Ironman Texas - TriathlonFull Ironman

I thought that I was seeded correctly for the swim. Little did I know that hundreds of people who were still on shore would swim over me for the first half. This was a pretty brutal swim. I was hit in the face, back and arms several times. About 800 yards out someone ripped the timing chip off of my leg. I stopped and swam over to a kayak to tell them the chip had come off. They told me it was floating and to go back and get it. I swim back to the chip. As soon as I reach to get it someone swims pasts and pushes it underwater. I wait for it to pop back up again. Then swim with it to the kayak. Stuff the timing chip down the front of my wetsuit and tri suit and start swimming again.I was swam over several times by very large men. Which made me very thankful to have on my wetsuit. It seemed to take forever to get to the canal. I've been watching IM Austria videos to prepare myself for swimming in a canal with a lot of people. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At one point my calf cramped and I stood up on the side. Volunteers started yelling at me to swim because there was glass on the ground. Waited until the cramp went away and started swimming again. Swam under the bridge and knew the swim was almost over. I'm always very happy to be out of the water and alive on any triathlon swim. Checked my watch on the time out. Happy this was a good swim for me.

Remember to bring safety pins for timing chip. Happy with me decision to wear a wetsuit. I was comfortable in the water with it on.

I had to pull the timing chip out of my top. Which slowed me down for getting the wetsuit off and ready for the strippers. Thank goodness they basically did everything for me. Saw my former coach and friends on the swim exit. Ran into the tent and dried off my feet. Stuffed bags in back pockets, put on race belt, helmet, shoes and left the tent. I'm not quite sure what took so long on the transitions since I didn't change clothes. Parents and hubby were waiting for me near transition and bike out.

Not have my timing chip fall off?

I've been riding the course on and off since February. Over the last few months I've gone from hating the course to liking it. My coach has spent a lot of time teaching me how to pace and ride a hillier course. Pacing with power has been a learning experience. I went into the race confident in my bike pacing ability and goal time if things went well. Rode below my wattage goals and paced the bike well.

The first 50 miles were basically a long paceline. It was almost impossible to ride 4 bike lengths apart. I tried to stay as far away from the rider in front of me as possible. Wind was favorable. I probably could have taken more of an advantage of the wind that I did. It was cool on the bike and overcast.
I executed my nutrition plan well. Took in Infinit every 15 minutes with water, GU at an hour and salt pills every 2 hours. At the 3 hour mark my first bottle should have been empty. There was still a little bit left in the bottle. Infinit also tasted very strong. Stopped at mile 50 to pee. This would the the only time that I used the bathroom until after the race. Passed special needs. Reached back a few miles later and realized one of my water bottles was gone. Had a panic moment and said a quick prayer that the nutrition bottle was still back there. Thankfully it was. Switched out bottles and kept up with the nutrition plan.

Felt awesome on the bike. It didn't feel like there was any wind on the course. It also didn't feel like I'd ridden 112 miles. Smiled the last 10 miles into T2. Checked out my time and knew that my finishing time was well within reach.

On the way into bike in there was a girl in front of me who was stuffing an ipod into her back pocket. When I got off the bike I told an official. Too bad I didn't get her number. She had the nerve to take her ipod out of her pocket and lay it down on the chair between us in T2. It took ALL I could do not to say something to her about cheating. I did tell a friend of mine who was volunteering in the tent about it.

Nothing. Very happy with my execution of the bike portion.

Again I'm not quite sure what took so long in transition. I didn't change clothes for the entire race. Ran back for sunscreen

Came out of transition feeling like superwoman. Hubby and family were there waiting for me. I told hubby things were on course for a great day and ran off. Started off running 8:30's out of transition. Told myself to slow down and calm down we had a while to run yet. The main focus training for this race was to set up the bike for a great run. Coming out of T2, it felt like this was going to happen. I looked at my watch and knew that meeting my goals were well within reach. Started slowing down on the run near the first aid station.

