11/24/2023
Official race report…. IRONMAN Arizona 2023.
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I guess the tradition is writing a race report after an Ironman, so here we go… grab some popcorn 🍿
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Got up at 4:15am and made it to transition where we finalized all the goods. I had my parents there, my wife and a photographer. Lined up in the corral a little late. I was nervous trying keep calm. The national anthem was so good. I had a full suit on which was perfect. Water temp was about 65. Rolling start with about 4 people allowed to jump in off a floating dock every 5 seconds. Crowded course. I just told myself to take it easy and try to stay calm. I heard from many friends to start the race super chill, so that’s what I did. I wore tinted goggles but couldn’t see p**p swimming out eastward for the first mile into the sunrise. Tried to stay consistent and hold good form, sight often. I got a left calf cramp about 100 yards from the finishing dock which was super funky as I never cramp while swimming, but I just powered through it. Finished the swim at 1:23:16. This was about 5 min faster than I thought I’d be, so I was happy.
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T1 was 13:39. Off the dock, then I used a wetsuit stripper. Got my transition bag, used the bathroom, and went into the changing tent. The tent was on dead grass, so dead grass blades were everywhere on my feet👎🏼. Changed up, got my bike and headed out…
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The bike was a 3-loop course. As I headed out my first couple miles it was a bit chilly but not bad. My sp*ed was faster than normal for the watts I was pushing so I knew I had a tail wind. My plan was to push 135- 155 watts. At the first turn around the head wind hit as expected. But thankfully coming back to town was downhill. So for the first 2 loops I just did as I trained, drank q15min and ate a gel q30 min. Unfortunately, I had to stop 3 times on the bike to p*e! Not cool. I stopped at special needs to eat a PB&J. On the final loop the wind picked up and finishing the last 18 miles into that headwind was pretty bad. Time 6:28:00, about 15 min faster than I predicted.
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T2: handed off my bike, grabbed my transition bag, into the changing tent again, ate a gu, applied some sunscreen, and headed out to the run. Time: 7:32
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The run was a 2 loop course. As I headed out the wind was still gusting pretty good. My plan was to hold 142-150 BPM, drink every aid station and eat a gel q6 miles. Over the first 10 miles I settled into about a 9:50 pace. Unfortunately, around mile 11 I felt that little prick pulse feeling in my left hamstring and quad, I knew a cramp was coming. Fortunately, I stopped at my personal needs bag at mile 13 and grabbed salt tabs just in case. Then boom, at mile 14 the left leg went into double cramp mode (hammy and quad). I pulled off to the side, threw back 1g of NaCl, and stretched. I was getting fatigued; it was almost night and doubts started to get in my head. The cramp cleared pretty fast and I got right back on it. Miles 15-20 were lonely and I was talking to myself a lot. Thoughts of walking kept coming up. It was now night time. I jogged with a girl Ashley for a couple miles to mix it up, and by mile 22 I was starving. I decided to take a gamble and switch to chips, pretzel sticks and coke. I hung on for dear life and then finally saw the red carpet ahead. My step dad had my business banner waiting for me, I grabbed it, held it high and crossed the finished line with a run of 4:26:27.
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Total time: 12:38:51
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I am so thankful to my wife, family, coach & friends…they are the real people that made this happen. 🙏
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This near 3-year journey was for my patients at work. I see countless heartbroken individuals enter my front door with devastating injuries or orthopedic conditions everyday. They feel hopeless in ever regaining function, strength, sp*ed or skill.
But…..You CAN do it!
Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. Not even yourself. 👊🏼
Advanced Center For Sports & Musculoskeletal Medicine
