It's a little long...
I signed up for IMAZ last summer with the goal of getting back in shape after being riddled with injuries and not working out for about 2 months. I started training from scratch....barely finishing a 3 mile run in over 30 minutes on July 1, 2007. I wanted to beat my IM Florida 2006 time of 12:19. I honestly didn't know if I had enough time to get there.
In November I set a goal of under 11 hours. It was something to train for, but I didn't think I could do it. My other race goals were to get down to my ideal running weight (meant losing about 40 lbs), a 1 hour swim, and a 4 hour marathon. I thought I had a 95% chance getting the swim, and about 50% at getting the rest of my goals.
About a month before the race, when I realized my race goals were in reach, I looked at past results and realized that if I met my goals, I might be in contention for a Kona slot. While not a goal of mine to do Kona this year, because it's already been a long season for me, I would take the slot if I got one.
On Sunday morning before I left the house I was feeling fine. As soon as we got in the car and got down the street someone asked if we all had our wetsuits. We had to go back, I had forgotten mine. I had lost focus about a week before and was completely scatter brained all week, leaving my registration packet at the expo and not realizing it was even missing until I got a call from a friend who said they were paging me and he picked it up for me. This and the fact that I wasn't nervous sort of worried me. But maybe it was a good thing.
Got to the race site and gave my sister a run down of the race site and told her when I thought I'd be finishing different segments. My sister asked me earlier in the week if I could get a Kona slot. I told her if I had a perfect race, I thought I would be in contention for one, but that so many things can go wrong in an Ironman, and I can only control my race, and if I have a perfect race, others still might just be faster and there's nothing I can do about that.
Did all the usual set up stuff and ran into Rachel. We headed to the swim and decided to swim to the bridge and then do some pickups under the bridge. On one of the pickups I swam into the wall of the bridge because I didn't look up to see it coming. Typical of me.
We found our way to the start and were up in the front couple rows. I planned on going hard for the first 200 M or so then finding clean water. I did this, but I was swam over so many times. But when I started to swim in clean water I was passing everyone. I guess my going hard isn't very hard. Race starts always suck for me. I had some water in my goggles and decided to slow to empty at least one side. I found some feet and had a great guide until I started to cough. I was having a mild asthma attack from the allergens/dust in the air. I slowed to cough hard and catch my breath and lost the feet and my guide. I then proceeded to swim all over the course. Fortunately a kayaker positioned himself right infront of me and I swam into him and realized I was off course. Managed to swim a bit straighter to the final turn. Picked up the pace a bit to the platform. I stopped as I heard them saying the time was still 59 something....I was under an hour. Woohoo! Then I got a huge calf cramp. Calf cramps after a swim have been plaguing me for about a month. Stretched it out as the volunteers were hoisting me out of the water. I heard the announcer say "And here's another of our top age group women, Maggs from Hawaii" That put a huge smile on my face and gave me some adrenaline to sprint through transition." My official time was 1:00:08. But I'll still say I'm an hour ironman swimmer.
Got my bike shoes/helmet etc, ran to my bike, which wasn't racked as I left it. It was leaning against the other bikes. I started to run with it and realized my rear brake was rubbing. I adjusted it and ran out of transition. As I got on the bike the break was still rubbing and it took me getting on and off the bike 3 times in about 200 yds to realize this. Finally a spectator said, take your time and relax and I got it fixed right. On the bike at mile one my glute cramped. This happened in Florida so I was sort of expecting it. I got off the bike and stretched it out for a full minute. Got back on and my calf cramp came back. I tried to work it out on the bike, but ended up getting off at about mile 3 and stretching for a full minute. Back on the bike I was finally moving after getting off 5 times since the mount line. I was a bit worried about the cramps I already had, but figured they were not from the heat or dehydration, so I didn't I didn't let them slow me down. I didn't have a goal for the bike, and normally am a wimp when it comes to biking hard, so I didn't think I'd have to worry about going to hard. About 1/2 way to the turn around it hit me I was doing an Ironman and I needed to focus. I had to ride about 100 more miles and run a marathon today. I got a little nervous. I let all the guys pass me and 3 women on the first stretch to the turn around, 2 of the women were in my age group. I hadn't looked at the course map that much, but figured 8-10 miles to the turn around once we were on the highway. Head down, uphill into the wind. On the way back into town I passed some folks. The second lap I held my position pretty much. On the third lap I worked a little harder and caught a few people I recognized had passed me. On the way back to town I hauled ass, catching a lot of people who passed me early on. Back in town I thought I might have gone too hard because my quads were a little sore/burning. I did go hard on the bike and was happy with my effort. I had never pushed it for that long on the bike. 5:43:24 was my bike time and I was fine with that.