While thing felt awesome I now know that they had already started to go downhill. One of my good friends saw me on the course. She said she ran beside me waving her hands in front of my face and screaming my name. She told I didn't even recognize or acknowledge that she was there. I don't remember seeing her at all. I guess it was after this that I started to feel sick. At the EN weekend they talked about taking the time when a problem was small to fix it before it turned into a bigger problem. So I started walking. At the mile 4 aid station, I threw up behind a dumpster. Told myself that this was a good sign and I would feel better immediately.Which of course didn't happen.

A few miles later I ran by our local triathlon teams tent. I asked them to find a friend of mine who is a local coach. They found Chris and he walked by me for a few minutes on the course. I told him I'd just thrown up and didn't know what to do next. He told me to take very small sips of coke and it was going to be a long day. For a while I would run a few feet and then walk. Every time I ran it felt like I was going to throw up.

I see my family and tell them I've thrown up. My teenage son starts running beside me. He hates the Ironman youtube videos. But being the great kid that he is he knows exactly what to say the first few lines from the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI
I told my son that I was going to run the last lap.

On my second lap I ran into and met Comet. We walked together and talked for a while. But she was walking too fast for me so I told her to go on. Thanks Hailey for the encouragement to keep up. I wish I could have. This is when I started mentally going in and out while walking. People would talk to me and I could hear some of what they were saying.

At the aid station past RWB, I stopped and sat down. The arches of my feet curled up. A nice volunteer ran off and brought back chicken broth. Which helped with the cramps. I was feeling so bad at this point that I went to the medical tent. They offered me a ride in their car with another girl who was bagged (IVed) and ready to go. The hair started standing up on my arms and it got really cold. I knew better than to tell them that I had thrown up. My right ear was stopped off and my equilibrium was also off. They made me drink Perform with water mixed in and told me to sit there for a while. A guy came in who'd thrown up twice. They asked his name and started pulling out the IV's. This is when I decided to leave the tent while they were busy with him.

I watch my ideal time goal pass, my next time goal pass. After that it doesn't seem to matter any more. I see them taking my friend Betsey off the course. She tells me she is done.

I started staggering down the course. I should have spent the last 5 months walking around town drunk and disoriented to prepare for the run/walk. People would walk with me for a while and then walk on because I was going so slow. At the next aid station I see two of my former teammates from my coaching group. They're also walking and in the same shape that I'm in. We walked with a group of 6 people for a while. Rich pee's twice on the run. I told him he was showing off since the rest of us hadn't peed since the bike. While waiting for him to pee, I held onto a light post so I didn't fall over. On the last loop they've laid out glow sticks in lines on the sidewalk in the wooded section. It is dark by now. I said something about feeling like we were at a disco dance. One of the guys starts singing "Staying Alive" and we start laughing. The funniest part of the walk/run was when our group crosses a bridge that moves. Everyone started freaking out because now the ground is moving below our feet too. Needless to say we were happy to know that the entire group felt this way.

There are times on the course that I feel really alert. And other times that I was totally out of it. Seeing my friends and running/cycling partner on the course really meant a lot during the race.
We keep walking and walking. By now my feet are throbbing and killing me. I hate walking. Things would have been really depressing if my friends weren't there to walk with. I probably would have wandered off the course and laid down in the grass. It never occurs to me to quit the race though.


During the walk/run portion of the course I see my family several times. They are very worried and concerned. Time seems to stand still. We keep walking without any thought to the time. Volunteers are encouraging us that we will be a Ironman soon. 2 of us are already Ironman. This doesn't really motivate us or mean anything to us at this point. We're already hours off of what we planned on. Several times we ask each other if we think we can run. Everyone is scared to try running for fear of cramping up and not being able to get to the finish. What we're doing is working so we keep walking. The guys walk on either side of me. We see our former coach on the course and several friends from Houston. We decide that we're getting our money's worth by walking the course and sampling their cokes and chicken broth. I'm cold at this point and wishing I had my long sleeved shirt like in Florida.

