Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 69)

I also saw Fireman Rob; passed him around sunset while news crews were setting up. Another bad-a$$ inspiring athlete was the one-legged chick I passed on the bike riding with a prosthetic. Did anybody see her on the run? I'm hoping she finished. Also, I saw two hand-cyclists on the bike, but only one on the run; I'm worried the second guy didn't make the cutoff. Anybody see him?

And Sarah, sorry things went south on the bike- heartbreaking, and frustrating since you don't know the cause. Hope you bounce back and get it next time!

Man, I'm really sorry I never got to meet up with anyone. My day sounds like it went better than some, as I didn't have any stomach issues. I actually thought we were lucky because the lake was CLEARER than normal! Somehow I ended up at the front of the swim start so it wasn't as crowded (until people started passing, of course). The bike went well except for losing my gel flask and getting stuck in a pack of drafters for a little bit. More on that in the RR. My quads died on the run. Totally lost it. I'm not sure why, as I went easy on the bike. Could have been anything I guess. I was shooting for a 3:45 and ended with almost 4:30. Finished 10:54 overall though, so I'm happy with that.

The fireman was cool...The one-legged chick was a big hero of mine - Sarah Rienertson.  The first female amputee ever to complete an IM.  I've been a fan since I watched her first attempt (missed the bike cutoff) and then I believe she did it the following year.  That was 2005 and 2006, I think.

Anyway, I didn't know she was racing, but I saw her on my first bike loop and thought - "no way..."  I caught up to her and I was so stoked to see that it was her... we exchanged a few words as I passed (I very coolly professed my love and she kindly didn't call me a creep).  I passed her again on my 2nd run loop and to my delight, she didn't pepper spray me this time either.  I also got to watch her finish and that was pretty amazing... 

Seeing her out there was definitely, besides finishing, the highlight of my day.

Wow, I still cannot believe I am an Ironman! 

I had a good but frustrating day as well.  My stomach was iffy through the swim and first loop of the bike and then felt fine; I think the nerves finally went away.  Unfortunately, my right knee (IT band stuff) flared up about 20 miles into the bike and got progressively worse.  I really battled mentally whether I could make it or not, considering I still had to run a marathon afterwards.  At times I unclipped my right leg and pedaled with just my left.  But sometimes that knee pain doesn't translate to the run so I just willed myself to the run.  It left me with a very slow bike split but I made it and had 8 hours to finish the run.  Popped 4 Tylenol right away and my knee felt fine until the end of the second loop.  At 19 miles, it felt horrible and I had to walk for about a mile.  I ran 21-23 and then that was it.  Limped home the last three and finished in 14:30 ish.  Frustrating is that my legs and stomach felt absolutely great!  I truly felt I could have run a 4:30 marathon without any trouble and knocked another 45 minutes off my bike.  So THAT is what will probaby have me doing another Ironman:  to see what I left on the table.

Sarah, sorry about your DNF. I did see you at the turnaround on my last loop and felt bad for you.  I've been there (my last HIM) and knew how bad you must be feeling.

Congratulations to everyone else!  What an amazing day we had!

Wow, AWESOME Job Jasen.  Major congrats, buddy!

Congrats to everyone! Just getting to the start line is an accomplishment in itself. I was able to take 10 minutes off last year's time and made my goal of going under 12 hours. Whoohoo!

What color finisher shirts did everyone get? I got a blue one, but saw others with a white one.

To those who watch the Biggest Loser, Ada from a few seasons back was in the ladies change tent for T2. She dumped out my bag and I handed her my Garmin, asking her to stand outside with it so it could grab the satellite. After she left, I realized who she was and asked the other gal helping me if that was Ada. Sure enough it was. Once she came back with my watch, I took my time so I could chat a bit with her and let her know how inspiring her story on the show was. She is planning on doing IMAZ in 2013.

When I get a chance to write one, I'll post a link to my report. 

Swim - 1:01

Bike - 5:08

Run - 3:01

Finish - 9:15

3rd in M25-29

Kona Bound!

Destroyer - CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You did it, You KQ'd.  That is awesome.  You have to keep us updated on your prep for Kona.

IMAZ is probably the toughest to KQ at and you did it.  Nicely Done!!!

Yeah, Sarah was giving autographs at the Chocolate Milk tent on Friday when I checked in. We chatted for a bit, she was really cool and genuine. I didn't see her on the course. Was she using a hand cycle?

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Yeah great job man, congrats!

I think the one that stands out the most to me was help by a super cute girl who was sitting on the Mill AVE bridge...Her sign said, "I wanna DO an Ironman. Call me!" And then there was a phone number written in bold at the bottom...I definitely chuckled at that one.

Another one that made me laugh was, "thinking of something to write was pretty hard too!"

Nope, cranking away on a regular bike. Very impressive!

Also, check her out on FinisherPix (bib 122)- they got some good shots of her.

I always have been in awe of the pros and AGers who Kona qualify, but its at a whole new level.  That type of performance for that distance, wow is all I can say.  Incredible job.

George, awesome job!  Really cool to meet you and everyone else.  Really great race!

Nice job out there, congrats on the PR.  Meeting everyone was certainly one of the highlights for me.

Well I survived my first IM, my guess for a perfectly executed race would be about 15 hours on a good day, and barely finishing on a bad day with my amount of training, or lack thereof. Came in at 14:30:24.

Paced the bike exactly how I wanted to, got faster every lap. Seemed like 2-300 people past me the first lap, and they did. A lady even commented, keep it up, your're setting yourself up for a good day. I was thinking yeah right lady, look how slow I'm going, 10 mph.

Anyway my goal on the bike was 154 HR, laps came in a 154, 152, 156 for a 154 average. 1sy lap was high due to coming out of transition and 171, and took a good 1/4 lap to get down. Third lap I let myself go a little harder since I felt so good. Past about 300 people on last lap.

Run was what it is. Did a HIM in Aug and my run/walk was 3:18, so to do 2:52/3:20 or whatever it was was ok. I've never ran more than 15 miles in my life, and that was once.

Never felt bad all through out the day, other than lap 1 of the bike, but that was just mentally since everyone was passing me lol. Had some knee problems on the run, and hot spots on my feet during the bike, but I guess you'll have that being 50 lbs overweight.

You can all shoot me now after looking at my training logs. I won't go into detail but it has been a very difficult year for us with the loss of our son and well. I'll just leave it at that I'm tearing up thinking about him. Next year will be faster and I will actually train for it.

Congrats on your finish....AND i am quite sure your son was smiling at your finish!  

I came in at 14:26, looks like I was sandwiched by a couple of fellow BTers.  I'm working on my official race report, it is going to be long as I may be a one and done Ironman.  Briefly, I had a good swim, a good bike, and sufferfest run.  One of the highlights of the day was running next to Leanda Cave for about two seconds on my first lap, had to be her third?  Every volunteer and spectator was awesome.  I wish I could have made the BT get together but I didn't get in until Friday.  Glad to hear everyone's results, sorry for those DNFs.