The pros started at 0630, so I planned my morning off of that. I woke up at 0420 and did my personal morning hygiene routine. I had all of my gear staged ready to go the night prior.
I had to take three bags on race day morning, my morning bag, bike special needs bag, and my run special needs bag. I had way too much stuff in my bags, but we can talk about those specifics later. I had a cup of coffee, ate two bagels and a nutrition shake, and my friend Josh and his wife Christen came and picked me up around 0515. We arrived at T1, located at Town Green Park, around 0530, and I went to my bike to place my three bottles filled with Gatorade on it, and pumped my tires up to 120 psi. I then left T1 and headed to the swim start point. The swim start point had the special needs and morning drop off bag areas, as well as the body markings. I marked myself the night prior with TriTats, so that was one less thing I had to worry about. I was very excited with the typical race day morning atomosphere, taking everything in when all of a sudden the cannon went off and the pros started so I hurried and threw on my wetsuit (yes, this was the first year IMTX was wetsuit legal) and found my pace spot in the rolling start line. I didn’t have much time to warm up but I made due. I started with the 1:50 swimmers because I consistently swam 1:50 to 2:00.
Swim
I found myself spotting the buoys and I thought I was swimming buoy to buoy, but for some reason I was about 25 meters inside of the main pack of swimmers. I was not alone but the hoard was to our right. I don’t know if I was veering in but I didn’t care, I was happy to be at a distance away from the pack. I felt like my coarse was straight and I wasn’t getting hit in the face, as much… but I can’t really overlay my path with the course because someone had hit my watch somewhere on the swim and it stopped tracking me relatively early.
The swim in Lake woodlands was great, contrary to what I read in peoples blogs from years prior! I started to experience cramps in my calves about half way through the swim and have no idea why. Potentially a lack of warming up, but I know it was not because of my nutrition. The water temperature was great, the weather was perfect and I had no complaints, until we entered the waterway. The waterway is very narrow so you can imagine all the swimmers in a canal about 20 meters wide. I was nearly swam over a few times, my goggles slapped off my face…you know typical IM stuff. The crowds had lined the waterway and spectators were feet away from the canal cheering us on.
T1
I came out of the water and volunteers were eager to pull my wetsuit off and did a great job making the transition quick. I did have a slight issue passing my bike bag up. I heard my number called out several times as I ran from the water to the bag transition area, but the ratio of athletes to volunteers were a bit overwhelming when I came out of the water, so I struggled to find my bag. I had passed it and had to fight oncoming traffic to get back to it. I ran into the transition tent once I grabbed my bag and I must have come out of the water with the majority of the swimmers, because the tent was full. The tent had chairs in it for the athletes to sit and it also had tables on both sides with miscellaneous items on it like Band-Aids, Vaseline, and water. I quickly changed over to my bike gear, left my swim gear in my bike bag in the tent, and off I went to my bike.
HERE WE GO… the Bike…what I was a little afraid of all day. The fear came from boredom, and the fact that I have never cycled 112 miles before. It was an unknown to me.
Less than 1 mile out of the bike transition…it happened! I had a flat on my back tire. I’ve had a flat before, never on a race but in training, but it was my front tire I had previously experienced, never my back one. I was initially shocked, angry only for a millisecond if that. For some reason I didn’t focus or even get angry, I never lost my bearing. As weird as it may sound…I was anticipating this. I am not sure how it happened, but what I can tell you is this; I had my bike serviced the week prior at Bike Lane in The Woodlands, and asked them to change out my tubes, and upon me inspecting the bike and the new tubes I brought them, I found out the tubes appeared to not be changed out… I was/am not mad about it because of the invaluable experience I gained from it on race day, but will have a conversation with Ken about it. I calmly changed the back tire. I took my time because as scary as this may sound…The last tire I changed on the road popped again because I didn’t change it properly. SO! I rode 111 miles on my spare tube, thinking about my tire every mile and praying it would hold, and it did!
