IMAZ Photos

Almost two months after Ironman Arizona and I am posting some pictures from the race, courtesy of ASI Photo.

I was freezing, but done swimming, you would think I would be smiling.

Just starting out on the bike, adjusting my watch.

I think this is the end of the first loop....two to go.

The hill on the first loop of the course, I was feeling OK.

Getting my arm warmers on; getting cold out.

That same hill on lap two...not feeling so good.



Finally DONE!!!



Smiling because I am done.

The smile would evaporate about 10 - 15 minutes later when I got to the finishers tent.  I felt like I was hit by a Mack truck.

Ten Days Later

It has been ten days since I finished my Ironman adventure and truth is I really don't feel any different having completed it.  I'm not saying that I expected to turn into some sort of superhero or for the achievement to bring me to some higher level of enlightenment.  I guess I thought that it would have had a bigger impact on me than it has. 

Once I crossed the finish line I was happy, really happy, but I didn't have that moment that I experienced when I've finished marathons.  The one where I get really emotional and within a split second I see everything that got me to that point and a surge of emotion washes over me leaving me sobbing like a fool.  After Ironman Arizona, I was psyched, elated, and excited to spend the time with my family and to talk about it all with them, but I never shed a tear.

Now as I sit here typing I'm still not sure what I should feel.  I am proud of what I achieved, heck everyone tells me that a 12:07:04 for a "first" Ironman is great.  I think it is pretty great too, but the competitor in me isn't content with that time, I know that I can do better and that I should have done better (and that's not because Skip beat me).  Maybe that's what is driving my inability to accept that it is all over, maybe I don't consider the journey complete yet.  I should state here right now, in case my wonderful and amazing wife happens to read this (which she doesn't do all that often), I have absolutely no intentions of doing an Ironman in 2011.  She made so many sacrifices for me over the past year that it would be completely and utterly selfish of me to ask her to do it again so soon after. 

I guess I will just have to keep the fire burning inside and somewhere down the road, when the time is right, get back out there and try to beat that 12:07:04.  It might be in 2012 or it might be in 2020, who knows, but I don't think I am done with this Ironman thing just yet.

Training
I have finally gotten back in to training  this week.  I went out for an easy 4 miles on Tuesday with my friend Bill.  I felt great, like I could have gone faster and farther.  With that said, on my way home from work, my body sternly told me that it wasn't quite ready for such activity just yet.  My lower back was really sore and on the verge of full on spasms.  Yesterday I felt better and did 3.5 miles with Chris, this time at a bit of a slower pace in a nice rain storm.  My back was a little sore, but not debilitating.  I'm not going to run today, but I might try a short swim after work if time permits.  I can't believe that I haven't been in the water in a week and a half (since IMAZ in Tempe Town Lake).

Ciao!

IMAZ - Post-Race

It’s been six days since I finished Ironman Arizona. It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that I finally had my first emotional moment, the moment at which I think I finally understood everything that had occurred on Sunday, November 21st. Three of my friends from work invited me out for lunch. I walked down to Chris’s office and knocked on his door. He slowly turned around, stood up, walked over to me, shook my hand and gave me a hug, not saying a word. It was at that exact moment that it all hit me, like a tsunami. Holy crap, I just completed an Ironman. I was able to keep it together, but it was tough. Through the entire lunch I could have broken down and cried at any moment. I was a mess. On my drive home from work that day I started to cry in my car, overcome with so much emotion that I had suppressed over the previous few days.

I have thought about why this has happened and I keep coming up to the same answer. I was just so focused on the task in front of me that I just blocked everything out. There were times on the bike and run where I was a bit emotional after seeing my family but I refocused and made sure I was concentrating on the task. Even as I crossed the finish line I thought I would have broken down and cried, but I didn’t. I was more happy to be done than anything, actually wishing that I had taken my time and soaked it all in.

So as I sit her a week after, I can say that my Ironman experience was an amazing one, but I kind of wish that I enjoyed it more. Granted I did enjoy the bike, trying to joke and converse briefly with the other competitors as we pounded our way through the wind and rain. When I got to the run, it was much lonelier than I expected. There wasn’t any conversation or joking, everyone (me included) was in survival mode and wanted to just finish. That last 100 meters, I wish I would have taken my time and found my family and truly shared the moment with them.

How I am Physically

• Monday - Sore but was busy running around getting my bike ready to be shipped, buying too much at the Ironman Store, packing for my flight home and then flying home.
• Tuesday - Back at work and really sore and tired.  I only had 4.5 hours of sleep and I paid for it.
• Wednesday - My legs felt a lot better but I still wasn't right
• Thursday - The first day that I felt no pain.  I played a round of golf, walked the course.  I was sore afterwards.
• Friday - Felt fine wanted to go running but didn't have time.
• Saturday - Felt great, went out for an 18 minute run with my dog.  I am excited to start training again, albeit on a lesser scale.

My Performance
I am very happy with my performance, despite not meeting my “B” Goal of under 12 hours. Considering the variable conditions on the bike, I am OK with the 5:55:30. I think if the wind had stayed constant on the last loop of the bike I could have cut about ten minutes off of my bike time and saved a bit of energy in the process. Ideally that would have translated into a bit more strength on the run and a better run time. As for the swim, I would have liked to of been closer to 1:10:00, but I was just in a bad place and the water was really cold. To be honest, I was happy to of survived the swim and gotten out of the water feeling as fresh as I did. I am good with all of my splits and my overall result.

