Congrats Andy Potts!

Submitted by GoWings2008 on

A huge congrats to UM alumni Andy Potts for his 4th place finish at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday.  In a finishing time of 8:21:38, he beat his previous best in Kona by about 10 minutes and his best finish in that race.  

He was, as one would expect, first out of the water...tied for first, actually.  Although he slipped to 9th after the bike, he finished strong during the run with a split of 2:48 on the marathon to finish where he did.  For someone like myself who also spent many years swimming, my hats off to Andy for developing into such a strong runner.

A few facts, Andy was the second highest American with fellow countryman Ben Hoffman finishing second.  Andy was one of 5 men who had a faster run split than the female champion, Mirinda Carfrae, who ran a 2:50 marathon to finish only 2 minutes in front of second place.  Former Olympian short track speed skater Apollo Ohno finished a very respectable 9:52 for his very first Ironman distance race. 

Any interested folks wanting to see the race coverage, NBC will have a special in the next few weeks, not sure when, summarizing the race.  It usually is aired somewhere in the middle of November. 

APBlue

October 13th, 2014 at 1:14 PM ^

Congrats on a great finish in an incredibly grueling race.
I can't imagine what it takes to get through a 2 mile swim (in the ocean), 112 mile bike race, then wrapping it up with a full (26.2 miles) marathon.

WolvinLA2

October 13th, 2014 at 6:22 PM ^

So because you know people like you describe, that makes all participants like that?  Do you think it's possible that at least some of the participants have the support of their friends and family?

My wife has ran multiple marathons and other long races and each time she took a lot of time for herself to do it.  But I didn't care because it was important to her and I would hope she would support me in the same way if I chose to do something like that (I will not).  And our boys are proud of her.  

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of selfish people like how you claim.  But your first post suggested all participants are like that and as many here have told you, that just isn't true.  

bronxblue

October 13th, 2014 at 6:47 PM ^

As do I.  I've also competed in a couple of biathalons and marathons.  

My point isn't that it doesn't require a lot of dedication and commitment.  My issue was with the condescending and judgmental tone you took toward people competing in one.  Shockingly, some people can be good people and be good to their friends and family while still doing pretty well in a competition like that.  

BlueintheLou

October 13th, 2014 at 7:31 PM ^

I would venture to say that a professional has more balance in their lives than the weekend warrior. Triathlon is their job. Would you say that working your job for 40-50 hours per week is forsaking your friends and family in order to glorify yourself. I would doubt that. A job is a Job, but just because his is cooler doesn't make it that he is forsaking friends and family for himself.

But yeah, sweeping generalizations are always true, so you must be right.

bluecervelo

October 13th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^

I think you'd be surprised what a reasonably in-shape person could do (assuming they can swim). In my experience, doing 30 weeks of training was more grueling than the race itself. I did a poor job with my training, only averaged 7-8 hrs a week and I had a pretty comfortable ironman.

AA2Denver

October 13th, 2014 at 4:25 PM ^

My goal is 7hrs most of the year, during peak build periods I'll hit 10. The other part is knowing how/when to eat, when to ease up, go hard...just knowing your body. When you get some basic knowledge and base, you're right, you can shock yourself. 

I like the training more than racing, races are very stressful for me. 

bluecervelo

October 13th, 2014 at 6:59 PM ^

Good luck with the training! I'm a bad swimmer, so once I knew I could make the distance, I ended up skipping a lot of swim sessions. I never felt like I was getting any faster anyways. In retrospect, I should have doubled my bike miles. I've since switched to bike racing, and I feel like I can ride a lot of miles a week and never really feel burned out.

victors2000

October 13th, 2014 at 7:23 PM ^

The bike course may be the best on the planet, hardly any bumpy parts. The finish was great, through the village with fantastic support. Grats on Louisville; I'm still getting up the courage to do a 'hot' Ironman. You definitely got a point about doing one and racing one. I'm definitely a doer, lol.

victors2000

October 13th, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^

still 4th place is a great accomplishment as a pro in the world championship. I do triathlons and Kona is definitely on my bucketlist. Oh and for the uninitiated its a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run...

icegoalie1

October 13th, 2014 at 3:33 PM ^

Agreed and what most people don't consider is the intense heat and humidity of the lava fields in kona. If you have ever run in Hawaii it feels like someone has a magnifying glass on you...it's is like running in an oven.

icegoalie1

October 13th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

I have finished four Ironman tris myself so I know what a tremendous effort and commitment it takes to just finish in a 14 hour time frame. I could only imagine the discipline and pure suffering it would take to push yourself in the winds and heat of Kona to a 4th place finish. Amazing!

icegoalie1

October 13th, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^

My wife only let me do them if I didn't sacrifice family time so I typically got up at 5am and did my run or swim and then did my bike work on the trainer after they went to bed at night. It is a very addicting lifestyle because you live on endorphins all the time, but it can be taxing on your family and social life. The elite guys/gals are typically single or married/dating a triathlete it seems.

icegoalie1

October 13th, 2014 at 7:12 PM ^

Believe it or not training for an IM doesn't require that much time until you hit the last 6-8 weeks of peak training. Most workouts on your plan are 45 min to an hour...I know there are nights where I "waste" more time reading stuff here. LOL. If you run 2-3 times a week now you can easily build up to it.

MoJo Rising

October 13th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^

Running downstairs and into the garage to lift the bike off the wall. Biking to the liquor store and back. Then placing beers into ice water to keep them cold and exerting effort to fish them out during the game. 

So a big congrats goes out to Andy. Great accomplishment. 

rockediny

October 13th, 2014 at 3:04 PM ^

Jeez, I just ran my first half-marathon in ~3:30 and I thought I was going to die. He did it twice after swimming and biking all those miles in much less time. Good lord!

J.Madrox

October 13th, 2014 at 3:12 PM ^

Well congrats on completing your first half marathon anyways. I have only done one myself, I'd like to do another, but I don't think I have it in me to train for a full marathon.

With that being the case I can't imagine training for an event where you are basically working out for 9 to 12 hours straight, crazy. But congrats to Andy and Go Blue.

GoBlueSimon

October 13th, 2014 at 3:34 PM ^

I run a marathon in just under 4 hours, which is better than the national average.  I want to run a 140.6 (full ironman), but I know I'm a couple years away, considering the tremendous physical effort it takes.

mgolund

October 13th, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^

Of course, it all depends on the person, but a friend of mine just started running two years ago. Last year, she decided she wanted to do a triathlon, so she signed up for a full ironman. She just did the ironman last month. Get a coach that understands your fitness and goals, and you'll be able to do it.

bluecervelo

October 13th, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^

Great race. Rumor has it that he was pretty lean coming into the race, which really helps on the run, especially since he's a pretty big dude. Unfortunately for Andy, IM racing really undervalues the swim, so he doesn't get as big an advantage as he should have. He could probably take a year off from swimming and try and pick up some bike speed and not lose much on the swim.

DBMCT

October 13th, 2014 at 4:33 PM ^

Potts is a super nice guy.  I met him a NYC Triathlon a couple of years ago and spoke to him re Michigan.   He is a huge Michigan fan and always represents the school (see photo shoot link of him in M gear - http://www.tririg.com/articles.php?id=2014_07_Andy_Potts_Custom_Kestrel_4000). 

Re Ironman training, assuming you can swim with some competance and your knees can take it, you can get race ready in less than a year.  If you are training to complete one or two, it is not that much of a drain on your time, if you get hooked, then, it can for sure cut into your life.  As others have said, very early morning workouts and longer training on the weekends and you can get it done.  I did Ironman Arizona in 2008 and probably that is it for me.  It is an amazing experience.