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Ironman Arizona
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Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman
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 Swim
Comments: I prefer being on land for the national anthem where I can give it the proper respect, but other than that it was nice to have the time to get acclimated in the water. I swam to the front of one of the pilings so it would offer some protection from the crowds, and waited there until about 30 seconds after the gun went off. By then most of the swimmers were on their way, and I could find a nice open space. I was able to keep a nice steady pace in the calm water. At the turn around the sun was in my eyes with every other breath but it wasn't worth changing my breathing as we soon made another turn and headed back. The return was uneventful as we swam under Mill Avenue and made the final turn toward the dock. I was surprised to see that my time was three minutes slower than Canada as I felt the swim was pretty similar, but the considerably colder water probably had something to do with it.  Transition 1
Comments: This was considerably slower than my previous efforts. I don’t remember what went wrong here, although I’m sure putting on the arm warmers slowed me down. In addition to the arm warmers I made a full change here as I have in the past. Next time I’m going to try wearing tri shorts for the swim and just throw a jersey over my bathing suit top. What would you do differently?: Wear my lightweight wind breaker instead of arm warmers. It's easier to get on and easier to get off and store in my jersey pocket once I warm up.  Bike
Comments: This was my best bike ever. The wind wasn’t nearly as bad as I had heard it could be, although it shifted throughout the ride. Each lap was different, starting with a headwind out, and ending with a headwind back on the final loop. The lack of serious wind and the flat course allowed me to focus the entire ride without the losses in momentum I experience on a hilly course. This resulted in pretty even splits with the last loop being the same exact pace as the first. I was in aero most of the time on the Beeline and (except for a few potty stops) fully focused on riding fast (for me). When I realized I may break seven hours on the bike I just kept telling myself, “My bike time could start with a six, my bike time could start with a six…” In contrast to my previous 8:0X’s this was sounding spectacular. I was happy to see my family at the turn around each time (the kids had made signs the night before – aw), but I was mostly just focused on the ride, in a way I had never been before. What would you do differently?: Nothing. This ride was perfect. Transition 2
Comments: As usual I did another full change here, and the time was pretty consistent with my other IM’s. Next time I plan to just change my shirt (to avoid arm chaffing). I was expecting it to be getting dark as I set out on the run so I already had my headlamp and long sleeve shirt which I usually keep in my special needs bag (in the summer when the days are longer). I also wasn’t expecting to need sunscreen at this point. Luckily the volunteers were there to take care of that. Yeah for volunteers.  Run
Comments: This run was much like the bike. Three pretty flat loops during which I was able to completely focus on just running as fast as I could. A 13mpm pace doesn’t sound great, but given the flare ups in my lower back the past couple years it was a good iron distance effort. It seemed like there were more aid stations than usual so I probably only stopped at every other one. I walked just enough to get some food and fluid down, and then I was off. As with the bike, my pace on each loop was pretty consistent. This pseudo figure-eight course is great for spectating as much of the run takes place in and around the lake park. Ironically, I didn’t see much of my family, but in the end that worked out as I was able to stay focused. Once I realized I could go sub 15:00, I was telling myself, “My time could start with a 14, my time could start with a 14…” which was another inspiring thought since my other times were both 16 something. I saw my family as I rounded the final turn of the finishing chute and headed in. Cutting more than an hour and half off my previous two IM’s made this finish just as exciting as the first. What would you do differently?: Nothing. This was a great run. Post race
Warm down: I was escorted by a volunteer from the finish to my medal, hat, shirt and chip removal. She stayed with me while I grabbed a slice of pizza and some water and tried to help me find my family, but I told her I was fine and she could get back to the other finishers. I finally found my family and we hung out for a while saying goodbye to those who wouldn’t be coming back to the hotel with us. Being close to home (six hour drive) was nice in that more people were able to come out and support me. We went back to the hotel and had snacks, champagne, and beer (the kids went to bed). I showered and washed out the stinky wetsuit. I was still very excited about the 1 ½ hour PR and spent a lot of time on the computer writing to friends. Before I was done, some on the East Coast were already up for the day and kept me up longer than I intended. I finally got to bed around 6am. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing. Everything went better than I could have hoped. No medical or mechanical malfunctions and the weather was perfect. Event comments: I learned a lot about my ability to work at a consistently strong pace at this distance, where in the past I was more concerned with taking in the whole experience and making sure I had the strength to finish. I’m sure my time will drop again at IMLP next year as I head back to the hills, but I’m hoping that my effort here has shown me I don’t need to pace myself quite so much. I can and should go out strong from the beginning. With a few finishes behind me I have more to lose by holding back than by taking a chance on going out too strong and blowing up. Last updated: 2010-11-29 12:00 AM
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 2012-07-03 6:19 PM |
New user  6 |  Subject: Ironman Arizona |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Overall Rank = 2038/2564
Age Group = W40-44
Age Group Rank = 110/142
We arrived Thursday night. I registered and rode most of one loop Friday, took a wrong turn and got chased by a dog on three occasions. Friday night my family and I had pizza in the hotel room. Then I headed over for the athlete meeting. Third time is a charm. This is the first time I actually experienced most of the meeting. In CDA they started early, and when I arrived at the scheduled time they were finishing the run talk and making closing remarks. In Canada they started late, and I had to leave ten minutes in to meet friends.
I got to the practice swim Saturday to discover that I needed my timing chip. I had to run back to the hotel to get it, but I made it back before they closed the course. The water was cold but warmer than my practice swims in the Pacific. As always, I was happy to have my neoprene cap and booties. Took it easy the rest of the day with more pizza in the hotel room that night. With my cousin's grandkids along this was by far the easiest option.
Woke up before dawn on race morning and had my usual bowl of cereal. Gathered my swim gear, special needs bags, water, and nutrition and headed down to the athlete shuttle provided by the hotel (SpringHill). It was different setting up in the dark since my last two IM’s (CDA and Canada) were north and at the height of summer when the days are long. I was glad that I had bought an extra headlamp at Target for the transition area. It made everything easier when I could see what I was doing.
I put everything in the proper place, stocked and checked the bike and got air in the tires, made a couple potty stops, had a few bite of an energy bar, put on the bottom of my wetsuit, grabbed the top, goggles, and cap, made sure I had my chip, and handed over my dry gear bag. I made one more potty stop, finished putting on my gear and got in line to enter the water as they were making the announcement for last call.