Ironman Arizona Race Report

I hope this is helpful to anyone planning on doing IM AZ!

Ironman Arizona 2013 Race Report

Arrived in Tempe on Thursday, giving me 3 days lead time. Checked in Thursday. Friday went for a 20 mile bike ride along the Beeline. Instant problem. Disc Wheel with 11/23 gearing would not shift into higher gears. Brought bike to a shop to get it “fixed”. The guy spent over an hour, finally telling me he is “stumped”, and that my hanger must be bent. He told me I'm good to go if I don't shift into highest gears, and that he did not have a replacement part. Well, that did not sit well with me. I went to another shop, Landis Bike shop for a second opinion. The mechanic took one look at my bike, one quick adjustment and told me “all good to go”. Lesson learned – always get a second opinion if not satisfied. Had I gone with the first guy, I would have had to order a new part (probably not have it by race day) – which in fact was not defective at all. Gave the mechanic $20 (he wasn't going to charge me at all), told him to buy himself a nice dinner or beer! He told me it was going for beer.

I did not participate in the practice swim as I did a wet suit swim 3 days prior, and I began to feel a bit “iffy” after hearing stories of people feeling ill after the practice swim. Why risk it? I knew my suit fit well, and I already swam in the water last year. I knew how cold it can be.

Awoke at 330 AM. Good sleep all things considered. Met up with my Michigan friends race morning. Arrived at transition for body marking by 515AM. Parking at IM AZ is a piece of cake as there is a large parking structure right there. Had Honey Oats and a power bar for breakfast, along with 2 cups of coffee. Had to pee once prior to the gun. Checked on bike, tires pumped, all set. The only stressful moment of the morning was my fear the line to get into the water would not get me in by the time the cannon went off. I just made it but next time will remember to get out to the water much sooner as the line to get in was bottlenecked. There were still hundreds behind me!

Water temp was actually very nice, a bit on the cool side, but really very pleasant for a wetsuit swim.

Swim was fairly uneventful. Usual bumping into swimmers, but not bad for a mass start. My swim time was much slower than last year, and I'm not sure why as I was better prepared for the swim this year. My best guess is that I wasn't sighting as well as I did not look up as much, trying to focus on swimming, and trusting my path. Even though my time was not that good, I felt strong in the water and felt the swim was easy. Overall, pleased, Would not do anything different other than sighting better.

Time: 01:24:41 pace 02:11/100m Div Rank 190 Overall 1494

Fairly quick transition to bike – I thought (7 min, 7 sec). Realized I did not put any of my water bottles on the bike. Not a big deal though as I live off the course, and there are plenty of AID stations along the way. I passed hundreds of people on the first loop, making up for my bad swim. Biking is always my strongest suit. I ate a total of 4 power bars, 4 Gu's, and lots of perform and water along the way. Never peed once. This is unusual for me. I suspect I did not take in enough fluids. I felt good though. The 3 loops were uneventful. I almost got ran into at one of the AID stations by someone who swerved in front of me. I should have known better and moved even further left. I actually felt good throughout the entire bike and by the end felt as though I could have easily gone another hour. I pushed hard only for a few minutes when passing large groups. Remained in aero 99% of the time. Compared to last year, the wind on the return loop on the Beeline was not as favorable for making up time. I enjoyed the bike as I passed over 700 people. I kept myself occupied by counting people I pass, although I lost count many times. A new PR for me!!!

Time: 05:34:10 pace 20.11 mph Div Rank 116 Overall 797

Bike to run transition went smooth (3 min, 58 sec). No muscle cramping. I felt pretty good. On to the the run. First few miles went well with the exception of my Hoka Tarmac shoes rubbing and causing burning of the feet. I readjusted them a few times. This lasted about 30-40 min then completely went away. After mile 10, I was feeling fairly confident about my goal to go sub 12 hours. Well, that didn't work. I began to experience GI issues and had to use porta potty for number 2 twice. No nausea. I drank fluids and was able to keep them down, but at times I could feel the sensation of my stomach contents “sloshing around”. Around mile 17 I felt a profound weakness and heaviness in my legs, lasting about 20 min. I thought to myself “f##$$ing A!!!!” damn A Fib!!!! Fortunately this went away, and I verified I was not in afib. The final 10 miles or so I was just tired. I did the run/walk/zombie shuffle for the remainder of the race.

Time: 05:15:06 Pace 12.01/mile Div Rank 133 Overall 1058

Total Time 12:25

Thoughts:

I believe my run fitness is lacking. I am not convinced I over did it on the bike as I did not go much harder than I usually do in training (I actually held back a lot), and I felt good the whole ride. I am not a strong runner and my logs reflect I did not train enough. I hoped to get by without doing any longer than 15-16 mile runs in training. I need to re look at this and talk to a coach. My PR for a Marathon is 3 hr 40 min, and a 25 K is 2 hr 4 min, so I know I can go much faster.

Overall, I am always happy to finish an IM. It was a wonderful experience. Volunteers were top notch!! I'm looking forward to IM Texas this spring. I hope to go sub 12. Considering my first IM was over 15 hours, I am continuing to improve.

Thanks for reading. A particular thank you goes out to my awesome mentor group Slornow and Wannabefaster who are always helpful and supportive!!!!

Jim