Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas - Triathlon

Was pleased with time despite all the issues as I suck at swimming. Decided to take 10 minute penalty (not reflected in swim time but reflected in overall time) to wear wetsuit after swimming without it the day before and still feeling some anxiety when in contact. I'm much more confident when wearing the wetsuit if there is a lot of contact. Started on the right front and after about 50 meters had a large crowd that sprinted past me then slowed down. Was in contact with other swimmers the entire leg down and started seeing the non wetsuit crowd that started 10 minutes earlier before the first turn bouy. Since I had swum this lake a few weeks earlier I knew to stay far right of the bouys until after the point then sight on the turn bouy to cut the tangent. Things then thinned out and I was finally able to get in a rythym on the leg back. Probably swam too close to the bouys on the way back, could have shaved some distance hugging the shoreline a little more as it turned into the canal. Things became quite crowded in the canal and I went from the rights side to the left side as it turned to the left slightly. Had to wait for a few folks veering into the left wall, then swim around them to their right. headed for the last turn bouy in the canal then out of the water to be stripped by my favorite stripper Drum!

Need to work on non wetsuit confidence. This swim ave was 36:03/mi. The day before at the practice swim I swam easy without wetsuit at 34:23/mi pace. Also need to keep thinking about my pull. The fact I am not that faster in the wetsuit leads me to think I was not catching water well during the race.

Just took it easy and walked to get T1 bag then leisurely put on shoes, made last minute decision to go without socks as I had a pair in bike special needs if it became a problem. chugged an ensure (350 calories), walked to bike then jogged it to mount line. PF was bugging me so did not have the urge to run on it.

Could have shaved a lot of time here if I felt it was necessary..

Because of the heat and humidity I was concerned about hydration do I planned on drinking more water and taking SCaps every 1/2 hour (which I have never done before).Was trying to ride at .70 If or for me 161 NP and/or 131 HR. Since my HR has been running low on previous rides i was prepared to push the power a little harder if I could keep my HR in zone 2 (131bpm limit). Felt great on bike out of swim, took a water bottle at each stop which may have been too much. Also was taking 1 SiCap with each bottle which was probably too much. Started on my bottle of perpetuum (810 calories) after 30 minutes Saw my buddy Marc at the second aid station with the BEEF team, then flatted at mile 32. Since it was a long race I lollygagged getting tube replaced and was probably too careful making sure nothing sharp was still in the tire and making sure I didn't pinch new tube. My buddy Jason B. passed by when I was getting the wheel back on. Tried to ride again and found the chain had fallen off the front chain ring so had to dick around with that. Finally back on the road after 16 minutes. Back up to speed and tried to keep focus on maintining NP around 161. stopped at next aid station to get rear tire up to 110 lbs, that was about another 2 minutes as I had to wait for another lady airing her tire. Back on the road next stop was at special needs stop at mile 60. Picked up another bottle of UCan (240 calories). sipped that for the last part of the race chased with water. Also had 2 bonk breakers on the bike.(500 calories). Off the bike felt pretty good. (2140 total calories, about 260 ozs of water on bike)

Cadence needs to be higher. 78 ave is way too low. Could have pushed power a little more looking at ave HR. May have eaten/drank too much based on run performance.

Came into T1, gave bike to volunteer, picked up run bag, changed into singlet, put on PF sock, pulled on shoes, walked over to rest room and took a whiz. lolly gagged again thru most of this. Then off to the run course

Could speed it up a lot if i needed to but it's an ironman.

Believe it or not running usually is my best leg. Plan was to run to 141 bpm (top zone 2) HR then walk aid stations for 30 seconds. All training showed I should be able to ave at least 9:00 pace, but none of my training was at 91 degrees with high humidity. Decided to wear my PI racing flats instead of my favorite Nimus' or Hokas because they had drainage holes and I knew I was going to be very wet. Ran in them two days before and my PF issue didn't feel too bad in them. First two miles went as planned, then started having issues catching breath. Started to try to run at least a minute then walk a bit. Stomach was too full probably from too much nutrition and water. at most aid stations I was putting sponges on my head and shoulders and putting ice down my shorts. By mile 5 my thin socks were soaked and I started getting a hot spot by the calus on the ball of my food that felt like I had a pebble in my shoe. Saw some pals at mile 7 who gave me lots of encouragement. My buddy Drum told me to just run thru the pain. stopped at special needs at about mile 10 to change into thicker socks and take a look at my right foot to see if the PF sleeve had rolled up causing the pebble in the shoe feeling continued the short run walk the whole way with a lot more walking later on. Started on the coke about mile 16 and it did not mix well with what was in my stomach. Had gastric distress the rest of the way.

I've run 6 marathons in the last 6 months do I think my run fitness is there. Heat and humidity always kill my performance but that was not my only problem. normally i can at least get my HR up but I could not this day. Mistakes 1) wearing the racing flats, yes they drained water well but provided no cushioning which exacerbated the pain in my right foot (PF and the pebble feeling). probably would have been better to run in soaking wet shoes based on my foot conditions. 2) Bike nutrition and hydration may have been way off. Felt bloated during the run and probably over did it on the water and Scaps because of my fear of dehydration in the heat. Unfortunately I never had the chance to dial this in in similar weather conditions. 3) Ensure. I think this is what the coke mixed with to give me the gastric distress. I've had it before but never mixed it with coke before. 4) Heat training. My biggest problem was inability to be able to breathe. 5) Foot injury. Had I cut back on the marathons I might have been able to heal the PF so it wasn't such an issue. I have been able to block out the pain lately but I think with all the other issues I had it just took it's toll.

My buddy Tibs met me at the finish and took me over to the food tent where I sat down, drank a water and chocolate milk then promptly puked it out along with lots of other water that was in my stomach. My wife and mom showed up and we walked a while to get bike and bags and then to car. Puked again before getting in car. Had stomach cramps for a couple of hours later but gatorade seemed to help.


Heat, Humidity, Foot pain, gastric distress.


It's an Ironman Race. Does it get any better?