Ironman Arizona

Recap:

Bruce:       11:53:20

Jill             12:11:59

Shannon:  12:27:24

Mark:         12:56:54

It was a blustery day, but Team JFT2 "brought it" and all finished strong at Ironman Arizona.  More pictures are at Jill's Spaces site. Race reports are rolling in, below are Shannon's and Jill's.   

Race Day! It was an early start this morning… the travel alarm clock went off at 3:15. We headed over to Denny’s for an early breakfast before the 30 minute drive to Tempe. We had the benefit of athlete parking, and I was able to get the van in shade , very close to the event. During the set-up time, we ran into Shannon and Mark, who were excited to get the day started. For the first time, I decided to watch the swim start from the bridge, rather than securing a position at the swim exit. We were on the west bridge of Mill Street… we should have been on the east bridge of Mill street because the swim start actually starts just east of there. However, from the west bridge you get a great view of the masses of Ironmen jumping into the river. It’s actually pretty funny looking. Candace commented that they look like a bunch of penguins, jumping off the iceberg.    The gun went off for the pros at 6:45, and then the excitement actually started building. The announcer got the crowd into it, as well as the 2200 or so athletes. If you’ve never seen a mass swim start at an Ironman, it’s quite a spectacle.  I was able to see Jill in T1, but no one else. Each of the Team JFT2 athletes had a good swim; their results are in the forum.   We headed back to the plantation to get on line… before I could post this, I needed to get back to try to catch the athletes at the first bike loop. I almost missed Jill, and was not able to get a picture.   I tracked her time as she was exiting Loop1, and she was at 3:26:40, or a 2:10 loop+. I somehow missed Shannon, but saw Mark go by at 3:33:20, for a 2:11 loop+, followed shortly by Bruce who is making up lost time on the swim at 3:34:40, or a 2:03 loop+.  I was able to get pictures of Bruce and Mark.  While I was standing there, next to Paula Newby-Frasier, I heard one of the race workers say that they are expecting 40mph winds within the hour…. Ouch!                         -more to come!                                                                                                        Ironman Arizona –eve   It was a nice, leisurely day today. All of the JFT2-ers pretty much did their own thing, getting mentally prepared for tomorrow’s event. The race plans are in place, the nutrition/hydration/pacing strategies are set. This morning Jill went in for her third and final swim, before walking through the transition areas. She had decided not to do the 10am bike and transition bag check-in, opting to return later in the day before the 3PM cut-off. By 9:45 there was already a long line waiting for the check in.  After Jill was dried and dressed (she did this in the shade of the giant inflatable Gatorade bottle- "Gatorshade") we walked down the T1 pathway.  On the swim, the athletes have a deep water start, and they will be swimming “upstream” (there is no noticeable current as this is really a man-made pond in the Salt River). The 7am start will have them swimming straight into the sun as they head east on a counter-clockwise, single-loop swim. After the final turn, the swimmers will be heading straight sound, and then exit the water on a set of stairs. They then have a rather lengthy run on a carpeted path, where the wetsuit “strippers” await. They travel eastward to the east end of the T1 area, then do a 180 degree turn and head westward to pick up their bikes. With their bikes, they will continue westward to start the first of three loops on the bike course.  For T2, the bikers will be coming back from the west, where someone will grab their bikes. They then have another lengthy run on a carpeted path heading east, until they get to the bridge. From there they take a 90 degree right turn, and run southward along Mill Avenue for at least 50 yards. They then do another 180 to the right, and head straight north to get their T2 bag, which will be handed to them by a volunteer as they call out their number. Then it’s into one of the gender-segregated changing tents before heading out on the first of three run loops. We walked through each of these transition paths before getting in the car and heading back to our house in Fountain Hills. For about the 15th time, we drove the bike course to get back home, with Jill taking a few pictures along the way.  