First of all, I want to say that I So enjoyed training and racing with the IM TX group. We didn’t all always train together but it was really fun the times we did. There were plenty of long epic indoor rides over the winter, pouring rain outdoor rides, and other fun stuff. Excited that pretty much the whole crew is signed up for Roth!

Pre-race banquet of TX crew. I was sleeping already when this pic was taken. Sara, Rick, Tim,  Ted, and Klo. Missing from this pic were Paul and Jim Linck

Also, want to thank the amazing support crew. First off, John was awesome. He took the Sherpa-ing to a whole new level this race, shuttling me (and Ted, and whoever else) around TX and anything else that needed to be done. Also, he did something SO cool that you guys will probably see on TX footage, he hung the ATC banner on the bridge that crosses the canal everyone swims over. It was so cool to see that.. look for in TX video and pics!

Check out that banner!

Also, it was awesome having the Gills, Casey, and the other families out there on the course. What a great boost it was to pass you guys! Part of the loop on the run was really tough, exposed and similar to the state park at Gulf Coast. It was great to look forward to seeing everyone under the bridge. 

Gills in their festive cheering attire

The Swim 

Expected time: 1:10 plus/minus 3 minutes
Actual Time: 1:10

I swam as far to the inside as the kayaks would let me. I think I avoided some of the violence that way although it was one of the most physical starts at the beginning I’ve experienced. I like to play a little game when I’m swimming in a race. (Or maybe like is a strong word, it’s more that I force myself to play a horrible game    )  I try to go the whole swim with no breaks in stroke, little change in cadence, etc. If someone whacks me, which happened numerous times, I just keep on going.. no breastroke to site. Nothing. I have to keep swimming like my life depends on it and it’s very uncomfortable. I try to pretend that I’m a ‘swimming machine’ and I won’t stop for any reason. The swimming machine doesn’t waste energy trying too hard to find clear water, or weave around trying to find a good line, or break stroke  when people grab it and dunk it. The only thing the swimming machine can do is swim exactly the same.   That’s the rule.  So I got pretty punched and pummeled but I just forced myself to keep going no matter what. 

Looks like there is plenty of space before you see everyone funnel into a single  path!

John actually got a picture of me swimming!

After the turnaround it opened up a good bit and based on the crowd around me I was starting to realize I was having a good swim. I didn’t intentionally try to catch a draft because it was too hard to see and I felt like I was getting an inadvertent draft just because of the crowd. I was dreading the canal a little bit but when I got there, it actually wasn’t too crowded and that was the nicest part of the swim. 

John had hung the ATC banner on the bridge which was AWESOME! It gave me a lift and I wondered if he could identify me from above through my slightly gimpy stroke, which I assumed was magnified because of fatigue. 

When I got out I lost my footing and fell on my face but no worries. I was fine with it. Got into transition and was surprised by the bikes on the racks and the pretty empty change tent.

The Bike

Expected Time: 5:30 plus/minus a few minutes
Actual Time: 5:44

Got out on the bike and was prepared to work my plan. I know my bike strength is way better than it was the last two years. My target wattage was 10% higher than any previous IM’s and I was hitting it right on target.The issue I have is my shoulder/ back seizing up/nerves firing/muscle weakness leading to inability to stay in aero. Would actually love any advice as I have pretty much reached my wits end and my ability to manage it. 

I have the bike fit angle covered. Matt (from Podium, best bike fitter ever) has helped me a TON and my position is better than ever thanks to numerous bike fit tweaks. I have also gotten a lot of help from Greg (mechanic at Podium) with my setup. Small changes in where I put my computer, bottles etc. actually make a huge difference. Finally,  I have also gotten a ton of help from my PT (Ben at Benchmark Physical Therapy Perimeter) All that has been enough to keep me riding and get me to the start line of all these Ironmans whereas I’m pretty sure anyone normal and reasonable would have (wisely) decided to quit cycling a long time ago. 

The good news is that I was able to maintain a positive attitude and I am able to maintain a much higher output than previously. I realized I’m going to have to look a this as progress on a continuum and not whether I can stay in position perfectly or not, thus rendering the whole thing a failure.  The problem is I’m always looking at the bike as “I should have been able to do x time, if only I could hold my position”  So that was the bike. Legs are strong and could have kept pedaling forever. Rest of body was weak and falling apart.  

Then there was the matter of the heat. I wasn’t too concerned about it beforehand but it felt pretty hot out there. One other thing I will change going forward was my hydration setup. I basically only used one bottle with my backup bottle of coke for a mid-ride boost. I was okay with this because I thought the aid stations were every ten miles. They pretty much were, expect for one time (either 80 or 90) when they skipped one, then I refilled my aero with the coke till the next aid station. The next aid station my bottle was then full so I stuck some water in the back bottle cage and it later fell out. SO I was without anything hydrating for an hour plus. At mile 100 I was starting to feel pretty woozy and bobbing/weaving a bit.  Also my hamstrings were starting to cramp, which has never happened to me and I was on the verge of getting chill bumps. I kindof shut it down even more at that point because I realized I was looking at a bit of recovery before I could run. 