In T2 the volunteers were great. Putting on my socks for me, stuffing my cliff shots in my back pockets of my bra, then slathering sunscreen all over me (even getting my ears as I requested). They got me water and poured me a Red Bull and water cocktail and I forced the rest of the can down.
My goal for the run was under 4 hours. I knew I had to pace it right to do this. I've never run a sub 4 hour marathon, but I was pretty sure I could as long as I wasn't suffering from the bike too much. I've done a lot of hot runs recently, but temps in Hawaii weren't in the 90s, so it would even be a bit hot for me. My goal for the 3 laps were nice and easy on the first, run what ever pace my body wants to on the second and the third lap should hurt a bit, hurting more and more as I got closer to the finish line. I figured over 9 min miles for the first, about 9 min miles for the second and 8:30s or so for the last with a good pick up the last 2-3 miles. It was hard to keep my pace slow the first few miles. People were cheering for me and I felt great. I saw my sister at the end of the first part of the first lap and she said I was in 3rd place in my age group. I didn't believe her, and she said, yes, you were in 5th after the swim. That's when I realized that a Kona slot was in reach, and suddenly I wanted one. It hadn't been a goal of the race, but now I really wanted one. At the end of the first lap I was passed by a woman in my age group, and figured I was 4th. I figured on 3 Kona slots. I still had my 4 hr marathon goal, so that kept me going. The crowds were great, cheering for me and telling me I looked great. I was putting ice in my bra at every aid station to stay cool and it worked. I wasn't hot, but I was thirsty. I was drinking so much at each aid station, but within 2 minutes of leaving the aid stations, I wanted to drink more.
About mile 21, I started to have a breakdown. I was ready to quit or walk or do anything other than run. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. My legs hurt and I didn't think I could finish. I walked one aid station taking something from everyone, but somehow missing the ice, or maybe they were out. I freaked out thinking I wouldn't get any more ice. I didn't want to walk the next 5 miles, I just wanted to quit. I checked my watch and knew I could still get an 11 hr IM and a 4 hr marathon, but I had to convince myself to go. I was making deals with myself to keep me running, but it hurt. I was looking for the 37 Kilometer sign, signaling 5K left. I didn't see it, but I saw the woman who passed me at the end of lap one. I was gaining on her. I caught her and suddenly felt great. Then I saw another woman who's name I recognized and her number indicated she was in my age group. I think she passed me on the bike early on. I caught her and if my math and my sisters comments were right I was in 2nd place in my age group. I couldn't believe it, so I told myself I was probably 3rd. Then at mile 24 a woman came from no where, blazing by me. I didn't see her number or her age, but I assumed she was on her 3rd lap and thought she might be in my age group. So I figured I was either 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in my ager group. I just had to hold on. I thought about giving chase, but figured it was over 2 miles to go and I couldn't hang out that long and I didn't want to die right at the end and have either of the other women who I just passed catch me. So I just picked it up a little. At the 40K mark I picked it up a lot and really ran hard. I entered the finish shoot and made sure I had a smile on my face for a great finish photo. I was completely spent, but you can't tell from the photos because I was so happy. My sister yelled at me as I passed that she would see me in Kona and I was in 3rd place. I finished the marathon 3:57:25. My fastest marathon ever.
A friend of mine commented that she didn't know I had that in me. I replied, I knew I did, I just had to really force it out today. During Ironman Florida I overheard a guy telling someone it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. I didn't agree for me. But I can honestly say that Ironman Arizona was the hardest thing I'd ever done. Miles 20-22 were tough for me and it took everything i had to keep going. Immediately after the race I decided I didn't really want to do Kona, because I didn't want that much pain again. I've since changed my mind and am looking forward to a nice break, but then also looking forward to training again.
After the race I was told I was 20th woman over all, and assumed it meant age grouper, my dad called and said it was 20th woman overall including pros. I made him read me the list of names since I didn't believe him. It was true. I was the 5th female age grouper to finish, 3rd in my age group and 165th overall. Time 10:48:15. And a Kona slot. I'm still in a little bit of disbelief and have somewhat bipolar feelings about Kona right now.
Congrats to everyone who finished, and to those who didn't, congrats for at least wanting too!
