Ironman # 8: Arizona 2012

Ironman #8

Well I set out to complete 4 Ironman Triathlons in 2012.  2 weeks after Florida, it was time for Arizona.  This is a special race since my Ironteam-mate Mari died in October while training for this race.  Many of my teammates gathered in Arizona to commemorate Mari.  Those of us racing wore armbands and photos of Mari on race day.  I think Mari helped me get through the difficult stretches of this race and inspired me to give it my best effort on race day despite running in the Auckland Marathon 3 weeks previously and Ironman Florida 2 weeks prior to Arizona.  The presence of my friends and teammates cheering me along the course also inspired me to " Play Like a Champion Today"--Notre Dame Football

Swim 1:46:45

The water was cold.  Arizona is a deep water start.  You jump in 15 minutes before the start of the race and head for the start line.  I swam out towards the bridge, but stopped before reaching it and rested at a kayak. I probably mis-timed the race start, since by the time I resumed swimming towards the start line, the start gun had gone off.  This may have costed me a few minutes.  The good news is that the crowd was gone and I was able to swim in peace.  Once I got into my groove, it was a very pleasant swim and I no longer noticed the cold water temperature.  The swim is a single out and back.  No waves.  People mentioned that the water is dirty, but I did not notice.  I inadvertently swallowed some water and it seemed fine.

T1 10:55

As I mentioned in my IM Florida report, I tend to take my time in transition.  However, this one was a bit longer because the heater felt so good after the cold water swim.  I couldn't help lingering a little bit longer to warm up.

Bike 6:22:23

Again my tired legs affected me during the ride.  I averaged 17.5 mph, but was much faster going downhill or with a tailwind and much slower going uphill or with a headwind.  The outbound portion of this 3 loop course  has an uphill section.  This is of course followed by a downhill section on the inbound portion.  The winds did pick up significantly during the bike ride.  The key is to try to be consistent and maintain a similar effort uphill, downhill, headwind, tailwind.  Seeing cheering teammates throughout this 3 loop course was the highlight of the ride.  I am already looking forward to tackling this race course again in 2013 on "Fresh Legs"!

T2 7:40

Run 4:47:40

The run course is again 3 loops.  I was excited to run.  It was getting a little warm, but not bad compared to some of my other Ironman races held in the summer months.  The sun sets early this time of year, so during loop 2 it started to get dark, and got a little cool on loop 3.  3 loops mean plenty of chances to see my racing teammates and my non-racing friends and coaches.  That again was the highlight of the course.  The aid stations were great and the volunteers were supportive and enthusiastic.  Did the race get old during loop 2 and 3?  Well loop 1, everything is new and exciting.  Loop 2 is the toughest loop, because you have seen it already and you know that you will see it all again on Loop 3!  By the time Loop 3 hits, you are already focusing on counting down the final miles and finishing the Ironman.  It was during loop 3 that I really felt inspired by memories of my teammate Mari.  I had her picture on the back of my running shirt.  With thoughts of the many training sessions and previous triathlons we had endured together, I rounded the final corner and ran across the finish line.

Finish 13:15:23

We waited at the finish line and celebrated everyone of our teammates finishing.  After our last finisher, we drank a toast of Bourbon to Mari.  She would have liked that very much.

I spent Thanksgiving with family giving Thanks for everything God has given me in 2012.  All my Ironman wishes came true ( except for the Kona lottery...)  I am Thankful for the support of family, friends, and coworkers.  They supported my fund-raising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  They gave me encouragement and the opportunity to train for almost the entire year for these Ironman events.  With their "Loving Kindness" I plan to continue raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as I tackle Ironman Coeur D'Alene, Ironman Lake Tahoe, and Ironman Arizona in 2013.

Ironman # 7: Florida 2012

A few days after Auckland Marathon, I was on a plane to Fort Walton Beach airport to go to Panama City Beach for Ironman Florida.  As I alluded to in my previous post, I had "dead legs" from running a near PR marathon in New Zealand.  All that intercontinental air travel probably didn't help the legs either, despite wearing compression gear.  I love the Panama City Beach area.  Great Vacation town.  Unfortunately, this was more than just a vacation since I do take my Ironman races seriously.  I PR'd here last year and was initially looking to improve upon my 2011 finish.  But early on during the bike ride, I realized my legs were not going to cooperate on this day.

Swim 1:41:10

I'm not sure what happened.  I was 11 minutes slower than 2011.  And this time there were no jellyfish stings.  I started out in the back to avoid the melee in the front.  The water was clear and warm.  There was a bit more chop and swells than 2011.  Overall though the swim was the most pleasant part of the day.  IM Florida is a 2 loop swim.  This does allow for a quick drink between lap 1 and 2, which I liked.  The discouraging thing is that while I was going out for loop 2, the faster swimmers were already heading for Transition.  This also means that while I'm finishing loop 1, the faster swimmers start swimming by and in some cases over me!

