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Ironman Arizona - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Ironman North America
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 12h 32m 53s
Overall Rank = 707/2066
Age Group = M20-24
Age Group Rank = 27/83
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:00 am. Consumed bagel, banana, breakfast cookie, and orange juice at 4:30 am. Hydrated until about 30 minutes before the start.
Event warmup:

Jogged for 4 minutes and then did static stretching.
Swim
  • 1h 15m 21s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 47s / 100 yards
Comments:

I seeded myself appropriately to go 1:10-1:15, but I had a lot of trouble navigating. It turns out that I tend to the right when I swim, but I don't know if that is a result of open water or a wetsuit or what. I bilaterally breathe and take long strokes, so by the time I put my head up between strokes I could be a considerable distance off course. As a result, I swam on the righthand edge of the masses. I had clear water and could swim relaxed, but I didn't get to draft, and I probably went a longer distance than others. I decided this was especially an error on the second half of the swim, because we were swiming against the current and having some other people around probably would have made the trip faster.

What would you do differently?:

I would navigate better. Perhaps even stop to see where I am, even though I think that's heresy.

The thing with this race is that the water is opaque and the sun is in your face, so you can't see anything (and all the other swimmers are in invisible black suits). When I did try to draft, I couldn't see the feet, but could only feel the little current they make. That little current would disappear unless I stayed close to the feet, so I usually lost track of them quickly. In clear water I'm sure I would be able to hang onto a draft.

Since my goal was 1:10-1:15, my time for the swim was fine. I think it was 5 or 6 minutes faster than last year.
Transition 1
  • 07m 6s
Comments:

I made sure not to take my cap off too soon, because my number is on there and photographers can identify me that way. So, I'm one of the few that have a swim photo :)

Anyway, I ran through transition while most everyone else walked. I later discovered that I hurt my ankle doing that, but luckily it didn't affect the run leg (it's still pretty hurt now though). My goal was a 5:00 transition, but I also had a goal of putting sunscreen all over myself. Last year I got toasted really badly. Applying sunscreen made my transition a little bit long. I still missed a couple spots, so I have some very severe but strangely placed sunburns. Specifically, I didn't get my hands, so the tops of them are fried.

Oh well. It was a fine transition. Being able to run through it while other people walked made up for my swim performance a little bit.
What would you do differently?:

Sunscreen my hands, and also sunscreen UNDER my clothes. On the bike my jersey and shorts moved, giving me little bright red stripes where there was no sunscreen.
Bike
  • 7h 01m 4s
  • 112 miles
  • 15.96 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike is my weakest leg. I hoped to do 17 mph, but with the winds and bathroom breaks that didn't happen. I did average 16.7 when I was riding, so if I had decided to pee on myself I would be a lot faster.

I started the first loop conservatively, but I didn't realize there was a strong tailwind with me. As soon as I turned around, it smacked me in the face and I regretted taking it so easy when the wind was with me. I heard the winds were above 30 mph, but I don't know that for sure. As the day continued, the winds got stronger, so my speed on a typical "out" trip was 20-22 mph, but my speed on the "back" trip was 12, with my heart rate through the roof.

I took two bathroom breaks, but the second one was unnecessary. I was really just looking for an excuse to take a break from the headwind. Each break cost me at least 5 minutes because there are lines and stuff.

I was able to eat and drink with no problem on the bike. I had about 15 Accel gels and 2 bottles of Accelerade on my bike. I would depend on aid stations for the rest of my fluids and a few more gels. Unfortunately, I didn't grab gatorade from the stations when I should have, so I had to eat the gels more quickly than I had planned to keep my Calorie intake high. That just meant that I had to take more gels from the aid stations - no big deal. That is, until I realized the only flavors they were handing out were caramel and chocolate. I'm sure there is plenty of marketing research to say that people like those flavors, but personally I think the eating chocolate while exercising in the heat is disgusting. I ate them because I had to, but after a while I started throwing them back at the aid stations. I stopped eating for about 15 miles at the end because I couldn't bear to eat any more chocolate frosting. That certainly didn't help me.

Even with breaks and wind and stuff, I took 20 minutes off of last year's time, so I'm improving. Good enough for me.
What would you do differently?:

The winds couldn't be avoided, but the bathroom breaks really ruined my pace.

