Ironman Arizona : Official Thread (Page 7)

I'm planning on spending most of November down there to acclimate to the weather.  I've got an extended stay booked in Tempe..but thinking about spending a couple weeks training around the grand canyon.

First meeting with a coach later this week, meanwhile, following a full IM plan from Triathlete's training plan book.  24 week plan should have me more than ready for a 70.3 in June, then I'll reset and drop back about 12 weeks in the plan to recover and get on proper schedule for IMAZ.  Unless I end go with this coach...in which case I'll just do what I'm told.

Is it "outside help" if I stop during the bike and buy a cheeseburger?  Mmmmm, maybe I'll just put some leftover pizza in my back pocket...

You do not have to carry everything out of T1.  During the downhill on the second loop (about mile 65ish) you have your special needs area.  If you are not familiar with special needs, it is kind of your own little care package.  You can put whatever you like in there - extra nutrition, spare tubes, co2, etc.  If it turns out you do not need some of the stuff, leave it in the SN bag and that way you do not have to carry it.  Unless you are someone who needs vast amounts of "real food" throughout the race, you should be ok with T1 and SN to house your nutrition.

A couple of things...

1) Why are you training for IMAZ now?  The race is over 8 months away.  There's no need to do 100 mile rides now.  You're going to burn yourself out.  There's a reason most training plans are 12, 16 or 20 weeks and not 36 weeks.

2) You'd be surprised by how well you'll get by on gels and sports drinks.  One thing you need to remember when thinking about your nutrition is what will I be able to digest well because I need to run 26.2 miles after the bike.  PB&J and Uncrustables sound great unless they settle like a brick in your gut. Not saying that is going to happen but it might.  Make sure you practice eating that and running after.

To be clearer, I ride that century because its with friends and I like to ride my bike.  Its a ride that we do every year.  I have several more on the calendar, but its more because I like to ride.  I figured that while I'm doing that, I ought to start to thinking about what it will be like to do 112 on race day.  I do have some down times planned throughout the year to hopefully avoid burn out.  But this year, I am paying attention to how I feel, what I eat, when to drink etc, just to build the knowledge base.  Then, when I transition to IM prep, I'll have that information to build on.

Fair enough.  I was hoping you weren't doing something ridiculous like riding 100 milers every week starting in March prepping for a race in November.  Don't laugh - there are plenty of people doing that right now for IMFL or IMAZ... a fraction of which will make it to the start line in November.

Training for each person will vary, and like GMAN said, many will do too much and burn out.  I personally don't think what YOU are doing is too much as I am doing something similar.  I started training for a HIM in December.  The race is April 1.  I'll have 2 weeks of doing whatever I want before I jump into the 30 week Be Iron Fit plan.  I did this same thing when I did IMFL in 2010 and it worked well for me.  Some people might feel burned out doing it, but the Be Iron Fit program starts will low base stuff, so the first of the program feels pretty simple.  Just pay attention to how you feel as you go.  If you have a plan, follow it and if you feel like you need to take a day off, then do so.  (that's easier to say than actually do).  Some people do well with high volume training and others don't.  

Hi folks, just joining the group. I haven't been on BT in forever.

This will be my first IM, and I'm looking forward to sharing information. 

Where would your drop off be in the cities?  I haven't looked into it yet, I'm hoping to get a better deal by renting a box and flying Southwest.  That way I'll have the bike with me and not have to give it up a week before the race.

The drop off is Gear West.  From what I have been able to find out from GW and reading other blogs, the transport company packs your bike onto a truck.  No pedals, or disc wheels, or hydration systems (ie Xlab).  They are well wrapped and then they set up a station at the race site.  I have looked at FedEx ground, and the airlines.  The advantage with Bike Transport is that you will not have to set up your bike once you get to the race.  Perhaps a tweak on the derailleur, but that is about it. Install pedals, hydration, etc.  One disadvantage is that it takes about 10 days to ship the bike.  I think the cost is $300.  

Tri-Bike Transport is one of the official sponsors of WTC and Ironman.  I noticed their trailer and pick up station about 300 yards from the finish line at IM AZ this last year (in the Macayo's parking lot around the corner from the finish chute).

I have not used them, but a friend of mine used them for CdA in 2010, and they took good care of his ride.  The only bummer is you have to turn your bike in about a week in advance, and he did not get it back until a couple of weeks after the race.  My understanding is you can pick it up a few days early at the race to get some warm up rides in and to check it into transition on Saturday.

If you are coming to AZ (or any other race, for that matter) and are not comfortable taking components off your bike and traveling with it, I would recommend the transport companies.  They do this all the time, and I am sure they take great care of the bikes.

It does help.  I am staying about 40 minutes away from Tempe with family.  Can I bring my bike from the race venue to their home and drop it off on Saturday?  That would be ideal since I want to do some riding on their side of town prior to the race and not have to drive to Tempe on Thursday and Friday to bike. 

Nutrition question. If i burn about 2300 calories on a 3 hour bike, how much should i be taking in an hour?

Guess I should check in... training moving forward. Century ride tomorrow, Capitol 10K Sunday, then LoneStar 70.3 next weekend.

Hope everybody is doing ok. By the way, I will be driving out for IMAZ, so if any of you who will be flying in need CO2 cartridges when you get there, let me know in advance. I can get a box full at Amazon fairly cheaply compared to buying at the stores. If you don't use them and want to give them back, we can work out the $$ or donate them to a cycling club when I get back to Austin.

As long as I am here, I want to mention that if any of you know any military veteran-athletes that would be interested in participating in the Austin Triathlon Camp with Team Red, white and Blue, send them to www.AustinTriCamp.com to sign up. We do have some slots still open.