T1  10:04

Slow Transition.  I tend to be slow, since I've got to change into bike jersey, arm sleeves, apply lube and sunblock, get my compression socks on, and stop off at the port-a-potty.

Bike 6:28:18

This is where the "dead legs" hit home.  I started off 19mph+.  But progressively I started to slow, and the last half of the ride I was between 15.5 and 17.5mph.  The course is a single loop course, basically flat.  One can stay in the aero-position all day, if one's back can handle it.  Unfortunately, my back is not able to.  I needed to periodically get out of aero to stretch out the back.  The most notable thing about the bike was the monotony.  It was very boring.  I found myself nearly falling asleep on the bike!  How can that be while you're going 15.5 to 18 mph?  Well the body gets into a rhythm and goes through the motions: legs up and down, up and down, body in aero position.... Zzzzz.....

I was so happy to get off the bike and start the run...

T2 7:38

Off with the bike gear and on with my running shirt, shorts, compression socks and K-Swiss shoes.  A quick Port-a-Potty stop and its time to Run.

Run 5:22:34

The roar of the crowd and the initial energy rush got me going at 9 min/mile pace.  Unfortunately after the first couple miles, I started to slow to a 11 to 11.5 min/mile pace.  The IM Florida run course is 2 loops.  Unfortunately by the 2nd loop I was taking longer and longer walk breaks at the aid stations.  My legs were no longer cooperating.  I would run then walk, run then walk, and walk some more at the aid stations.  The weather was not hot.  In fact as the sun went down on the 2nd loop, it started to get cool.  I managed to keep my focus on the prize: the medal at the finishline, and kept going mile by mile, aid station by aid station.

Finish 13:49:44

I knew I wasn't going to PR.  Other than finishing, I had an outside chance at being the 500,000 all-time Ironman Finisher.  Well congrats to Jeff Pearson who was the 500,000 finisher at 14:01:09  He beat me by negative 11 min+

Auckland Marathon, Yes New Zealand

It took me a while to get back to blogging.  As you will see I have been a very busy athlete.  Leading up to Auckland, I had competed in the Disneyland Half Marathon, the Kaiser 50 mile relay race, the Long Beach Marathon, the Nike Women's Marathon (half), and the San Luis Obispo Gran Fondo (75 mile ride).
Below is the race report I submitted to my running club newsletter. (AREC)

At the LA Marathon expo, I entered a drawing for an entry to the Auckland Marathon. I won an entry and decided this would be a memorable trip to a country I've wanted to visit since watching the Lord of the Rings. I used my FF Miles to make this happen and hooked up with Marathon Tours.

Downtown Auckland is very beautiful and cosmopolitan with a diverse mix of ethnicities. I was especially surprised to see almost 20% Asian and another 15% Maori. Surrounded by water, it reminded me a lot of SF. The air is so clean and the sky true blue. No LA smog, although rush hour traffic can be pretty bad. I was fortunate to spend several days before and after the race for sightseeing. Since this is not a travel report, I'll go on to describe the marathon.

The race starts in Devonport. I got up by 4am to get ready and catch the 5am ferry to Devonport. It's a quick 10 to 15 min ride. Get off the ferry and its a quick walk to the race start line. I rested on a park bench then used the restroom and walked into the start corral. There is no National Anthem before the race. At 6:10am, it was GO time. For the next 3:45 min I had a ground level "tour of Auckland". One highlight was crossing Harbor Bridge and taking in the beautiful Auckland skyline. The aid stations are about 2 miles apart. They provide water, Powerade, or coke. No gels or solid food. Runners are responsible for carrying their own nutrition. The crowd support and volunteers were quite good for a race that starts so early in the morning. They start early partly to avoid the warmer afternoon temps and to reopen the bridge and roads. It was a warm day by New Zealand standards, probably low 70s. It is Spring in New Zealand. The ambulance and ER were busy as several dozen "down" runners were attended to and transported to the ER. This was attributed to the "heat".

Personally, I was coming off an injury suffered in a bike crash 1 week before the marathon. I cracked my helmet and have road rash on my left hip, shoulder, and hand. I also had Ironman Florida scheduled for the week after Auckland. I was torn between taking it easy to conserve my energy for Ironman or to run for a PR. Race morning I felt so strong, I went for PR pace. Unfortunately, I missed my PR by a couple minutes. And I paid a heavy price during the bike and run segments of IM Florida, as I suffered from "dead legs". However I am still pleased with my sub 14 hour Ironman finish, 6 days after running a PR pace marathon on another continent. 3 continents down. 4 to go!