The water temp the morning of the race was 77 and in order to wear a wet suit it needs to be 76.1. They did allow participants to wear a wet suit but only if they went last. I was originally scheduled in the first wave at 6:30 but went at 7:45.

I did the full Ironman Arizona in 2013 and the mass start is crazy - this was similar. There were hundreds of people deciding to go last in order to wear the wet suit. It was a constant fight for position for the first 200-300 yards but eventually smoothed out.

I normally struggle on the swim and finish in the lower 85% but the hard work at the pool has paid off some. To finish in the top 52% is great for me.

Just swim more. I have a coach now and it has helped a bunch. Thanks Terry!

Not much here, ran from the lake to my bike. Got some nutrition and I was off.

I was a bit apprehensive about this bike course. Three loops around Tempe with 7 U-turns on each loop seems odd, but it was not bad at all. I flew through the course averaging almost 20 MPH on the first two loops. The wind picked-up on the final loop so my speed went down. No biggie.

The u-turns are fast and set-up well. Really not a problem. Also, the course elevation showed a few hills but they really were not a factor.

Because of the heat, I drank about 80oz on the bike, took GU every 30min with a salt stick cap. That is what I practiced so that's what I did.

Not much - felt great.

Got a nice cramp coming off the bike - that was fun. T2 took a bit longer because I need to put on some Glide and sunscreen.

Okay - this is where the problems all started. If you look at the final mileage above I entered 13.65, because that's what it was. After the race, Ironman posted an announcement admitting to changing the course because of a tragic accident that morning. I understand that, but to make the course .55mi longer is ridiculous. That distance could have been taken out of a out-n-back on the SE side past Rural Rd. That distance was .25 per lap. So, no excuse IM for not changing the distance.

With 92 degree heat, this run was a B!%@#! Just no way to cool down and no shade anywhere. I tried to keep up with fluid in-take, nutrition, and ice.

The course was flat, good number of aid stations, and volunteers were awesome! I was hurting on this run. Cramping was an issue. Jeremy caught up to me and we finished the race together.

Hydrate better - adapt to that type of heat.

Finished - got a burger and some fluids. Didn't barf so that's good.


Lack of hydration


I give this race a "Average" rating for a few reasons. Some of those reasons are controllable and some are not. Moving all of the wet suit wearers to the end over .9 of a degree. Really? The temperature taken at race start ended up being 76. I know IM moves the "wet suit" people because they need to know who is not eligible for AG awards. Just seems like a pain.

Second, the distance on the run could have been easily adjusted by cutting out the SE corner just past Rural Rd. Everyone mentioned this after the race and IM admitted the issue but not the mistake. In my opinion, they used the tragedy that morning as an excuse (just see their Facebook page). I don't like that - it is disrespecting the five people that lost their lives. Own up to your mistake - don't blame that on an accident.

The heat is something that is not controllable obviously. If you sign-up for a race in Tempe in October - you take that chance. 10% of the people that started the race DNF'd. That should say something about the heat.

This is a good venue for a race - I said that when I did IMAZ there in 2013. People are great, volunteers were awesome, police and fire rocked, and the city of Tempe always puts on a good event.