3 Rules for Race Day—Race Report Ironman Arizona 2023 — KickKaasLife

Ironman. The name alone is enough to scare most people off and I was one of those people. When Stephen and I were dating, he gave me his extra Yeti so I could have my chai tea on the go. It had an “M-dot” sticker (the Ironman symbol) on the side. At work, one of the resident doctors saw it and said, “Ooooo–you do Ironman races? That is one of my passions,” he started, launching into what he thought was going to be a conversation with a kindred spirit. I cut him off with a “talk to the hand” and an emphatic shake of the head.

“Nope,” I said curtly. “I would never do that. This is my fiance’s Yeti.” End of conversation. I shortly thereafter removed the M-dot sticker.

I did a few shorter distance triathlons about 12 years ago and I used to run a couple half marathons every year. Perhaps because of that, Stephen started saying, “When we do an Ironman…” whenever he talked about getting back into racing. I let it slide the first couple times, but then one day I interrupted him and said, “Just to be clear, we are not doing an Ironman. You can do an Ironman and I will support you, but I am never doing that. My life is a marathon these days. I don’t have time to do that kind of thing anymore.”

“Oh, ok,” he said, unperturbed. He didn’t overtly try to change my mind. Maybe it’s just that enthusiasm is contagious. And Stephen is very enthusiastic about Ironman. Fast forward two years from when we first met (we’re now married), I found myself sporting a wetsuit at the starting line of Ironman Arizona 2023 with Stephen by my side. Read about the ups and downs of the journey–from learning to clip into the bike pedals (taking my first spill in the process) and getting started with our training to developing courage, dealing with the frustrations of swimming, and experiencing existential crises and breakthroughs along the way.

Race Report

We spent the last ten days before the race “tapering,” which just means–the hard work is done! There is nothing more you can do at that point to increase your fitness. Rather, you want to allow your body to rest and heal as much as possible. We reduced our volume and intensity based on training plans from Trainer Road (me) and MOTTIV (Stephen). We continued to eat healthy, but included more clean carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and sourdough bread in the couple days before the race.

We got to Arizona three days early to check in and get familiar with our surroundings. When you show your ID to check in at the “Ironman Village,” they put on your athlete wristband (aka superhero identifier), which you cannot remove until after the race. Stephen wore his for 13 days (did I mention he’s a little enthusiastic about Ironman?). We also focused on rest, relaxation, and getting some extra sleep. We did a 2.7-mile run the first day, a 7-mile ride the second day, drove most of the bike course, and Stephen did the race sponsored practice swim in Tempe Town Lake the day before the race. I didn’t want to be in that lake water one more second than necessary, so I shot video of Stephen and made observations from land (like *wow–that looks wet and miserable* and *these Ironman people are an eccentric bunch* and *Oh ya, I’m one of them—what has happened to me?!*).

Stephen used his new birthday gift Form goggles for the swim and felt like his pace and heart rate were on target. Later that day, the kids arrived and we showed them around the course after we dropped off our bikes and race bags, which were carefully packed with everything we needed for the bike and run, minus our fuel drinks and snacks.

Fueling

Most people fuel with what the race provides at the aid stations, but one of the reasons I stopped doing endurance races was that I was trying to eat really clean and healthy. I didn’t want to eat gels, gu’s, or sports drinks and certainly not candy, soda, or energy drinks (yes, all these things are at the aid stations). So, I started experimenting during training with how to fuel cleanly with whole foods. In retrospect, I think I was probably under-fueled for the first half of our training. I was resistant for either of us to consume so many carbohydrates when we had been trying so hard to eat a low glycemic diet. But what I discovered is that I have to fuel adequately for the workouts. I think that because we were underfueling, I got sick more than I usually do, I struggled with an injury, and we both had some low energy/low motivation workouts. Towards the end and for the race, we followed the recommendations from the Saturday app, which calculates your glucose, water, and electrolyte needs based on your weight, gender, age, levels of planned exertion and expected perspiration. Following these recommendations definitely improved our energy during our workouts. I came up with a fuel recipe that seemed to work well for us, using honey for energy and other simple ingredients that helped keep my tummy happy during long rides. We prepped our fuel the night before and on race morning, we put them on our bikes and in our run bags.

