Ironman Texas 70.3 - April 10, 2011

I did this race as my very first half back in 2008 so I was excited to come in and tackle it again - with hopes of smashing my previous time.  Well, my day didn't quite turn out that way.

I have to thank Kendall (of former TriGreyhound fame!) for picking me up at the Houston airport, chauffeuring me and my gear to Galveston, and letting me crash at his house Sunday night after the race.  Monday morning he even took me on a tour of the IMTX venue which was a wonderful way to get a better understanding of what I'll encounter in May.

We got to the beach house in Galveston and met up with Liz and Mike. What a fun crew!  I spent the evening chatting and building my bike.

After a brief spin on the bike with my house mates and a quick run with Mike, Saturday was spent working at the Recovery Pump booth at the race expo.  Kendall and Liz were superstars - they brought me lunch and my bike when it was time for bike check-in.  Really - you guys are AWESOME!

After wrapping up the expo and tearing down the tent, Mike and I grabbed some dinner before heading back to the beach house.  I was in bed at a decent time, dreaming of calm winds and cool temps.  Ha.

Race Morning
As I open my eyes and lay in bed, I hear the wind howling and feel it rocking the beach house.  Lovely.  I get up, start gathering my stuff, eat my breakfast, and we all pile into the car and head for the race.  As I arrived at transition, I got my body marked and got to my bike. I started loading it up with my bottles, which is when I realized that my aero bottle needed an adapter to stay secure in my bars (I never needed one on the P3, and I never thought to confirm the fit on this bike. Lesson learned.).  So, I started looking around for something to wedge in there and hold it in place.  Answer? An extra pair of swim goggles.  I did my best MacGyver job on it and moved on.

Transition closed at 6:45am, and my swim wave wasn't until 8:25am.  I walked down to the swim start....and sort of paced around.  I briefly saw Kendall.  I hit the long line for the port-a-potty. I turned in my morning gear bag.  I paced some more.  I found Liz and talked to her for a bit (her wave was at 8:40!) then headed towards the pier.  Like cattle, we slowly inched our way to the end, jumped in, and waited for the signal.

Swim
The way the wind was blowing, the swim course was a bit interesting.  First segment was against the current, but for me and my right side breathing it was calm.  Dog leg to the left and now we were kind of with the current, but it was quite choppy.  I found my rhythm to breathe with the waves, but my biggest issue was traffic.  I could not get out of it!  I kept getting the cross-swimmers (they come from nowhere and cut right in front of you) and the stop and go-ers (they swim, they stop, I pass, they swim and pass me, they stop, I pass.....), and then I started encountering the cruft from the previous waves.  I counted 4 different swim cap colors other than my wave's red.  Finally, the turn back towards the finish - I lined my sights with the exit ramp and brought it home. It wasn't a fantastic swim for me, but sometimes you just don't get ideal conditions.

Up and out......WETSUIT STRIPPERS!!!  Love it.  I remember in 08, watching the guys who were wearing next to nothing under their suit...wtf??  Thanks to the pair that had me stripped and going so fast. You rock!

T1 - In a short race I grab and go.  For this race, I took a moment to make sure I had everything and didn't do something stupid.  The transition area was big, and I was closer to swim in/run out than to bike in/out which meant a long run with my bike.  Nothing eventful though, and soon I was gone.

Bike
Yes, the wind.  The wind was still blowing hard and even getting out to Seawall was interesting.  Once there, it was a matter of settling in with the lean and getting out of traffic.  Plan was to settle in during the first 30 min, then find Z3.  The course is uber flat, so first 45 min was spent trying to find some open space to settle into.  Pass or don't pass was the game.  I opted to pass in most cases.  Of course, over 56 miles there were lots of characters that I encountered. The most annoying was a blatant drafter.  She was wearing her little ITU style suit and was on a road bike.  She would hop from wheel to wheel, in the saddle, out of the saddle, slow waaaay down, then speed back up.  At one point I thought I had left her behind, then a chic that was passing me alerted me that she was sucking MY wheel!  Grr.  I picked up my pace a bit, moved through some traffic, and got her to latch on elsewhere. The first half I was feeling good. I was on top of my nutrition and wasn't outside of my race plan power-wise.

We hit the turnaround and things shifted a bit.  The obvious change was the slight tailwind.  My avg pace coming back in was 3 mph higher than going out (holding the same power) so it wasn't a huge tailwind, but enough to matter.  My core temp started to rise - I was no longer being cooled by the wind.  The sun was at my back and I started feeling warm/hot for the first time during the ride. Around the 2:15 mark, my stomach started cramping a bit, and eventually turned sloshy.  At this point I was trying to manage my nutrition with hopes of getting it back under control before the run.

T2 - Off the bike my legs were feeling tight but not horrible.  The long run with my bike to my transition spot seemed daunting. Finally I arrived, swapped my gear out, took a pit stop in the port-a-potty, then headed out for a run where I had no idea what to expect.

Run
Let's face it.  It was hot. It was humid. I was already 4 hours into my race, 3 of which were spent soaking up the sun. Other than my time in Miami, these were conditions I just hadn't been able to prepare for. I had followed my pacing and nutrition plan, and now it was time to see if it would pay off.  The run was 4 loops (stupid) and the first loop I was feeling ok.  Not great - but ok.  I tried to stay on my nutrition plan, but all I wanted at the aid stations was cold water.  Water down the gullet.  Water down my front. Sponges and ice tucked in my bra. I was starting to roast.

By the second loop, my energy levels were drained and my stomach was refusing anything other than water. I kept taking my salt tabs, but I stopped to walk and take in water at every aid station - both to drink and put more on the sponges in my shirt.  When the aid stations started offering Pepsi, I started drinking it.  It helped settle my stomach and gave me a bit of a boost.  I would get a surge of energy and see a decent pace, but it would quickly burn off and I was back down to a trudge. I would continue with the Pepsi through the end.

At last, I had done all 4 laps (stupid) and was able to veer off to the finishers shoot.  I was glad to be done.

Final Thoughts
In looking at my race data from the day, and assessing the unbelievable sunburn I had acquired, I'm pretty sure that the deterioration of the day came as a result of the cooking I endured.  Our skin is one of the largest organs in our body, and is a PRIMARY organ.  If it is in danger, blood will be diverted from other systems to help heal/cool our skin.   Had I not been a lobster, I probably would have had a fantastic run.  Lesson learned.

Everyone keeps asking if I used ANY sunscreen - YES!!  I followed the same regimen I have used repeatedly, race after race, although it was a different brand than I've used in the past. In Cozumel, I wore arm coolers and a jersey with more coverage on my back.  I will certainly be doing this again in May in Houston.  Also, this is early in the season, and my long course events have all been later in the season in the past.  My pale skin had only seen the sun a few times.  I have purchased some BETTER sunscreen and will be paying close attention to my coverage at IMTX in May.  I'm not going to give up another good run to sunburn ever again.