Ironman Arizona 2008: Mission Accomplished!

My second Ironman! What a great experience.

Here’s how it went...

The water was murky, but actually quite comfortable. I took the time to look around and see all the people lining the bridges and shore cheering set against the deep blue sky-- it was a real sight to behold. It was perfect.

I had been working very hard on my swim this winter and had high hopes to improve my time from IM Wisconsin 2006. The canon sounded and we were off. Whoever said the Ironman swim start is a contact sport was wrong… this whole swim was outright combat. I was hit in the face five times, kicked, pushed under, you name it, all the way to the final turn into the finish. I tried to stay clear at times but wanted to draft so I got back into the mix. I was a little worried that I had burned too much time but when I got out of the water the clock read 1:03!!!! A 10 minute swim PR!!!!! Ok, the work so far had paid off. I was stoked.

The bike… Hot and windy up hill, fast down hill. I was hoping to ride around 6 hours and finished the first loop at just under 2 hours so I was on track but knew I had a lot of work ahead of me.

Loop 2 was tough. The heat picked up (rising to 95 degrees for the afternoon), as did the wind (22 mph sustained winds). Loop 2 was slower than I wanted by about 15 minutes, yikes. Not all of it was from cycling pace (special needs, etc.) but I was possibly a little too cautious on the up hill saving my legs.

Loop 3 was much better, perhaps because I knew I had one more hard effort up and then it was a sprint to the finish. I pushed uphill in the big gear and flew downhill all the way to the finish and it felt great. Loop 3 was about 2 hours for a total time of 6:19. Overall slower than I had hoped but I was ok with it given the conditions.

I got out of T2 in the blazing heat (still 95!). My legs felt decent, but I immediately felt a sharp pain in my left knee and I was very bloated, making it hard to run. For the first 5 miles or so I had to run/walk and hope I could pull it together. At the same time I was doing everything possible to manage the heat… ice in the hat, in the back pocket of my tri jersey, everywhere. I drank plenty of cola and it really seemed to help the stomach and the energy level.

Around mile 6 I was able to run without walking and realized I was going at a pretty decent pace. I used extra time at each aid station trying to get cool. I have asked myself a few times in retrospect whether I spent too much time at the aid stations and probably could have had a faster run, but I can’t second guess the call at the time. I took the time I needed and ran as hard as I could between the aid stations.

With 10 miles left I was really hurting but I also knew that I could go sub-12 if I could just hold it together. With 6 miles left I picked up the pace again and bet that my efforts had kept me cool enough and that I could go through the aid stations much faster.

There was nothing left in the tank when I finished in 11:53, a PR by almost an hour and a half!

I am ecstatic with the result. But, more satisfying in many ways was sharing the whole experience, starting last summer, through the winter, in Training Bible Coaching Tucson training camp, and at the race, with so many friends/teammates from Multisport Madness who supported and encouraged me every step of the way! Thanks of course to my family, friends, and coach Jenny Garrison!