The race officially started at 6:50am, we got to water at 7:30am. Stephen started with a group of four people just in front of me, so my start time was 26 seconds after his. Right before we jumped in the water, we pressed start on our Garmin watches (Fenix 7 pro solar for Stephen and Fenix 6s solar for me).

Stephen says–

Team Kick Kaas Rule #1: No friends on race day.

“When I was doing Ironman races in the past with my parents, my siblings, and their spouses, we were competitive with each other in training and racing, but it was friendly and more about encouraging and pushing each other. Ultimately, no friends on race day is less about competitiveness and more about wanting each person to go out and perform their best. Melanie and I had agreed to this rule as well. That said, it is fun to see each other on course, try to catch each other, and finish closely or together when possible.”

Swim

We both felt good. Stephen could see his time and heart rate in his Form goggles. We both went as slow as we could (we both tend to start too fast) and settled into a good pace. Stephen noticed that his heart rate was about 20-30 beats higher than usual at that effort in training. He didn’t think much of it and figured his heart rate monitor wasn’t working properly because he felt good for the pace, but he did end up slowing down (in retrospect, there were a lot of little signs that he was starting to get sick and that was probably one of them). He said that if he hadn’t seen his heart rate, he probably would have swam faster. Still, because he started with a slower group, he passed a bunch of people right away and maintained a consistent pace. Stephen’s swim time–1:40:12 (avg pace 2:21/100).

I swam as expected–slow. We weren’t allowed in the water before the race, so warming up consisted of arm circles and jumping up and down in the line. I have found that if I’m not really warmed up before the swim, it takes me about 1,000 yards to warm up. I knew we probably couldn’t warm up much before the race, so I had practiced swimming cold in our local lake. I followed my plan, which was to alternate freestyle with backstroke for the first 1,000 yards until I felt warmed up and was breathing comfortably. I only had to backstroke a few times to catch my breath and then I was able to work into a comfortable pace. The sun was in my eyes for the first half and I really should probably have prescription goggles because it was hard for me to see the buoys. I had to stop a few times, squint to see the buoy, and then start back up again. So that slowed my pace. But overall, I felt good and was consistent. When I got out of the water, I felt energized and like I could have kept swimming. I have come to love that feeling–that I can swim forever, albeit slowly. My swim time–1:51:24 (avg pace 2:37/100yds).

Bike

We both took way too long in transition after the swim. It was busy in the changing tent and we were covered in grass because the wetsuit volunteers were stripping off the wetsuits on a dry grassy patch. We both took time to get the grass off of our feet and legs. We both felt pretty good on the bike. Our heart rates and power were what we expected. To track our metrics We had Garmin bike computers mounted to our handlebars and we had Favero Assioma power pedals (me) and Quarq DZero Dub Power Meter (Stephen).

Stephen consumed all of his nutrition and electrolytes for the ride by the end of the second loop, so for the last loop he took a Maurten’s gel and water at every aid station. Ride time–6:19:01 (with 20 minutes of stop time and Wizard of Oz wind!), IF .695, and NP 146W.

The bike has been my best event and I was well prepared because I had to take time off running for a hamstring injury and I compensated by doing more bike training. I felt strong and only stopped once to use the bathroom. I even rolled through the aid stations, grabbing my water from the volunteers without unclipping or stopping. Stephen had coached me through the idea of refilling my Speedfil water bottle (mounted between my handlebars) while riding, but I wasn’t sure I could pull it off without crashing. I decided to try it at the first aid station and I was successful so I didn’t end up stopping to refill my water; I just rolled slowly through, flipped open the port on the bottle, took the water from the volunteer, and squeezed it into my bottle. Viola!

Towards the end of the first loop, I heard a, “Melanieeeee!” It was Stephen passing in the opposite direction. I saw him there again on the third loop and loved hearing him call my name. I also loved rounding the turnaround at the other end because our family and friends were there cheering and waving. I passed a lot of people on the bike and later my kids said they had fun watching the app because I went from 26th out of 29 women in my age group (after the swim) to 11th in my age group after the bike. Ride time–6:32:50, IF 0.63, NP 111 W.

