It's been a little over a week since we finished Ironman Arizona and it's time to give credit where it's due and kudos to the TTE crew that thrived! From PR's to first timers to an "old man come back" it was good times all around. Below you'll find the short stories, but there are always bigger stories behind the people ;)
I'm not big on writing personal race reports but I have had a lot of questions about coming back to an Ironman after a long lay off from racing and training. So, after this set of athlete updates I'm going to piece together a report, or series of reports, that hopefully contain information that is beneficial and educational to others about not only the race but more importantly the training that led into it.
Patrick Krueger ... starting with one of our Iron Virgins (no longer), Pat had a real smooth day after a bumpy 2-3 weeks leading in to the race. Pat hit all kinds of road bumps in those two weeks including ... a broken fork, a broken frame, a cold, and then a flat tire the day before the race! Talk about getting it all out of the way ahead of time ;) WELL done Pat and welcome to the club!
Odessa Schexnaydre ... Iron Virgin number two didn't have the road bumps that Pat had but Odessa is happy mother of two (her own road bumps) with a supportive husband. Odessa had one of the largest support crews along with her and used the infectious energy to have a real evenly paced day and was so strong all the way to the finish. To be honest I wasn't sure if Odessa would want to come back and do another IM but she has already used the words "next time" Good on Ya Odessa!
Layne Scoggins ... heading in to Ironman # 4 we all knew Layne wasn't going to PR, heck we didn't even know if he was going to finish! Layne had two successful medial meniscus surgeries this year the longest run he had down was about 10 miles. Well, needless to say Layne's wheels came off at about mile 10 but he persisted to the finished. Heck, I called him crazy for starting the race but he managed himself intelligently and finished what he started. Well done Layne!
Cecelia Rondou ... though she was starting Ironman #3 she hadn't done one since 1994. Since then she has competed very well at all distance from sprint to half ironman and just getting to the start line of the race has been monumental. Cecelia fractured her hip in a bike crash earlier in the year, which of course hampered how much she would be able to run in her lead up to the race. We all know Cecelia is not only talented but TOUGH, and she managed a 6th place in her age group in the process. Her face in the picture above sums it up ;) ... it was my pleasure to see you at the finish line Cecelia!
Jennifer Latourette ... on the start line for Ironman #5 Jen had done some different (compared to other Ironman build ups), and successful training leading into the race so she was ready to roll on race day. She started off with her best Ironman swim to set up the day but unfortunately had an athlete crash her about 15-16 miles into the bike ride. Being tough and stubborn (we all know that), she took some time to dust herself and focus back on the task. Keeping things as steady as she could Jen kept it rolling (ugly road rash included) and came across the line with a 10 minute PR! 5 Ironman races and PR's every time she has stepped to the plate! Well done "wifey" ;)
Special mention goes to our buddy Kevin Bucholz for gutting it and getting to the line. Kevin was rolling pretty good but just couldn't put together the run that his training should have provided! Glad you decided to keep pressing on K-BuchFinally ... in all the glory we unfortunately had one disappointment. Our super senior John Lander was in great shape heading in to the race but unfortunately mechanical difficulties on the bike forced him to retire on loop #1. It's hard to ever know what good will come out of it but at some point we'll figure it out! Next time John!!!!
Stay tuned for my race report(s) ... DL
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