Swim Finish / Transition Area by Mill Street Bridge
November 22nd, 2009 dawned cool and clear, with minimal breeze. The first thing I thought, stepping outside at 6am was, “Man, what a great day for a race!” Turns out I wasn’t that far off, with some incredible record-setting performances in both the professional and age group ranks. But that doesn’t mean it was easy. View EN pictures here, EN results here.
The Swim
Things were calm for the whole swim…any chop to be found was a direct result of enthusiastic swimming. It was also remarkably “not sunny” with sunrise not really taking place until 7:30. As a result, the Pros and faster AG swimmers really had minimal glare to contend with. Ironically the biggest challenge was the cold water temperatures. The longer you were in the water the worse it got, but everyone was affected in some way. From early onset of cramps (in the swim) to nearly debilitating shakes on the early miles of the bike, few were able to shake off the temps without difficulty.
T1 was well organized and chock full of volunteers. The only twist (no pun intended) was the ridiculously sharp turn at the transition exit. Athletes had to make a 90-degree turn in order to get to the mount line. Soaking wet, eating a gel, and running with a bike with one hand made being safe practically impossible. Yes, that picture above is of an athlete exiting T1 in a space blanket…he was that cold!
The Bike
True to form the bike was fast. Almost across the board everyone was faster in the first lap, mostly the result of a lack of any wind, but let’s not discount the desire to try and get warm either! As the day wore on the wind began to pick up a bit, slowing things down in lap two and three. This made heading out of Tempe towards the turnaround very difficult but gave everyone very favorable conditions for a final 18 miles back into town. The men’s winner, Jordan Rapp, set a bike course record in the low 4:20s, and the elite age groupers weren’t too far behind. There were the usual reports of drafting on the bike; it will be interesting to read more of the athlete reports as people get the chance to relate their complete version of events.
The Run
Skipping through an uneventful second transition, athletes were headed out for the three loop run. While it’s not a tough run on paper, there are plenty of turns and enough hills at the end of a long day to make even the toughest suffer. The wind had little to no effect on the runners, and the heat wasn’t overwhelming. It was warm in the sun, for sure, but that quickly changed when the sun started to go down around 5:30. If you didn’t have warmer gear for the night, you were going to be in for a very long, very cool run. Overall run times were quite consistent with previous editions of the race, and were a proper reflection of the conditions: you got out of it what you put into it.
The Finish
The atmosphere at an Ironman finish is electric, and Tempe did not disappoint. Loud music, cheering fans and inspirational moments everywhere. There’s something about watching folks who, pushed to the brink, suddenly bounce back to dash to the finish line. A testament to human will, or to some innate force that drives all of us to attain a goal we have sought for so long. I get goosebumps just writing about it!
Congratulations to all of the athletes at Ironman Arizona. You have earned your medal and some solid time off as well…probably best to rehydrate and try to get moisturized before the dry air turns you into human jerky! This is the end of the 2009 Four Keys Tour, and Rich and Patrick will not be on hand to support Team EN folks at Ironman Cozumel. So bummed to not be there, but know that you are racing on the shoulders of the other 200+ amazing Ironman finishes by your fellow teammates this year. You are fit, you are ready, and you will crush it!
Until next season, this is Rich and Patrick signing off. Be safe, have fun, and go fast!
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