We start up by transition and can't hear the IM crowds and announcer. I wonder if we've been on the course so long that they went home. We get closer and can hear the crowds. We walk the majority of the finish line. We send Chad ahead since this is his first IM. He starts running when he turns the corner. Rich looks over at me and asks if I think I can run or not. We start running down the finish line. This is where I do things that are totally out of character. I start waving my hands around and screaming.The crowd goes wild. I am SO thankful to be through walking and done. Finally the finish line! Woo Hoo!

Run
Other than that nothing. I did the best that I could do given the circumstances. I am thankful that I was able to meet up with the right people at the right times on the course.

Cross the finish line. We get our pictures taken together after the race. This will probably be my favorite finishing picture of all time. The catcher asks if I'm okay. I say no. She asks if I need a wheel chair. Uh, yes but my family is standing there and looking worried. I don't want to freak them out any more by going to medical. They've already waited for hours as it is for me.
Getting the bikes and bags was an ordeal. We finally get back to the hotel room after the race. Spending the evening with my parents after the race was very special. Especially since my dad has had recent health problems.

The next morning, Dad and I went out to breakfast. He told me about the time his friends had to pack and hike him out of the Grand Canyon. He said he was in the best shape of his life on that trip but also got dehydrated.

I start driving home from the race by myself. About 50 minutes away from our house my hands start curling up and cramping. I start drinking more Gatorade. Then I start feeling really sick. Pull over on the side of the highway on a side road and start throwing up in a bag- Thanks Ironman. Two women in a car pull over and ask me if I'm okay. I lie and say yes..lol..
Call my husband who asks if he needs to come to get me. I manage to drive myself home. Gee, I'm getting really good at walking and driving in an altered state.
Drive myself straight to the ER. For once I go directly from Triage to the back. I get an IV, blood tests, 4 blankets and a horrible potassium drink. Hubby comes up to the hospital to hang out with IV woman. Teenage son comes up just to see mom getting an IV.
The day after the race I stayed home. I felt nauseous and could barely eat for a few days.


Circumstances of the day


While my time wasn't what I trained or raced for it was a great race. As time goes on this will probably be my favorite race because of the circumstances and obstacles that occurred during the day.

The last year has been interesting to say the least. 9 days before IMFL10, I broke my toe and ended up having surgery instead of going to the race. I spent the months of November and December recovering and doing a lot of aqua jogging. Started training again in January with the goal of beating my previous IMFl09 finishing time and making it to race day in one piece.


A month prior to the IMTX, I sent my coach an email asking about predicted race paces and finishing times. The times and paces that were sent back were not to my liking. In my return email, I told him IF i couldn't meet my time goals then I didn't even want to go to the race. It is a wonder my coach hasn't fired me by now. Thanks Shane for being so patient and always knowing the right thing to say. I calm down (for me) and start freaking out about other things out of my control for the next month.

My driving goals for the last year have been time related. Some days the only thing that got me out of bed was the desire to beat my IMFL finishing time. Kathy G had kindly warned me about the dangers of being focused on time goals. And of course I blew her off and kept on focusing on my time goals. Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men.

I didn't meet my run or finishing time goals. But I was able to take time off of my previous swim and bike time from IMFL.

In hindsight the race probably wouldn't have been the experience that it was had I met my run and finishing time goals. I'm happy with my execution of the race given the circumstances. Perhaps I've learned that while time goals can be good in the end they aren't what makes the Ironman special. The journey to and during the race is what makes the Ironman special.

How can you ever begin to thank your family, friends and coach for being there with you every step of the way through your Ironman training? I am blessed to have such a wonderful and patient husband.

I still can't believe I walked so many miles. Gee, I must have been delirious to do something as stupid as that.