IMAZ Race Report

While I was trying to throw myself a pity party, life continued moving forward.  While I had decided not to attempt running, I had tossed around the idea of doing the swim and bike at Ironman Arizona.  I had gotten good news from Trek that they would be replacing my frame.  However, there was no chance it would be done in time for IMAZ.  At this point, I was okay with not racing at all, but my friend Jay had a different idea.  He offered me his bike to race with and I took it.  It was an incredibly nice gesture and very much appreciated.

Jay's steed.
 

Justine & I checking our bikes in!

There were a lot of events around town leading up to IMAZ.  Triple Sports had a great event featuring Linsey Corbin.  She did a meet and greet along with a Q&A session, which was awesome.  Linsey is one of my sports heroes; I'm a huge fan.  She's an amazing competitor, exceptionally nice, and approachable. We found out later that Linsey did this panel even while she wasn't feeling well, oh and went on to WIN IMAZ!

Justine, Ms. Corbin, & I!

Tribe hosted an awesome event as well featuring an amazing raffle benefiting the Not One More Foundation and lots of professional triathletes.  I got to chat with my other sports hero; Meredith Kessler. She's a fearless competitor, sweet, and incredibly gracious.  I also got to chat with the 'baby pros', Kim Schwabenbauer, Jessica Smith, and Beth Shutt.  Check out their interview with Andres from Beyond Aero.  They all have fun and inspiring stories about climbing the age group ranks and going pro.  I swear I'm not a stalker.  :)  How often do you get to hang out in the same arena as the professional athletes in your sport?!  I love that about triathlon.

Justine, Meredith, and yours truly.

I think it was easier for me to start the race and quit than it would have been to not start at all.  The swim was pretty uneventful.  It was a ridiculously crazy start with a lot of jockeying for position.  Once I got out the the washing machine action, it was pretty smooth sailing.  I don't look around much, so I have no idea how long the chaos lasted.  I just put my head down and look forward to clear water.  I swam a 57 something and I was pretty happy with that.  It's slower than my previous two IM times, but that's okay.  I didn't want to risk any damage to the foot, so I walked from the swim exit to transition.  I'm pretty sure it was the world's slowest transition time on record as well as the most embarrassing.  I'm pretty sure people thought I was already tapped out for the day; on a good note they were offering lots of encouragement to keep moving forward.  Oy vey.

Swim exit

I was somewhat apprehensive about the bike; only because I wasn't sure how the foot would feel after 112 miles.  Luckily, I had no foot pain during or after; however, the bike didn't necessarily go as planned.  I was really hoping for a blazing fast bike time; it's not like I had any reason to hold back.  When I first got out on the Beeline on the first lap, there was an odd noise coming from the bike.  I stopped once trying to figure out what the noise was to no avail.  On the second lap, fellow competitors were asking me where the noise was coming from; oh boy!  I finally waited for sag support and he wasn't quite sure of the issue either, but sprayed some stuff on the chain and off I went.  At this point, I really was only concerned that I was doing damage to Jay's bike.  At the beginning of the third lap I decided to stop once and for all at the Landis Cyclery tent.  While they messed with my wheel, I contemplated throwing in the towel because clearly this wasn't mean to be.  Before I could spend too much time thinking about quitting, the bike was ready.  Off I went for the third and final lap with not a single bike issue.

Agitated by my luck, but most appreciative of the Landis guys!

While it wasn't the result I was looking for there were so many positives to take away from IMAZ. I got to do two fun parts of IMAZ, I got to toe the line with my little sister for her first IM, I had bike issues for the first time on a day that there would be no finish line anyway, and I didn't let my fractured foot take away my excitement to race another day.  It was a fantastic day to be at the finish line with my sister, my family, and friends.   

The Griswold's at IMAZ.