This was the longest I had ever rode my bike and it was a great ride! The aid stations all seemed pretty close to the beginning of the Hardy toll way portion of the ride, but they had everything I could’ve needed. I knew exactly how much fluid I needed to take in prior to me starting the run, and I knew I would need to pee two times on the bike. I have never been able to pee on my bike so I had to stop twice to pee. I thought I could hold it at the aid stations and I could make the next one but… I was wrong. I was the only weirdo I saw all day peeing on the side of the Hardy Toll road. I had three water bottles on my bike and I won’t do that again. My aero bottle was essential and when it was empty I was able to use one of my other bottles to fill it up, but I never needed to touch my third bottle. It would have been nice to have an empty spot on my bike to put one of the water or Gatorade bottles on it, the volunteers were handing out.
Mile 62 was the special needs bag and I was thinking about it every second since I had used my spare tube on mile 1.
Bike Special needs bag
1. Spare tube (Grabbed)
2. Spare CO2(Grabbed)
3. Salt and vinegar Kettle potato chips (Grabbed)
4. PB&J (Did not grab)
5. Banana (Did not grab)
6. Chocolate covered espresso beans (Did not grab)
7. A Frozen Gatorade bottle (Did not grab)
8. Electrolyte pills and two alive pills (Did not grab)
9. Vaseline (Did not grab)
10.Bobo coconut bar (Grabbed)
The volunteer was really nice and opened my bag for me and helped me grab what I needed. To be honest, talking with her was motivation in itself after being silent on the bike for 3 hours. I didn’t want my sandwich, espresso beans, banana, Vaseline, or electrolyte pills. I attempted to drink the frozen Gatorade bottle but most of it was still frozen (It was mid 70s that day with high 50’s in the morning). I could have taken the frozen Gatorade with me if I had an empty slot on my bike, but I did not. The spare tube and CO2 were the first things I grabbed, shocking coming from a fat kid that loves food, then I grabbed my Bobo bar and potato chips and rode a little ahead of the special needs bike area and ate my potato chips. I stuffed my Bobo bar in my tri suit and took off. The primary items I consumed from the aid stations were Gatorade and some times water. I would grab a water bottle, take a few swigs, and throw it to the side, then grab a Gatorade bottle and fill my empty bottles on my bike on the move. I ate half of my Bobo bar around mile 80 then finished the rest at mile 100. I took in a Gu about 1 every hour in the beginning, then relied on my chips and bobo bar after the special needs bag. The Hardy wasn’t bad at all. I really didn’t care for the bike course prior to the Hardy because it felt like it dragged on and I was anticipating the Hardy portion a lot sooner. The bike course, post Hardy toll road, was great because I was excited to hit T2.
T2
Cody! Cody was THE MAN! As I rode into T2, I passed my bike off to a volunteer who swooped in and grabbed it with out hesitation, I then ran to the bag area where a lady was holding my run bag for me as I ran up. I was in a great mood for several reasons, running is my strongest and favorite portion of the race, I made it through the bike, and the transition experience was a 180 from the swim to bike. I then ran into the tent, and there I met a man named Cody. That guy was cool, calm, and collective, and his attitude and demeanor calmed me down and made me feel like I was a champion already. He talked to me, asking me how it was going, organized all of my run gear on the ground and in the chair next to me, and basically dressed me and instructed me on what to do. His poise got me out of transition quickly with a positive attitude.
Run bag items
1. Shoes
2. Socks
3. Running watch (I brought my old Garmin Forerunner 220 for the run incase my other battery went out)
4. Hat
5. Glasses
6. Bib on waist band
7. Gu gels x2 (Took but never used)
8. Alive (Did not take)
9. Electrolyte pill (Did not take)
10.Vaseline
11.Banana
12.Salt and vinegar kettle chips
13.PB&J (Stuffed for later)
14.Pretzels (Did not take)
All my non food items were used and very little food items touched. The Espresso beans were all melted, I ate a few chips and kept the bag in my hand for about half a mile, I didn’t touch the pretzels, I stuffed the Gu’s in my tri suit, but never used them, I ate two bites of the banana, and I stuffed the sandwich in my tri suit for later. I saw many people carrying running water bottles so I became worried since I train with one, but I didn’t need it at all. There were plenty of aid stations along the course. I ate half my sandwich once I saw the second aid station. I did that so I would be able to grab some water to wash it down. The stations had tons of fruit, chips, pretzels, and all types of fluids to include Gatorade, water, Red Bull, and Cola.
