IMAZ 2015 Race Report and Observations

Triathlon Forum
1

A few observations from today’s race-

*I always forget how painful and miserable it can be out there on the course over the course of 140.6 miles and continue signing up year after year.

*When it takes you 13 hours and 43 minutes to finish, try to avoid the portapotties. By those latter stages of the race, they are usually overflowing and the horrors you will see inside will churn your stomach.

*It IS possible to complete a 112-mile bike ride after training 100% in my garage with two long rides of 4 hours, but you will pay for it at some point.

*Many Ironman racers mention how “easy” the bike course is at IMAZ, but the reality is, on this mostly flat course, you do NOT stop pedaling for the entire 112 miles! No coasting = zero rest. I pedaled non-stop for nearly 7 hours.

*Minimal bike training will cancel out a strong run. Wind, rain and cold on the bike forced me to ride faster to avoid hypothermia, thereby “burning many of my run matches” before I even started the marathon. I was running well until about mile 15 when my tank went dry, so the last 11 miles were miserable.

*Also regarding my minimal bike training, I was in the top 25% on the swim, and then all those people I outswam, nearly 900 people, proceeded to overtake me on the bike. Yes, 900 times I was passed…but I don’t like cycling anyway.

*Women can pee MUCH faster than men! Think water dumping out of a bucket vs. coming out of a straw, as evidenced by the gal that dumped her bladder on the bike in front of me around mile 85. Good thing it was raining.

*Speaking of pee, I have discovered after doing a couple of cold races that for some reason my body likes to process liquids at a superhuman rate. I had to stop to pee no less than 7 times on the bike and about 10 times on the run…and no, I don’t pee on the bike.

*I actually get a little bit angry/jealous knowing that the pros finish 3 laps of the bike course faster than it takes me to do only 2 laps, and that they are showered and fed before I even get off the bike.

*Be prepared for all conditions. I had the right clothes, but unfortunately left my rain jacket in the hotel, so all the warm clothes in the world are useless when they are completely soaked and you are going 20mph on the bike in a driving rainstorm. Trail shoes might have been the call to negotiate the mudbath part of the course along the south shore of the lake!

Ironman Arizona 2015 #IMAZ

Until next year…

2

Bummer jay.

Stop at 10. I did. Life is much more fun just doing 70.3 or shorter

3

I’m two away from a legacy slot for Kona though! Brilliant marketing idea from WTC to sucker folks like me into the Kona dream. “You must do one full IM per year for 12 years straight” they say. So, I do. Ugh!

4

Very true about peeing and the mud bath near the lake.

Pro-tip for the emergency rain clothing on the run - grab your special needs bag, dump/keep what you can, tear two holes for the arms on the side - voila, you got yourself a disposable rain jacket! With an IM logo no less and a strap for the bottom!

5

Definitely! When I hit special needs on the bike, the rain had let up, so I thought we were in the clear, so the thought didn’t cross my mind until it started pouring again in my 3rd lap. On the run, I didn’t use a SN bag, but I was never super-cold on the run anyway.

6

I finished in about 13:30, and I completely agree with your summaries. Being wet and on the bike for 6 hours was pretty awful.
I actually did even less bike and run training this year, since work has been killing me.

7

I’m two away from a legacy slot for Kona though! Brilliant marketing idea from WTC to sucker folks like me into the Kona dream. “You must do one full IM per year for 12 years straight” they say. So, I do. Ugh!

yeah well as you should know it’s not 12. it’s 13.

You do 12 and then need an extra to validate and then maybe even a 14th if the line is too long.

Just pick 2 close and just roll around.

Get fit and healthy for Kona.

My tip after doing Kona. Pick the next few races as stupid hot ones. it will help you in kona. You don’t want to do all the races to get there and then suffer in the dumb heat.

Do malaysia and then back it up a few weeks later and do Busselton. Then apply for the lottery straight away. it might even come out in the next year.

Good luck.

BTW Kona sucks and is also fantastic.

(retired at 10)

8

Haha…Thanks for the observations. Def can relate. Congrats on gutting out a tough finish.

9

Seriously? Shit! I have to do 13 before doing Kona? And I can’t afford to travel to other IMs any more, which is why I do Arizona…it’s the only one I can drive to in a reasonable amount of time and stay in cheap (ish) hotels. Ugh!

10

*Speaking of pee, I have discovered after doing a couple of cold races that for some reason my body likes to process liquids at a superhuman rate. I had to stop to pee no less than 7 times on the bike and about 10 times on the run…and no, I don’t pee on the bike.

