Back From IronMan Arizona

Back from Arizona.

I had the pleasure to compete in the inaugural IronMan Arizona this past week.

On Wednesday it was 96 degrees and I really felt I would have an edge being from hot
South Florida.
By race day, Saturday, winds were up to 45 mph and the high of the day was expected to be 75. Those winds are not the kind of thing you want to face when you’re a big guy like me.
The swim was one 2.4 mile loop in Tempe Lake and was a balmy 65 degrees.

I couldn’t tell which was causing my teeth to chatter more, the temp or being nervous.

The race, although a little confusing, was a great one. The bike took us through the town of Tempe and slowed some of the bike times a bit. The ride back in from the desert was the joy. Wide open desert with nothing but cactus to block the winds. The winds were brutal.

The 2 lap run took us around the Tempe Lake and past some canals. Plenty of people along the course cheering us on.

And for the frat guy in the hula skirt and half coconuts for a top, well sorry but I just had to squeeze them to see if they were real.

I'm not happy with my time for this race at all. The conditions were the toughest I have ever faced and many of the pros said this was as hard as Kona, the World Championship race held in Hawaii.

Results for my division (Clydesdale 200 lbs plus under 39 yrs old) are here
My racing number was 912.

This was the first time in Arizona for me and it was very memorable. I couldn’t believe how big the cactus are out there. Enormous and they were everywhere. It is truly gorgeous out there.

The Tempeans did a great job of welcoming us. All the volunteers were helpful and made the race go by so smoothly.

A couple groups I would like to give a shout out too. The Arizona State Women’s Lacrosse Team. These ladies were great in the special needs section, and the ones I worked with made it hard to get back on the course….very cute girls.

The second group of people was the Marines or the Army. I couldn’t tell their group by how fast they got us out of the transition tent. They were wearing camouflage pants and white t-shirts and they were exceptional. Almost goose bump like.

Thank you for all of the encouraging emails I received, it is definitely appreciated.

My next race .