I would typically grab Gatorade first then water. They had ice-cold sponges that I used around my neck, and dumped ice down my back inside my tri suit. I would also take ice water and pour it over my head. I felt full on the run, like I had eaten too much and drank too much, but I knew my body needed it. I never cramped and I felt great. The first caffeine I had on the course was on the run. I consumed three cups of red bull, one on lap two and two on lap three. I started off as planned with an 8:30 pace, but my body just didn’t keep up on lap two and three. I could feel it was a lack of training and not nutrition. I took my run special needs bag on lap 3 and only took the PB&J and left the rest. I ate half the PB&J before I hit the next aid station, and then washed it down with some water. I was focused on finishing in less than 12 hours. I became narrow sited and pushed! I ran into Mary McDonald, a lady who was staying in my Air bnb, around mile 20 and she was looking STRONG! I thought she was on lap two when I was on lap three but…I was wrong. A lady in her 60’s was smoking me and I had just caught up to her. Mary was awesome, not only as my Air bnb but also as a worldwide elite athlete. I later found out she took 1stplace in her age category and qualified for Kona! I kept pushing! I didn’t want to eat or drink anything until I crossed the finish line, but I told myself I had to, because I thought I would cramp up if I didn’t. The crowds were awesome!!!! The intense spectators motivated me! I was happy to see my friend Katie every now and then at different areas of the course and I was surprised on lap 2 and 3 when I saw my Aunts sister and brother in law rooting me on. The rest is history. And the next thing I knew…. I was in the shoot and Mike Reilly announced that I WAS AN IRONMAN! I am not an emotional person, I am actually a complete emotional waste land and have been called a robot by every women I have ever been with, BUT, this was one of the rare instances in my life that I could not keep it together and I broke. I became an Ironman and I had accomplished the number one item on my bucket list that I had been eyeballing and chasing for several years. I AM AN IRONMAN!
I was paired up with a volunteer after I had crossed, and she escorted me to get my finisher shirt and my photo. I then met up with Katie and got two pieces of pizza but couldn’t eat them. I waited about 5 minutes to lay down and get my legs massaged by the NormaTecs. It was my first time using these and I am a true believer now. I grabbed my morning bag and Katie took me home so I could shower. We drove back out after I had showered so I could find my friend Josh on the course. We cheered him and everyone else on that was still competing. I believe walking around for a few hours after my race also helped my recovery.
If you have never been at an Ironman finish line between 11 pm and midnight, you are missing put on one hell of an experience! We cheered and cheered, and were able to share the emotional experiences with the perseverant athletes who came in all the way to the last second.
I had a cryotherapy appointment set up for the next day and it was an interesting experience, but I also think that contributed to my fast recovery.
The award banquet was an experience I am glad I went to. I almost didn’t go but I am glad I did. I got to see some motivating video of our race and I saw a lot of awards given out to people I inspire to be like. It was great to socialize with people I will probably continue to see in the Ironman community as well. It made me hungry to earn a Kona spot. Age group slots were called and the ones, who were not present, did not get their allocation and it rolled down to the next individual. Everyone got a lay that accepted a Kona spot and became part of the Spirit of the big island. They moved over to the side to fill out some paper work and pay for their slot. They also received a cool qualifying coin.
I swam an easy 500 yards Monday Morning then I got a sports massage to finish out my recovery. I ran 4 miles on Tuesday then took Wednesday and Thursday completely off.
My recovery diet was horrendous. I drank booze and ate a bunch of crap as opposed to eating proper nutrition.
Well…that was it in a nut shell. My first Ironman experience! Oh…did I mention the tattoo shop on Thursday evening. Don't mind the tan lines in the photos.