My Next Ironman
If you had asked me a week before the race if I would want to do one again in a year or two, deep down I would have said yes. I didn’t tell anyone this, I kept it to myself. Now a week later, I ask myself the same question and the answer is different and more complicated. Do I want to do another one? Yes, I do. Do I want to do it next year? No, I want to spend time doing the things I sacrificed over the past year. I want to dedicate myself more to my wife and children. I want to dedicate myself to work and to finding a new job. I want to go mountain biking, I want to play soccer, I want to play golf, I want to do all of the things I gave up in order to concentrate on Ironman training. I want to have fun and not be so tied to a training schedule.

So when will I do another Ironman? I think I will; I am a competitor and I really want to better my time. It might be in two years or it might be in ten years. I just don’t know right now. I want to be there for my family right now and for my daughters as they get more involved in sports and other activities, just as my parents were there for me when I was growing up. When I think the time is right I will talk it over with my wife and children and we will make the decision together.

Final Thoughts
My Ironman experience wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have such amazing support. My wife was more than fantastic, she made it all possible. My daughters were nothing short of spectacular with their hugs and kisses and never making me feel guilty about not being around. My parents were always inquiring about how I was feeling and telling me how proud they were of me. On race day I had a huge contingent of family there that gave me a boost when I needed it most. I will never underestimate the influence that my family and friends had on my Ironman journey. I am very lucky.

IMAZ - T2 & The Run

“Pee2”...err T2
A volunteer immediately grabbed my bike from me and I was handed my run bag (amazing), all without missing a beat. I jogged over to the men’s changing tent and immediately hit my faithful urinal tent to relieve myself. As was the case in T1, I peed for what seemed like an eternity, probably a good two minutes. After I was done I ran out, grabbed a seat and began to change into my running gear. Honestly, it went so fast, I thought I had missed something. Helmet off, running shoes on, visor on, sunglasses back on, fuel belt on and off I went. I declined the sun block this time…I don’t think the girls noticed (shucks!). T2 time: 3:25

The Run
The first mile was a blur, it went very quickly and in hindsight probably too quickly. My first mile was done in 8:36. The next three miles were all done in less than 9:00/mile pace; much faster that I really wanted to go and despite my best efforts I wasn’t able to slow down enough. It was at this point that I thought to myself that a four marathon was a distinct possibility. My legs felt good, my breathing was even, nutrition seemed to be spot on; I was ready. Heck, even as I went past the Ford Motivation sign, I saw my number and name pop up with a message that read, “Good Job Jamie”…my wife told me that it was my brother-in-law Jeff that did that (Thanks Jeff!!!). Through eight miles, there was only had one real bad mile, mile 6 was 9:52, there was a bit of a hill which slowed me down considerably. I just chalked it up to a need to go a bit slower, to take it easy and past myself for the rest of the run. The next mile was a bit downhill and then flat, and I managed to run it in 9:15.

Mile nine is where everything started to drop off considerably. It was run west along the lake and right past the finish line where the crowds were thick and I could hear Mike Reilly announcing Ironmen every so often. It is also where you reach a fork in the road with two signs, the one on the left read, “To the Finish” with an arrow pointing to head left and the one on the right reads, “For Lap 1, Lap2, and Lap 3” with an arrow pointing straight ahead. I had two more laps to go and I was not looking forward to it.

With each mile my splits got slower and slower and my stomach began to feel worse and worse. I could no longer eat Clif Shot Bloks as they were making my teeth hurt and they didn’t feel so good when they reached my stomach. Gatorade was having the same effect on me, just not a good thing. I started to feel bloated and sick, then I would pass some gas and I would feel so much better. This went on for about two or three miles. I struggled to think of a solution. It was then that I recalled an article or a passage in a book that suggested not taking anything “solid”, i.e. Shot Bloks, on the run of an Ironman as they are more difficult to digest. I began to take Powerbar Gel (Vanilla) and switched from Gatorade to Coke. Viola! That fixed me, no more gas or uncomfortability.

So, it was mile 10 and my stomach was good. A four hour marathon was not a possibility anymore, but if I could run a 4:15 marathon I would easily finish in under 12 hours. That was my new goal…if only I could have found a way to convince my legs of this new plan. I think they had decided that they were OK with just taking their time sauntering to the finish line. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get them to go any faster than they were. What surprised me most was that even thought I felt like I was working so hard my heart rate was right at the top of Zone 1/bottom of Zone 2. I was just running out of fuel I guess.

Lap two was a struggle and I was bummed that I hadn’t seen my family at all during the entire run. As I came over the Mill Rd. Bridge I hear someone yell “Jamie”, but I didn’t think anything of it, I had passed a Jamie on the bike and there had to be other Jamie’s doing the race. The course wraps back around transition at this point and as I was running down the grassy path I saw them, my family was lined up along the fences and they were yelling crazily for me. Even thought I felt like absolute crap, I was happy to see them. I felt like it had been hours since I last saw them on the bike course…actually it had been hours, I guess I was spoiled earlier on during the bike.

After seeing them I hit my run special needs bag and grabbed my arm warmers since it was getting cooler out. This was about midway through the run and it was by far my slowest mile to that point (11:40). The remainder of the lap is a bit of a blur. I know that there was a lot of walking, a lot of shuffling and not a lot of “running”. My quads were killing me and I just couldn’t get them to move as fast as I wanted them to. Despite how much I had slowed I still though a 4:20 marathon was in the cards, until I passed by that dang fork in the road again and I kind of hit the wall.

The last and final lap was tough. It was tough because at this point I knew where every single turn was, where each aid station was, where the uphills were and the downhills. There were no surprises left. I tried to convince myself that I could run the remaining 8.8 or so miles without walking. That didn’t last very long. At the 20 mile mark I told myself that I could run that last 10K, nope, just didn’t happen. That entire last lap I did everything mentally that I could think of to get my ass in gear but it just didn’t work.

