekend and realized I got in 90% of my training. I think the nerves come from this being my first Ironman. 

Does anyone know a place close the the race area that has a pool to get some swims in at ?

Matt - I will send you my cell phone via email.  Wednesday morning I am going for a 2K swim at 24 hr fitness - I may be able to get you in there, but it is going to be early (4-4:30a), as I am still working this week.  Even if you cannot make it that early, give me a call and you, Pilon and I can connect before race day (Pilon and I are scheduled to have lunch at work on Wed - would be cool if you could join us - team stress!).

I'd like to get together for dinner on Friday.  Do you want to PM me with information?

I have ridden the course a number of times in training over the past several months.  My estimated bike split "should" be about 6 hours, give or take 10 minutes (so you have a speed reference for my course summary).

The course feels flat, all the way up and most of the way back.  You can see the slight uphill grade in the distance, but it takes very little hammering to keep a good pace.  The uphill portion is from Gilbert Road up to Shea Blvd (turnaround location).  In my opinion the last 1.5 miles (once you cross the Central AZ Project canal) up to Shea have the most "hill" to them.  That being said, it is only 1.5 miles, so going up and coming down there is not much effect.  The downhill portion allows for some speed, but you cannot coast it at high speeds like higher grade hills.

My typical loop is about 18mph from Tempe Town Lake to McClintock, then around 20-21mph after the bridge on McClintock to McKellips, then 17-18 from McKellips to Beeline Hwy up to Gilbert lower gears, big chain ring), 15-16 up to Shea.  Coming back, I hit mid 22-24 with some consistent effort down to around Gilbert (higher gears), then slow to 17-18 all the way to McClintock, up to 19-20 to Rio Salado turn, and 17-18 into Tempe Town Lake.  Also, I try very hard to keep an effortless ride, so I do not hammer the uphill portion, working to save my legs for the pending run. So........take that for what it is worth, and adjust for your own pace and tendencies, and you should have a good feel for the bike course (I hope).

Wow, I just read everything I typed and realized I have made this ride far too technical for my own good!  Let's have fun on Sunday!

The latest forecast from NOAA:

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 67.