Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 60)

I had a bad dream too...I'm not sure if it was because I actually did start a race 4 minutes after the gun went off over the weekend or if it's because of the race we have coming up. In my dream, the swim was two loops but I only did one...I was about 15 miles into the bike when they stopped me and told me. I attempted to get back into the water, which at this point was a river along the bike course, but I had lost too much time to make the cut-off.

A shot from the starting line, of course if you did your homework you already know that. Actually it is probably 50 yds behind me. Swim under the bridge way off in the distance and come back.

Now that I've seen it in person, it actually doesn't look as far as I thought it would.

Heading out tomorrow from Madison WI. Packed and ready to roll.  Road Trip. I cannot wait to race and celebrate my birthday too. I am excited and feel ready for the day.

Nicole

Talking about dreams... in my IMAZ anxiety dream, the bike was replaced by some bizarre frisbee-throwing contest. Oh yea, and I showed up late (I'm typically a late-arrival at my races...) and I had to setup my transition area out on the grassy area.

My wife was outside in the cold today (it's been cold in my part of AZ) cleaning up leaves (we have trees in my part of AZ) and now she's sniffling. Like everyone else, I'm paranoid about catching a cold! She was also in a car with someone who just got off of a plane from overseas this morning. Man, 6 degrees of separation. I'm hoping it was just from being outside.

This is what I will look like out there. If you see me, say 'Hi'! I'm # 1999 (like the Prince song - sing it out loud when you go by!). My wife will also be out there holding signs which I'm sure athletes will find funny and spectators may not understand. We are leaving the dogs at home though. At the meet-ups, I'll probably be wearing a tan bucket hat with 'MonkeyClaw' and a strange looking monkey on it. Maybe a pullover too, if it's cold. We'll be at the Tribe meet-up and at the practice swim. Any other meet-ups? Probably the 'mandatory meeting' but no promises. Saturday early evening we'll be eating at a Paradise Bakery (similar to Panera Bread) - good salads and sandwiches. No burgers or fries, though maybe after the race assuming 5 guys is open and my stomach can handle it.

Remember everyone - There is no Tomorrow! Well, there is a tomorrow but on Sunday, there is no tomorrow!

It sounds more dramatic in my head.

(TR-IAG Photography, LLC BR_MillBr_Set4f - Mozilla Firefox_2012-10-10_14-41-43.jpg)

What's the best way for family and friends to track me during the day? I know they can look up the splits on Ironman.com in real time, but, can they sign up for email or text updates? Or, will it post to Facebook, etc?

I came across an app called IronTrac. Anyone use that?

As of 3am this morning, the water temp was 63 degrees.  If the forecast holds, our air temps will be low 80s up until race day, which should bring the lake temp up to about 65 on race morning.  That is 4 degrees warmer than last year, and last year did not seem bad at all.

For tracking athletes, I highly recommend MyAthleteLive.com.  They provide a GPS device that is dead-on and people can track you on smartphone apps or online all day long.  I used it last year and signed up again this year ($30).  It may be too late to get it for this race, but check out their website.

I also signed up for the MyAthleteLive.com.  My wife will be my solo support crew and I figured it was much easier for her to have the info on her phone for her to pick where to come see me than having to sit around for hours just waiting.  Plus it will give family at home the chance to follow along.

I posted yesterday on their FB page asking about delivery, they said they can easily still ship to your hotel in time for race day.

Any tips on where to put the tracker during the swim?  T1 is going to be so hectic, I'd prefer not to have to think about one more thing I have to do, such as putting a GPS transponder in my pocket.

You cannot wear it in the water, so you will have to put it in your T1 bag.  They provide a race belt with the GPS unit attached, so use it for your race number, which you have to wear on the bike and run anyway.  I turned it on in the morning before the race (got access to my T1 bag and switched it on), and it worked perfectly the entire day last year.

IronTrac is cool if you do not have the MyAthlete GPS.  My family uses both, but IronTrac only links the official timing pad results (just like being on Ironman Live), whereas the MyAthlete is a full GPS so it tracks you step by step (except on the swim).

You will all see plenty of orange out on the course Sunday, worn by ONE Multisport.  I will be wearing #2128 and looking like the below picture.  Feel free to run or bike past me and wave!!

Leaving tonight and taking a couple of days to drive to Tempe.  Will get there fairly early Thursday morning.

I'll be wearing my Team Red, White and Blue kit just like my profile pic.

Man its almost game time...buying some last minute items before I head out tomorrow....

I will have PARRA on the back of my tri shorts bib# 1399 (figured it would be the best way for family to find me)...haha

tempe here I come!!!!!

Thanks for the info! I'll check them both out today.

I can't believe it's finally race week!! So exciting! I arrive around 10am Thursday morning.

For the race I will be weaing my Pittsburgh Triathlon Club race kit, as seen in my profile picture. It is black, yellow, and white. And I'm a shortie---only 5'2 (on a good day).

I can't wait to meet everyone and cheer for you all out there!

I will be wearing my Folsom Bike kit (swapping out DeSoto 400 mile shorts for my kit shorts on the run), as seen in my profile picture.  Bib # 2421

I'm hitting the road tomorrow morning and will be arriving in Tempe Thursday afternoon.  I better finish packing!

Im not a computer expert on excell or google docs or anything, so you can shoot the messenger AFTER the race, but is anyone going to put together a work book or doc that could be put up on the main forum for everyone to track. Seems like me have a good amount of people to get one going.

Anyone else going down there alone?

My wife can't make it again.  I understand, and I know getting up that early sucks, and it's a BORING day for spectators and I would never insist that she goes....  Plus she has work and I have gone alone in the past and been just fine.

But it does suck a little... 

SO, tell all your "fans" and family and support how much it means to have them there! 

Oh, and thank all the volunteers.  It's a long boring day for most of them too.

About sums up my plan.