IM Arizona 2012 Race Report - Amy Ferguson
Ironman Arizona 2012 Race Report
Pre-Race:
Woke up at 3:30, took shower to loosen muscles, drank a cup of coffee. Got dressed, applied sunscreen, gathered up fuel, morning bag and special needs bag. My tummy was upset, probably nerves so (after multiple trips to the potty) I eliminated all that was in my gut. I decided to forgo the typical egg sandwich breakfast for two strawberry Ensure drinks and a banana. This proved to be a very good choice because I never had to pooh the entire day. Left Mom and Dads at 5:00am (15 minutes behind schedule) and got 1 mile down the road and realized I had left my wet suit back at the condo and had to go back and get it. Arrived at the race site at 6:00am, feeling a little rushed. There was a long line to enter the parking garage but tried to keep my nerves calm. Walked to transition set up my bike, found a tire pump to borrow. Although she was a little reluctant, I sweet talked her into letting me use it really quickly. I only blew up my front tire because the back one felt fine. In hind sight I won’t do that again because I had some doubt that the back tire was soft at the start of the bike. It clearly wasn’t but it was just my mind playing games with me. Got body marked and saw Leanda Cave walk by. Had a long walk to special needs bag drop off. Put on my wetsuit, making sure to fasten it properly at the neck to avoid chaffing, which ultimately didn’t work because I came out with the worst chaffing I’ve ever had. Most likely due to the frequency of sighting I had to do. Found my husband, posed for a couple pics and then it was time to head off to the water.
Swim:
I watched a couple of people jump from the edge of the wall into the water and I knew that is not how I wanted to get in, mainly because it would have been too much of a shock to my system and also I didn’t want to scrape my feet on the concrete bottom. I noticed there was a little dock that some people were entering from so I made my way onto it and slid into the freezing 64 degree water. A friend of mine had advised me to make myself hold my face in the water for three strokes at a time to acclimate myself so I did as I made my way under the bridge and positioned myself 2/3 of the way over to the left. The start was calm but I quickly found myself running into people. I would find open water and then all of a sudden it became crowded then it would open up again. My face was cold at first but I became pretty comfortable after a short time. The swim down to the turn-around was uneventful and I noted that the sun was not an issue, as it was partly cloudy. What was an issue that I hadn’t anticipated was the need to sight often for fear of swimming into someone’s kick because you couldn’t see past your elbow. I took the turn-around buoy wide to avoid getting caught up in the crowd and the netting. The return trip was a little more challenging. It seemed to get very crowded at the buoys, not sure why this was. Maybe it was because I was swimming towards them and into the crowds. I got kicked in the left eye which lodged my goggles into my eye socket. It startled me but there wasn’t any damage and I was able to pull out the goggle without breaking the seal. The worst thing that happened was that a dude grabbed my leg and pulled me down. I presume to remove me from his line. If I could have reached out and punched him I would have but I reminded myself to stay in my box and took comfort in knowing that the IM Gods would get him later in the day. I was shocked to come out of the water with so many people. I didn’t catch my time but knew it had to be okay. I was thrilled to find out later I had completed the swim in 1:35. Which I know is slow for most but it is a 20 minute PR for me.
T1:
My feet were frozen by the time I reached the tent. I grabbed a volunteer and made her assist me with everything. So key here, as I learned in IMFL, no vollie = slow transition. T1 time, 10:03, 4 minute PR over IMFL
Bike:
Grabbed my bike from the bike valets (so cool) and was off. The course was awesome. The Beeline was smooth as silk. JRA’d the ride up to Shea, in hind sight I probably could have given it a little more but I wanted to make sure I didn’t booger it up. Another victory of the day was to finally be able to pee on the bike during a race. And I did it 4 times! Guess I was plenty hydrated! I probably sacrificed a little speed here because I took advantage of the downhill at Shea to coast to pee, where I could have hammered it a bit here. Peeing was more important. I finished the bike with a time of 6:51. A 22 minute PR over IMFL.
T2:
I love T2, it’s always easy and uneventful. Ripped off my heart rate monitor to run free from any straps. Neglected to put on glide under my arms and I would live to regret that. T2 time, 4:13, 5 minute PR over IMFL.
Run:
The goal was to run 6 miles at 30’ slower than LRP. That was about an 11min/mile for me. I had a very difficult time keeping it under 10.50. I kept looking down and I was in the 9’s and low 10’s. Finally slowed to what felt like a crawl and settled in. At about 5 miles it felt like something was in my shoe under the ball of my foot. So I stopped and shook my shoe out but there was nothing, nothing in my sock either. Weird. After 6 miles I took it up to my 10.5 m/m pace and then soon after the foot started to hurt. It felt like a pinch and then eventually after 15 miles it turned into a full on stabbing pain. I was forced to slow my pace but I refused to walk. I was bummed because I knew this was going to blow my race goal time. But I sucked it up and remained in my painful shuffle. I would liken the pain to labor pain in the foot so I am pretty proud of myself for sticking it out and only walking the 15-30 steps at the aid stations.
Rounding the corner to the finish shoot was awesome, as I came upon my family who were grinning and shouting. The energy of the crowd was amazing. I don’t remember it being so loud and energetic at IMFL. Maybe it’s because the shoot was narrower in IMAZ…I disbursed my hugs and kisses to my family and then gave a few high fives to the crowd before crossing the finish with a 14:13:33 time, a 30 minute PR over my first IM, all with a bum foot.
Racing with the EN group was great. I saw teammates during the day and got lots of cheers from the spectators and other racers as they recognized the EN logo on the tri top. It certainly made the day more fun. I loved the course, the weather was perfect and I felt that EN prepared me well for the day. 
It turns out that I have developed a Morton’s Neuroma between my first and second metatarsal and it flared up during my race. I couldn’t feel 3 of my toes for 5 days post-race. The feeling is back and I’m getting therapy for the Neuroma.
Comments
Amy - Congrats on the PR. Way to stay in your box and fight to the finish line. Heal quickly.
Great great race Amy! You sounded like you we're in control and in the box the whole day! Amazing that you gutted it out with the foot problem too. Congratulations on the day , perfect execution, and a 30 min PR!!!!!!! I was hreat to, briefly, meet you. I hope we get to race together again!