Maggs
I signed up for IMAZ last summer with the goal of getting back in shape after being riddled with injuries and not working out for about 2 months. I started training from scratch....barely finishing a 3 mile run in over 30 minutes on July 1, 2007. I wanted to beat my IM Florida 2006 time of 12:19. I honestly didn't know if I had enough time to get there.
In November I set a goal of under 11 hours. It was something to train for, but I didn't think I could do it. My other race goals were to get down to my ideal running weight (meant losing about 40 lbs), a 1 hour swim, and a 4 hour marathon. I thought I had a 95% chance getting the swim, and about 50% at getting the rest of my goals.
About a month before the race, when I realized my race goals were in reach, I looked at past results and realized that if I met my goals, I might be in contention for a Kona slot. While not a goal of mine to do Kona this year, because it's already been a long season for me, I would take the slot if I got one.
On Sunday morning before I left the house I was feeling fine. As soon as we got in the car and got down the street someone asked if we all had our wetsuits. We had to go back, I had forgotten mine. I had lost focus about a week before and was completely scatter brained all week, leaving my registration packet at the expo and not realizing it was even missing until I got a call from a friend who said they were paging me and he picked it up for me. This and the fact that I wasn't nervous sort of worried me. But maybe it was a good thing.
Got to the race site and gave my sister a run down of the race site and told her when I thought I'd be finishing different segments. My sister asked me earlier in the week if I could get a Kona slot. I told her if I had a perfect race, I thought I would be in contention for one, but that so many things can go wrong in an Ironman, and I can only control my race, and if I have a perfect race, others still might just be faster and there's nothing I can do about that.
Did all the usual set up stuff and ran into Rachel. We headed to the swim and decided to swim to the bridge and then do some pickups under the bridge. On one of the pickups I swam into the wall of the bridge because I didn't look up to see it coming. Typical of me.
We found our way to the start and were up in the front couple rows. I planned on going hard for the first 200 M or so then finding clean water. I did this, but I was swam over so many times. But when I started to swim in clean water I was passing everyone. I guess my going hard isn't very hard. Race starts always suck for me. I had some water in my goggles and decided to slow to empty at least one side. I found some feet and had a great guide until I started to cough. I was having a mild asthma attack from the allergens/dust in the air. I slowed to cough hard and catch my breath and lost the feet and my guide. I then proceeded to swim all over the course. Fortunately a kayaker positioned himself right infront of me and I swam into him and realized I was off course. Managed to swim a bit straighter to the final turn. Picked up the pace a bit to the platform. I stopped as I heard them saying the time was still 59 something....I was under an hour. Woohoo! Then I got a huge calf cramp. Calf cramps after a swim have been plaguing me for about a month. Stretched it out as the volunteers were hoisting me out of the water. I heard the announcer say "And here's another of our top age group women, Maggs from Hawaii" That put a huge smile on my face and gave me some adrenaline to sprint through transition." My official time was 1:00:08. But I'll still say I'm an hour ironman swimmer.
Got my bike shoes/helmet etc, ran to my bike, which wasn't racked as I left it. It was leaning against the other bikes. I started to run with it and realized my rear brake was rubbing. I adjusted it and ran out of transition. As I got on the bike the break was still rubbing and it took me getting on and off the bike 3 times in about 200 yds to realize this. Finally a spectator said, take your time and relax and I got it fixed right. On the bike at mile one my glute cramped. This happened in Florida so I was sort of expecting it. I got off the bike and stretched it out for a full minute. Got back on and my calf cramp came back. I tried to work it out on the bike, but ended up getting off at about mile 3 and stretching for a full minute. Back on the bike I was finally moving after getting off 5 times since the mount line. I was a bit worried about the cramps I already had, but figured they were not from the heat or dehydration, so I didn't I didn't let them slow me down. I didn't have a goal for the bike, and normally am a wimp when it comes to biking hard, so I didn't think I'd have to worry about going to hard. About 1/2 way to the turn around it hit me I was doing an Ironman and I needed to focus. I had to ride about 100 more miles and run a marathon today. I got a little nervous. I let all the guys pass me and 3 women on the first stretch to the turn around, 2 of the women were in my age group. I hadn't looked at the course map that much, but figured 8-10 miles to the turn around once we were on the highway. Head down, uphill into the wind. On the way back into town I passed some folks. The second lap I held my position pretty much. On the third lap I worked a little harder and caught a few people I recognized had passed me. On the way back to town I hauled ass, catching a lot of people who passed me early on. Back in town I thought I might have gone too hard because my quads were a little sore/burning. I did go hard on the bike and was happy with my effort. I had never pushed it for that long on the bike. 5:43:24 was my bike time and I was fine with that.