Stephen says—

Team Kick Kaas Rule #2: Nothing New on Race Day

“This is a general racing rule, but my dad (who started the family doing Ironman races) is adamant about this and I think anyone who has done endurance racing would agree. I am a planner, so I am very meticulous about planning and preparing all the details for race day ahead of time. We spent a lot of time calculating our fueling needs and planning our strategies based on our training. But you also have to expect the unexpected. You always hope the stars will line up and there will be some race day magic, but you also have to be mentally prepared for factors like weather, equipment malfunction, and how you’ll feel on race day.”

Run

Again, we both took too long in transition from the bike to the run. We’ll have to work on that! Stephen started off running the pace and heart rate that he wanted, but again–he had to stop at every aid station to pee (TMI at this point, but it was very frustrating and not normal for him)! He finished the first five miles right at his goal time. Then the frustration really set in. He was upset about losing time at every aid station.

We passed each other early in the run, going opposite directions (another out and back course).

“Come catch me,” he yelled.

“I’m trying,” I called back. He was about 2.5 miles ahead of me and I would have caught up to him if I had been able to run the whole way. But we were both reaching our limits about mid-way through the marathon. Stephen adapted his plan at about mile nine, realizing he wasn’t going to make his time goal and instead aiming to finish with me. We passed each other going opposite directions a couple more times and he also kept track of me by asking a few spectators along the course to look me up on the app. He slowed down to pace himself so we could finish together.

Unfortunately I was slowing down as well. I kept a pretty good pace until about mile 16 when my strained hamstring really started to ache and I switched from my fuel to the Maurten’s on course fuel. I ditched my handheld CamelBak water bottle because, at that point, I was tired of carrying it and tired of the flavor (apparently there is something called “flavor fatigue”). I had to stop at the bathrooms a couple times and switching to the aid station gels did not help. My stomach started to gurgle and churn (I know, I know–nothing new on race day. Regrets). By mile 19.5, I realized that between my stomach and my leg, I had to walk the rest of the way. That was a long seven miles, but I was able to keep a good walking pace.

Finish Line

Towards the end, I was feeling wells of emotion as I realized, even though I was having to walk, I was going to finish. All the hard work–literal blood, sweat, and tears–of the last ten months was coming to a climax. Up until those last few miles, my brain had no reference point from which to gauge whether or not I could actually pull this off. At one point towards the end our training, when I was having one of many self-doubting meltdowns, Stephen said, “If I didn’t think you could do this, I would tell you. You are doing well and you are going to be fine.” I clung to those words like a drowning person clinging to a flotation device until the last few miles of the race when I realized that even if I had to crawl, I was going to finish.

About one mile from the finish, Stephen’s dad Kenny was waiting for me. He eagerly asked me how I was doing and wanted to hear the details of my experience. I was excited to talk to someone after 15 hours of only having the company of my mind’s inner voices in a battle of determination and doubt. Walking alone in the dark the last few miles, I fought back tears several times, feeling the culminating triumph of overcoming discouragement through our training and also through the last ten years of ups and downs in my personal life.

“Wave to that person up there,” Stephen’s dad said.

“Do I know him?” I said, squinting to make out the figure in the dark 50 yards ahead.

“It’s Stephen,” he laughed and then Stephen–my husband, my training partner, my best friend, love of my life–turned around. When I caught up to him, he wrapped me in his arms.

“Did you finish already and come back?” I asked.

“No,” he said, “I couldn’t keep my pace up so I decided to pace myself so you could catch me.”

He took my hand and we ran the rest of the way, hand in hand across the finish line, with our families cheering as we went by, finish line spotlights illuminating our way through the dark of night.
“Stephen, you are an Ironman,” the commentator announced with dramatic flair. “And Melanie, You! Are! An Ironman! Congratulations to both of you!”
“Wooo-hooo,” yelled my son. “There they go! Together!”

It was emotional and exhilarating. The adrenaline and excitement temporarily erased all the aches and pains I had been feeling. For one glorious moment, we were the stars of the show, winners of our own race, victors of all the struggles we had overcome to cross that elusive Ironman finish line. We kissed and there was a collective, “Awww,” from the crowd. They let us put the finisher medals around each others’ necks. It was a magical moment.

Would I have liked to finish faster? Sure, but my goal was to finish and I was thrilled. I loved finishing with Stephen by my side. I couldn’t have done this without his support, encouragement, and guidance, so finishing together felt fitting. Stephen had a time goal that he will continue to chase in the coming years. And although he has had faster races in the past, he said that finishing together made this race his “best finish yet!”

