Ironman Arizona Preview: Numero 64 lays it out

I don’t want to link to my own blog because it strikes me as silly, but it’s easier than wading through months of my talking to myself to get to last year’s race report and goals. I thought that I’d laugh at 2006 Mishele for being slow and dumb, but no way. My race report is positive (because my race was positive and not somewhere wretchedly unliveable like, oh, Wisconsin) and my goals are rational. Arizona 2006 was my second Ironman, so I was a little timid to put anything out there. Now? I feel pressure to push myself, but I’m not sure I have a leg to stand on here. Instead of more guarantees, I can make less. Sad.

Anyway, because of my running setbacks this season I’m going to be a pseudo goal weenie like I was last year. I have some cycling legs that I didn’t possess a year ago, but that run is a big, daunting question mark. My only hope is that I go Crazy again this year and work some miracles.

Without further ado, the 27 goals of mishelek. Actually, here's a little more ado: A) I don't give a flying dog turd about my transitions. As long as they're under 15 minutes I won't be mad at myself; the transition times in the goals below are based on last year (because the distance I have to go probably hasn't changed) and are round numbers to keep me from getting all glassy-eyed at breaking 15, 14, 13 hrs, etc. B) If my actual swim-bike-run breaks 15, 14, 13 hrs etc, that's close enough for this guy. I've always been a little slow getting on my cycling shoes or peeling spandex from my body in exchange for some breezy running shorts. That'll never change.

Okay, here we go:
1) Finish (same goal every race!) It ain’t easy, no matter how many times you get to that start line.

2) Get my nutrition straight on the bike. This year I’ve taken in as many as 130 calories/10 miles on the bike, around 200-220 calories/hour. That sucks but it’s the best I’ve done. My goal is to match that and exceed it if I’m feeling good; maybe I wouldn’t need Crazy to finish strong if I had some calories to burn. I also don’t drink enough, like, ever. I want to get through my aerodrink o’ Gatorade and a bottle of h-2-o every aid station, a lofty goal.

3) Beat my first IM time of 15:58:43. You know, for continuity.

4) Finish in under 15:09:xx--my worst case scenario assuming I don’t crash. Or burn. Or walk too much of the marathon.
Splits:
1:12:00 swim (1:42/100 yd)
10 min T1
8:00:00 bike (15 mph pace)
10 min T2
5:35:xx run (12:48 min/mile)

5) Finish in under 13:39:xx, last year’s performance. Here’s how I’d expect that race to go down--
Splits:
1:06:30 swim (1:35/100 yd)
6.5 min T1
7:10:00 bike (15.6 mph pace)
9 min T2
5:07:xx run (11:45 min/mile)

6) Finish in under 13:06:xx--a real goal. I can do this if my feet hold up. Of course, if I’m close I might as well push for under 13, right? Let’s just see how the bike goes before getting too ambitious.
Splits:
1:03:22 swim (1:30/100 yd)
6 min T1
7:00:00 bike (16 mph pace)
8 min T2
4:48:xx run (11:00 min/mile)

7) Enjoy meself. I wouldn’t be such a turd as to say that an ironman is fun (though you’d be amazed how wonderful it feels to get out of the water and onto that first bike loop... ooh I crave it. Can’t wait!) but to have $470 to waste on the selfish pursuit of some dumb race? That’s nice. To have family and friends there, on the course and cheering you on—very cool. Basically, I’m a lucky wench and should appreciate that. Not being sure of what the day will bring has forced me to enjoy the experience instead of focusing on a time; not my idea, but I’ll run with it. Hopefully I don’t look evil in my race pics like I normally do.

8) Snag some samples? I’m not sure about the sample situation. Last year I got tons of stuff from Arizona--mostly recovery and electrolyte drink samples from Clif and PowerBar and a race belt, stuff I actually use. Of course, Wisconsin sucked ass for samples because there were hardly any at all! Seriously, why pay so much if you’re not getting hefty sponsor freebies? Really annoys me. I don’t know what to expect for this race though... last year’s buffet or Wisconsin’s skimpiness? I’ll let you know. By the way, what idiot made PowerBar the gel sponsor? Their shit is gross. I’m a Gu girl all the way (except when I’m a Hammer girl; they really have spectacular flavors). Anyway, I’d like to give a good scowl to the a-hole who changed gel sponsors.

Right now the forecast is calling for 18-21 mph winds depending on what site you cruise; last year’s race had 12 mph winds with 15 mph gusts. Sounds like cake, right? It really wasn’t; even Miss Jones was complaining about the bike wind and the heat and she won the womens race. If the weatherman is still saying scary things come Saturday, I might take the bike out harder than normal, just to try to get further into the course before I’m punched in the face with an invisible nemesis. My legs can recover on the run.

Anyway, that’s the word, bird. I fly out Friday morning and Craig’s coming out Saturday; his mom is also flying out from NJ to visit a friend and stop by the race, so I’ll actually have real people watching me and getting bored because the race takes so long. Exciting! After the race we’re heading up to the Grand Canyon to look around and take a sunrise tour (gulp!). Hopefully it’s a nice vacation for both of us. Regardless of how the race turns out, I’m still free of long long rides for the foreseeable future--yay!

Wish me luck and I’ll see some of you cats out there! If you want to follow me on ironmanlive.com, my number is 64, the number of goddesses. Feel free to worship at your leisure. :)

Off to tackle my nerves for yet another day...