Don’t know what is up with that, but same here. Hate it. It’s like “take a drink” followed one minute, five seconds later by “dammit, gotta pee”.

Weird.

Nice job finishing.

11

http://www.outsideonline.com/1784041/why-do-cold-temperatures-make-me-pee
.

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http://www.outsideonline.com/...eratures-make-me-pee

While this “cold diuresis” may be part of it, i think the biggest thing is you are just not sweating very much, and maybe not sweating at all. Sure, some very small amount of water goes out in your breath but mostly the water molecules which are released during exercise either go out in your sweat or through your urine. So, if you’re swimming in cold water, biking in cold (and/or wet) air, or running in cold air, and you are not wearing enough clothing (which would include the wetsuit) to cause you to sweat much, in fact maybe to not sweat at all, then most of the water released by your workout is going to go out through your urine. I have experienced this for many, many years dating back to when i was “just a swimmer”. Invariably, if i’m swimming in a relatively cold pool (e.g., 80 or below), then i will not only need to pee within the first hour of the workout, and every half hour or so after that first hour, but also will need to pee every hour and a half or so for the 4 hrs or so after the swim. Even now that i’m biking and running, i still encounter this almost every day during cooler weather, i.e., about 8-9 months/year.

The bottom line is that the breakdown of glycogen and fat molecules during exercise releases water into your system, and you really only need to take in fluids when you are going hard enough in warm enough conditions to make you really sweat. This is why you almost never see top runners with a water bottle, b/c they know they can go 10-12 miles in most weather conditions, with just maybe a stop at a water fountain along their route once or twice.

13

I’m two away from a legacy slot for Kona though! Brilliant marketing idea from WTC to sucker folks like me into the Kona dream. “You must do one full IM per year for 12 years straight” they say. So, I do. Ugh!

Where did you read this rule 12 years straight? I just read the rules on the site and its 12 lifetime not 12 in a row 1 every year.

14

Jay I saw you out on the run course you looked happy to be there, with small kids and a business to run I commend you on following your dream. The weather added the shit factor to the race that the later racers really felt, I was at the finish line when you came across long day for sure. Next year I promise 77 degress and no wind for sure.

You don’t have to do 12 consecutive years. The qualification year you have do have done a race the prior year and one race your qualification year, AZ is perfect because it will count as your 12th plus count as your 2018 qualifying race. Since there is now a waiting list it may take another year of racing, to increase your odds you should do two IM in 2016 that would but you on the list for 2017, just remember you need to keep racing so you don’t have a gap if your name gets pushed to the next year. I agree great marketing for sure.

Ex: I did 2000, 2001,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2008, 2009,2009,2010, 2111 (12th AZ ) 2012 Hawaii

15

i empathise a lot with a lot of that

the most depressing thing for me when i was finishing the bike - at a different IM - was arriving and running parallel to out lap of the run loop and seeing people with 3 wrist bands on their last lap

I only found out after that the winner had finished as I rolled in.

For my half I was top 1/3rd swim, bottom 1/3rd bike top 1/3rd run - pass people - get passed - pass people

16

Hey Jamie! I thought I heard someone yell my name. I was around mile 1.5 of the run and whoever said my name, presumably you, were heading the other way. Saw that you went sub-11 again…great work!

I clearly need to read about the Legacy deal again. Thanks for the tip on that. I’m in for AZ next year which will be #11. Can’t afford to do more than 1 in a year unfortunately.

17

Way to warrior up! The rain wasn’t supposed to come in until evening…every forecast on TV was wrong. I must have passed at least 500 people on the run who were walking and looked absolutely miserable. The problem too was trying to hammer the downhill return leg of the bike with wet roads to make up time going into the wind/rain uphill. Oh, and throw in not being able to feel/move your hands to pull out your water bottle or fuel.

18

Seriously? Shit! I have to do 13 before doing Kona? And I can’t afford to travel to other IMs any more, which is why I do Arizona…it’s the only one I can drive to in a reasonable amount of time and stay in cheap (ish) hotels. Ugh!

I’ll race as you in Cairns and Port Mac. You just pay my entry.

I’ll roll around in about 11hrs.

19

That’s almost believable as my wife is an Aussie and I did Port Mac in 2010. They wouldn’t suspect a thing! :slight_smile:

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That’s almost believable as my wife is an Aussie and I did Port Mac in 2010. They wouldn’t suspect a thing! :slight_smile:

I’m sure we wouldnt be the first to do it.