Ironman Arizona - Triathlon

I started right-center about three rows back from the start. The cannon went off and it was immediate chaos. It's funny because the last few race reports I've read, many people did not experience the "washing machine" in a mass start. I felt it for about the first 500M or so until the lake opened up. To be honest, I loved the mass start. There's some authenticity to everyone starting at the same time as opposed to the rolling/tt start and trying to avoid panic at the beginning.

Anyway, I got punched in the goggles a few times, kicked in the side. Most of the contact was from people behind me swimming on my back and me swimming on the person in front of me's back. From what I've read, the goal is not to get kicked in the face which I accomplished. Once the lake opened up, I was able to begin sighting as well as breathing in normal patterns. When I got under the Scottsdale/Rural bridge, the water seemed choppy and colder. Although the turn buoy isn't much further past Scottsdale/Rural, it seemed like an eternity. After the turn, the swim back was uneventful. There was one guy that kept cutting me off when he would go off course. He always seemed to stay in front of me though. A few times I hit his feet and he would start to breast stroke. Drove me nuts! I made the last turn, swam up to the stairs, sat on the first step, and a volunteer pulled me up.

Probably nothing. Maybe start somewhere on the bouy line and press the effort a little more. I felt pretty good coming out of the water. But I was hapoy with 1:10 so no complaints.

Get out of the water and immediately head to a stripper to make life a little easier. I stood up and realized I felt pretty good so why not run to my bike bag? I made a last second decision that I was going to go comfortable and opted for cycling shorts and jersey. I get to the changing tent and noticed no one was really doing a full change so I asked a volunteer to confirm it was okay if I could go bare ass in the tent (what an ironman newb I am) His response was, "hell yeah you can, you paid $700 for this race. the least we can do is allow you to go bare ass." Okay then. Get changed, head out to get my bike. Walked over to my wife and parents to chat for a second. The first thing my wife says is "where are your sunglasses?" HOLY $&#/. I must have forgot about them while i was hanging or they fell out because I knew I ojt them in my bag. Anyway, wife and dad immediately hold out their shades. My choices are my wife's Ray Bans or my dads dollar store shades that look like a cross between Johnny Depp's in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Robert Deniros in casino. I chose my dad's because I didn't want to lose my wife's and have to buy another expensive pair of shades. I have an awesome family...onto the bike course

Nada...comfort for me was best option

I'm not much of a cyclist so the bar wasn't set high in terms of expectations. I've learned from half distances that going out too hard on the bike leaves for a miserable rest of the day. I was trying to enjoy my first IM so I took it easy.

My nutrition plan was pretty simple. Take in around 350 calories an hour through Gu/Lara Bars (for first few hrs.)/Perform mixing in a bottle water every hour or so. We had a head wind heading out on first lap followed by tailwind coming back in. The first downhill heading back to Tempe was awesome! Lap 1: 1:59

Second lap the cross winds started. Speed started to decline but I told myself not to increase effort. I was wearing a brewery cycling jersey and I got a few compliments on that. Apparently one of tbe universal things most people have in common is drinking beer. A few miles into Beeline the leaders passed me on their last loop. Rapp was flying! Could tell there were a lot more people on the course. Lap 2: 2:07

Began my third lap with more crosswinds that were heavier. Body started hurting. My right knee kept "clicking" every time I was at the top of my pedal. Saw afew wrecks in which the people didnt look like they would be finishing the race. Stopped at special needs around mile 100 to out on more sunscreen and get some salt tabs. Started taking those every 30 min. Lap 3: 2:12



Probably stay in aero more. I was in and out a ton and never held the position for very long after mile 50. Due to weather during peak training, most of my 90+ mile rides were on a trainer. Try to fit in more outdoor rides and work around the weather.

I was so happy to be off the bike. Went to the changing the changing tent and opted for running shorts and running tank. Sat down and changed, "lubed up", and headed out on the run

Nada

I was pretty excited about heading onto the run. People in the changing tent were screaming and getting amped up so I just used that energy heading onto the course. I decided not to use my dad's creepy sunglasses on the run course because I thought they would fall off my face. Saw wife and parents immediately coming out and they held out a pair of running sunglasses they bought in the ironman store...AWESOME! I enjoyed the run course a lot. Other than the many spectators along the way, I enjoyed running alongside the lake and the Papago Park area (other than that gigantic hill). I saw everything from people running in capes, some dominatrix cop chick demanding runners to "run faster", an athlete dressed as Wonder Woman. It was great.

The run course wasn't necessarily flat, but not difficult by any means. The first half of the marathon was relatively uneventful which is a good thing. My body felt good. My bad knee was stiff, but it didn't hurt. I just tried to keep my heart rate low and not exert too much energy on the climbs. Taking salt tabs every 40 min and switching off between coke and water (for the most part) at each aid station. First 13.1 miles: 2:03 with 1 port o potty break.

Then the wheels started coming off slowly but surely. Saw my parents and wife again by Mill Avenue bridge. A lot of people around that area and it was loud. Managed to run another mile and I could feel my stomach start taking a turn for the worst. I started the run walk thing. Stopped to talk to my wife and parents for a bit. It was 5:30 and I had 9 miles to go. They were awesome at encouraging me and telling me I had a chance to break 12 hrs. I told them I would try but they may have to be patient with me since my stomach was acting up.

When I made it to the north part of Tempe Town Lake, my stomach was shot. I was now walking a lot and using port o potty about every other aid station. Tried to take in only coke for a few miles to ease my stomach. That didnt work. Neither did chicken broth. The chicken broth seemed to have came in pretty late, like mile 21 or 22 for me.

I somehow made it to the last winding stretch. I decided to walk that last mile so I wouldn't &@#$ my pants before the finish line. Some guy 1/2 mile out from the finish told me to pick it up because I was almost there. I wanted to explain my situation and see if he thoight it would be a good idea to start running. Right before I got to the finish chute I managed a jog and it was incredible. Saw my wife and parents on the left side, heard Mike Reilly say my name, and just like that, I was an ironman. Second 13.1 miles: 2:48

I was happy/disappointed with my run. Happy because the first half exceeded expectations and my body felt great. Disappointed because I couldnt shake the GI issues in the second half while the rest of my body felt good. I'm sure it was a nutrition issue somewhere down the line. Either that or I drank too much water in Tempe Town Lake.

Got my medal, took a picture, ate pizza, and headed to hotel. Wanted to have at least a celebratory beer and try to eat something. That failed miserably and ended up puking. Decided to hit the bed and fall asleep. No post ironman glory for me to say the least


GI issues second half of run no doubt.


As much crap as WTC gets, this race is top notch. Between the insane amount of awesome volunteers, great courses, perfect weather, and one of the few true mass starts left in the country, I thought the race was great. Tempe is such a cool town and has a great vibe. I'd do this race again.

My wife was amazing through the entire process over the past year. So were my parents. I'm glad I got to share the experiemce with the.