the started with a good bagel and waffle breakfast, then we headed over to transition to make final preparations. we got there, entered transition, put my nutrition on my bike, and turned in my special needs bags.
final bathroom break, then into the wetsuit and final preparations for the swim. the pros went off 10 minutes before the age group athletes. shortly after the pro start, the national anthem was sung, then into the water.
it was a bit chilly, and very crowded, now i'm remember some of the hesitance to race ironman races. too many people in the swim. which really just boils down to me being too lazy to swim enough to be ahead of 95% of the field.
i work my way toward the front and try to stay wide to the outside, because this seems like a good option for me. the gun goes off, and slowly the salmon migration ensues. it's all but impossible to find any clear water to swim in for what seems like at least 500meters. my goggles are knocked off, i'm not having a good time. why am i doing this? i work my way to the side, sit on the ledge, adust my goggles, empty the water, reseat them, and plunge back in, once again, it's like being in a washing machine, clear water is difficult to find, people are everywhere.
goggles get knocked off again. what the ??? i roll over, try to adjust them, not much luck = another excuse to work my way over and sit on the ledge to get back into this swim. final adjustment on the goggles, and i'm back in the water. this time it's thinned slightly, and i'm able to find some clear water to swim through, much better, i start working my way back up in the pack, and find more open water. much better, this is what open water swimming is about.
i hit a decent rhythm and find myself at the turn around before long. heading back, i have a couple collisions with other swimmers, but nothing significant. now this isn't so bad. a far cry from my earlier i hate this swim portion attitude. i make the final turn, and have about 100meters to the swim exit. hooray, the bike is soon to be. final swim split 1:06:46 (1:45 min/100meters), a faster pace than either of my previous races, despite it being twice as far. i'm ok with that
out of the water, some minor difficulties getting the wetsuit off, but still ready by the time i get to the strippers, i sit down, bam, it's off. back up and running into t1, now i get to revel in the bonus of being a slower swimmer.
i grab my bike, on the way out jump on, and before long, find myself facing the wrong way, i managed to crash into the fencing lining the bike start. bars are facing one way, and the wheels the other. not a stellar start to my biking day. i stand around trying to figure out whats going on, then trying to line the bars and wheel up. mike rides up, "what happened?, take my bike".
i shake my head no, get my bars and wheels semi aligned and start heading the right direction. there's a bike check area right at the start. i pull in and have htem go through re-adjust hte bars line up the bars and the wheels, make sure everythigns shifting ok. mike is telling me take his bike and do the ride, he'll wait and take mine. i decline, and he is on his way shortly after that.
before too long, i'm on my bike, and making my way out onto the bike course. i come out pretty conservatively. i'm working my way up through the faster swimmers. after nearly 20 miles, i'm consumed by a rahter large pack. it's all but impossible to do anything but draft. i can hear the marshalls coming up, so i try to stay as far right as i can, keeping a good distance between the bike in front of me, and work my way through the pack, i'm not feeling strong enough to put out a strong effort and break off the front, so i take my time and do what i can.
after 10 minutes or so, the pack seems to have dissolved. while this was going on, apparently i passed mike in the group. but i wouldn't find this out until after the race was over. i keep a steady pace on the bike, but don't have the same feel i've been enjoying in the previous races. on top of that, i plan on riding a bit easier through the first 2 loops, and letting a bit more out for the final bike lap. i see josh at the each of the turn arounds, he's putting a little bit of time into me, but not too much. i wouldn't see mike again until the run.
1/2 way through the bike, my back is stiffening up, and i have to go to the bathroom, so i make a stop. after which i feel much better, and i make up some good time on the way back into tempe. the 3rd loop would be a bit slower, and more painful. i just don't have the extra effort i've been giving before. i've consumed a large amount of calories, and salt. i have a slight headach, so i start taking in a lot of water, as much as i can get in, and increase my salt tablets. things start to feel better, but my legs just never really came around. i pretty much blew up around 90 miles on the bike, the good news is it was mostly downhill into t2, so i didn't have to work too hard. the bad news, i saw a fair number of people go by me.
it wasn't so bad, i pull back a bit on the bike, start getting some liquid and the last of my major calories in on the bike, and pull off a stellar run, i've been running strong. i've never looked so forward ot the run as i did during the last 12 miles of arizona. final bike split: 5:16:01 (21.3 mph), a bit slower than i should have split, but things happen.
into t2 and i'm very happy to get off the bike, a quick stop in transition, on with the runners and into the bathroom.
out onto the run, my legs felt phenomenal. so i let things out a bit, i know if i want a chance at a top finish, i need to run very strong, low 3 hours, and that won't happen if i dawdle.
the run is a 3 loop course, each loop being just under 9 miles. i ran the first one very solidly, i caught josh around 5 miles, he was moving slowly, but still going. i'm not sure what my pace was, somewhere around 6:50/mile, and it felt good, every aid station was pretty much the same: sponges wring them out and cool down, 1 cup of water 2 cups of gatorade, sponges again. every other aid station i'd grab a gel for some nutrition. take tablet concoction every 3 or 4 miles. call it good.
lap 2 still feeling good, probably holding a little over 7 minute/mile pace through 1/2 way. i caught mike around 11 miles, he was struggling a bit, but would ralley and come back to pass me. around mile 15 i made another bathroom stop. then back on the run again. still feeling pretty good, then i come through finishing lap 2, and things begin to waiver. mike catches me and tries to encourage me, my legs refuse, and i'm unable to find it in me to hold his pace, i see him pull away, and try to dig for more to hold on, but it's not there.
i don't remember much of the last 8 miles, except i refused to walk, though i was shuffling pretty slowly i know i didn't walk. i knew i needed a stellar marathon, and i came on pace for a 3:10 marathon. i held that through nearly 18 miles, then it all went downhill. over the last 8 miles of the course mike ran 17 minutes and 9 seconds faster than i did. total run split: 3:40:00 (8:23 min/mile). overall time: 10:09:17. mike clocked a 9:52:08, and josh had a solid 10:21:32, 2 weeks after taking 6th place at the silverman full distance triathlon.
todays lesson: somewhere on the run course i blew my nutrition, and likely hydration. 3 cups of water every 1.x miles was insufficient on the day for the conditions. i'm still trying to remember back to the run and where i took gels, if/when i stopped getting them from the aid stations. the last 1 i remember for certain would have been around 15 miles. next time, more nutrition and more water. i laid it out there for the run. despite blowing up on the run, i refused to walk. time to start the work for canada.
photos:
me http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=361
mike: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=699
josh: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=544
results:
http://www.nasports.com/results/results.php
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