IRONMAN TEXAS!!

This is gonna be kinda quick and kinda dirty.  Sorry.

Prelude:
Last year, my triathlon season sucked out loud.  I was registered for the Louisiana Tri, but couldn’t race because I had to adult.  I registered for Crawfishman (best. race. ever.), and it got shortened due to weather to a 400Y swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run.  I wasn’t even warmed up until about mile 6 on the bike.  Bleh.  I registered for the Big Easy Sprint, which got cancelled due to construction on the course.  I registered for the Escape from NOLA Olympic which got cancelled due to lack of participation.  And I registered for Ironman New Orleans 70.3, which got cancelled due to a freak storm that ended up blowing down the tents at the race site, flooding the bike and run courses, and making for a pretty nasty day.

Prior to IMNOLA, some folks on my team, BNG Endurance, were signed up for Ironman Texas.  I’d done a full.  I know how much they hurt.  I know how hard they are to train for.  But I also know what that finish line feels like, and the idea of traveling to The Woodlands with 14-15 of my teammates seemed like it would be an absolute blast.  But Shellie (the wife) was adamant about letting me do another Ironnman.  But while she was sitting in the parking lot at IMNOLA waiting for me to get my rain-soaked gear, she knew.  It was going to happen.  And happen, it did.

Training:
I spend a couple weeks after NOLA doing some basic base work while looking for a training plan.  I talked to a coach, looked at online plans, and eventually settled on Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 plan.  I also relied heavily on Zwift for my bike training, since I was training over the winter and outdoor rides would be miserable at best.  I’d load my workout from Training Peaks to Zwift, ride in the Zwift world on my Tacx Flux, and get my bike work in that way.  I ran as much outdoors as I could but also relied pretty heavily on my treadmill.  And for swimming, I’d head over to Pelican Athletic Club in Mandeville and take advantage of their heated pools.  Going into race week, I was in fantastic shape and felt like a caged animal after tapering for 10 days or so.  I felt confident and ready to tackle IMTX.

Race Week (Wednesday):
Wednesday morning, we (Shellie [Sherpa], Brynn [Comfort Goat], and me) loaded up the MDX and headed west to The Woodlands.  We arrived mid-afternoon Wednesday and I was able to get checked in to the race and get my wristband and swag-bag.  Unfortunately, the expo was closing shop, so we didn’t get to visit with the exhibitor booths.  That evening we opted to grab some Mexican grub where we ran into Parrish and Joe from BnG.  Joe had a set of challenges facing raceday that nobody should ever face, and Parrish was “winging it” for the race.  We ate, cut up, and generally had a good time.  Later that evening we walked some of the run course trying to find good spectator spots as well as figuring out the logistics for me for the race.  The Woodlands venue was beautiful and almost idlyllic for watching a race like this.

Thursday:
Thursday morning, I got up early and went for a run.  Taper madness had set in and I needed to burn off some energy.  I ran down to the waterway, and then over to North Shore park where the swim was to start.  “Glorious” by Macklemore was on my headphones as I ran along the lake with the sun rising in the east, and it was indeed Glorious.  In just 48 hours, I’d be chasing my second Ironman in that lake, and I was ready.

After breakfast, we (Sherpa, comfort goat, and I) went to the Ironman Village to get some swag and hit the athlete briefing.  I got to get a pic with Mike Reilly (Voice of Ironman) and spend some time with the BnG crew.  Afer that, we decided to do a bit of window shopping and just relax the rest of the afternoon.  I split off from my family to visit the athlete banquet with the team and then met back up with them and some friends in The Woodlands for my second dinner.

Friday:
Friday morning was the practice swim at the Swim Start.  I got up early, met up with Mike and Julie and we went to meet the BnG crew for breakfast before the swim.  The practice swim screwed up my head something fierce, as I hadn’t swam in a wetsuit since Augusta 2015, and the water was colder than I was expecting.  But once I was in the water and settled down, I was able swim a fairly comfortable half-mile.  But I was still way nervous about the swim on raceday (as I usually am).  I started over-thinking things until Shellie talked me back down to relative sanity.

After the practice swim, I packed my Run and Bike bags, threw the P2 on the back of the MDX, and took them to transition to check in.  At this point, there was no turning back.  Ironman Texas was going to happen with or without me.

Friday evening we met up with Mike and Julie, and Tara and Darren for dinner.  After dinner, we hit the hot tub at the hotel to relax while I got my head right for the next day.  It was almost time to race, finally.

RACE DAY (Swim):
Finally... Time to race.  I got up about 3:30, ate some oatmeal, and got dressed while the girls did whatever it is they do to prepare to leave.  We went over to transition so I could drop off my nutrition and check on the bike and then made the mile walk over to swim start.  Walking over, I felt like I was walking out to a cage fight, which was fitting for what was about to happen...

