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Race Reports for Ironman Texas - North American Championship 2012

[1]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Do recommend and will consider doing it again in the future
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[2]
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Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I had a goal of 13 hours but considering how bad I felt during that end of the bike and the whole run, I was completely satisfied with just finishing my first 140.6.
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[3]
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Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: For an Ironman race, this is amazing. The course is beautiful, the volunteers are absolutely amazing, and the organization is unmatched. The weather is hot this time of year but you absolutely can not beat the atmosphere at a WTC Ironman race and this one is no different.
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[4]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I liked the medal and the shirt was also a lot better than CDA. The food more plentiful. To critique the event: The swim I think was more fun than CDA just because we got to swim down the channel and see family. The bike course was certainly easier but the crowds were more sparse, and I partial to a two lap bike course. The run I liked better than IMCDA just because it was easier and the fan support along the canal was really crazy. I didn’t care for the weather at IMTX at all, the town although trendy was difficult to drive in and it seemed like The Woodlands wasn’t quite prepared for the traffic. If I had to choose between the two races again I think I would do CDA, I think the town was a little bit more to my liking and they seemed happier to have you there. But If someone said hey lets go do IMTX again, I would do it. I would certainly recommend IMTX, I would just do more heat training.
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[5]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This event was absolutely awesome. The Woodlands is a great location for an Ironman and the course was beautiful. My first Ironman was everything I hoped it to be and more and can't wait to do another.
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[6]
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Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Overall the venue is great. The Woodlands is the nice part of Houston, and there are lots of places to eat, etc. Although, you and your spectators need to be prepared to walk, a lot. It's not an easy venue to spectate, and the parking is limited. Only my young, healthy spectators were able to make it to the swim start. Since we had to walk over. My older spectators weren't going to find parking close enough to the swim start to watch it. So they had to catch me at T1. Even then, it was hard to spectate T1 and forget seeing people come out of the swim exit. The swim itself is fine, and most of the swim is in the wide part of the canal. Start on the outside and you won't get beat to h@ll. The water in the canal is gross. I live in Texas though, so I'm use to it. If you are use to clean water, and want to swim in clean water, this isn't the race for you. The transition area was compact and well laid out. Didn't have to go too far to get my T1 and T2 bags, and didn't have
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[7]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Amazing venue and incredible support from everybody.
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[8]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Would you do another one? I am already starting to plan my next thing. What would THAT be? Anything that’s the opposite of the IMTX course. For example, how about a ONE LOOP 50k trails run in December? How about an XTerra race where you’re not worried about chip seal, you’re worried about boulders? How about Windsurfing to actually look forward to high winds? Ten minutes after the race, my wife asked me if I would do another Ironman. I don’t remember it, but she said my skin turned green, my muscles got so huge that all my clothes ripped off and I roared like The Hulk. It was unclear if the superhero said yes or no. What I would do differently: 1. Train in the heat. Run at work during lunch in the noonday sun. Embrace the heat. Make it your friend. Sit in the sauna at the gym for hours on end. Love the heat with all your heart. 2. Do Ironman 70.3 Galveston as a training race. This year it almost DNF’d Lance Armstrong because of the heat. Should’ve done it. 3.
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[9]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The only complaint I had about the race was the complete lack of information about how to get from the transition area to the swim start. There were no signs at all, and none of the volunteers (or race officials) seemed to have any idea of the shortest route.
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[10]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race, good time of year, and nice venue. Honestly, the big draw for me is that it's a local race and I don't have to travel or miss a bunch of work for it. Another real plus is the high volume training is really done before the weather gets too hot. This was my second year for IM-TX. I'm on the fence about year three at this point. I was able to move from the 12:30 range last year to the 12:00 range this year, and I can see with just a little more focus and training that I could move into the 11:30 time frame on this course. It's a question about whether I'm willing to spend the time and sweat to make this happen. I do like the long-course training....but there are other races out there. Drawback for this race can certainly be the weather. Race day this year was great. We did have direct sun, but it was low humidity and a breeze came up on the run that really helped. On as hot humid day, it could really be brutal.
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[11]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Never really felt hot out there and the humidity in Houston is a joke compared to what I am use to. I thought the course was fantastic. I liked this race and area so much that I wouldn't mind coming back here next year, and the year after, and the year after....
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[12]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I enjoyed this race enormously. As I already hinted,key for me wasn't in the physical training of swim, bike and run but rather in hydration, nutrition, heat management and mental focus. My PR went from 12.39 to 12.08 so I guess I will have to have another go..... in 2014.
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[13]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I got my metal and a huge hug from Chrissie Wellington at the finish. Nice finish to my first race. My family met me at the end off the chute and it was just awesome my son and daughter gave me big hugs and then the emotions started to pour out.
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[14]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?No

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Overall I was impressed with the organization of the check in process.....smooth and much better than at IMFL. They had a very nice expo with a variety of vendors. I liked the floating swim start. The water was murky but seemed clean enough. I think the swim course was long. I did NOT like finishing in the canal. At all. The transition area was well thought out and efficient. I actually liked the bike course it just wasn't my day. I had 80 oz on the bike with me and probably drank 70 of that plus another 80 in water. Add in another at least 60 in the aide stations and I am up to 230 oz and I had stopped sweating. I drank another 60 in the room before I peed. I did loose some fluids on the ground when I dropped my bike and in the mile 82 aide station. I was freezing after my shower but when D touched me he said I was hot and dry. D is a urologist. He says pee is his life. Fluids and electrolytes are his life for sure. He thinks I had heat stroke. I don't think I
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[15]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Ironman Texas May 19, 2012 The race weekend had a stressful start when I arrived in Houston and realized my bike had been broken. Tech support was able to fix it to work and my bike shop (BikeWise in Oxford, Ohio) had the part sent to me to allow for the bike to be correctly fixed. I arrived at transition early. It was a long walk from transition to the swim start. I was full of nerves race morning. I hate crowds. I was happy Pater was there to calm me down and make sure I got in the water to start. The water temp was 81 degrees. Nice! We had about 15 minutes of treading water before the cannon signaled start of the race. I started toward the front, but off to the side a bit. It was a rough start. The man-made lake/canal was not that large. The water was dark, so it was not possible to see your hands or the feet in front of you. My stroke was short and choppy until I made the first turn. After the first turn, I was able to find some free water and open up my stroke.
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[16]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: this day was a lot of "First's" for me... First time to race Ironman distance First time to ride my bike 112 miles First time to run a marathon First time to be in a wheelchair First time to get an IV First time to faint First time to hear Mike Reilly say "Jason Brunner, you are an Ironman!" i learned alot about myself this day..there is nothing i cant do if i am mentally prepared..i could not have scripted a better race if i would have tried...
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[17]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Thanks to all the volunteers, and all the BTers who helped me along this journey! I am an IRONMAN!
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[18]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The volunteers were awesome. The nutritional and fluid support was incredible. The people lined streets during lots of the run. I made it! This makes for my 9th IM completion. I know well that despite one's best preparation, anything can happen during a race. I did not let Afib take this Ironman away from me!!!
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[19]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I really enjoyed the race and my performance. Nothing to be ashamed of. I think IRONMAN put on a excellent race. The swim was tough but that is to be expected over 2200 people in a narrow lake and canal. The bike course was really easy. The run couse was nice (maybe 2 loops next time) I would do this event again
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[20]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Lots more food this year. I did not like that the post race food was on cement. I just wanted to lay down, but it was to hot. I ended up just outside the area in the grass. Seems better so my boys could crawl all over me.
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