With four miles left it started to rain again, SERIOUSLY?! I just laughed and made my way up the last hill. It probably wasn’t until I had about two miles left that I had a great moment and it came in the form a little farting Hispanic male as I crossed over the Rural Rd. Bridge. Every step he took he let one slip and it was like this over the entire length of the bridge. I was hysterical and it was exactly what I needed to finish. I wasn’t able to put the pedal to the metal, but I picked up the pace a bit and was psyched to be running along the lake again. The finish was so close.

I could see the Mill Rd. Bridge in the distance and I knew once I hit that I was there. All I wanted was to be done at that point, I picked up the pace and passed a few people. I reached the bridge and I could hear the crowds, I could see the crowds, and at long last I could see that sign that signaled it was my turn to go to the left and finish. As I made my way along that last 300 – 400 meters a young girl passes me and then a guy passed me…I didn’t care, let them go ahead and have their moment. Then as I got closer and the noise and lights grew, I could feel my feet move faster and faster. I passed the guy, but not because I wanted to, it was because I couldn’t slow down. I had thought over the last ten miles what I was going to do when I finished but any ideas went right out the window once I saw the finish line. I was in the final stretch; I could see the end. I started to clap and then just started punching the air. As I approached the finish line I put both hands into the air as though I had just won the race. I was ecstatic! I had finished my first Ironman and then I heard it, the one thing that every Ironman finisher longs to hear,

“Jamie Watson from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”

Run Stats: 4:32:00

And like that it was over, 12 hours, 7 minutes and 4 seconds.

12:07:04

I thought that I would cry when I finished. I thought that when I saw my family I would be a ball of tears. I thought that I would be an emotional mess having realized what I had accomplished. I was definitely out of it, but more than anything I was happy to be done. There were no tears, but rather a lot of smiles when I saw my wife and kids, my parents, my sister and her family. I was just so happy to see everyone and to be done with the race.

IMAZ - The Bike

1st Loop
I was so happy to be on my bike. I must have had the biggest smile on my face, just elated to pedaling away with 1/3rd of my Ironman done. About 300 yards into the bike, riding out of race central I got a surprise, there to my right side was my brother-in-law Jeff and my niece Georgia. Then I saw my wife and daughters, cheering madly for me, followed by the rest of my support crew: my parents, sister, other niece and nephew, and Aunt’s and Uncle’s. I got teary eyed, I was so overcome by emotion, finally seeing my family and hearing them screaming for me. I ended up riding that emotion for the first ten miles; it just flew by so quickly.

I did encounter one problem early on in the bike. While I was reaching for a sleeve of Shot Bloks I accidentally dropped a full sleeve from my rear pocket. Initially I thought it was the apple pie I had packed but found out later on that it was in fact necessary fuel. DAMN!!!

The first loop on the bike was pretty uneventful; I was going at a pretty good pace, and I felt really good. There was a cross wind for most of the ride out, coming from the southeast, which translated to a very mild push up the Beeline Highway. Before I knew anything I was up to Gilbert Rd. and I was passing people at a regular rate, while being passed by only a few. My father had mentioned that he was going to try and make it up there to see me on my way north, but no family members were there. It didn’t faze me, I just kept going. It was awesome to see the pros go flying by on the other side of the road; I did my best to scream for Jordan Rapp, Chris Lieto, and Chrissie Wellington, although my shouts weren’t all that boisterous.

The “hill” to the turnaround was inconsequential and I quickly looked to fly back down to Tempe. Well, unfortunately that wasn’t going to be since the wind which helped me up the Beeline was now going to restrict my progress back to town. I was able to maintain a solid 20 – 21 MPH on the downhill, into the wind, quite less than the much talked about 27 – 30MPH that was advertised. No worries, I just did my best to keep my heart rate low and my cadence up.

As I approached Gilbert Rd. again I looked to my left and saw a group of people crossing the street….it was my family! By some stroke of luck, they had just arrived at the intersection as I was passing by. I think I saw my Aunt Dot (Super Aunt Dot to my daughters) first and then my wife and daughters. I was so great to see them and it put a perma-grin on my face for the next 30 minutes.

Soon after I passed my family, I reached another iamtri.com friend, Alexis. I chatted with her for a minute or two as we rode and she told me that the wind would probably change on later on. She was really confused about the weather so far that day; it was definitely not typical of Arizona. It was time for me to move on, so I told her good luck and I rode on. The rest of that loop wasn’t too bad, although the wind was increasing a bit and was in my face for most of the last 8 – 10 miles. I concentrated on taking on fluids (Gatorade) and fuel (Clif Shot Bloks). I was constantly drinking and every 30 minutes I was eating three Bloks.

2nd Loop
The start of the second loop was insane, there were people everywhere screaming and cheering everyone on. It was a solid two or three miles of spirit-raising, ego-boosting, adrenaline-pumping, pure energy. I felt like a superstar, AWESOME!!!

Back to normal then a few miles later, still passing lots of people, not much in the way of crowds, but I was feeling great. At one turn I hear someone call out my name, it was my Uncle Michael who had driven in from California. I gave him a shout and a wave…man was I lucky. A few miles up the road I saw my family again, I remember my wife screaming, “You look great!” Again, I was so lucky.

It was around midway through my second lap that I started to feel the need to pee again. I heard about people peeing on their bikes and I thought, “Why not?” Well, easier said than done. I just couldn’t do it; I mean I physically couldn’t do it. I tried and tried but it just wasn’t happening…DANG! After the turn around at the top of the Beeline I was going to stop but didn’t. That meant I would have to wait for the halfway point of the race. It was at this point that the Gods decided to play a cruel joke on all of us racing that day. It started to rain…it rained during Ironman Arizona in the middle of the Sonora Desert. Are you kidding me? It lasted for about 15 minutes and it wasn’t a downpour, but it did add to the craziness of the race.