The Run
Expected Time: ~3:45 due to heat
Actual Time: 4:09

Got to the run and wasn’t thrilled about my time but it was a race of attrition at that point. I have never had cramping issues previously and thus was pretty darn dehydrated. Could only take very small steps to keep hamstrings from seizing up altogether. At that point I knew it was going to be a jog from aid station to aid station.  Several girls passed me the first couple of miles and amazingly I was still able to keep a positive mental attitude. I told myself that they would be slowing down later while I would be speeding up.

I’m not sure what’s up with the splits on the tracker website because that’s pretty much the opposite of what I experienced. I started off very slowly and gradually built my pace throughout the run, as I recovered.  The tracker says that I gradually slowed down. I think where they decide those timing mats are is completely random ☺ 

Anyway, the run was pretty hot. I had stuck my Garmin in my top and it filled with water and shut off. It was okay, I really didn’t want to look at pace because I didn’t want to become discouraged. I could tell by the women around me that I was still in the relative front-ish of the age group field and most of the women around me were running on a mission. I thought some of them may fade and I thought I could recover and rally. It was definitely a race of survival. I drank water, perform, and coke at every aid station and walked for probably 15-45 seconds apiece (which I normally don’t do) to try to reset my legs for the next mile. 

My calves are often the limiter on these runs. They tighten up and almost feel like they’re tearing and I usually have a significant amount of muscle damage there post-Ironman. So I was starting to feel those along with my hammies and it was frustrating because my RPE and heart rate were very low after I ‘recovered’ the first five miles. (Most of) my body and mind were mostly ready to pick it up but I couldn’t in any significant way. 

Sara on the bike looking happy!

After my first loop, I saw Sarah starting out on the run which in my head I calculated roughly that she was having a great first race with or without hot conditions. Next, 
it was amazing seeing everyone from ATC under the bridge. That was a seriously huge pick me up and the best part of the course.  The neighborhood part sucked as it was exposed and sunny and there were a lot really really minor twisting on the path which normally wouldn’t mean anything but today just the minor change  in muscle firing pattern had me cramping up.  At mile 12 my hamstring seized up entirely and I had to stop and stretch it out. 

The ‘happy’ part of run.

After that I was pretty concerned and I was surprised that I could stretch it out and keep jogging at all. I kept up the same pace and noticed some of the women that passed me before starting to come back to me. On the first loop folks were passing me and moving quickly. On the second loop people started to come back to me, and on the third loop not many people were running. 

I had asked John before the race that I really really needed him to tell me what place I was in. He wouldn’t be able to tell by folks passing because of the three loop run, but I wanted him to look at the tracker and tell me. I asked him on the second loop and he told me fifth. So that gave me a boost that it was possible to finish in the top three but the problem is I couldn’t speed up because if I lengthened out my stride I would cramp up!

At about mile 22 I saw Ted which I knew meant that he was not having a good race and I was bummed for him. I invited him to run with me but he had gotten even more dehydrated and was taking it slower. I also saw Rick, who was hurting in the heat and had gotten horrible blisters in the bike to run transition on the pavement  (I actually read about that happening to several people, the pavement was pretty hot!) 

Finally on the last lap I decided to risk not being able to continue at about mile 23 and started to pick it up (again, opposite of what tracker says.. strange!) I’m pretty sure that’s where I finally passed the last couple of girls in my division to get to third. I was really really happy to be done. 

Overall, I think my training was good for this race. The recovery has also been great due to the fact that I wasn’t able to run hard. I have also been drinking Chuice (drank in the days before and after) which I think is helping me recover faster and feel better. My execution, however, was poor to fair. The good news is that (at least sometimes) execution stuff is easier to fix. The more of these races I do, the more I realize that you’ll have some good to awesome races, a few horrible races, and mostly medium races. I would say that this was a ‘medium’ race and I enjoyed it still. Overall, I’m making improvements on the swim and bike, which was my plan this past winter. I’ll put it all together soon enough. 

We’re done! All smiles…

I ended up third in my division and there were two kona slots. For whatever reason, I wasn’t bummed, probably because I felt like this was a ‘medium’ race so I wasn’t expecting to get one. I really like doing these races so for me it’s about a long journey  of improvement over years rather than how this or that one race goes.   I was looking forward to doing Louisville and Augusta and now I’ll get the chance to go!

John and Brian, who came to visit/cheer from Dallas

Female 30-34 awards with Jen Vogel, who rocked it!

KLo getting 3rd AG in the 50-54 group. Great job!