Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 43)

Sorry about your run. We all have bad days like that. I had a century ride about a month ago where I bonked really hard---not enough calories and dehydrated----I stopped at a gas station and cried for about 10 minutes and had to be talked off the ledge when I was adamantly saying I didn't want to do the Ironman anymore and never wanted to see my bike again, blah blah blah. Thankfully the next century ride I did went a lot better. I've learned the hard way (over and over) how important nutrition, hydration, and salt is. Not only during workouts but before and after. Ironman training is 24/7. Make sure you're getting enough recovery. 1 or 2 missed workouts are better than a week off due to illness.

It's the bad workouts that make the good ones that much better. And race day will make all of this worth it.

Whew, miss a day, fall 27 messages behind!

Regarding the wheels, there can be cross winds on Beeline Hwy, as well as head and tail winds.  I used my SRAM S80s last yr (front and back), and use them on the course regularly without issue.  If there is serious wind, I am sure it will have more effect, but for right now I am going with history and planning to use them this year.  In most cases, you should be safe with Zipp 1080s and 808s.

As for finish times, last year I finished in 12:58:42 (1:23 swim, 6:34 bike, 4:45 run), and I have trained much smarter this year and made great improvement.  Based on my other race results and pace this year, here are my projected finish times:

Swim: 1:20:00

T1: 6:30

Bike: 5:55:00

T2: 3:30

Run: 4:15:00

Total time: 11:40:00

30 days and a wake-up to GO TIME!!!!!

This is what made my do last night's bike ride on the trainer.  It was just one of those nights thinking about both of these.  It would have also been pushing daylight hours for me to get my bike done and get home.  No, all of my rides from here on out won't be on the trainer, but last night was one of those nights.  We all need to get to AZ safely before we can race.  Be very careful out there.

Hopefully that was just a bad run and it's now done and out of your system.  Hydration is definitely a factor.    Hope you have a good run tomorrow.

Yea i forget to hydrate prior and after the training sessions sometimes. I figure you have good days and great days....this was a good day just bc I did manage to get out there and learn some stuff for the future....

Man once taper starts I think its when the nerves will be arriving....oh boy!!!

You are in my neck of the woods. I live in Madison WI.

Nicole

Just finished my peak week.  First IM and I've never experienced these kinds of hours/distances.  18 hours this week, capped off with a century/8 mile brick yesterday.  I can't stop eating and I could lay down and sleep for 3 days.  But it feels great to know that I have a recovery week coming up and then tapering starts. 

Primary Goal: Finish

Good day: 15 hours

The stars aligned just right: 13 hours

Hi Everyone-

I have been following the thread for a while and have enjoyed the postings. This is my first attempt at an IM. I did the HIM Soma last year at Tempe Park and finished in 5:37; not a great time, but for an old fart like me not too bad. I found my bib number, #2779 (50 - 55 AG), there are going to be a few people there!! I was hoping to finish with a time around 12 hours but with my current injuries I am hoping to finish around 13 hrs. But my #1 goal is to finish (regardless of time) with no long-term injuries at this point.

Training was going fairly well until last week when out of the blue my knee started to get sore on the bike. I had biked 112 mi on Sat, ran 17 mi Sun and swam 2.3 mi Monday. Then on a short ride Tue the outside of my knee started getting sore on each stroke. I don't know if it is my IT band or not. It doesn't hurt when I run! I am now dealing with what I should skip to recover without losing too much endurance . I would appreciate any advice from anyone faced with this dilema (especially from the older athletes that may have experienced this).

Sorry for the long post. Hope everyone is staying healthy, tapering is just around the corner.

Hmm...I dealt with IT band problems all last year but it was always on the run that it bothered me, never on the bike. Have you changed your bike fit or saddle height recently? 

The best advice I can give is to become best friends with your foam roller. If you don't have experience with IT band injury just google it and you will find tons of stretches. And just roll as much as you can, that's what helps the most for me. If it's really bad you might want to try to get in to see a doctor to be safe.

I wouldn't sweat it.  As we're all learning or have learned, it's the entire book of your training that matters, not individual pages.  Sounds like you nailed 3 out of 4 days.  Getting to the start line relatively injury free is probably more important at this point in the game. 