I arrived at swim start with about 40 minutes or so before the race started.  I got into my wetsuit, put on my swim cap and goggles, and seeded myself in the 1:31-1:40 group.  Based on my training this was a conservative estimate of where I should be.  I was confident that I’d have a good swim.  Hahahahahahahhah!!

After the cannon went off,  I finally got to the water about 10 minutes later.  I got in, did an easy breast stroke out about 50 yards from the start, and then started swimming.  But somehow I ended up in a mass of bodies and got kicked and punched more in the first 500 yards than I’ve ever been hit in a race.  It was miserable.  Eventually I was able to find some open water (that was on course) to swim in and finally settled into a rhythm, but I knew I wasn’t even close to where I wanted to be.  After the turn-around bouys, I had plenty of space to swim, but my swim cap was cutting into my forehead and I had to stop and adjust.  More time lost.  Blah.  Finally we made our way to the waterway and I was headed to the swim exit.  I ended up close to a guy that did everything in his power to keep me from passing him, and was just PO’ed by the time I got around him.  And if that wasn’t enough, at the swim exit, the guy to my right decided he wanted to use the stairs on the left to get out the water and cut across the path of 4-5 other swimmers, and kicked me in the face in the process.  Dick.  When I got out of the water, I noticed my wetsuit had been opened somewhere in the scrum.  I’m not sure where the zipper got pulled open, but I’m sure that contributed to my crappy swim time.

Bike:

The bike started out fun.  I came out of T1 last amongst my BnG teammates (not shocked) and figured I’d have to do some work on the bike.  The first 30 or so miles were fairly uneventful, except for the woman that didn’t understand “on your left”.  I prepared myself for spending the entire day yelling that since I was out of the water so late.  Once on the Hardy Toll Road, I was able to settle into a groove and just focus on my ride.  I covered the first half of the bike in what was a PR for me for 55 miles.  I was hoping to get off the bike in under 6 hours but it wasn’t to be.  I started wanting actual food and grabbed a couple things at an aid station.  I checked and saw one of the items was Ginger Ale flavored Clif Blocks, and thought that would be perfect.  But the second one I ate pulled a crown off of a tooth, which necessitated me stopping to deal with it.

Not. Happy.

Not long after that, while coming down an overpass, I hit a Gatorade bottle at about 25 MPH while tucked in aero.  How I stayed up, I have no idea.  It took a few minutes to get my nerves settled to finish my ride.  Eventually I hit the 100 mile mark and then made my way from the Hardy to T2.  My bike split was close to what I was targeting, and I felt good going into the run.

Run:

The run... Time to do what I do.  I headed out of T2 sunblocked and lubed up ready to tackle 26.2 miles of what was turning into a warmer than expected afternoon.  I ran the first mile to assess what was going on, saw my heart rate was way elevated for my pace and decided I was going to have to Gallo-Walk the marathon at a 4/5/6-1 interval of running and walking.  Blah.

The first of 3 laps was relatively uneventful.  I figured I’d get through two more like that and get my second Ironman Finish, then find food.  The second lap got a little slower, but I was still able to hold my intervals.  I’d hoped the third lap would be the opportunity to run, but my calves started cramping bad.  I couldn’t run more than two minutes at a time, and had to walk 3-4 minutes to get the cramps to go away.  But finally, there was CHICKEN BROTH on the course.  I struggled through three aid stations to get two servings of chicken broth, hit mile 19, and was ready to finish this mess.  My time goals were shot, so I figured I’d enjoy the last lap of the beatutiful run course.  Once I got some broth I was able to resume my run/walk intervals (though the 1 sometimes crept to 2 or 3).  I never doubted I’d finish at this point.  I just wanted to do so without a trip to the medical tent.  The last three miles went by smoothly and I was able to see my support crew before making my way down the finish chute.  I hit the carpet, and walked the last couple hundred yards, soaking in the finish line.  Mike Reilly called my name.  I was done. I was a 2x IRONMAN.

It wasn’t a pretty day.  It was hard.  It was challenging.  But I got it done.  In retrospect, I wonder what would have happened had I had a better swim and were better prepared for the heat on the run.  But there’s no second guessing in this game.  You show up, you race the course in front of you, and you do your best for the time you’re out there.

As for now, I’ve got a couple 70.3s left for the year.  And while I’m not 100% sure, I think I’m finished with racing this distance.  I’ve done it twice.  I finished both times.  I’m not ashamed of either of my performances.  But I know to improve, I’d have to make even greater sacrifices than I already have, and I’m not prepared to do that.  For now though, I’ll be proud of what I’ve done in my two Ironman races.  And prep for the 70.3 distance, where I can actually race.