There is some beautiful scenery on this bike course, particularly as you approach the turn-around near Fountain Hills. We headed back to Tempe in the afternoon, in time for Jill to beat the 3PM cut-off and get her bike and transition bags checked in. After this, we headed back into Old Town Scottsdale, (which is where we had eaten the night before). Stephen wanted to go into some of the shops which had been closed the night before. We discovered a “Buca di Beppo”, which happened to have one remaining parking spot. We headed in there for an early dinner, and then kept that spot as we wandered through the Old Town stores and galleries before heading back home. We’ve got a cooler loaded with water, soda and sandwiches for the long day tomorrow.          2 Days to go! Things are definitely picking up here in Tempe. The swim was much more crowded this morning, and the place is just buzzing with activity. Jill and I headed into Tempe pretty early this morning, as she attended the Community Fund breakfast, keynoted by Paula Newby-Frasier, which began at 7:30am.  At 8:45, Jill met up with Shannon, Mark and Bruce for a swim. Shannon and Mark arrived Thursday afternoon. Bruce’s wife, three daughters and young Corgie all waited from him in the shade at the Tempe Beach park.   They made up matching t-shirts to show their support. Their “Go Dad!” T-shirts also had the phrase “Courage to start, Strength to endure, Spirit to finish”…. Very nice. After the swim, Team JFT2 all mounted their bikes and rode the course all the way to Fountain Hills. Bruce got a flat near the end of the ride, and I picked him up and brought him back to the house where we are staying. The crew had some food and beverage, while Jill went over Shannon’s race plan with her in detail. After about 90 minutes, with the three bikes loaded in the rental minivan, I drove Shannon, Mark and Bruce back to Tempe.  The group then met for dinner at “The Tortilla Factory” in Scottsdale, arranged by Bruce’s wife, Theresa. We started the meal at 5PM, and it was awesome.  Starting at about 4PM, the weather started turning for the better.  It was almost 80F by the time we reached the restaurant.  We ate outside with a nice breeze.  This was an early dinner as there was a mandatory athlete meeting at 7:30.   Bruce commented that he was expecting to hear from "Inspiration Man" at the meeting.  We chimed in that he would also hear from "Instruction Man " and "Infraction Man". After dinner, Candace, Stephen and I headed over to the Coffee Plantation for some really good gellato and some wi-fi.  Tomorrow starts with another morning swim, followed by the drop-off of transition bags and bikes.                    Well, we're here.  It's Thursday, April 12, three days out from the race.  It's another gorgeous say in Tempe, with a stiff breeze cooling the air.  The excitement is starting to mount as the Tempe Beach Park has been entirely converted to suit Sunday's event. Today is really the first official day of the event, with registration opening, as well as the swim area.  The swim is held in Tempe Town "Lake", where swimming is normally not allowed.  The Ironman organization opens the lake for the participants to practice for limited time periods, and many athletes took advantage of this today. At 9am, Jill met up with Bruce to go out for a swim and then register.  Jill also picked up the race wheels (Zipp 606's) that she rented from racedayco.com.  They made it very easy, as the were located in the snack bar right at the entrance of the park.  Tempe Town Park is a beautiful facility.  There is plenty of room for both T1 and T2 in this spacious area.  The swim essentially takes place in an oversized irrigation canal.  It's a counter-clockwise loop that goes beneath a couple of bridges, which makes this a great swim for spectators.  Racers enter the swim on stairs, but it's a deep water start.  The exit comes back those same stairs, and then it's a short jaunt to T1.  The bike is a 3 loop course that goes all the way out to Fountain Hills, then loops through downtown Tempe.  The run is also a three loop run.  Again, this is great for spectators as you can hang out in the beautiful park and see all of the action.  Jill and Bruce decided to swim for about 40 minutes while I went and got her race wheels.  Gatorade sponsors a place where you can check in your gear as you swim.  Blueseventy has a booth where athletes can try out a new wetsuit.   According to these Team JFT2 athletes, the water temperature was perfect.  They both did a quick change and then got in the long line for registration, while I headed south into downtown Tempe to find Internet access.  I am right now in the Coffee Plantation, and both Bruce and Jill have joined me here.  They have spent the past 45 minutes going over Bruce's race plan, from heart rate through nutrition and hydration.  Now they want to look at the pictures I took today.  I've put a few of the pictures here, and there are plenty more on Jill's Spaces site.