Tuesday, April 17, 2007
IMAZ 07 race report
IMAZ 07
total time was 11:27:47 (overall rank was 335 out of 2066 finishers and 37 out of 265 in my age group). not bad for a 1st timer!!!!
this was a great experience for my first ironman and it will not be my last. i am already contemplating which one to do next year. and amber is not a happy camper!!!!!!!
the day started with the normal bagel, peanut butter, and honey bfast with an apple on the side. and dont forget the coffee. we stayed at my uncles place and they have a coffee maker that takes 1 push of the button to produce a freshly ground cup of coffee in 30 secs. it was the best part of waking up with starbucks in my belly!!!!!!!
race day at the event was crazy. i got to the race about 1hr prior to close of transition. the night b4 we had to turn in our bike and our swim to bike and bike to run bags in. when i arrived i had a few items i forgot to put in my bags so i took car of that and then i preppd my bike. i then drank a sports drink and dropped off my special needs bags. after that i put on the wetsuit and dropped off my dry clothes bag. it was then off to the swim start.
I got in the water about 10min prior to start. after treading water during the pep talk and the national anthem it was go time. i positioned my self near the front and close to the center buoy to avoid extra swimming. once the cannon went off it was crazy. i took my time easing in as people started slow. once i got in a groove it felt good. i exclusively breathed on 1 side and had no issues. after the turnaround i started to notice my hammys were getting tight for kicking. 
T1 was long. i took my time getting the suit off b/c i was worried about the hammys. then there was a long run to get your bag and then get into the tent. after i got in the tent i took my time changing which lead to a 8:51 tran time.
total time was 11:27:47 (overall rank was 335 out of 2066 finishers and 37 out of 265 in my age group). not bad for a 1st timer!!!!
this was a great experience for my first ironman and it will not be my last. i am already contemplating which one to do next year. and amber is not a happy camper!!!!!!!
the day started with the normal bagel, peanut butter, and honey bfast with an apple on the side. and dont forget the coffee. we stayed at my uncles place and they have a coffee maker that takes 1 push of the button to produce a freshly ground cup of coffee in 30 secs. it was the best part of waking up with starbucks in my belly!!!!!!!
race day at the event was crazy. i got to the race about 1hr prior to close of transition. the night b4 we had to turn in our bike and our swim to bike and bike to run bags in. when i arrived i had a few items i forgot to put in my bags so i took car of that and then i preppd my bike. i then drank a sports drink and dropped off my special needs bags. after that i put on the wetsuit and dropped off my dry clothes bag. it was then off to the swim start.
I got in the water about 10min prior to start. after treading water during the pep talk and the national anthem it was go time. i positioned my self near the front and close to the center buoy to avoid extra swimming. once the cannon went off it was crazy. i took my time easing in as people started slow. once i got in a groove it felt good. i exclusively breathed on 1 side and had no issues. after the turnaround i started to notice my hammys were getting tight for kicking. 
there were a few times it felt like they might lock up but i kept kicking. this was my first swim where the field never spread out. i swam in a tight group the entire time and i was always touching feet while people were hitting my feet at the same time. i felt like i had a great swim but i was definitely weak as i tried to get out of the water. total swim was 1:02:12 (227 overall and 37 in age group)
T1 was long. i took my time getting the suit off b/c i was worried about the hammys. then there was a long run to get your bag and then get into the tent. after i got in the tent i took my time changing which lead to a 8:51 tran time.
The bike was nice during the first loop but once the 2nd loop hit the wind was tough. we had crosswinds that were unpredictable and a nasty headwind going downhill which made you feel like you werent going anywhere and made drinking and eating very tough. i did a good job with nutrition and ate all the food i had planned for the bike (3 bottles of infinit condensed into 2, 2 powerbars, 7 gels and 1.5 bananas). i did take a piss break on the 2nd and 3rd loops and took some time at the special needs drop. i probably lost 12 to 15min total. i took the 1st loop easy and piced up the pace by the 2nd. on the 3rd lap i really pushed the uphill with the wind and past tons of people. i was pleased with the bike effort but feel i lost some leg strength after fighting the wind. i was also dealing with crotch rot from the seat eating away at the sea on my speedo. i brought little packets of chamois butter to apply thru out the ride. it ws really cool to watch the pros go by in the opposite direction the entire bike leg. total bike was 5:46:51 (327 overall and 60 in age group).
