Ironman 70.3 Texas

What an up and down potential weekend with the weather reports all over the place.  But the day turned out much better than the forecast.  Only a little bit of rain, heavy winds, lower temps, but high humidity.

It was a great day for me, starting off the season with a PR is always a great note.
here is a little report:

Pre-Race:

                This was my first race of the season, so with that comes many unknowns and question marks.  I have felt that I have been making huge strides in my run training.  I felt that my cycling has gotten stronger but still not where I want it to be and still questionable on the ability for long distance endurance and still be able to run off the bike.  So that was going to be the biggest factor in my mind.  The weather all week had been saying for rain and windy conditions.  I tried to not focus on it and just let it be what I can’t control.  This was a train through race for IMTX in 6 weeks but was still prepared and wanting to do well.

               

Race morning:

                When I went to bed the weather was still the big unknown, when I woke up it was not raining but had rained and was extremely foggy.  The weather was going to continue to keep us guessing all day.  I didn’t start till 830, so there was plenty that could have happened with the weather.  It was extremely windy but was not raining too hard, just a few sprinkles here and there.  I was relatively calm all morning.

Swim:

                It was fairly chilly water but I decided to wear my sleeveless wetsuit.  First jump in the water was a little cold, but once the gun went off, the temperature wasn’t an issue.  The wind was creating a chop directly in the direction we were swimming.  So the first 500M or so was extremely tough and didn’t feel like I was going anywhere.  Felt like getting tossed around in a washing machine. After the race, I talked to a pro who gave me the advice in situations like that again, really try to bury your head in your chest to swim straight through the waves.  After the first buoy, we turned left and the waves were still strong but not completely fighting them.  This was pretty uneventful.  Making the final turn, we headed back to shore where the tide was actually pushing us away from the shore, I was pre-warned of this in the morning but still it was hard to combat.  Had to just keep me head down and focused. I felt like I had been swimming forever.  When I got out of the water, I felt good, usually a little disoriented but not this time. So was able to start my run at a good pace into transition.  I lapped my watch and saw my time, and I assumed correctly, I had been in the water forever. Just about 34:45, not even close to a PR and 1.5 min slower than last year. Oh well.

T1

                Since I felt pretty good, I was able to get to my bike quickly.  I struggled briefly with my arm warmers for the bike (probably could have gone without but was comfortable with them the whole bike). Was able to do a flying mount pretty well and was off on the bike.  Was happy overall with my T1.

Bike:

                The rain was still holding off, but the roads were slick and it was windy.  With what the weather had said, it was going to be a tail wind out and a head wind back. However, it was mainly a cross wind the whole time.  It did rain a few times just briefly, so the weather was a lot nicer than it could have been.  Being the second to last wave, there was hundreds of people in front of.  I made sure to be very careful the first few miles where it was slick and we had turns, then luckily it is just a straight away.  I basically spent the majority of the time on the left side passing people.  I was maintaining my watts, anticipating the potential for a headwind on the way back.  There was a slightly stronger wind on the way back but my watts stayed roughly the same and my speed didn’t get affected too much.  I did have to pee one time on the bike, but because there are no decent descents it basically had to come to a coast.  Looking back I was most likely under hydrating on the bike, it was not very hot or sunny but was humid, which will deceptively dehydrate you quickly.  Also, because of the cross wind, a few times I would reach for my bottle, a gust would blow the bike making me uneasy riding in aero with one hand, so a few times I opted to not take a drink when I knew I should because of safety reasons.  Overall I was very pleased with my bike, I held back on my watts and came in with a PR bike split.

               

T2:

                I was able to do a flying dismount successfully; there were very few other athletes around me, which made this easier.  I got to my rack quickly, had to move someone else’s stuff around, but got my shoes on and was out. 

Run:

                Coming directly out of T2, my stomach and my chest felt uncomfortable.   It was not the normal stomach GI issues I have had before. But it after about a mile I was able to get into a rhythm and this worked itself out.  Probably actually worked out for the better because it made me keep slower the first mile.  It was not too sunny or warm out but was humid.  There were almost like pockets of very humid air on the course that were worse than others.  I felt very strong and comfortable on the first two loops. I was holding right around a 7 min mile.  This is a very spectator friendly course and because of the out and backs, you see almost all the other racers.  It is always great to see my teammates out on the course.  As I started my third loop, I started to suffer a little bit.  I knew that it was going to be tough to push through.   Thinking back now, I was most likely dehydrated from the bike and then wasn’t taking much liquid in on the run either.  I kept pushing but my pace was falling slightly, closer to a 7:30 pace. I passed by the team tent the last time, Dave and Brian, both could tell I was hurting, so they gave me a few last minute words and told me to go get it, I had about 2.5 miles to go from here and knew I was going to have to work for every foot.  

Along the backside of moody gardens, I knew I had to get to the last out and back and then it was just back all the way to the finish.  With about ¾ a mile left, I got passed by a guy and I tried to just keep up with him.  I was struggling to keep up with him. But knew I was almost there.  Then Dave had come around to that side and saw me chasing this guy and yelled at me to stay on him and not let him get away.  I was able to keep with him and then in the last 300M kick it in and passed him back.  It felt good that I was able to push back from the pain I had in the last loop to have a good last mile and even big kick at the end.

Post-Race:

                I felt good after I finished. Legs were obviously tired and sore but overall felt good. I headed back to the team tent, were I was able to eat and change close and watch everyone else finish.

Final thoughts:

                Honestly going into this race, I was not sure what I was going to do. Yes I had several “ideas” of what times I could do and wanted but being the first race of the season, it is hard to judge where your fitness level is at.  I am happy with my time.  It is a 6 minute PR in the distance but a 24 min PR from this race last year.  I am excited to see my currently fitness level and have a better judge of where I am at going into IMTX.  It was great to have the support of everyone down cheering and racing.  I have the best teammates, coaches, and friends I could ask for, definitely gives me the motivation to keep pushing through.  Brian always keeps pushing me to my limits and believes in me more than I believe in myself. Him and Dave were always in the right spot to tell me the exact words I needed to hear at the time to get me going.  And couldn't have done it this weekend without Mollie being my Sherpa, she took care of me and everything I needed.

Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement

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