Finally, I reached Gilbert Rd and a bathroom. I had to wait for someone ahead of me (add 2 minutes which felt like 20), then I went (add 2 minutes which felt like 20), and finally got out of there. Oops, time to stop by “Special Needs” and refill all of my bottles. Another break that felt like forever but probably only took two or three minutes. Finally I was on my way and about halfway done.

I checked my watch and noticed that it said I was in “T2”…that wasn’t right. I must have hit the lap button my mistake while at Special Needs. Ugh, I had to reset the “Multisport” mode, which wasn’t necessarily a big problem because I was able to sync up my heart rate monitor. The one bad thing was that I had to figure out about how much farther I had left on the bike since my watch now read mile zero. I didn’t let it affect me, instead I just kept riding and if anything it gave me something to think about for the remaining 40 miles or so.

I think I saw my family again around this point which was a total shock. I thought they were going to go to some funplex place or something like that. It will probably sound redundant but after seeing them, well it was like getting a shot of adrenaline. I also think it started to rain again after seeing them which was not really comical anymore; it was getting annoying and making the roads a bit slick. The winds were still steady and strong making the end of loop number two tough. The crowds were undeterred though and kept screaming for all of us athletes.

3rd Loop
Alright 38 miles to go and then it would be time for the run. The wind was picking up and I was really flying heading out of Tempe. Things were going well, I was hydrated and my energy was high as I continued to pass people all the way up the Beeline Highway. At the far turnaround I could feel that wind had changed and this time it was coming right at us and it was howling. The last 15 miles or so were going to be tough so I went to an easier gear and raised my cadence. I just plugged along, continuing to drink Gatorade and down Clif Shot Bloks (which at this point were making my teeth hurt….all of the sugar I suppose). About ten miles from the end of the bike I saw my family for the final time and I recall looking right at my wife who was holding my youngest and saying, “What is up with the wind?” Just then I made a right turn, leaving everyone behind, and before me looked like a hurricane. The wind immediately picked up, tumble weeds were blowing across the road and visibility dropped considerably. Then it hit me, the rain, the sand….the wind; I went from ~18 MPH down to 10 MPH in an instant. I had to fight through this for the next three or four miles, just trying to get finished with this damn bike.

Just as I was about to go over Tempe Town Lake and ride the final two miles or so the wind shifted again, this time blowing from the west. This was not a good thing, I would have to ride the last few miles directly into the wind….what a way to wrap up a 112 mile bike ride. The crowds were still pumping and I was able to finish with a smile on my face, mainly because I was happy to get off of that damn bike.

I am certain that if the weather hadn’t been so crazy I could have ridden close to a 5:30:00 leg. I felt like I was just working so hard at the end of the ride and pretty much every time I was close to the lake. I hoped that it wouldn’t affect me on the run. Final Bike time: 5:55:15, 18.92MPH

IMAZ - "Pee1"...err T1

As I write everything down from my race I am realizing that I have a lot to say, so I am going to be braking this down in to much easier to digest segments.  Unfortunately my time in T1 is next and it deserves a post of its own, after all I was there for over 13 minutes.  

First thoughts about T1, I have thought about and rethought about what the heck I was doing during T1 but it doesn’t add up. My time would lead one to believe that I took a nap or maybe had a food massage prior to the run. Hopefully by writing everything down I will be able to figure where the time went.

Finally I am on solid ground and I step on the timing mat, thus starting my T1 experience. The first thing I do is unzip my wetsuit down to my waist and then I seek out a wetsuit stripper. I find one, next thing I know I am on my back and whoosh! my wetsuit is off, then I am standing with wetsuit in my arms and I am running/shuffling to get my T1 bag.

I followed the masses, around the change tent to the piles of white bags. A volunteer yells out my number and there, almost magically in my hand is my T1 bag (amazing how efficient the process is).  I continue toward the change tent and am then my bladder reminds of how badly I have to pee.  I see a port-a-pottie and I head directly for it, despite the moderate line, which I assume I have to wait in. I stood there for about two minutes before I realized directly to my right was a urinal tent for men. SO STUPID!!!  I head in there and proceed to pee for the next two to three minutes, frankly I am still amazed at how long I was standing there going. I think that I wasted a minimum of six minutes either waiting to pee or actually peeing.  On a positive note, I did have a nice brief conversation with a fellow athlete as we both raced to empty our extremely full bladders.

Finally done with "my business", I headed into the change tent and tried to focus on getting my cycling gear on, but it was slow going, I just couldn’t concentrate. I wasn’t able to find an open chair so I was just stood there trying to get my socks and shoes on, sunglasses and helmet, arm warmers, etc.  Also, I had to jam all of my Clif Shot Bloks into my jersey, along with my inhaler (should I need it). I should mention also that I was still freezing from the swim and the temperature in the tent was helping to warm me up, so subconsciously I guess I was in no hurry to exit.  Finally I was geared up and made my way out of the tent…where I was immediately asked if I wanted sun block by some nice young girls. I said yes and was told, with a few giggles, “We’ll put sun block where ever you want it.”  A 39 year old man, husband and father of two interprets this as flirting.  In reality, the 18 year old girls are most likely trying to make the best out of a pretty disgusting job.