Howdy everyone!

For those who have done IMAZ before - is there any place better than others for sending friends and family for their viewing pleasure of the race?  I've read before that for the swim the best view is from the bridge, but as I'm not sure they'll even be up that early, where should I tell them to go watch the bike and/or run?

Also, is there parking for spectators?  Am I blind and just not see it on the IMAZ website? 

Thanks for any suggestions!

Oh... and are we going to try and meet up during the dinner?  Or maybe at the swim?  Or...?  I'd love to meet some other BTers   

Agreed.  We don't have to be great everyday.  We are making deposits, some big, some smaller, for withdrawal on November 18.  That is the day that matters, so don't sweat a bad day. 

At least for me, only one more big weekend left, then the taper begins.  Hopefully my bank account is full, or at least big enough.

4 weeks!  One more long week (Hell Week...I like that), then taper!  Looking forward to leaving it all on the mat this week.  Also happy for temps in the 70s this week to keep me acclimated to warmer weather.

Parking for spectators is available in several garages near transition. The earlier you show, the closer the garage!!! If any of your family is volunteering you will get a voucher for parking. Specators line up around the bike turnaround on Rio Salado...that way they can see you  3 times. I made my family bright tie dyed T shirts so I could pick them out of the crowd. Anywhere along the lake during the run is great for family. Mine popped out several times on the run in various spots. Made my day especially on loop 3!!!!

I have a condo that is only 2 blocks from transition on W Lakeside( across from Tempe Performing Art Center). I am planning on having a get together on Thurs from 4-7pm.  I will post the address and phone number as we get closer. I will have munchies and stuff to drink...I would do dinner but I know that alot of people are careful of what they eat leading up to race day so will just stick with munchies for now. It would be fun to get together! Anyone interested?

you are awesome.  i'm interested.

Thank you so much for this!  I don't think my parents will be volunteering - but they will definitely be in fine form for cheering all of the athletes on (my mum has some particularly good lungs and a loud voice cultivated from years of yelling at my brother and I) both on the bike and the run! 

Thanks again, and YES I'm sure we'd be interested in meeting others over some munchies on Thursday.   

I'm interested MAV.  Can the rest of us bring anything to help out?

Did another century ride yesterday.  Ugghhh.  The wind, crappy roads, etc. are starting to make me question my cycling ability.  I will be SO happy to have smooth roads to race on.  I've done an IM before, so I know mentally I can do the distances.  Had to keep reminding myself yesterday while fighting to go 7mph that "this is just a training ride".

Like the rest of you, I'm ready to get through this last hard week and start taper.

MAV, that sounds great I'll look for the details.  I'm not sure when our flights get in, we're coming in Thursday, but hopefully it will be in time for your gathering.

Is anyone interested in setting a specific meet up time for the practice swim?

And as far as training goes, I got a big mental confidence boost yesterday with a half marathon PR by over 4 minutes, and finally breaking the two hour barrier.  And did it all on the hardest half mary course I've ever done with about 800 ft of elevation gain.  It's cold out, I'm going to go spend two hours on the trainer now, then swim and run later today.  This is going to be a super tough week, besides being my highest volume week of my plan, we have youth hockey tryouts every day this week and I'm the head goalie evaluator across all age groups, so I'm supposed to be at most ice times every night.  On top of that the kids still have swim practice, gymnastics and one of them needs to be at his own hockey tryouts.  Ugh.

The corner of Rio Salado and Mill is a popular spot - however it can be so popular that if not early, your family may not be in a good position to see you (or more important, you see them).  A bit further east on Rio Salado (closer to the ASU stadium) might be a better spot, and you will ride by there 3 times.  Plus, there should be parking available in the stadium parking lot, which makes for easy access.

With the exception of some normal winds, Beeline should be much different on race day for you.  Barring any uncontrollable weather, your ride will be much smoother on a freshly-paved road.

One more hard week (I have a 110mi ride / 17mi run brick this coming Saturday), then we all get to stress through taper as we count down the last 21 days.