Ironman Texas race report

I'm not sure this race even deserves an actual race report, but I figure one day I may want to look back and read over what I thought of it in the days following.

If I had to sum up this race in one word, it would probably be disappointment. If I could pick a second word, it would probably be frustration. There are a whole myriad of emotions experienced throughout this long day, with many highs, and some lows, but at this point my overall feeling is more of disappointment than anything else.  So let's just jump right in and get started.

Swim time: 1:15

No, seriously, does this speedsuit make me look fat?

Man did I feel good in the swim. I started out fast, and settled quickly into a good, steady, and what I felt, fast rhythm. Visibility was pretty much zero in the water, but this was not a huge deal, as with the staggered swim start I really had no problems with other people. I took good lines, stayed well within my limits, and exited the swim feeling great. I must admit I was surprised when I looked down and saw a 1:14 on my Garmin. I really felt that I had swam much faster than that. However, I didn't think much of my time, I felt that I had a good strong swim, and that most likely the course was just a little on the long side. (Later, when I found out I was 100th in my AG, I realized somehow I had managed to suck even at this part)

I waved to my number one fan as I exited the swim, and headed towards the changing tent where I met my main man Kent.

T1: 7:07

I took my time in T1, as I knew I had a long day in front of me, and wanted to make sure I had everything in place and was very comfortable.

 Still all smiles at this point! :-)

Cyclocross?

Bike: 5:47

Lots to say about this portion of the race. Let's start with the course itself. Overall this appears to be a very fast course. No real hills to speak of, but it is a very gently rolling, undulating course. And honestly, except for a couple of small portions of chip seal, the road conditions were pretty good.

Conditions: Hot. No, not Hot.  HAWT.  HUMID.  WINDY.   Looking at wunderground can be a good thing or a bad thing.  Seeing the conditions after I finished the race takes the sting away just a tiny bit.  Just a bit.  Not really.  Temp 88.  Heat index low 90's.  Avg Humidity around 80%.  Winds 15mph with gusts up to 28mph. 

Exiting T1, I stuck to my game plan and started out very, very easy. First 30 minutes were well below my goal watts, just spinning the legs, and trying to get into a nice, easy rhythm. Even at 8:30 in the morning, I already had a considerable tailwind and I knew it was going to hurt coming back in. But I just used it to my advantage and really took it very easy. 

However I think this is where my problems started. I could already feel the heat, and knew it was going to be a hot, steamy day. I had a game plan for this, in case it turned out that way, and I was already contemplating dialing back on my watts to compensate for this. Despite keeping it very easy the first 30 minutes, my heart rate was already borderline zone three, which had me worried a little bit. But I wanted to pick up the pace a little, just to test things out. After just a couple of minutes at my original goal wattage, my heart rate would jump up to high zone three, borderline zone four. I could back off, and my heart rate with trend back down. I wasn't terribly concerned at that point, because I knew it was just because of the heat and humidity. However the problem came with nutrition combined with said heart rate. As long as I kept my heart rate in zone two, low zone three, I felt fine taking in more calories, salt, and water. However, if it creeped up in to mid zone three or higher, I could feel the G.I. distress coming on, and I would have to back off again. After about the second hour, I knew trying to continue pushing hitting X amount of watts was just not going to work, as getting in the nutrition and hydration was more important for the rest of the day.

I continued to periodically push the pace for a few minutes at a time, but anything close to my original goal wattage after that second hour put me in a zone four heart rate and left me unable to take in any water or nutrition. I finally settled into a decent rhythm with my heart rate borderline zone three, where I seemed to feel comfortable. I could take in my water, salt, and nutrition without any difficulty and honestly it was a very easy workout on my legs. Although my heart rate was still higher than I wanted it to be, I knew my legs were having an easy day, I was taking in my nutrition, and felt like I was setting myself up for a good run.

Goal watts for the bike: 200 NP

Actual watts for the bike: 175 NP

That's about 12.5% below my goal. My rides leading up to this race had all been done at this goal wattage and were very easy and definitely zone two for me. So, I felt that it was easily doable for this race. However, I knew adjusting for heat and humidity was a very real possibility, and most of the blogs, race reports etc. that I had read usually suggested about a 10 to 15% reduction in goal wattage. So while not happy about my bike performance exiting the bike, I had accepted it, because I felt like I had set myself up for a good run. My average heart rate for the bike portion ended up mid zone three, but at the time I felt okay with that, and that I had probably adjusted appropriately.

T2: 11:26

Really did not care about time at this point in the race. Took my time, used the bathroom, and spent several minutes resting in the changing tent really trying to cool down and get my heart rate down.