I run the bike rack maze to find my bike in row “16”, which I had wrote on my forearm.  Of course a volunteer tells me “this row, row 18”, where I had to correct him and say, “No, I’m in Row 16!”. Ugh, my bike was all the way at the end of the row which added to my time. Finally I grabbed my ride, ran her out of the bike pen, and found the mount line.  The ride was about to begin and my coffee break like transition was finally over.  T1 Time: 13:06

IMAZ - Pre-Race & The Swim

Waking Up
It was 3:15 and I was lying in bed looking up at the ceiling, watching the ceiling fan spin around and around. I closed my eyes and the next thing I heard was my alarm going off; it was 4:00AM and my day was about to start. I took a deep breath, climbed out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to get dressed (my pseudo early-AM dressing room). Once dressed, I went into the kitchen and had a bowl of cereal, a banana and a bottle of Gatorade. I sat there not really thinking about anything in particular, just that I needed to make sure I ate breakfast. I did worry that I might eat too little or too much. Around 4:30AM my father came in, he would be driving me to the start, and asked me if I was ready. I didn’t really have an answer, except to say that I better be.

At 4:50AM we were on the way to Tempe and surprisingly I felt very calm and at ease. My father and I talked about what he would be doing after dropping me off and how he and the rest of my family were planning to attack the bike and run course to try and see me. The ride went far too quickly for me, I wish that I could have spend a bit more time talking with my Dad. Before I left him, he gave me a big hug and told me how proud he was of my….it meant the world to me. And with that we said goodbye and I walked into the Ironman Village, ready to begin my journey.

Pre-Race

It was 5:15AM and I still had to take care of the last minute things that come with doing a race this size. First thing was to load my bike with all of my liquid fuel and make sure my tires were pumped up. Next was to drop off my “Special Needs” bags in their respective places. I really didn’t have all that much in the bags, just some extra Gatorade, Clif Shot Bloks, arm warmers (i.e. soccer socks with the toes cut off) and emergency gear (extra CO2 cartridges in the bike bag). Once that was all done I had my body marking done which took all of 30 seconds (Note: Earlier in the week body marking was being done in the Village and participants were waiting 15 – 30 minutes to get it done…crazy). Of course there were the multiple bathroom visits that I and the rest of the athletes had to deal with, the result of constant hydrating and nerves I suppose.

Once all of that was done, I was just chilling out next to my bike soaking up the atmosphere.  I then realized that I forgot to tell my father one last thing. I quickly called him up and wished him a Happy Birthday, yes Ironman Arizona just happened to take place on his birthday this year. After the call I decided to get all Body-Glide’d up and put on my wetsuit, it was around 6:30AM and we were a mere 30 minutes away from the start.

The next 30 minutes went by in a flash. I felt like one minute I was zipping up my wetsuit and the next I was standing on the edge of Tempe Town Lake ready to drop into the water like a penguin dropping off of an ice shelf. I did manage to run into an iamtri.com friend, Rich. He probably didn’t know it at the time, but the five minute conversation we had really helped take my mind of everything, alleviating a lot of my nervousness. Then the time came to jump into the water, the frigid 61F water. I took a deep breath and in I went. Surprisingly, it felt a lot better than the day before; maybe it was the fact that I coated my arms, cheeks and face with Body Glide. I made my way to the swim start and waited patiently for the cannon to start us off. There was one slight issue…I forgot to remove my wedding band and I didn’t know what to do with it. It was too late to try and jam it into my tri shorts and I worried if I put it into my swim cap I might forget about it. I kept it on my finger and would just have to make sure I didn’t lose it.

The Swim
BOOM! The cannon sounded and we were off. Initially it was a bit crowded and I feared that I was a bit too far forward as I was getting swum over a bit. After about five minutes everything seemed to settle down a bit and I actually had some clear water to swim in. The next 1,000m or so was smooth sailing aside from the occasional bump or brush with a fellow swimmer. I was feeling confident and strong. I would occasional take my left thumb and make sure my ring was still on my finger…it was a nice reminder of my wife as I pressed forward.

The swim got bad right as we approached the Rural Avenue Bridge. There was a buoy on the other side of it and everyone was making a beeline for it, basically converging to the same spot in the lake. It was hear that the hay makers began to fly and the body slams began (and not by me). Repeatedly I was punched in the right shoulder and in the back of the head, I concentrated on not getting held under the water. Someone swam in front of me and I received a swift kick just to the right of my nose. The Ironman beatings had begun and I was the one receiving the punishment. This would last until the first turn buoy, about 300m in total. Once I made the turn, I stayed right and avoided all contact until the end of the swim. Did I swim a little farther than I should have? Probably. Did I avoid punches and kicks to the face? Oh yeah. Was my time slower than I wanted? Definitely, but I was OK with that.

Once under the Mill Avenue Bridge I could feel the adrenaline surge within me, I could hear the announcer, I could see my way out of the water. I swam for the stairs; I reached up and climbed out of Tempe Town Lake. I was on dry land and happy to be done with the first part of my Ironman.  Last thing about the swim, I opted to use wax ear plugs for the swim.  I had read that it can help you with your balance once you get out of the water....and you know what, they were right, I felt great.  A great tip for any triathlon in the future!

Total Swim Time: 1:23:15 (2:11/100m)
1,405th place overall
227th Age Group

The Recap Begins - Friday & Saturday

It is Wednesday morning and I am still hurting.  Rather than try to cram the past few days into one post I am going to split it up into digestible amounts of information.  In this first post I am going to recap Friday and Saturday and then over the next few days talk about each segment of the race in separate posts.  There is just too much that went on and I am just now starting to remember everything.  I am probably going to write way too much, but in this case I just need to write it all down.

Friday

The Elbow – I went to the ART (Active Release Techniques) tent in Ironman Village and had them look over my sore and swollen elbow. The “doc” worked on it for about 15 minutes, threw some “Rock Tape” on it and I was good to go. While I was doing that, my family was in the Ironman Store checking out all of the goodies they had available.  (the picture on the right is of an empty Ironman Village....it would get busier).