In T2 the volunteers were great. Putting on my socks for me, stuffing my cliff shots in my back pockets of my bra, then slathering sunscreen all over me (even getting my ears as I requested). They got me water and poured me a Red Bull and water cocktail and I forced the rest of the can down.
My goal for the run was under 4 hours. I knew I had to pace it right to do this. I've never run a sub 4 hour marathon, but I was pretty sure I could as long as I wasn't suffering from the bike too much. I've done a lot of hot runs recently, but temps in Hawaii weren't in the 90s, so it would even be a bit hot for me. My goal for the 3 laps were nice and easy on the first, run what ever pace my body wants to on the second and the third lap should hurt a bit, hurting more and more as I got closer to the finish line. I figured over 9 min miles for the first, about 9 min miles for the second and 8:30s or so for the last with a good pick up the last 2-3 miles. It was hard to keep my pace slow the first few miles. People were cheering for me and I felt great. I saw my sister at the end of the first part of the first lap and she said I was in 3rd place in my age group. I didn't believe her, and she said, yes, you were in 5th after the swim. That's when I realized that a Kona slot was in reach, and suddenly I wanted one. It hadn't been a goal of the race, but now I really wanted one. At the end of the first lap I was passed by a woman in my age group, and figured I was 4th. I figured on 3 Kona slots. I still had my 4 hr marathon goal, so that kept me going. The crowds were great, cheering for me and telling me I looked great. I was putting ice in my bra at every aid station to stay cool and it worked. I wasn't hot, but I was thirsty. I was drinking so much at each aid station, but within 2 minutes of leaving the aid stations, I wanted to drink more.
About mile 21, I started to have a breakdown. I was ready to quit or walk or do anything other than run. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. My legs hurt and I didn't think I could finish. I walked one aid station taking something from everyone, but somehow missing the ice, or maybe they were out. I freaked out thinking I wouldn't get any more ice. I didn't want to walk the next 5 miles, I just wanted to quit. I checked my watch and knew I could still get an 11 hr IM and a 4 hr marathon, but I had to convince myself to go. I was making deals with myself to keep me running, but it hurt. I was looking for the 37 Kilometer sign, signaling 5K left. I didn't see it, but I saw the woman who passed me at the end of lap one. I was gaining on her. I caught her and suddenly felt great. Then I saw another woman who's name I recognized and her number indicated she was in my age group. I think she passed me on the bike early on. I caught her and if my math and my sisters comments were right I was in 2nd place in my age group. I couldn't believe it, so I told myself I was probably 3rd. Then at mile 24 a woman came from no where, blazing by me. I didn't see her number or her age, but I assumed she was on her 3rd lap and thought she might be in my age group. So I figured I was either 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in my ager group. I just had to hold on. I thought about giving chase, but figured it was over 2 miles to go and I couldn't hang out that long and I didn't want to die right at the end and have either of the other women who I just passed catch me. So I just picked it up a little. At the 40K mark I picked it up a lot and really ran hard. I entered the finish shoot and made sure I had a smile on my face for a great finish photo. I was completely spent, but you can't tell from the photos because I was so happy. My sister yelled at me as I passed that she would see me in Kona and I was in 3rd place. I finished the marathon 3:57:25. My fastest marathon ever.
A friend of mine commented that she didn't know I had that in me. I replied, I knew I did, I just had to really force it out today. During Ironman Florida I overheard a guy telling someone it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. I didn't agree for me. But I can honestly say that Ironman Arizona was the hardest thing I'd ever done. Miles 20-22 were tough for me and it took everything i had to keep going. Immediately after the race I decided I didn't really want to do Kona, because I didn't want that much pain again. I've since changed my mind and am looking forward to a nice break, but then also looking forward to training again.
After the race I was told I was 20th woman over all, and assumed it meant age grouper, my dad called and said it was 20th woman overall including pros. I made him read me the list of names since I didn't believe him. It was true. I was the 5th female age grouper to finish, 3rd in my age group and 165th overall. Time 10:48:15. And a Kona slot. I'm still in a little bit of disbelief and have somewhat bipolar feelings about Kona right now.
Congrats to everyone who finished, and to those who didn't, congrats for at least wanting too!
Maggs