Run: 5:01

Started off feeling really really good. My plan was to go very easy the first 6 miles and then start picking it up. And I felt really good during this portion. My pace was much slower than I wanted or anticipated, but again I knew the heat and humidity were at play.  Surprisingly my heart rate was lower on the first 6 miles of the run than it was on the bike. I walked the aid stations and made sure I continued to get in my nutrition and water. I did start to stretch out those walks through the aid stations, which started bringing my pace down just a tiny bit, but was still running very strong through the end of the first lap. I really wanted to pick it up at this point, and my legs felt amazingly fresh, but my heart rate was creeping up again. My second loop was tough, but acceptable to me. My pace dropped, and I was walking for longer periods during the aid stations, but still felt manageable.  After seeing Joy at the end of the second lap, though, I just wanted to collapse in to a big sweaty sobbing ball of pitifulness. It was around mile 17 or 18, when I realized I would not even be setting a PR on this day. Once that set in I mentally just gave up. I didn't care what my time was, and I lost all impetus to even attempt to run. It was also right around this time when I passed run special needs for the last time, and I stopped to ask a volunteer where I could pick my run special needs bag up after the race. She told me that all the special-needs bags would be tossed, which was a very important tidbit of information I had missed at check-in. Turns out, I had packed an extra pair of shoes and socks in my run special needs in case my feet were soaked and I wanted to change them. I was not about to leave $140 pair of Hokas to be tossed, so I grabbed my special-needs bag, and continued on my way. Luckily Kent met me about 3 miles later,and he gladly took the bag from me. It did make for an interesting 3 miles though.  I had lots of conversations about my extra weight with participants and on lookers.

Final Time: 12:23.  A Personal Worst.  Yay.

I really can't think of anything except the heat and humidity that led to this. I was in SO MUCH better shape for this race compared to my other two Ironmans.  I'm in the best shape of my life. I was really consistent with my workouts, and I did not skip ONE. SINGLE. WORKOUT. For this race. That is huge for me.  HUGE.  My nutrition was spot on. I really had no issues with it except for when my heart rate was too high to take stuff in, and I adjusted for that well. I hate saying anything about the heat and humidity, because the race conditions are the same for everyone out there. Yes, tons of other people also had crappy days because of it, but a lot of people also handled it very well, which is where my frustration comes in. Was that really why I had such a bad race? Putting it off on my body not adjusting to the conditions just feels like a pretty easy cop-out to me. Maybe I could have ridden even easier, kept my HR even lower, and had a better run.  IDK.  I feel like I did everything right for this race.  I can't help but feel like I wasted the last eight months of training for nothing.  And that sucks.

However, at the end of the day, it is just a race. Thus ends this Ironman chapter. So while this chapter does not end the way I had hoped, it is still just that, a chapter. There are many more chapters still to be written.  Some of these chapters will include triathlon; but for now it is time for me to step away from triathlon for a while, and really embrace the husband and daddy parts of my life.

I know, I KNOW, that I have a much faster Ironman in me. But you better believe it's going to be a cold race when I try again :-) 

I was so so very glad that Joy, Hunter, and my mom were able to be part of this experience with me. Hunter was so excited he was going to get to race with me. He said the night before the race that he was going to run with me and he was going to run faster than daddy(he did).  Seeing his face just light up that first time he saw me on the run made the entire day worth it.  He was SOO excited to be racing with daddy!

 First loop

 Second loop

 The only time in the last six miles that I ran jogged did anything other than walk.  Except for the finisher's chute.

Great picture of me and Mom, with H streaking through the background.  He never stops.  NEVER.

The AIM crew!  Love these guys! THANK YOU Kent and Amy for coming to support us on our big day!

Happy Anniversary Chuck and Chenin!

Chuck and Chenin were a little uncomfortable with my lack of a tri-top.  I thought the band-aids were sufficient.  They weren't so sure :-).  BTW they both went on to rock their first Ironman, and I am super proud of them and blessed to call them teammates and friends!  Good job guys!

 Spectating/sherpa-ing/supporting an Ironman on race day is just as grueling in its own right as doing the actual race. And Joy, Hunter, and my mom all three handled it like champs, especially Hunter.

Joy did an outstanding job getting everyone to where they were supposed to be, when they needed to be there, and in keeping everyone happy and informed. But really she does an outstanding job in everything she does. This race could not have happened without her; she is my rock, my biggest fan, and my biggest supporter. She sacrificed so much these last few months to give me this opportunity, and I can never say enough how grateful and blessed I am to have her in my life.  So THANK YOU, you sweet, wonderful, beautiful, giving person that you are.

Of course I had to get my picture taken with the FAST ONE in the household! (Hey, at least I am a faster swimmer.  I take what I can get around here :) )

Until next time my friends!