After spending way too much time and money at the village, we (me, my wife and daughters, Mom and Dad) headed to Saguaro Lake in the Tonto National Forest to go on a river boat tour. It was really beautiful, floating in an enormous lake in the middle of the desert. The scenery was breathtaking and we even managed to see a bald eagle soaring through the sky, trying to find some lunch. I was hoping to get a better picture but it just didn’t happen.

Friday Dinner – Ironman Welcome Dinner

My wife and kids joined me for the Welcome Dinner (that's mee and my oldest on the right) that was held outside right on the shores of Tempe Town Lake. The food was fair at best (herb crusted chicken, salad and pasta) and neither of my girls was really all that happy with the options (they did like the cookies though). The highlight of the dinner was meeting so many people who I had communicated with on the iamtri.com site. My wife sat next to Skip, awesome guy, so nice and funny. I also had a chance to talk to Rich, Marie, Alexis and Stephanie. We had a really good time and learned a lot from the mandatory athletes meeting….so much that I was convinced to the pre-race swim on Saturday morning.

Oh, here is a picture of Mike Reilly, Mr. Ironman Announcer....I couldn't wait to hear him say my name on Sunday night....hopefully not too late.

Saturday
Like usual I was up at 5:15AM or so, just laying there in bed. I was trying to figure out how I should attack the day. I wanted to keep off of my feet for the most part, but I still wanted to do “stuff” with my family. First things first though, I needed to get down to Ironman.

After the swim I got dressed (of course I forgot a towel) and headed back to the car to get my bike and transition bags, which I had to turn in at 10:00AM. The whole process went extremely smoothly, they really do have it all nailed down. I think I was done and on my way back to my parents house by 11:00AM. On the way back to their house I decided to drive the Beeline Highway, where the bike portion of the race takes place. It was pretty much what I expected, flat with what I think folks in Arizona call “hills”. I wasn’t worried at all for Sunday.

Once home I ate lunch and waited for my family to get back from the pool. The rest of the afternoon was mellow; basically we went to the park with the kids and just chilled out. I just wanted to stay off my feet for the entire day because I knew Sunday was going to be a very long day.

The last thing on the agenda was to eat dinner and that was at my Aunt’s house, Super Aunt Dot. My Mom cooked up a great pasta dinner and my Aunt hosted the event. Everyone was there, my wife and kids, my Mom & Dad, my sister, her husband, my nephew & two nieces, my Aunt Dot & Uncle Rod, and then eventually my Uncle Mike, Aunt Bonnie and Cousin Cody arrived from California. We had quite the pre-race dinner party; it was awesome to have so many of my closest family there for this occasion. Actually, I don’t think it is all really hitting me until right now as I write this. I guess I was so focused on the job I had to do on Sunday that I really didn’t comprehend the sacrifices everyone had made to be there for me.  I am very lucky!

Around 8:00PM I was feeling exhausted and needed to get home and in bed….of course after I took care of the last minutes things, e.g. Special Needs bags packed, water bottles filled with Gatorade, race clothes laid out, timing chip and watch ready, etc. I think I was finally closed my eyes at 9:30PM….seven hours before I would be up and getting ready for Ironman Arizona.

The Day After

At the airport ready to fly home. I finished Ironman Arizona in 12:07:04, the weather was horrible (for Arizona) but all in all I am happy with my race. More to come this week.

Fab Friday

It is Friday morning and I am feeling pretty good.  I have been up since around 5:30AM, thanks to my need to pee every two hours due to my constant hydrating.  Also contributing to that is the fact that my family is here (YEA!!!) and of course my girls were up around 4:15AM this morning ready to go....or at least ready to watch some cartoons.

So a little update on my status.  I woke up yesterday morning with my right elbow feeling a bit sore/tender.  I didn't think much of it until I took a look at it in the bathroom and I noticed that there was definitely some swelling on the outside of my elbow.  I checked it out on-line to see if I could self diagnose (of course that is the right way to go about figuring out what is wrong when injured...who needs doctors).  I think what I have is elbow bursitis, which means I have fluid in my bursa sac on my elbow.  I don't have any impeded motion or pain when I move it, only when I press on it.  This is a good thing in the whole scheme of things.  I reached out to my sports doctor in Pennsylvania and he advised me to go to Ironman Village and find the ART docs and have them try to fix me up.  That is what I have to do sometime this morning.

Ironman Check-In & Bike Pick-up
Around 11:00AM yesterday my parents and I drove down to Tempe to complete my check-in.  After wandering around for a while I finally found the long row of tents that makes up the check-in process. 

• First they confirmed that I was who I am 
• Then I had to sign my life way and confirm my information
• On to picking up my race numbers (stickers for bags, bike, helmet and race belt) and timing chip....AND getting my All Access Wrist band
• After that I got my bag of goodies, which wasn't all that great.  Oh, it did have all of my gear bags, etc.
• Last stop was to check my timing chip and get the Velcro strap for it.

All in all it wasn't too bad of a process, I can't imagine what it is going to be like today when the mass crowd hits.  After that was done I found my 'rents making posters for me and I helped out a bit (nothing like making a support poster for myself). 

It was then time to grab some lunch prior to picking up my bike from Tri Bike Transport.  Lunch took forever, at least it felt that way since I was anxious to get my bike and head out for ride.  I did eat what I thought was a relatively healthy meal and around 1:30PM we were done and off to get my bike.  Ah there she was, scratch free and ready to go.  After getting her, I drove up to Scottsdale to pick up my race wheels from RaceDayWheels.com which was a pretty painless process.

