Thanks for asking about Aimee's Ironman. I posted all my updates on Facebook and forgot about my blog.
The race went great. I am working on a spectator report which will be posted soon but here are her results.
Swim: 1:26:11
T1: 14:01
Bike: 7:51:26
T2: 6:01
Run: 5:36:19
Total 15:13:58
We now have a house full of Iron. I had no doubts she would cross the finish line.
More to follow.
We drove and ran the run course while in St. George. Hopefully the pictures and comments will help with planning for this run.
This is the view looking south toward the round-a-bout that will be the finish line. Athletes will need to loop around this rounder as they head out for loop two of the run. If they are done with the race they head straight into the finish line.
After running north on Main Street the course goes through a round-a-bout and heads northwest. Diagonal Street is a wide residential street which is relatively flat. We didn’t notice any uphill grade along here. Based upon where the sun will probably be located there will be no shade during this segment.
Turning right onto Bluff Street the climbing begins. The incline isn’t very steep at this point so a good pace can be kept. A short out and back on 1250 North takes you up to the local Elks Lodge
I would imagine the Elks will have an aid station here. There are two steps going up to the lodge which are short and steep. Some people may want to walk these short bumps to save some energy for the big stuff. But powering over them is just as easy. Of course the bumps on the road send you downhill back to Bluff Street.
Another right turn back to Bluff Street and the climbing continues to Red Hills Parkway. This is the main out and back for the run course. Rounding the corner on to Red Hills Parkway you will be faced with the first significant climb of the day.
The snaking road climbs for a good quarter mile before letting up. This is a 7.5 - 8% grade for just under half a mile.
The hard part will be making sure to hold back during the first loop and not attacking the hill too hard. The hills will definitely consume some calories.
As with most big hills I run I try not to focus on the top of the hill. Instead I drop my gaze down to the road and concentrate on the 10 – 15 feet in front of me. Using this method I can make sure I have good footing and not get discouraged with the task in front of me. Keeping your head down also prevents you from leaning back. You need to lean into the hill. The curvature of the road also prevents you from seeing the top of the climb. I really didn’t know I was done climbing until the road straightened out and you could see the open fields.
While the road is a good surface, I was running on the gravel shoulder instead. On the day we ran the course it was the safest option. The low clouds made it a little difficult to see with visibility down to about a half mile but it was still clear enough for people to see us. The gravel, more like small rock, shoulder was actually comfortable to run on. I can see it as a good alternative to running on the road. The shoulder could provide some relief from the pounding of the road.
At the top of the first hill the course flattens out for approximately one mile. We were on top of the plateau and it was wide open. Once again I looked around and there is no shade. If the day is hot it would be a scorcher for all athletes. This flat section will allow you to get into a decent pace until the next set of rollers.
After a couple of rollers the course reaches its peak and the downhill fun begins.
The course is predominantly all downhill to the turn around at 1000 East Street. With no rest the return trip begins immediately with the uphill climb to Pioneer Park.
We looked at Pioneer Park and couldn’t figure out exactly how the run course will flow through here but it will be a nice scenic quarter mile section. Don’t forget that this park in located in Utah. Parks in Utah are filled with rocks and cactus, neither of which provide any shade. So I will simply offer another reminder that there will be no shade on this run course.
This the uphill after Pioneer Park looking back to the top which is shown two pictures above. From this intersection to the top is approximately .5 mile. With an elevation gain of 170 feet this calculates to a 6.4% grade.
This run course will be a true test of running ability. Not only will a person’s physical condition and preparation be challenged but their mental focus and race strategy will be tested.
Physically someone will look at this run course and know they must prepare for hills. Yes hill repeats will be required during training. I would recommend long repeats. Aimee and I usually do 90 second repeats. Those won’t suffice this time around. I have a 1 mile repeat in mind for her to train on.
However, uphill repeats are only half the training needed for this course. Downhill training is a must as well. The steep grade of these hills can wreak havoc on the quads and hips. If proper running technique is not held during the downhill’s the quads will tire quickly and the hips can become sore from all the impact.
I found two articles I liked that talked about downhill training/running.
