2011 Ironman Arizona ROCKED !!

Ironman Arizona 2011
It has taken me a bit of time to finally write my race report … possibly due to coming home celebrating Thanksgiving and then heading to Cozumel to cheer on the rest of the insane Z’rs who were doing ironman this year.
So here it is my race day report.
My morning started with a bit of trepidation… my swims since Mussleman have not gone super smoothly and I have had many moments of pure panic when in the water. I participated in the practice swim on Sat in hopes of just getting the jitters out however since I can’t seem to figure out exactly what it is that is making me stress my Sat. swim really wasn’t much help for Sunday.
Prior to the race the IM AZ ING group all gathered together for pictures and some real support. I can’t begin to express how I feel about this group of people not to mention the friends, family and team mates who came out to support us. You all made this day such a great day !!! Es and Jodie – what more can I say .. you are the best friends a girl could ask for I am beyond thankful that I was able to do this race with each of you. Dennis I will never look at Barbie the same. Bob I’m thrilled to be a part of Bob’s babes , Sally and Tracey your finish had to be the most emotional ironman finish I have been a part of to date !!!! Michelle Tucker you set the Sherpa bar so high I’m not sure anyone will ever reach it, thanks so much for everything leading up to the race , during the race and after ( you definitely got one on me with the gift from H and I really appreciated it )
SO – My swim : 1:49:54 ( felt like a week !!! )
As I said before I have struggled in the swim since June and for some reason when I panic it takes me a few minutes to get my head back in the game and continue. The start was pretty crazy , I got beat up more than either of my previous Ironman swims but for the most part that didn’t make me panic so I thought that I was going to be ok. I knew that I was swimming slower than I wanted and that I was probably swimming so close to the side of the lake that I was definitely adding distance to my overall race but I decided that slow and easy was better than freaking out and not finishing. When I finally got to the turnaround at the ½ way point I was thrilled but starting to worry that I might not make the cut off. I tried to see my watch to see how much time I had but realized that my wetsuit sleeve was covering it so I had to just hope for the best. When I made the final turn to head back to the finish the water seemed like it got really choppy however it may have been in my head but that caused me to stop and when I did the panic set in. My heart rate went sky high and I couldn’t breathe or calm down… for just a minute I thought about waving my hand and asking for help instead I put my head in the water and repeated over and over again …. Who Says I Can’t ( thank god for Jothy Rosenberg ) Anyway it took a good 5 minutes for me to calm down enough to get back in a rhythm and when I did I was all of the sudden freezing cold. My hands were cramping and I couldn’t feel the right one. My whole body seemed to be getting cold and I was thinking I might be getting hypothermic so I decided my only choice was try and swim faster and get out of the water …. So I dug deep and headed to the finish. This was by far my slowest Ironman swim … almost 15 min. slower than Placid in 09 but when I made it to the finish all the stress and fear just seemed to roll off my back. When the volunteer at the swim finish grabbed my hand to pull me out I knew “ Life the rest of the day would be GOOD !!! “
T-1 11:01(no I didn’t take a nap ) I was just really cold and had a hard time getting my clothes off and on.
The bike : 7:04:46 average speed 15.82 mph
I have done Arizona before so I knew what to expect and going into race day I felt pretty good about my riding so I wasn’t to stressed, in fact I just so happy to be out of the water that I wasn’t even thinking about riding 112 miles. Loop 1 was pretty uneventful and I felt great heading out to loop 2 however, at some point on loop 2 the wind really kicked up and the head wind heading back into town was crazy strong. My bike computer wasn’t working and that was probably a good thing because I couldn’t tell how much I was slowing down and I just dug in and got it done. Loop 3 didn’t seem to change that much as far as conditions but I was definitely feeling the effects when I hit the turn around to head back to town. Seeing everyone on the course was such a great distraction the last loop and even though I was so frustrated that I got a much later start on the bike than everyone else I knew I was making up time and my watch told me that I was going to be really close to my goal of a 7 hr. bike. At about mile 105 I caught up to Jodie and we enjoyed a good “bitch session heading in to the finish !! “ Overall I felt great getting off the bike and as much as I hate running I was looking forward to starting the marathon.
T 2 7:32 Better than T1 but nothing to brag about. Thanks to Robin I got in and out without forgetting anything important and with a smile !!!
The Run : 5:44:12 pace 13.08 over all
Although on this particular day my swim was my biggest stress, the run over all is always where I struggle. I have never been someone who enjoys running much more than 6 miles and I have never been nor do I think I ever will be fast buy most people’s standards. However, after riding 112 miles I don’t actually process the fact that I have 26.2 miles to run until I am about 6-7 miles in. On this day I felt great when I started to run. My legs were strong (for me) and my toes and ankle seemed to be good to go. I took off doing a 5 min run and 1 min walk and when I hit the first significant mile marker at like mile 4 I realized that I was running under a 12 min pace. I was thrilled!!! I saw Michelle about 5 miles in and I think she was even shocked at the pace I was going. Then at mile 7 my watch decided to stop working all together… no over all time and no intervals … nothing … I will admit to a brief moment of anger and frustration as I was really afraid if I got off my 5/1 pace to early that I would hit a wall. I saw my dad at mile 8 or 9 and ask him to see if he could find Super Sherpa Michelle and tell her I desperately needed a watch to wear. I’d lost my 5/1 pace but I was still running for a significant amount between walks so I just hoped it would be enough. Mile 11 or so I was greeted with a huge happy Team Z cheer squad and thanks to Rich a watch so at least I could see my overall time and figure out how I was doing. I’m pretty sure that I kept a under 12 min pace until the ½ way point and even when I started to slow down I realized that I was on track to finish under 15 hours. My previous IM was 15:58 and my goal for the day was 15:30 so when I saw that I might finish under 15 I was really excited. I decided to just keep pushing as hard as I could and try not to slow down too much. I think I was about 5 miles from the finish at a really dark turn when I ran into Ryan and Ed…. Ryan noticed me and gave me the push I needed to keep it up and Ed was completely engrossed in his computer so I am not sure he even knew I passed however just that one familiar face was enough to push me through to the end ! That and the fact that my feet and hips were killing me and all I wanted was to be done !!!!!
The last 2 miles were a blurr… I remember seeing Mike and he made me laugh and walked with me a bit and I remember splitting off to the finish and being so thankful but I don’t remember if I even realized until I rounded the corner and saw the finish that I was going to break the 15 hour mark. When I was finally able to see the clock at the finish ( BTW I can’t see well without my glasses so it took a while to focus enough to see how close I was to 15hrs) anyway I was so damn happy… 14:57:16 a 1 hr 1 min and 16 second PR !!!
2011 has been a really hard year and many days I wondered why I was even doing Ironman. Had it not been for the support of my friends and family on many a dark day and my work with people like Jothy I don’t know that I would have made it to the start or the finish. My personal and professional life definitely seemed a much larger challenge than the ironman many times this year. On race day however, the pride of fighting through the dark days and the AM AZ ING support I had was the best. I’ve been reminded often this year to even be in a position to consider doing Ironman is something to be thankful for. I tried all year to race and live with gratitude and I know in the end it was worth it. I am so proud of all the first time racers and how great they all did it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. To be at the finish line with you was the best!!! Not real sure if I have another Ironman in my future and if I do it will be in 2013. The one thing I do know that my 2011 Ironman will always be a special day that I am very grateful for !!!!!!