Ironman Arizona

Wow -- I have been neglectful for a long time.

On Saturday I drove out to Arizona to go watch the Ironman there. I figured I should witness what I'm getting myself into.

It was... intense to say the least. 2000 people starting to swim at once is pretty crazy. They were all starting in the water, too, so I can imagine how much crazier it is going to be for me starting on land and running in, surrounded by 2000 other people.

It was heartbreaking to watch the last two people trying to finish the swim and knowing that they had already missed the cut-off. They were going to be getting out of the water only to be told that was the end of their Ironman journey for the day.

The temperature got up to 95 degrees. I was sweating just standing there watching. I can only imagine how hot it was for the athletes. If it is that hot in Idaho, I think I will die.

The bike portion was not only hot, but they had an insane headwind to fight against as well. There was a 15% drop-out/DQ on the bike alone.

Watching the people run in the brutally hot sun was painful, but also awe-inspiring. Some of these people were just hauling butt on the run. They were running faster than I run when my only workout for the day is running. And then there were the people that were struggling, and in some cases struggling is an understatement.

I stood at the finish line at 13 hours, 30 minutes to wait for two friends to cross the finish line. Watching people cross that line made my heart ache and brought tears to my eyes. It also left me feeling just as confused as the athletes looked afterward. You've over-exerted yourself all day long with people cheering you on, you cross that finish line, someone puts a medal on you, hands you a t-shirt, walks with you if you need it, but then once that person leaves, you are suddenly alone. They looked lost.

Over 400 people were DQ'd throughout the day. The fastest person finished in over 8 hours. The last person to officially finish did it in about 16 hours, 55 minutes. Someone came in 6 minutes after midnight, and they gave her a medal and shirt, but I don't know if she'll have an official finish time since she missed the 17 hour cut-off.

I don't know what I've gotten myself into.

Lessons learned --

--be comfortable. I thought I'd be wearing the same outfit all day long, but after talking to lots of people, I think I'm going to change during each transition.

-- DO NOT suck on or wipe my face with the ice cold water sponges. I watched as the volunteers quickly grabbed the dropped sponges of athletes, dip them in the water again, and hand them out to the next person running by. Of course they're going to have to reuse them, but you don't think about that when you're delirious. It was pretty disgusting watching people suck on the sponges to get the cold water out of them -- not knowing that sponge was just wiping the sweat off of another participants face, or elsewhere on their body.

-- Race SMART. Pacing, nutrition, and mental focus is everything. Someone said "don't leave your brain in the water."

-- ENJOY myself as much as I can. When someone is cheering people on, making jokes at my race, I hope I can laugh or if not manage a laugh, at least smile. I hope I have the energy to thank the people who call my name out. I hope I take the time to hug my loved ones as I pass them by (despite my sweat). I hope I appreciate the opportunity and not just try to get it over with as fast as possible.

Most of all though... I hope I can walk the next day.

Training has been going well. I'm nervous that I'm not doing enough. That I'm taking it too easy on my body. I've been having lots of knee issues lately which is very worrisome.

I did the Lavaman Triathlon on April 6. Finished in 3 hours, 7 minutes, 24 seconds. 16th place in my age group. Pretty pleased with that. Did the Solvang Century on March 8. First 100 mile ride. I had some major knee pains start around mile 40 and continue into mile 80 or so when the pain in my toe overcame the pain in my knee. But I finished feeling good and going fast. I managed to get in a 15 minute run afterwards.

Other than those two things, I've just been chugging along with training. I will try to start posting my schedule again, because it is pretty insane at times.

Must get back to work for now.