This was my 3rd IMAZ. Last time I’d done the race was in 2012. Total time was 13:01:55 and overall I enjoyed the day, happy with the result, and am looking forward to building on the success in 2022.
Highs:
Comfortable and relaxed throughout the race
Maintained good form on the run
Nutrition and Hydration worked well
Lows:
Lower back cramping during the swim
Swim pace much slower than planned
Bike stowage box flew off at mile 100
Mental math on overall race time led to a barely missed sub 13:00
Ironman Arizona Goals:
I’d progressed to insulin dependent diabetes early in 2021 and race attempts in June and July did not go well.
DNF’d Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June as I was over the bike cut off time having spent nearly an hour under an aid station tent and then flatting three times between mile 90 and 100. Finally in transition, I felt light headed, was stumbling, and then out of sorts for the next 4 hours. Yes it was super hot and standing for 30 minutes on the highway waiting for bike support on the third flat did not help. However, you race the day and on that day I did not have it.
Completed Ironman 70.3 Oregon in July but had to walk miles 3 to 7 on the run due to light head and feeling like I'd hit a wall.
I’d really been struggling with nutrition for most of the year in training and on race day. I’m still learning how to manage sugar levels during exercise. Glucose readings in training and events look like the side profile view of a mountain range.
For IMAZ, goals were:
Complete the race
Feel in control and strong by maintaining nutrition
PR (Sub 12:30)
Pre-Race
Took in a lot of salt and electrolytes in the 5 days leading up to the race.
Swim (1:31:00)
Considerably slower result than planned as my training had me sub 1:20. Crazy back spasms and lower back pinching kept me in check for the 2nd half of the swim. The water was super murky and I could not see my hand in the water. Believe I swam most of the race looking forward under water and likely sighting too frequently. Just couldn’t get into a rhythm.
I kept it tight to the buoys and did not drift off course. The Garmin map shows a line darn close to what the race director drew up.
While trying to stand up and exit the water, my back locked up and felt like I’d pinched a nerve. Thanks to the volunteer that stood with me in the water for about a minute as my back released enough to be handed from volunteer to volunteer.
The aggressive urge to race was lost at that moment and I became concerned that objective #1 (complete the race) was in jeopardy.
T1 Swim to Bike (0:13:22)
Thanks to the wetsuit strippers, I was out of my suit in less than a minute. The lower back was still letting me know it was there. It is a long jog into T1 and by the time i got my gear my back felt fine.
Remembered the sunscreen on my legs, forgot the sunscreen on my neck. Off to the bike.
Bike (6:06:42)
The course is three laps, and I took the first lap on the bike course easy. The headwind and impact on mph was unexpected. Having ridden a loop of the course earlier in the week at an easy effort I had something to compare to on race day. The comparison was not good. as the pace difference on race day was 5 to 7 mph slower at a heart rate 5 beats higher. I chose to ride the incline at a steady cadence between 65 and 75. While I knew the wind was there, it was not mentally impacting my rhythm.
For the second lap, I picked up the effort and rode the bike at a mid-Z2 heart rate. Took a break for 6 minutes at the special needs station and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
On the third lap, I pushed a bit harder but had a set back around mile 100. The bike stowage box above my rear wheel rattled off, hit the tire and then flew across the road. At that moment I knew something had gone flying but I could not figure it out through visual inspection. About 6 miles down the road my brain figured it out and rode the last 6 miles with a bit more caution.
Overall on the bike:
Nutrition went according to plan with nearly 32 oz of water, 2 gels and a half sandwich every hour.
Should have run 10 psi lower on the tires as the roads were much more bumpy than I experienced in the test ride.
T2 Bike To Run (0:8:33)
My socks were inside out which required a minute or so to correct as I ran with Injini socks to help with Morton's neuroma.
Shoes on, hydration belt in place. On to the run course
Run (5:02:17)
On the run, my focus was to be smooth and run with form. I walked the aid stations and hills. Consistent mile splits of 11:15 to 12:30 per mile with running pace closer to 10:15 per mile. The hard packed dirt and concrete course was a great fit for the super squishy Nike Zoomx Vaporfly.
This is a 3 lap run course. By lap 3 the course was fairly crowded with walkers who were often side by side and grouped 2 to 3 deep. This required pace surges to navigate through for the final 8 miles.
Post Race
Overall time was 13:01:55 and I enjoyed the day. I had a lot more effort and energy that could have been tapped. At the same time that could have gone badly and resulted in a blow up. I'm happy with the result and am looking forward to building on this completion for 2022.
A few take-aways for next year:
- Need a Tri Suit with larger back pockets.
- Need to replace front hydration system as liquids were sloshing out the top
- Need a better raceday pump. The Lezyne with the digital display is unreadable in low light. Holding a phone by mouth and trying to pump tires is not fun.