The day after the race, we went back to the Ironman merch store and bought our finisher jackets. And yes, I bought myself an earth toned Ironman Arizona sticker and slapped it proudly on that Yeti. So resident doctor, wherever you are, I understand a little better now why you would swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles. There’s just something about being out there, testing your limits and engaging with the elements—water, wind, earth—that strips away the noise of life and lets you glimpse the strength of the human spirit, the strength of *your* human spirit. And it’s not just about that day. It’s about all the days along the way when you ran in the dark, swam in the cold, faced your fears about open water, rode and ran for hours and hours and hours. It is about all the times you doubted yourself, questioned your sanity, talked yourself off a cliff, and kept going even though you wanted to quit.

For younger participants, it is perhaps about harnessing their youth. For us, it is more about challenging the norms about what is possible for the aging body and resisting the tendency to slow down, lose the ability to swim and run and ride for hours and hours and hours. I had already started to forget that my body was capable of that. Perhaps I assumed that later, when I have more time, I would maybe get back to endurance sports. But it dawned on me at one point—I am 50! There is no later. Later is now. And now, I am an Ironman.

Stephen Says—

Team Kick Kaas Rule #3: Be Prepared

“I am a planner and as a general rule, I overprepare. Training is the time for trial and error with things like learning how to change a flat tire, what works best for fueling, what to expect of yourself in best/worst case scenarios for pace, watts, power, heart rate, weather conditions and any other factors you can anticipate. Make a race plan based on what you think you can expect from yourself and from the forecasted weather conditions and then plan for the unexpected too. Read other people’s race reports, listen to podcasts with professional athletes and coaches, talk to other athletes, hire a coach or sign up with a coaching program. Read articles, books, do research online, tune up your bike. Map out your race day plan and prepare everything in advance so that race day goes as smoothly as possible.”

Takeaways

Our bodies are able to adapt and do more than we think they can. Don’t let age or ability keep you from pushing yourself or trying new things and don’t underestimate your potential!
Triathlon is a great way to exercise in a whole body way.
Having a race on the calendar helps keep you consistent with your plan.
Having a training buddy or coach is invaluable.
Proper fueling is a key to staying well and feeling good.

The finish line was not the end of our journey. As soon as Stephen realized he wasn’t going to finish in the time he was hoping for, he started planning his next race. After the race, life didn’t pause. Thanksgiving, work, laundry, kids–no rest for the weary. Pull up the next twisty, curveball riddled graph!

Race Nutrition

Stephen–

Bobo’s Lemon Poppyseed bar (three hours before race start)
Homemade fuel drink before the race and during the bike and run
Morton’s gels when he ran out of our fuel drink (one of his containers burst, coating his leg in sticky wetness)
Pretzels on course

Melanie–

Two slices of sourdough bread with tahini (one hour before race start)
Mocha latte (dairy free) with 50 grams of honey (15 minutes before race start)
3 Laird’s lemon bars (½ bar every 15 miles of bike course)
Homemade Nutrition Drink
Maurten’s gels from the aid stations (As mentioned, this was not part of my plan.)
Siete brand grain free chips (I had put these in my race bags and I was so glad. It was the only thing that sounded good and went down easily after 10 hours of activity.)
LMNT electrolytes (I had these in my fuel bottles and had a couple extra in my pockets that I sprinkled in my water at the aid stations.)

Special Thanks

Stephen’s friends, Robert and his wife Nicole, were there to help us. Robert started doing Ironman races with Stephen years ago and has raced all over the world, including at the World Championship race in Kona in 2022, so they were amazing at anticipating our needs and being helpful, especially at the end of the evening with gathering all our gear and taking it back to our place. Stephen’s parents were also there. His father raced Ironman when he was our age and is the one who started his kids racing, so they were also incredibly supportive. I’ll always remember his dad enthusiastically saying, “You’re doing fantastic!” after my ride. My kids were there and Stephen’s kids joined via Facetime calls from Hawaii and Idaho. They were all amazing cheerleaders–making signs, pumping the music when we went by, recording Facebook live videos, following us on the Ironman app, and cheering us on from 6am-10:30pm. It was an Ironman day for everyone!

Ironman Arizona Race Report