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Ironman Arizona
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Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman
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 Swim
Comments: Wow! So my to goal for the swim was sub-1:10. I must say I felt great in the water and have been training my swimming hard. I seeded myself with what I thought was 500 people ahead of me hoping I would be in the right place and not have a lot of crawling over people and stuff. Well I was kind of right. I think the crawling in the first 500 is inevitable anyways. But I was in the right spot and after 500-1000m I was in a good place with the people around me and was able to find open water fairly easy. I was catching drafts on and off the whole time. With the longer racing I have been practicing the drafting more and I really think it paid off today. After the gun went off the though of being cold never occurred to me, until I got out of the water that is. What would you do differently?: Not a whole lot, I did this race coming off IMLOU and really only put in a 6-7 week hard training block. I am taking some time off from IM distance after this race so I think for my next race I will build over 8+months, that is the only way I could get faster on the swim.  Transition 1
Comments: Well, I got out of the water good and through the wetsuit strippers, then the shock hit me. I was in a skin tight soaking wet trisuit and it was not warm outside. I ran the shoot to the tent and realize I am borderline convulsing with my shivers. Surprised to see that the tent was so busy, no chance of scoring a chair, so I get ready standing up shivering. I manage to get armwarmers on, socks, shoes, helmet, gloves in pocket, hit the sunscreen and begin the journey on the bike. What would you do differently?: I had problems getting all the grass and dirt off my feet. I needed a towel to stand on and wipe my feet or something.  Bike
Comments: I was very satisfied with this bike performance. Of my training I was slacking the most on the bike. I did not really have a goal time in mind, knowing I should be in the 6 hour ballpark give or take 20 mins. First loop was good, can't complain there, kept my infinit nutrition on schedule. During the second hour I could not manage to get a banana from an aid station. Each aid station only had one banana person and every time I went by they were preoccupied or hiding behind the gatorade person. Anyways other than that first lap was solid. 2nd lap I continued my quest for banana and didn't find one until the turnaround. For some reason this frustrated me quite a bit. 2nd lap wind was tough on the way back. Coming downhill into the wind canceled itself out unfortunately. But everybody had to deal with it so no gripes. 3rd lap was just focused on getting off the bike. Each pedal stroke was one closer to finishing the bike. Put in what little extra energy I had remaining into the climb, hit the turnaround, and came back into town pretty wiped out. What would you do differently?: I needed to train outside more. Training for this race in the fall was difficult. Mostly because I am a baby about the cold, the majority of my long training had taken place in the comfort of my basement on the trainer. No wind on the trainer. So I think the reason I was so tired from this bike was that I did not get solid bike training in for this race. Transition 2
Comments: Nothing significant here, elated to get off the bike and see what sort of marathon I could put together. Fairly tired though.  Run
Comments: Ughhh. That sums it up. I started out feeling exhausted, but great at the same time. Everything was working and my stomach was not screaming at me, so I couldn't complain. Knocked out the half marathon pretty well and I was happy with that. I was really hoping to do into the 4:30's on this run but not happening today. Around the halfway point I started having stomach problems and cramping. The easy and logical choice was to switch strategy and start the walk/run to avoid a blow up. This worked well and within 5 or so miles I was back to a strong run, pulling miles in the low 9's and about 8 miles out I had visions of a sub-12 finish. I saw Misty and my dog. He jumped into my arms of course and here I am in th middle of an ironman marathon holding my dog (this is how he greets me). That lasted until around mile 22 and the "hill." After I got myself up the hill I realized my feet were really sore. This slowed me down quite a bit and the last 3-4 miles were mostly walking with small portions of jogging thrown in there. I approached the finish line and its like everything is a blur next thing I knew my mom and Misty were standing there. The finish line catcher apparently thought I was in bad shape and as I asked where the food was she directed me to medical (and not the food) what a sneaky volunteer. Needless to say I was able to avoid medical and get some solid food. What would you do differently?: I'm not sure. I never really felt decent on this marathon. I will definitely train harder and longer though and come back with a vengeance! Post race
Warm down: Found the family, my dog loves me and jumped into my arms. Misty apparently had a long day and didn't want to stick around to watch my cousin and his friend finish. They both did finish though and not too far behind me at that. Great race all around, aid stations were great and enthusiastic, very understanding people (often at the aid stations they came to you!). What limited your ability to perform faster: I think I was a little burned out during my training for this race. I loved every minute of it, but working full time combined with night school and ironman training makes for a hectic life and probably impossible to be relaxed and well trained. But I will be back and next time fresh and fully trained. Event comments: Again, this was a great race. Other than the multiple loop format, which I am not crazy about, but is great for spectators and families, this race is awesome. Last updated: 2008-11-24 12:00 AM
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 2010-04-08 9:08 AM |
Regular  137   Fort Collins, CO |  Subject: Ironman Arizona |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Ironman North America
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1028/2516
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 66/138
I must admit I am writing this report on 5-month delay. As usual I got up before the alarm, got some food in the lobby, ate a banana and met my cousin Brad and his friend David from near St. Louis in the lobby and David drove us over there. It was both of their first Ironman's so they were nervous and I was also nervous because of the water temp (a generous 63). I don't due well in cold water or cold in general for that matter. They were also concerned about the water temp, Brad having a longjohn wetsuit, so on Friday I purchased us all neoprene caps which we test drove in the practice swim without any problems.
Arrived at the transition with plenty of time to get things done and relax, but not early enough where we had to wait in line. Couple of problems I encountered before my race today, but I was able to laugh off and take in stride. My feet were frozen while standing around, I was not intelligent or experienced enough to wear an old pair of socks around like many other wise folks. So I had to deal with very cold feet before getting into cold water. I put my wetsuit on early to help keep warm, I had also brought hot coffee with me. After setting up I sat on the edge of transition and tried to relax my mind, contemplate the task at hand, and take in and enjoy the atmosphere and company of fellow competitors. I did some light stretching and yoga and was fully relaxed and ready to walk over to the water entry. I feel my goggles bend in an odd way in my hand and look down to realize that the nose piece had split perfectly in two. No fixing that so I beeline (not related to the highway on the bike) it over to the microphone guy and ask him to make an announcement for spare goggles. As the words come out of his mouth a fellow, rather tall, competitor hands me a pair of goggles, as if he was there waiting for that very moment to save my day before it had even begun. WHEW! Ok now, re-focus. All my relaxation had gone out the window about 12 mins before the gun. I try on my new goggles and worry, how does that saying go . . . nothing new on race day. I see my coach, Wendy Mader, 2008 women's ironman W35-39 age group world champion, here to qualify for Kona 2010. I tell her about my debacle and she says a few words that I dont really hear, but just seeing and talking with her brings me back into relaxation mode.(she finished first AG and got her Kona slot) Time to get in the water and race!