Ironman Arizona (#IMAZ) 2013
November 17, 2013
12 Hours 37 Minutes 17 Seconds Overall
Ironman Arizona proved to be both easier and harder than I expected but mostly, more fun than I could have imagined! First of all, what an awesome, awesome, experience! The organizers spared no detail, every little thing was planned out from the color-coded special needs bags (each color a different motivational saying) to the numerous themed rest stations staffed by exuberant volunteers. It was not only a really great time for me, but for my family as well. As for the race itself, I thought the swim was much easier than most of my long training swims. However, the bike segment was harder than expected. The run segment was about as I expected and I actually enjoyed it. Even though my only stated goal was to finish, I secretly wanted to beat 13 hours, which I did by about 23 minutes.
My Ironman Arizona journey began nearly a year in advance, though I didn't start training seriously (that is, with a plan) until late January when I signed up with Jamey Yon at TRi-Yon Performance. The very first thing Jamey asked was "Is your wife on board with all this?" as he knew that was the first and most important prerequisite. Fortunately, I had already had "the conversation" with Elizabeth and she was behind me all the way...something I will always appreciate. After an endless summer of long Saturday bike rides and Sunday runs to cap off a week of speedwork, strengthwork, and lots of swims, the weeks wound down to the race. Those last few weeks were pretty excrutiating as I experienced a range of emotions from fear to anxiety to hope. Finally the big day arrived!
Swim: 1 Hour, 16 minutes:
I had no major issues on the swim, just a little nerves when they finally told us to jump in the water. Even though it was 64 degrees, the temperature felt fine after a few seconds of swimming. I treaded water for about 10 minutes and when the cannon finally fired, I started my Garmin, put my head down, and just went. This was a 1 loop swim and it seemed to take forever to get to the turnaround. I ran up on top of a couple of people who stopped (?) and got kicked once in the side of the head but luckily no blows to the face. Once we made the turn back the spacing improved considerably. The finish came relatively quickly and as I exited snuck a quick glance at my time (76 minutes) so I was actually a few minutes ahead of my best case prediction. I found out after the bike that I had some abrasions on my neck from the wetsuit collar so will make a mental note to use some vaseline in the future!
Bike: 6 Hours, 12 Minutes:
The bike segment was tougher than expected; it was an essentially coast-free loop that we did three times (Coach told me months ago the IM bike is a long steady effort and boy was he right.) I just tried to settle in and spin to avoid any lactic acid buildup in my quads. I set the Virtual Pacer on my Garmin for a 6 hour pace; at the end of the first loop I was dead even with him. By the end of the 2nd loop, he had built up about a 5 minute lead which I thought I could erase on the 3rd loop. However, as the organizers warned, nasty head/crosswinds showed up on the 3rd loop (headwind on the inbound/downhill final 17 miles) and I ended up about 10 minutes off the 6:00 pace. In retrospect, I got passed a lot on the bike and could have gone harder...but the 10 minutes I may have shaved would have probably cost me more than that on the run. TIPS: Set a timer or use a system to take in your calories consistently. Don't banquet on the bike; I only ate 2 NOW bars cut up into 8 bite sized chunks and used Infinit and Hammer gel for the rest of my calories. I was covered in salt when I changed for the run so I probably did not drink enough plain water and could have been a bit dehydrated.
Run: 4 Hours, 55 Minutes:
The 2 loop run went as well as possible, considering it was my weakest discipline before working with Jamey. I had some bloating on the first loop and even take the thought of eating anything...not even a gel (I carried one through 4 rest stops before chucking it.) I made sure to take a cup of water or two at each rest stop and chugged them both. I ended up doing the whole run on liquids (water, GU Perform, cola, and 2 cups of chicken broth) with a few bites of banana and 1 or 2 pretzels. My stomach felt much better after mile 13 (along with my left big toe, which I wrapped up in a large bandaid from my special needs bag) and I was able to hold the same 11 minute pace. I was still holding back to see how I would feel at mile 21. I made it past mile 22 and was still feeling great when I hit the (only) hill on the course. For some reason, I decided to attack that hill. I don't know if it was anger, exhaustion, or just insanity but it felt like someone reached into my back and just squeezed my adrenal glands. As I passed dozens of walkers I kept thinking that this must be the #TYDifference; all of those strength and hill workouts was paying off. Many of the volunteers seemed surprised to see this crazy guy running strong on the closing miles of an Ironman...and their reactions fired me up even more!
I hit the last stop and the final 1.2 miles seemed like the longest of the day; the road was dark and pretty deserted of spectators. However with about half a mile to go, I could hear the cheers and loudspeakers of the finish line crowd. I entered the chute in disbelief, thrilled, relieved, and proud and still not quite believing I was now in a new club...an Ironman finisher.
Post-Race:
Obviously lots of stretching and/or massage...my hamstrings wanted to seize up once I stopped running. I wasn't really able to walk much after the race but felt surprisingly good the next day. It wasn't until the 2nd day that I really felt soreness in my quads and calves. By Wednesday, I started complaining about where I could have done better during the race (the bike segment) so my wife knew I was back to normal :)
More Tips:
* Rest up a lot the week before even though you will feel like you want to workout more.
* Stay off your feet as much as possible the day before.
* Don't eat anything in the 3-4 days before that will upset your stomach at all. I ate penne pasta with roast chicken and olive oil (no cheese) for my final pre-race meal.
* Wear compression socks whenever you're on your feet and especially afterwards.
* Believe in yourself! You are ready! You're going to be amazed how well you do and you'll want to immediately register for another one.
* Smear Vaseline on your feet before putting on your socks in T2 if you get blisters. Also, keep a few large band-aids for blisters in your Run special needs bag...which you get at mile 13.
* Walk through every water station starting at the first one.
* Cold water dumped on your head or back really helps snap you back to awareness.
