Coming out of the swim, I felt pretty fresh. Upon coming out of the water, a wetsuit stripper had me sit on the ground and he pulled the suit right off of me. I don't think I've ever gotten out of a wetsuit so quickly or with so little effort (on my part, anyway). Then it was a light jog to grab my T1 bag, which included all my my bike gear. All of my swim gear would then be placed in the T1 bag and given to the volunteers (and then to be picked up after the race). Into the changing tent, where I took my time getting into the bike gear, hydrating and eating a bit before setting out. Volunteers just outside the changing tent slathered me up with sunblock and then it was off to find my bike!
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| Lonely bike in transition |
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| What transition actually looks like, with volunteers helping me to my bike. |
My T1 time was 13 minutes so I clearly took my time - all a part of the strategy.
Then, it was onto the bike course.
Target Time: 6:00 - 6:30
X-Factor: Cross-winds; carbon/disc wheels
Strategy: Keep the ego in check. Coach told me to keep my heart rate below 130 bpm. This means a lot of people would b passing me early on the course. The plan was to conserve energy since it is a long course, and there is still a marathon to run. With three loops of the bike course, I would be able to evaluate how I felt after each loop and then decide whether or not to step up the heart rate.
Result: 6:32
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| The meeting of the signs as they make their dastardly plans |
After settling in on the bike, I tried to regulate my breathing in an attempt to lower my heart rate. With my Garmin attached to my handle bars, I regularly checked and re-checked my heart rate - but it jumped up and all over the place (at times peaking over 200 bpm, which made me think it was reading more than just my heart rate monitor, since I was taking it pretty easy at that point). No matter what I did, I couldn't settle my heart down.
Just one mile in (of 112 miles), I was looking down at my Garmin and concentrating on my breathing as I look up to see a "KEEP RIGHT" sign a bit too close in front of me. The sign was directed at automotive traffic, so athletes were to stay on the left. For a split second, I probably instinctively tried to go right before realizing I'm supposed to go left. At any rate, I smacked right into the sign, lost the bike and came tumbling down, sliding across the lane.
Luckily, no other athletes were immediately behind me and two course volunteers were nearby to help me up and get my bike. A few scrapes on the knee and back, but otherwise I was okay. The bike gave me a good scare - I thought my day was already over. Luckily, it was just a loose chain, twisted seat post and a bent hood. After man-handling the seat post to straighten it out, I was off again. That whole episode definitely did not help with the heart rate situation, but I was able to quickly put it behind me as I looked forward to a long ride at an easy pace.
The course zig-zags through the city, then onto Beeline Highway and back, for three loops.
Once on Beeline Highway, I thought it would be smooth sailing. The crash was already out of my mind and I was on auto-pilot. Except I was unusually slow. Testing on the disc wheels showed I should be able to maintain at least 17mph even at 130bpm. However, I was doing between 13 and 15 mph instead. I watched as numerous athletes passed me, seemingly easily. I continued to keep the ego in check, remembering that after they are all out of steam, I'd still have plenty of gas to go on. I watched as one particular female athlete in pink and purple, with matching bicycle and sparkling helmet, pass me.
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| Iron Sherpa posted up along the route to snap pictures and cheer me on. |
Although 130 bpm was impossibly low, I was able to maintain a 140 or below bpm for the first loop. Feeling surprisingly fresh, I decided to kick it up a notch for the second loop. At the very beginning of the second loop, I passed the sparkly helmeted pink-and-purple girl and never looked back. This was clear evidence that the race strategy was working. Throughout the second loop, I began regularly passing other athletes; some who I recognized from the first loop, and a great many anonymous other athletes. Still sticking with the plan, I tried to not get above 145 bpm.
On long rides and any endurance event, nutrition is critically important. For Ironman Arizona, I packed 2 powerbars, a Kashi bar, 2 Gu packets and 2 packets of Clif bloks. A special needs bag I accessed during the second half of my second loop included some more nutrition, although I was happy to eat the mini-bars, gels and snacks at the aid stations too. Since there is a run afterward, I was warned to eat solid foods early (as running and the long Ironman day may have adverse effects on my gastrointestinal system) and to maintain a 200-250 calorie per hour intake schedule, which I did fairly easily. One of the benefits of the numerous long rides and runs during training is that I became very in tune with my body, usually able to recognize how much nutrition I will need before I get hungry or tired due to lack of calories. The 200-250 calories per hour decision was made through trial and error testing during training.
Back to the bike. By the third loop, I was feeling really great; the flat and the crash were nothing but a distant memory. I allowed the heart rate to get up to 155 bpm, though I spent most of the last loop in the 140's. At this late point, I was regularly and quickly passing many athletes. I was, however, still being passed by a few triathlon bikes. The strategy worked out perfectly. I felt strong.
The only problem? My left knee started hurting. It was a pain I felt before, mostly from long runs. It was something I hoped would disappear with a bit of ibuprofen, and something I feared would ruin my run. But we'l save that for next time.
Although I was just shy of my target, I think without the early issues, I would have easily came in within the target times. But that's all a part of racing!
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| Pushing onward. Mile 71, passing on the left. |
Strategy: The tortoise wins the race.
Nutrition: More solid foods early on. Intake of 200-250 calories per hour.
Ironman Arizona Series
Results
A Really Really Early Morning
The Swim
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