Lynda's 2005 Ironman Arizona Race Report

TOTALTIME	LASTNAME	FIRSTNAME	SWIMTIME	SWIM100MPACE	T1	BIKETIME	BIKEMPH	T2	RUNTIME	RUNPACE
12:02:02	WALLENFELS	LYNDA	1:18:52	2:05	6:45	6:16:29	17.8	5:09	4:14:49	9:44

This was my first Ironman. It was an incredibly fun day for me but ranks as one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. 140.6 miles is a heck of a long way.

It was a moment of relief for me to pull on my pink swim cap with Ironman Arizona written on the side. The majority of my pre-race anxiety had involved not making it to the start line. The last IM race I entered was cancelled and I had all sorts of crazy thoughts about my bike or registration etc going missing and not being allowed to start Ð I really wanted to do this. Filing across the timing mats and down to the water with 1,830 other athletes I had a teary moment Òwow I am at an IronmanÓ. Right before I jumped off the boat docks I ran into my training partner Cory. That was cool to see him for a moment and totally accidental Ð it made me smile as we jumped off the docks together and then both cracked up laughing. Some folks get tense when they are real nervous and others get giggly Ð I am a giggler.

I went into Ironman Arizona relaxed and confident I had done the training to meet my first and second goals Ð to finish and to have fun. I had three other goals; to not freak out on the mass start swim with 1,830 other triathletes, to run the run and finish before dark. I accomplished all of my goals and that made for a splendid day.

Swim. 1:18:52

Bike. 6:16:29

On the bike right away my stomach felt a bit iffy. I think I swallowed a bit too much of Tempe Town Lake during the swim. I kept the pace low and cleared it out by sipping water. Throughout the day the wind picked up and was stiff when it peaked at about 3pm. I heard a lot of complaints on the bike about the wind but let me tell you Utahans that did 2003 Kokopelli Ð it wasnÕt that strong! I saw some athletes get real angry with the wind Ð what a waste of energy. I called the course a spaghetti junction course Ð three loops plus a city loop. Some folks got so mixed up they missed the city loop. Volunteers notified most of them in T2 and they had to go back out of T2 onto the bike course and complete the 6.5 mile city loop. When I got to the city loop turn I thought it was pretty straight forward. I had been just cruising along on my bike the whole way and was in great shape. I can see getting the course mixed up if I was pushing my limits and somewhat oxygen deprived Ð that does fry my brain cells.

The nice thing about the three out and back legs on each bike loop was you got to see all of the other racers from the folks on your heels to the pros in the lead. I had a few of the athletes I coach and some friends racing and enjoyed seeing them in action on the course. The good news is most of my athletes beat me and I beat most of my friends!

Bike power meter stats  Entire ride (109w).  Duration:  6:17:03.   Work:  2456 kJ

TSS:               218.5 (intensity factor 0.59)

Norm Power:   116

Distance:        113.636 mi

                        Min    Max   Avg

Power:            0        327    109 watts

Cadence:       29      156    87 rpm

Speed:            0        32.1   18.1 mph

T2. 5:09

Mile splits. 9:21, 8:49, 9:16, 9:14, 9:22, 9:13, 10:00 (uphill), 9:07, 9:39, 8:41 (downhill), 9:39, 9:51, 8:49 (drafting a 2^nd loop pro man), 10:40 (potty stop), 9:15, 9:40, 9:35, 9:43, 11:29 (potty again), 10:43 (walked 2 minutes), 10:16, 9:26, 9:39, 11:05, 9:23.

I walked for one minute out of T2 as planned and drank 8oz of water. Once running I was clipping along at an 8:30 pace and right away passing folks. I stuck to my plan and ran a mile then walked one minute through the aid stations. My stomach hurt for the first few miles but then the pounding shook everything out of it and it felt splendid by mile 5. At about mile 5, I started catching pro and top age group men on their second lap who had blown up and were reduced to running about my pace. I drafted off one pro running into the headwind along the river miles 11 Ð 13. It was probably a bit humbling to have me sticking to his heels. I wore my Garmin GPS and the halfway timing mat came at mile 12.1 Ð so a bit short. The second run loop was a bit harder for me even though the wind had died down. My legs still felt great but I was getting a bit bored of running. Miles 20 Ð 23 went by really slowly and I let myself walk for 2 minutes through each aid station for no other reason than lack of mental focus Ð my body was just fine. My last gel on the run was a bit gaggy. IÕd been watching folks swallow a shake of maggots and worms etc on Fear Factor the night before on the hotel TV and it was a surreal/flashback moment downing that last gel. I could see the barn at mile 25 and picked it back up to run over the finish line in 12:02.

The sun set when I was about half a mile out from the finish and I knew I was going to make it there before it got dark. I was pumped. The crowds were thick and cheering like mad at the end. I glanced down at my Garmin and saw I was running a 6:50 pace!! Just before the last turn I wiped the snot off my face and zipped up my jersey to look cute for the finish photo Ð which is definitely going on my trophy wall.

Wesley was freaked out by all the noise and commotion at the finish and chickened out of running down the finish chute and across the line with me. It was loud and hectic. I threw my arms in the air and crossed the finish line thinking ÒI am an IronmanÓ. Crossing the finish was definitely a teary moment as I got my medal and finisher shirt. After the finish I was totally hyper bopping around and talking to anyone who would listen to me at a million miles and hour Ð very manic! Who needs drugs eh? Although they might be cheaper than doing an IM.

Was that hard? You bet it was! I am I doing it again? You bet I am!

Thanks for reading - Lynda.