My 2008 IM Arizona

The trip began at Pittsburg airport, yes Pittsburg. Starting there because it was much cheaper than Cleveland. This followed by a very short layover in Denver. Short enough to allow both Jamie and I to participate in the inaugural Denver Airport 1 mile not so fun run. This race ends in just barely catching our connection flight to Phoenix. Once in Phoenix, everything seemed to be going as usual pre-Ironman. Hang out in IM village, register, enjoy the atmosphere, etc. Then comes saturday. Last day before the race. Try not to do too much, but maybe very light training, right? And definitely no injuries. That's usually at least the plan. Didn't work out that way for me. I jumped in the water to get a small practice swim in that morning. Now everyone was talking about how chilly the water is, so whatever. Should be no big deal. 61 degree water is definitely a big deal. Enough to make me hyperventilate for 3 minutes. After catching my breath, start swimming. About 10 minutes in, my neck completely locked and spasmed up. Therefore, the remainder of my last rest day before race was spent wondering if I could even race tomorrow. Even the slightest move of my big melon caused excrutiating pain. Somehow I made it thru the night, followed by an ever so slightly better 4 AM wake up call. Unfortunately, as I'm gearing up for the race, the race is actually the last thing on my mind. The only thing I'm thinking about is how bad my fricken neck hurts. Anyway, we make our way to the village, and we is myself and Jamie (the only good thing about the weekend up to this point). My awesome wife did whatever she needed to keep me from going crazy. So as she coaxed me thru the morning and up to the swim start, the nerves really kicked in. Not knowing what was going to happen when I hit the water. One thing I found, was thank GOD for adrenaline. This was the saving grace as I made the leap into the frigid liquid, didn't feel quite as cold. As I began the whirlpool called the swim start, getting kicked and punched definitely did not help the neck situation, but I made it out 7 minutes slower than last year. OK with that all things considering. Getting on the bike was even more interesting. First 18 miles or so were spent wondering, who ever said this is a flat bike course. The out of the out and back was definitely a gradual uphill, spent watching the participants ahead of you come flying back down the hill in the other direction. As for me personally, legs felt great, but neck just didn't want to play along. But all in all, 5 minutes faster than last year. Going into the run I felt really good. Legs were strong, and neck loosened up. Then came the 2nd aid station. Walking thru, getting all the nutrition I needed, then ruined by some old man not paying attention who ran full speed into my left shoulder. So much for the neck feeling good. From that point on I was hurting. Wanted nothing more to do with the race, only finishing and relaxing my neck. So run finished about 1 hour slower than last year. Once again, all things considering, finishing was a good thing. As far as the race goes, very well supported by the city, the residents, and as always the fans. Definitely recommend this race to anyone, as long as you can handle some chilly water. 61 degree water in Phoenix, Arizona....who knew.

Enjoying Time Off

It's now been almost two weeks since Ironman Arizona, and it feels awesome to not have to wake up every single morning with training that has to be done. Now don't get me wrong, I've got the itch to get back to training already. But a little laziness does feel good once in awhile. And since I have a little time due to laziness, I may as well do a little race report on IM Arizona.

Welcome To The Jungle

Welcome to my world. Just decided to start one of these things thanks to the idea from the greatest running specialty store around, Fleet Feet Sports Northfield. I know the life of someone such as I sounds crazy fun, and moves at such a break neck pace that some may not be able to keep up. But if you think you can hang, feel free to check in and see what molds we break on a daily basis. And for those who really know me, you know that intro for the most part was a total load of crap. But still check in once in awhile to live the life of an average joe, or tim, or whatever.