Next time, I might hydrate less or something, so that I don't have to stop on the bike. Also, I'll bring all my own gels and make sure I don't mess up my hydration plan.
Transition 2
  • 03m 54s
Comments:

I wanted to do this in 3:00, and I was close. The transition was without incident, except I forgot to empty my pockets, so I ran the first 8 miles with a patch kit and tire levers.
What would you do differently?:

Nothin'
Run
  • 4h 05m 30s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

My strongest leg. Based on last year's experience, I expected most people to be walking the marathon, just waiting for me to come after them. Unfortunately everyone was running! People are a lot more fit this year, I guess. There was even a guy taunting me because I couldn't get rid of him for the first loop. I still managed to pass about 700 people, but I had to work hard to do that.

My first couple of miles were in the mid-7:00's, and then I slowed to 8:00's and then mid-8:00's, and then at mile 10 a very gentle uphill caused me to stop and walk.

For miles 10-18 I was struggling to get enough food and fluid at the aid stations. I ran about 9:00 pace, but essentially walked through the aid stations so that I could get lots of food. Every time I walked my calves cramped up and it felt impossible to start running again, so I made sure that I was making running motions even if I was at a snail's pace.

At mile 18 I finally found my running legs. I decided to cut back on food from aid stations, and I grabbed only gatorade every 2 or 3 miles. I think that helped, because I didn't have to slow down at aid stations and, consequently, I didn't have to overcome the difficulty of speeding up again. I lengthened my stride and felt like I was in a regular running race. It was funny, because even though I felt fast, I was still going only 9:00/mile. Maybe 8:30 for the last mile...

I took about 30 minutes off of last year's time, which was good.
What would you do differently?:

I think it took me a long time to get comfortable running because I was way behind on my Calories. Next year I'll try to take in more food during the bike and also in the beginning miles of the run. As long as my pace is above 8:30/mile my stomach can handle eating while running.

So yeah, I'll try to front load my Calories, so that I can go faster and sort of skip aid stations later in the run.
Post race
Warm down:

No real warm down or stretching. I think that was a real mistake. I signed up for a massage but never showed up.

I did eat a huge pile of food though.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not being able to swim in a straight line, and probably nutrition.




Last updated: 2007-04-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:15:21 | 4224 yards | 01m 47s / 100yards
Age Group: 49/83
Overall: 1002/2066
Performance: Average
Suit: Salamander Suit
Course: Counterclockwise loop in Tempe Town Lake.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Good Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 07:06
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
07:01:04 | 112 miles | 15.96 mile/hr
Age Group: 50/83
Overall: 1401/2066
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Three loops out and back. Tailwind going out and headwind coming back.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:54
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
04:05:30 | 26.2 miles | 09m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/83
Overall: 260/2066
Performance: Good
Course: 3 loops. Mostly flat, but there are a few hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2007-04-25 2:11 PM

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Expert
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100010010025
Denver, Colorado
Subject: Ironman Arizona


2007-04-25 2:44 PM
in reply to: #776388

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Veteran
168
1002525
Brandon, MS
Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona
Congratulation on a good race! It’s always nice to take time off last year times.
2007-04-25 8:37 PM
in reply to: #776388

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Member
23

Hubert
Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona
Hey great job and improvement. I really laughed about the running part with your leavers and patch kit in your pocket, hey if you would have blown out a tenny shoe you would have had it covered. Awsome marathon too. R U doing this race next year. Hope you do. you will most likely drop another hour off your time. Good luck.


Sam aka TriSam
2007-04-26 12:14 PM
in reply to: #776388

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Pro
3705
20001000500100100
Vestavia Hills
Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona

Wow ... congratulations! Great splits! Way to improve on last year's time and finish the race strong.

I'm sure there is plenty of marketing research to say that people like those flavors, but personally I think the eating chocolate while exercising in the heat is disgusting ...

That stuff is just nasty on any given day ... but on race day? Bleech.  Took an ironwill to stomach those things down.

 

2007-04-27 1:11 PM
in reply to: #776388

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Extreme Veteran
527
50025
Jacksonville, FL
Subject: RE: Ironman Arizona
Congratulations! What a great run you had!
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