Active.com article to improve downhill running
Runner’s World article with Ash Coach Jenny
It will be interesting to see how they do traffic control. Red Hills Parkway is a nice by-pass around downtown St. George. But based upon how the athletes will start this section and the short loop through Pioneer Park I am anticipating the entire road to be closed to traffic. This will make it nice for the runners but also lonely. Spectators will be most welcome on the parkway but I can’t see family and friends walking or cycling this section.
The next three pictures are from the viewing area across from Pioneer Park. Each picture is centered on the Bear Paw Cafe with the red awning. The first picture is a 10x zoom. The third picture is pulled all the way back. The Bear Paw Cafe is on Main Street where athletes run out from T2 and in to the finish.
The course is up that high.
Did I forget to mention that there will be no shade on this course? Athletes will be on top of the red hills. A plateau….mesa…ridgeline. No matter what they call it out there in St. George, it will be exposed. Take the time to get a good coating of sun screen when coming out of T2. Skip it and the sun can steal your energy away and/or leave you with a good sunburn, ouch. Let’s just add some tender skin to the already sore muscles the day after the race.
Here are two more pictures to give reference to the elevation. The first picture is where the course turns left onto Diagonal Road. The "Dixie" painted on the rocks is right above the run course.
This picture of Aimee is across the street from Pioneer Park. In the background you can see part of the "Dixie" sign.
Below is the results from the BimActive capture from the run. I like this profile chart better since it is 1/4 of the marathon. I did a manual mapping as well and confirmed that there is a 485 foot elevation change from Main Street to the highest point of the course. The 803 elevation gain listed below covers the entire route (excluding the out and back to the Elks Lodge).
ActivityMapRoute: -- Elev. Avg: 2998 ft Location: Saint George, UT, Elev. Gain: +137 ft Date: 12/12/09 Up/Downhill: [+803/-666] Time: 09:46 AM Difficulty: 4.3 / 5.0 Weather: Cloudy 31 F temp; 82% humidity 31 F heat index; winds CALM calm mph Elevation (ft)
Some of you may be wondering why I'm writing from St. George.
St. George?
As in Utah?
And my response is, "Yes, St. George, Utah." Site of Ironman St. George on May 1, 2010.
Please flash back to this quick post back in March, here.
I expressed my nervousness on that day. Something that likes to sit in pit of your stomach. Well the someone I referred to in that post was Aimee.
Aimee is the one who signed up for Ironman St. George. She has several half-distance races under her belt and when this race was announced it just felt right for her to take the step up to the Full distance.
Aimee ran her first marathon in St. George back in 2003. We had a nice group from Cleveland doing the race and it was a great experience.
The IM training cycle began in November. Things are going well so far with the base training. We are putting the plan together ourselves and I like how things are progressing. We are working together on this pretty well.
So we looked at our calendar and decided to take some time off and travel out to St. George. Some early training on the course and see what this race is going to be like.
So we flew out today. It was a long travel day. The flight from Ohio departed at 6:45AM which means we had to be up at 4AM to get ready. My dad transported us to the airport with our bikes. This is a new thing for us since all of our races have been drivable. It was more convenient and actually cheaper for us to fly the bikes out with us.
We flew to St. Louis where we had a 3 hour layover. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be as we read the paper, talked and ate some lunch. The final legs of our flying took us into Las Vegas...3.5 hours of flying. In Vegas we got a rental car and drove the 2 hours to St. George.
During our travels we had stops in all four time zones.....Vegas is Pacific and St. George is Mountain. It was confusing the keep our times straight.
After we checked into the hotel we drove the run course and headed to dinner. I'll save my review of the run course until I actually run it and will put my comments in a separate post.
We ate at a highly recommended local restaurant, Scaldoni's, and absolutely loved it. Our waiter, Dave, was awesome. He made some recommendations that were perfect. While Aimee and I were reviewing the course maps Dave made comment about seeing the maps. We started talking about the race which he is very involved with locally. Dave is an avid cyclist and is on the city's race committee.
He provided us with some brief insight regarding the course and made us feel very good about how the race is really being embraced by the city. Being able to talk with a local about the race was very nice.
So far the weather is not the best. Average temperatures in St. George for this time of the year ar 58 degrees. It's the mid 30's this weekend. Possible snow/rain for the weekend. We are going to do the best we can with the weather. We do have plan B.
Saturday we run the course and will drive the bike course. More information to follow.
