"adam lentz you are an ironman"

pictures are up....plus a few additional ones that i've been promising

from the race website..."Temperatures in the mid-90s and enervating winds on the outbound leg of the three-loop bike course conspired to plant this season's opening event firmly into the record books as having the third highest dropout rate in Ironman history. Nearly 18% of the field failed to make it to the finish line."

i'm not sure if you have ever tried to wake up at 3am just so you can eat, but it is a lot harder thank you might think. i quickly grew tired of my breakfast routine the week leading up to the race (1 bagel, peanut butter and 1 banana), but i managed to eat the breakfast again race morning and found my way back to bed for another half hours worth of sleep. when my alarm went off again i wasn't too eager to get out of bed so i watched the weather channel for another 10 minutes. i finally got out of bed around 4:15am and dressed to head to tempe beach park (race site). erin, my parents and i were out the door soon after that and we made the short drive into town. upon our arrival it was still dark and we made our way to the park. it was athletes only up to a certain point so i had to leave everyone behind while i set-up my bike with the necessary items (water bottles, spare tubes, co2 cartridges, power gels, cliffblocks, and a multi tool). unlike most people at the race i left myself with a lot to setup on my bike the morning of. i figured the distraction of tasks race morning would preoccupy my mind instead of thinking about what was to come. once i knew my bike was ready and my tires had enough air i headed over to where i had dropped off my gear bags the day before. i added some endurolytes and bio-freeze into each transition bag as a precaution because i knew it was going to be hot out there and dropped my special needs bags at the designated points. i didn't pack much into the special needs bags because i wasn't too sure i would even need them. one of the many nice things about a race this size is that they do provide you with enough aid stations to get you through the race.

the age groupers started at 7am with the pros beginning the swim around 6:45. at about 6:30 i put on my sunscreen and bodyglide and waited nervously with erin and my parents until it was time to head over to the lake. i was one of the last to leave the transition area as most people had already made their way to the lake before i turned and headed that way. after a couple of pictures, hugs and good wishes i made the walk past all the bikes, out of the transition area and out towards the lake. with lake temperatures in the mid to high 60s no one was too eager to jump in the water to wait for the start. i delayed jumping into the water as much as possible. i looked around and saw about 2000 other people who were about to embark on this same journey and thought ahead to the days events. it was hard to imagine that i was about to compete in an ironman event. it still seems surreal to me now days later and even knowing that i finished, i still can't believe it.

the water wasn't as bad as i remember. (thursday morning i had a practice swim and was taken a back by how cold the water felt. the visibility was about as much as one could expect...practically none. i couldn't see past my elbow that morning.) i wound up doing the breast and side strokes over to the start area. not wanting to be up front i found a nice position in front of one of the columns on the bridges. i was guaranteed not to have anyone behind me trying to swim over me. at that moment i decided to try and take the moment in. there were thousands of people in attendance for the start of the race. they lined the bridges and both sides of the lake. it was really an amazing sight! the cannon went off just after 7am and i waited a few seconds before i began the swimming hoping to let a large enough gap get in front of me so i wouldn't have to stop if other swimmers got in my way. luckily there isn't much to say about the swim. the toughest part was dealing with the sun which had just risen over the horizon and was right in our eyes as we swam to the turnaround point. after clearing my goggles, sighting became a lot easier. for the majority of the swim i stuck to the outside of the rest of the group. i wasn't going to kill myself in the swim nor did i want broken goggles, a lost contact or a black eye so i was content to stay near the outside and swim at my own pace. i had originally told my erin and my parents that i would finish the swim around 2 hours, but i though i would swim a little bit faster. as i climbed the stairs out of the water i was shocked to see 1:26 on the clock. i knew i was under 2 hours, but i thought i would be closer to 1:40 or so. i was so quick out of the water that erin and my parents were still having coffee when i came out of the water and missed me the first go around. after a little trot to get out of everyone else's way i was stopped by two guys who told me to lie down and they pulled my wetsuit right off me...what a time saver. after the great swim i had i headed over to t1 where i picked up my first bag and went into the tent.

the tent is a pretty frenzied area. most people keep to themselves and stay out of everyone's way so it wasn't too bad. i took a seat and dumped my gear bad out onto the grass. the guy next to me stood up and started exclaiming how happy he was to be "lubing up" before the race (very strange to say the least). i kept focused on getting my bike shoes, helmet and everything else ready and hoped he would leave soon. i was out of the tent and a relatively good time i thought and waited for a second before i was covered in sunscreen. the bike course started in the actual expo area of the event which is different than most triathlons and provided the spectators a chance to see athletes before leaving on the 3-loop bike course.