By this time it was getting late in the day and me and my 'rents headed back to their house.  I opted to just do my planned hour ride from there house and make my way over to the Beeline Highway to ride a portion of the race course.  First I must say that the race wheels that I had on my bike (Zipp 404 front and Zipp 808 back) are awesome!  I can't believe how much lighter my bike is.  Also, I swear I was going 1 - 2 MPH faster when riding...this might have also been psychological as I was just excited to ride my bike after a week away from her.

All in all the ride was uneventful but fun.  The roads are so smooth and virtually no "hills", at least compared to what I am used to.  Here are some more pics of me along the way.

Ride stats:  28.5 miles, 1:18:00, Average speed: ~22 MPH

The Airport Pick-Up

Finally around 7:00PM last night we headed off to pick up my wife and daughters.  I was really excited to see them.  We were lucky, their plane landed early and I was able to see them just a bit earlier than expected.  We were all really excited to see each other...yes, I think I may have shed a tear.

Today

So that leaves me to today.  It is 7:41AM and we are trying to figure out what we should do today.  At some point I have to head down to Ironman Central to have my elbow looked at and also attend the Welcome Dinner where I, and my wife and kids, are going to meet a bunch of folks who I have "met" on iamtri.com.  In between all of this we have to pick up a rental car and find something fun to do with the kids, not always an easy task.

Two days away from IM Arizona.....I nearing peak freak out zone.  Peace out!

I'm Heeeerrrrreeeeee

Every day it becomes a bit more real.  With every passing hour it gets a little bit closer.  With each passing minute I am that much closer to starting and hopefully finishing. 

I arrived in Arizona yesterday morning.  My trip started at 3:40AM when I hopped in the car with my wife and she dropped me off at Hamilton train station for a 4:44AM train to Newark Airport.  Of course I woke up at 3:15AM and couldn't go back to sleep, so my already early day started a bit earlier than expected.  I will spare you the details of the trip out here, not really much to say, everything went very smoothly and I was at my parents house by 11:15AM MST. 

After taking care of some work related items, I ate lunch and then headed out for a round of golf with my father and Uncle Russ.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, 75F and sunny, and heck I was playing golf (which I love).  We had a great time, even if none of us played all that great.  Actually I played particularly poorly, but I did manage to score and eagle on a par 4 (almost drove the green and then chipped in from about 30 feet).    It was a great way to start my trip here in AZ.

After golf I had planned to head over to the pool and get in a nice 3,500m swim.  Well, it seems there was swim team practice from 4:30PM - 6:30PM which meant there would be no swimming for me.  DAMN!!!  No worries, I didn't stress over it, instead I headed back to my 'rents, go changed and then went over to my Super Aunt Dot's for an awesome dinner (Filet Mignon).  I started to fade around 8:00PM, the result of my being awake for going on 19 hours straight.  By the time I went to bed I think it was around 9:30AM, way too late for the time I had gotten up that morning.

Today was a mellow day.  After waking at 4:15AM and laying in bed for 45 minutes, I got up chatted with the family for a bit and eventually headed out for a run at 6:20AM.  I put in a solid 5.6 miles in about 45 minutes.  I felt pretty good, not great, but good.  I putzed around for a bit after that, ran some errands with my Dad.  Around 12:00PM I finally got in the swim I wanted to do the day before.  I felt really good in the pool; it was really nice to swim in a nice warm outdoor pool that was virtually empty.  So nice!

After the swim I did nothing except watch "Avatar".  I figured it would be good for me to get in some solid relaxation, basically just veg out for a bit since I know the next two or three days are going to be a bit hectic.  Here is what I have in store for the rest of the week:
Thursday: 
Athlete Check-in:  starting at 10:00AM
Lunch in Tempe:  ~11:30AM
Pick up bike at TriBike Transport: 1:00PM
Pick up race wheels:  Immediately after I get my bike
Ride with fellow athletes:  ~2:00PM
Pick up wife and kids at airport:  7:53PM

Friday:
Last mellow workouts in the AM
Do fun stuff with family
Sisters family arrives:  4:45PM
Athlete Dinner:  5:30PM - 7:30PM
Athlete Meeting:  7:30PM - 8:30PM

Saturday:
Check bike in:  10:00AM - 3:00PM
Try not to freak out:  The rest of the day

That is about it for now, I am actually going to be heading to bed now, I am beat and I need to get my sleep.  I'll write more tomorrow.

Seven Days

I am sitting here in my living room, about an hour and a half removed from finishing my last "long" run.  It is a cold Pennsylvania Fall morning and most of the frost has melted off of the front lawn.  I am can hear my two little girls playing with their princess dolls upstairs in my youngest bedroom.  My wife is out getting some Christmas shopping done (she is so efficient).  Today already feels different to me.  I know what it is, I know why today (and yesterday) feels so different than any other weekend day. 

Over the past nineteen weeks I have spent countless weekend hours biking and running; then trying to recover from these workouts.  Today my "long" run was 7.12 miles (one hour) and I feel like I haven't done anything.  My legs aren't aching, I was able go up the stairs with a hop in my step, I fell fresh.  I am enjoying the taper, I am enjoying the way I feel right now.

There is also something else that makes today a bit different from a "typical" weekend morning.  I am sitting here on Sunday morning with a belly full of pancakes at 9:20AM and I just realized that...IRONMAN ARIZONA IS ONLY SEVEN DAYS AWAY!!!  Holy cow, I can't believe that after months of feeling like the day would never come, it is only a week away.

Here is what has (or hasn't) been going on with my training over the past three days:

Friday - I did my swim in the AM and planned to do my run after work.  Well, my wife got home a bit late before I knew it, I just didn't have it in me to get out and do my 30 - 45 minute run.  I tried not to let it get to me, in fact I used the time that I would have spent running just eating dinner with my family and hanging out with them for a bit.

