It has been 3 days since I became an Ironman, and it is the weirdest thing: It is almost like it never happened. The day after, I went into Ironman withdrawal, which is something I have read about from other competitors. It makes sense, after all; this is a huge part of your life, arguably the main focus of your life, for a year, and then one day it is all over. I seriously went into a little mini-depression for a few hours; it may have lasted longer had we not planned our annual "Fake Thanksgiving" for 2 days after Ironman--there was way too much to do to wallow.
But I am getting ahead of myself! First...Ironman Arizona 2013...
The plan was to wake up at 4 am on race day and eat my pre-race breakfast: waffle w/ Nutella and banana. I ate it before every long ride to make sure it sat well with my stomach and gave me enough energy.
We would leave by 5 am to be there by 5:30, and if parking was hard to find Karin would drop me off then look for parking. Naturally, I woke up later than planned and left later than planned. My bike and transition bags had to be checked in by 3 pm on Saturday, so that was already done. All I had to do pre-race was:
1. Check tire pressure
2. Stock nutrition and water bottles on bike
2. Body marking (race number and age written in Permanent marker on arms and leg)
3. Add a couple things to transition bags
4. BATHROOM (before putting on wet suit)
5. Put on wet suit, cap and goggles
6. Jump in water and swim to the start of the swim
Parking did turn out to be a bit of a nightmare, with long lines for the public lots, so I hopped out of the car at about 5:50 am and walked to the transition area. I was a bundle of nerves in the car, but once I got everything situated on my bike and in my bags, and was waiting in the super long port-a-potty line I was no longer nervous at all. I was excited, but inside very calm.
Once I was all ready, and the only thing left to do was join the line of 2,700 people waiting to jump into the water, I made my way out of the transition area and ran over to where I knew Karin and my supporters had set up the tent. I hugged everyone, then ran back and got in line.
You can imagine how long it takes to get 2, 700 people into the water via a small set of stairs, and sure enough, soon the announcer said over the microphone, "2 minutes till 7:00. 2 minutes till the start of the race! Everyone into the water!" There were still hundreds of us waiting to get in at that point, and the whole mass of wet suit-clad racers surged forward and people just started jumping into the water from anywhere they could. I joined a bunch of others jumping right off the sea wall. I jumped in and swam toward the start. After a minute or 2 I looked up and everyone was swimming! No one was treading water waiting for the start! So I figured I had missed the start gun while underwater and the race had already started; so I put my head down and just kept swimming!
I was far enough back in the swim that I didn't get caught up in the washing machine effect. There was bodily contact almost constantly throughout the whole swim, kind of like human bumper boats, but it was nothing brutal, and it was easy to just pop my head up and navigate toward a more open patch of water. I just did my own thing, swimming very steadily and calmly, focusing on my breathing and my stroke. I finally started to get cold around the 1 hour mark, but it wasn't too bad. I got out of the water at 8:36--smack in the middle of my "optimistic" and "realistic" time prediction!
My transition time was about 18 minutes! The transition time is from the time you get out of the water till you cross the bike mount. So it included getting my wet suit off, walking/running about 200 yards to the change tent, and then trying to dry off enough to get my gear on. It knew it would take a while but that is longer than I anticipated! I know being pretty much numb slowed me down a lot. I just didn't feel like I was in a big hurry; I definitely took my time. If I had it to do over again I would have tried to have some slight sense of urgency.
But I got myself together, got my bike off the rack, and as I made my way under the arch out of transition, I was greeted by my Ironfans in their green shirts, holding up signs and cheering like wild for me!
But I am getting ahead of myself! First...Ironman Arizona 2013...
The plan was to wake up at 4 am on race day and eat my pre-race breakfast: waffle w/ Nutella and banana. I ate it before every long ride to make sure it sat well with my stomach and gave me enough energy.
We would leave by 5 am to be there by 5:30, and if parking was hard to find Karin would drop me off then look for parking. Naturally, I woke up later than planned and left later than planned. My bike and transition bags had to be checked in by 3 pm on Saturday, so that was already done. All I had to do pre-race was:
1. Check tire pressure
2. Stock nutrition and water bottles on bike
2. Body marking (race number and age written in Permanent marker on arms and leg)
3. Add a couple things to transition bags
4. BATHROOM (before putting on wet suit)
5. Put on wet suit, cap and goggles
6. Jump in water and swim to the start of the swim
 |
| Getting ready before the race; the bag has my wet suit, swim cap and goggles in it. |
 |
| Filling up my bike bottles with the sports drink Gu Brew for nutrition on the bike. |
 |
| The starting line of the swim, before sunrise |
Once I was all ready, and the only thing left to do was join the line of 2,700 people waiting to jump into the water, I made my way out of the transition area and ran over to where I knew Karin and my supporters had set up the tent. I hugged everyone, then ran back and got in line.
 |
| A sea of polyurethane and green and pink latex! |
 |
| A wave to my supporters who came out so early! |
You can imagine how long it takes to get 2, 700 people into the water via a small set of stairs, and sure enough, soon the announcer said over the microphone, "2 minutes till 7:00. 2 minutes till the start of the race! Everyone into the water!" There were still hundreds of us waiting to get in at that point, and the whole mass of wet suit-clad racers surged forward and people just started jumping into the water from anywhere they could. I joined a bunch of others jumping right off the sea wall. I jumped in and swam toward the start. After a minute or 2 I looked up and everyone was swimming! No one was treading water waiting for the start! So I figured I had missed the start gun while underwater and the race had already started; so I put my head down and just kept swimming!
I was far enough back in the swim that I didn't get caught up in the washing machine effect. There was bodily contact almost constantly throughout the whole swim, kind of like human bumper boats, but it was nothing brutal, and it was easy to just pop my head up and navigate toward a more open patch of water. I just did my own thing, swimming very steadily and calmly, focusing on my breathing and my stroke. I finally started to get cold around the 1 hour mark, but it wasn't too bad. I got out of the water at 8:36--smack in the middle of my "optimistic" and "realistic" time prediction!
 |
| A little chilly... |
 |
| Heading out of Transition! |
My transition time was about 18 minutes! The transition time is from the time you get out of the water till you cross the bike mount. So it included getting my wet suit off, walking/running about 200 yards to the change tent, and then trying to dry off enough to get my gear on. It knew it would take a while but that is longer than I anticipated! I know being pretty much numb slowed me down a lot. I just didn't feel like I was in a big hurry; I definitely took my time. If I had it to do over again I would have tried to have some slight sense of urgency.
But I got myself together, got my bike off the rack, and as I made my way under the arch out of transition, I was greeted by my Ironfans in their green shirts, holding up signs and cheering like wild for me!
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