heading out on the course i could already feel a little breeze and knew that it would probably be another windy day on the course. (ironman arizona is known for its heat and tough winds) after making the six turns or so to head out of tempe we turned onto the beeline hwy where we were hit immediately with a head wind. on the first lap the wind didn't seem so bad and i managed to stay in aero position the entire way out to the turnaround. i'm not sure how fast i was going or what my times were while i was out there, but i felt like i was crawling going out of town, that all changed heading back into town. i wish i had switched my computer over to my tri bike from my road bike so i could see my speeds, but i felt like i was going 30 or 35mph. i couldn't contain myself coming back into town, with a tailwind and some nice downhills to rest my legs, i did my best to pass as many people as i could. i wish however, the 2nd and 3rd laps were equally as nice, but they weren't, not event close. the temperatures continued to rise and the winds grew a bit stronger. (i later heard we faced winds of about 22mph, not much fun when you're riding your bike straight into it) i managed to make it through the second lap okay. i got a little bit of a scare coming in on the second lap as i made a turn my right quad cramped up a little bit, but i was able to stretch it out after the turn. i took to the third lap a little easier...almost an average of 2mph slower than my first lap. i knew i had the marathon coming up and i didn't want to put myself in any danger of not being able to run it at all. i was able to make some stops when i needed to take in some endurolytes and apply biofreeze to my quads and calves and kept myself from cramping for the remainder of the bike. the winds died down somewhat on my third loop, which was a nice change of pace. for the majority of my time coming back into town on my third loop i tried to stand and pedal as little as possible. my legs were tired and butt hurt bad (my trisuit provided little padding on my seat). i'm not sure if i thought about anything other than my butt hurting on that last loop. as i cruised into town i was glad i wouldn't have to sit on my bike for a very long time.

i rode back into the park completing the 112 mile ride in a little over 7 hours, 12 minutes slower than i had wanted to go, but pleased nonetheless. the bike wranglers were there to catch my bike as i dismounted and made my way into t2. luckily for me weird guy from t1 was nowhere in sight. i entered the change tent and noticed right away that the mood was entirely different than it was a mere 7 hours ago. people were hurting and hurting badly. salt was on most people's faces (including mine i'm sure. i would later declare myself the saltiest guy in arizona), many were laying down red in the face asking for some medical help. The conditions were tough, it was hot and because of the wind i'm sure a lot of people were on the course longer than they thought they would be. i learned my lessons many races ago about proper nutrition and what supplements to take and felt fortunate that i was happy to be starting the run. with a quick spread of sunblock i exited t2 and was off on the run course.

the run course was also 3 loops and not terribly difficult. i didn't manage to get into a rhythm until i was past the 1st mile marker and continued on my way with a mixture of a shuffle and walk. i originally tried to run for 5 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 5 and so on, but i gave up on that and just decided to go based on how i felt at the time. i hit my first lucky break of the day when i arrived a the first aid station (not to be confused with the first-aid station). it was the only time on course i saw this, a snowcone! it was amazing. i couldn't have asked for anything better at that time. it was still bright and hot on the course at this point and it didn't show any signs of getting cooler anytime soon, so a snowcone at that point was just what i needed. shuffling and walking my way through the first loop was okay. there was a ton of support on the course and everyone was clapping and shouting words of encouragement ("go number 222" or "you can do it adam" got me through a lot of the tough times).

as i mentioned before the course was very spectator friendly. i was able to see erin and my parents 3 times each lap, so that was great to have. i was always looking for their encouragement as i would run by and it made those sections of the race much easier to bear. the run wasn't pretty. i was able to make it only with the help of the biofreeze i had stashed in my jersey, otherwise i probably would have been another casualty that day. the sunset after i was about halfway through the run, what a relief that was. the sun finally went down and the weather began to cool off. it didn't make the run that much easier, but at least it was a little more bearable. i managed to make my way through most of the third loop of the run before i felt strong enough to run whole miles at a time. it was was so great to finally see the 20 mile marker and then the 21, 22, 23 and so on. my legs felt like dead weight but i still manage to shuffle along the run path and hit the mill ave. bridge where there was still a lot of crowd support. i made the left turn towards the finish and up a hill of all things. i made my last left of the race onto rio salado pkwy and headed towards the finish line.

coming into the finish line i thought i would be much more emotional than i was. i think it was just too tired and just wanted to stop moving for a bit. i high-fived people as i came down the finishers stretch. i peaked behind me to make sure no one was behind me and finally had the chance to relax. i am an ironman i said to myself as i crossed the finish line. i was greeted with a medal, water-bottle and medical. i told them i was okay and they must have agreed because they let me go on down the chute. i had finally done it! i complete and ironman, something i've wanted to do since as long as i can remember. it was a great feeling to accomplish a goal that i had set out for myself so many year's ago.

it's been four days since my ironman and i'm already itching to go for a run. i think i'll try and get a run in tomorrow afternoon and think about the next big event....maybe another ironman or an ultra-marathon. i want to thank my parents and erin for their support and belief that i could finish this race. they were a big help in the days leading up to the event and taking care of some of the little stuff to make sure the day was a complete success. thank you to everyone who sent me emails, texts and phone calls. your support means a great deal to me and i could not have done it without everyone supporting me through the event no matter how far away you were.

ironman stats:

(2.4 mile) swim: 1:26:33 - #1541
t1: 7:18
(112 mile) bike: 7:12:07 - #1392
t2: 6:03
(26.2 mile) run: 5:46:02 - #1167
(140.6 mile) total: 14:38:03 - #1167 overall