Saturday - I slept in until around 7:45AM....what?  7:45AM?  Yup, that's right, no need to get up and get in a two ride on my Cervelo because my bike is on it's way to Arizona.  Plus it was around 30F at 7:00AM and I wasn't going riding in that weather.  Instead I offered to take my youngest to dance class while my wife could go and do some errands with my oldest, in preparation for the trip to Arizona.  Around 3:00PM I finally got out for what was an abbreviated "two hour" bike ride.  It ended up only being around an hour on my mountain bike as I tried to find trails around my house to ride on.  I realized that I miss mountain biking a lot, I will definitely have to start doing that again after this race.  I ended up not doing my 30 minute run off of the bike because I had to head into town to get some last minute supplies from our local running shop.

Today - Well, as I said above, I was up at 6:00AM and out running by 6:30AM for a nice leisurely 7+ mile run.  I kept my heart rate in low Zone 2 and my pace right around 8:25/mile, nice and easy, just enjoying the beautiful morning.  I may try to get out on my mountain bike later on today if time permits, but I doubt it is going to happen.

That about sums up the past three days of training for me, not a lot going on, just trying to get my body feeling fresh, but still maintaining the fitness I have built up through out the past 19 weeks.  Anticipate some deep thinking over the next six days as I begin writing down a lot of thing that I am thankful for and some realizations I have come to over the past ten and a half month.  Ciao!

Everything is Right Again

Today is the first day that I am 100% back to normal. I will spare everyone the details but know that my body is back to working like a well oiled machine. This means that I have gotten back to running again and have had three straight days of solid runs following my five day illness imposed sabatical. I haven't gotten on the bike at all in over a week, but I am hopeful that maybe tonight I can get in a 30 minute spin while I watch either a DVR'd episode of GLEE or Modern Family.

On a totally separate note, I still have yet to join a pool/gym. I had all intentions to sign up on November 1st, but it just didn't happen. Then I was thinking that December 1st would be perfect, setting me up for one year of swim prep leading up to Ironman Arizona. Well, it is December 2nd and I am no where close to joining a pool/gym. With Christmas right around the corner and the cost of membership going to cost me quite a pretty penny, I am not targetting January 1st as the deadline to join one. I have to get in the pool.....that is my weakest point and the spot where I can pick up a decent amount of time in any race that I do.


Tuesday: 4.15 mile run, 32:46 (7:53/mile), 157 BPM - Ran with Bill at lunch and we caught up on Thanksgiving stuff and just ran at a good pace. Started out quick slowed in the middle picked it up a bit at the end.

Today: 4.65 mile run, 36:11 (7:47/mile), 160 BPM - Felt good and the pace would have been faster had I not had a hill for mile 2 (8:23). My legs were a big tight and they are a bit sore right now. I will have to take it easy tomorrow.

That is it for today. I have to get a bunch of work done before heading out. On the way home I have to mail some Christmas presents and then get the girls.

Ironman Arizona 2010 - I'M IN!!!!!

Short post today because I am hanging with my oldest daughter. I just had to say that I am officially registered for Ironman Arizona 2010. It is all real now and I can't believe it. I was shaking when I hit the "Submit" button. I will post later on tonight....it has been a good week or so since I last posted, a lot of good workouts, good times with the family and good week of work.

One last time.....HOLY CRAP, I AM DOING

IRONMAN ARIZONA IN 2010!!!!

And I Ran, I Ran So Far Away....

My pre-mature off-season seems to be continuing, but I will try to fight it and get back into some sort of training groove. True, I will not be doing a whole lot of lap swimming for the next month or so, although I will when I go to Orlando in a weeks time (there is a sweet pool at the resort). True, all of the rain and business travel I am going to be doing over the next three weekends is going to curtail any attempt at getting on my bike. Looks like it is going to be RUN, RUN, RUN!

This week has been a tough one to get back on track. I did get out and run on Tuesday at work, but my legs just weren't there. Wendesday was impossible for me to get on the road as I had a long webcast at work that meant no afternoon run. Then later on that evening I wouldn't have been able to get out until 9:30PM and I just didn't have the will to do so. This will have to change when I start my base training for Ironman Arizona 2010!!!

Thursday
I finally made it out for a run at lunch with Chris. I threw it out there that it would be good to do 6 miles today, which then led us to try and decide which way to go. We decided to run the opposite loop of the route we ran last week. It was a great day for running yesterday, cool (only about 65F), not too sunny, and a nice breeze was blowing. All in all the run was perfect. We ended up doing 6.3 miles in 49:44 (7:54/mile) and my average heartrate was 159 BPM. It was a bit high because of the hills on mile 3, then just never came back down all that much. Here are the mile splits:
Mile 1 - 7:52
Mile 2 - 7:52
Mile 3 - 8:20 (up hill)
Mile 4 - 7:40 (down hill)
Mile 5 - 7:49
Mile 6 - 7:55
Mile .3 - 216 (7:42 pace)

It was just a great run I felt like I could have kept going at that pace. The cooler weather is bringing back my lungs and legs. I am anticipating getting faster this fall and winter.

Today
I managed to get out for a run at lunch. The weather wasn't as bad as I expected, a bit of drizzle and some wind but not bad. None of my running partners were available so it was just me and my iPod Nano. I ended up going for 4.67 miles in 36:46 (7:52/mile) and I forgot to put my heartrate monitor on, although I would estimate my average HR to be around 158. I felt really good, which is promising based on how my summer went. I only hope that I can carry this momentum forward.

Oh, also had my annual Fantasy Football Draft last night and had a good time. I think my team sucks, but hey, you never know. Go Fat Jesus!!!