T2 was much like the first with lots of time wasted changing gear. the cool thing about T2 was biking thru the crowd up to the trans tent. the chute was about 150yards on people right on top of you cheering. it was a great feeling. the shitty part was running in your cleats after biking 112 miles. i also lost time b/c i hit the pisser b4 leaving T2.
The run started great. i was running loose and i had no issues with the bike to run. once about mile 10 hit i started to run out of gas slowly. i kept fueling but my running legs werent there anymore. the stride got slower and i started walking thru aid stations. i also started hoarding food at the aid stations which was making me bloated at times. i found the best thing i was getting at the aid stations was sponges and cups of ice b/c they lasted me to the next aid station. my injury coming into this race was a strained muscle in my right shin but it never botherd me during the race.
T2 was much like the first with lots of time wasted changing gear. the cool thing about T2 was biking thru the crowd up to the trans tent. the chute was about 150yards on people right on top of you cheering. it was a great feeling. the shitty part was running in your cleats after biking 112 miles. i also lost time b/c i hit the pisser b4 leaving T2.
The run started great. i was running loose and i had no issues with the bike to run. once about mile 10 hit i started to run out of gas slowly. i kept fueling but my running legs werent there anymore. the stride got slower and i started walking thru aid stations. i also started hoarding food at the aid stations which was making me bloated at times. i found the best thing i was getting at the aid stations was sponges and cups of ice b/c they lasted me to the next aid station. my injury coming into this race was a strained muscle in my right shin but it never botherd me during the race.
i did however get a tender spot in my right soleus by mile 16 and it lasted thru out the race. i brought gels with me for the run but after 1 taste of the them i knew they werent going to work so i resorted to gatorade, oranges, grapes, bananas, cookies and preztels at the aid stations to survive. i probably wont use my fuel belt from now on as it was more of a bother than a help during the run. i didnt use much on it and it chewed up my hip from running. i was really amazed by the amount of people walking durng the run. i did my best to keep the legs churning!!! i even found the strength to run tough the last mile and really finish strong!!! total run was 4:22:44 (335 overall and 69 in age group).coming down the final chute into the finish was a overwhelming feeling. you hear mike reilly calling your name and people are in the stands going nuts. i was in aw of the moment. and when i stopped and the medal was put around my neck, the legs almost gave out.
This was a great experience the the race was the best i have been to. the hype was worth it, the fan support was unbelieveable and the race/volunteer support was 2nd to none. during the run it really felt good to see the pros out there running with you. i had tim deboom come up on me during the run with heather gollnick right behind him and then later katja shumacher went by me. i also past peter reid as he was sitting in the grass by himself watching the run unfold for the pros. i felt like i gave it everything i had and i am truly pleased with my result. they say your actual finish time will be 1 to 2hrs slower than you predict. i predicted 10 to 10.5 hrs and it took 11.5hrs. i guess the experts know what they are talking about. i will relish this experience and improve on my performance at my next IM next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to my family for the support over the last 5months to do this event. Amber was there every step of the way to help shoulder the load of taking care of Carson while i trained. I am so grateful to her and so happy both of them were there in AZ to share this experience. I was also glad my parents and brother kelly could also be there. You can never have too much support at a race. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was a great experience the the race was the best i have been to. the hype was worth it, the fan support was unbelieveable and the race/volunteer support was 2nd to none. during the run it really felt good to see the pros out there running with you. i had tim deboom come up on me during the run with heather gollnick right behind him and then later katja shumacher went by me. i also past peter reid as he was sitting in the grass by himself watching the run unfold for the pros. i felt like i gave it everything i had and i am truly pleased with my result. they say your actual finish time will be 1 to 2hrs slower than you predict. i predicted 10 to 10.5 hrs and it took 11.5hrs. i guess the experts know what they are talking about. i will relish this experience and improve on my performance at my next IM next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thanks to my family for the support over the last 5months to do this event. Amber was there every step of the way to help shoulder the load of taking care of Carson while i trained. I am so grateful to her and so happy both of them were there in AZ to share this experience. I was also glad my parents and brother kelly could also be there. You can never have too much support at a race. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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