Ironman Arizona Course Recon

We went to Tempe for the weekend to check out the course and do a little warm weather training. Ha. While in Tempe the temperatures were about 20 degrees F below normal and it was pouring rain. Meanwhile back in Boulder, it was sunny and pushing 70F. However, we were there to train and train we did. So here are my thoughts on the course.

The Swim – I swam in a nice outdoor 25-meter pool. Arizona has been hit with some serious winter storms recently and it shows in the Tempe Town Lake... and beyond. Tempe Town Lake is actually a dammed-off river. The winter storms have dumped so much rain in the desert town that the rivers have overflowed and the dams protecting the lake have broken. As of Valentine’s Day weekend, the lake looked more like the Mighty Mississippi. The water is actually clean enough to swim in, but there is so much debris and sediment from washouts and some hefty currents that it is unsafe.

According to the local weather reports, another storm was on its way the following weekend, and February and March is normally their wettest season. The race is still 52 days away, so there is time for it to settle down for the race. We’ll see what the day brings.

The Bike – I think the course is actually pretty fair. A few turns get you out onto the Beeline Highway where you have about nine miles on a slight incline. Apparently it’s usually a headwind out and tailwind back – we had the opposite both days. Towards the end of Beeline there are a couple of gentle rollers then you turn onto Shea Blvd and into Fountain Hills. This would probably the hardest part of the course. The course through Fountain Hills is all short easy rollers and a lot of left hand turns. The rollers are nothing major and can all be done in the big ring. The road surface through there is not so great though. Rough road, chip seal, buckled and cracked pavement... There is also a bad stretch of road surface along McEllis Rd early in the bike.

After the turnaround there is one “hill” of note. About three miles from the turnaround is a half mile grade. It’s not a major hill by any means, but it was enough for me to gear down and take it easy up it. Then it’s back to a series of little rollers, more left hand turns and you’re back onto the Beeline Highway headed for town.

I don’t think this course is a “hard” course. I would compare it somewhat to the IMNZ course. It’s definitely easier than IMC and IMLP. For those living in, or familiar with, the Boulder area, the Highway 36 rollers are tougher than the “toughest” part of the IMAZ course. That being said, it is important to really watch your pacing on the first loop. It can be too easy to go too hard and burn yourself in Fountain Hills the second time around.

The Run – Well, I really wasn’t all that impressed with the run course. You have a series of one-mile out-n-backs before heading out for a loop around the canal. Two out-n-back sections of the run course were closed off for construction and a couple of the turns were not marked. I couldn’t run without the map in my hand for constant reference which was distracting and somewhat annoying. The surface is a mix of gravel, dirt, concrete and pavement. The run course is such that you’re not going to be able to do a recon drive race week.

Though I’m not too sold on the run course, I’m looking forward to getting out on the bike course race day.

15 Febuary 2005

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