Anything can happen and does happen in an Ironman.
Ironman Texas was my “A” race for this season. I was fit, ready, and determined. Famous words by Charlie Johnson rung in my mind all day Saturday, “some days chickens some days feathers”. Saturday was a day of feathers. Going into the race I knew it was going to be a tough day. Forecasts were calling for sunny skies and high temperatures.
Pre race prep: We arrived in Texas on Wednesday evening and
had plans to drive up to The Woodlands on Thursday to get checked in. Thursday
morning Michael and I headed out for an easy run with one mile at goal IM Pace
(which was 9:00/mile). After the 20-min run we got back to the house and we both
commented on the heat and humidity. It felt as if we had run for an hour with
how bad we were sweating. From that moment I knew my race plan had to change.
Friday we participated in the pre race swim held in Lake Woodlands. Nothing
changed from my memories of 2011. Nasty, dark and very dirty water. Yuck..
After the swim we hopped on our bikes for a quick spin to loosen the legs and
make sure all gearing was working and we would be ready to roll on Saturday.
Systems checked and we were set.
Race Day: We arrived to transition before it had opened and
had plenty of time to not be rushed. I mixed all my nutrition, double checked
my gear bags, and was ready to make the mile walk to swim start. Over the load
speakers Mike Riley’s voice announced, “this in a non-wetsuit legal swim”. I
couldn’t have been happier with this announcment.
Swim Time: 1:09:04
Swim: Water temperature was 77 degrees (which in my opinion
is still too warm for a wetsuit for 2.4 miles). What this meant was they would
have a wetsuit wave for the swimmers who wanted to wear one. Wetsuits are
optional from 76-83 degrees. In 2011 it was a wetsuit optional swim but they
started all racers together and that was the worst 2.4 I have ever dealt with.
This year they made the wetsuits start 10-min after everyone else which took a
solid 10% out of the mass start. In addition Ironman added numbered buoys and
floating rest stations for the anxious swimmers out there. Truthfully I don’t
remember seeing or noticing a numbered buoy. If you are anywhere near the buoy
line in Ironman you are going to get pummeled and I made sure to steer clear of
that.
Texas is an in water start so that means in order to get a
good position you have to get in the water early. I was through the corral and
lined up before they opened up the water to let swimmers in. I had my new Speedsuit
by Xterra that I was excited to try out. I lined up at the far buoy line in
hopes of avoiding the crowd this year. I had a relatively good start and
established a pace I was going to hold. I jostled around with a few swimmers
trying to gun for clear water and got on feet when I could. Overall I felt
great my form was the best it has been in open water. My breathing got under
control within 500 yards or so and I was focused. Turning into the canal for
the final 800 yards I saw Charlie yelling at me from the sidelines. He followed
me for a good 10 minutes. This helped to keep me pushing and also brightened up
my swim! Rounding the final turn buoy and the clock reads, 1:19, what? I found
out after the race that they had still had the pro-time displayed.
T1 Time: 4:03
T1: I found my bag right away and into the change tent I went. I put on my bike shoes, helmet, stuffed endurolytes into my pocked, lubed up and was off.
Bike Time: 6:12:36
Bike: One word, HOT! I never would have imagined or thought a bike ride could get so unbearably hot. The course started out fast and smooth as it did in 2011. I was watching my HR to make sure I wasn’t over doing it. Smooth roads and a tail wind made the first 40 miles very pleasant. Then I hit the back roads of Sam Houston National Forest and all my focus went to dodging pot holes for the next ten miles. At mile 60 the heat really started to set in. I remember riding thinking it felt as if I was in a sauna. The road conditions from mile 60-90 were terrible, add in some winds and soring temperatures and that was the perfect mixture for my derailment. Once the ride turned back onto smooth roads the heat had won the battle. I was fighting nausea and was starting to get delirious. The final 10 miles I spent riding really easy trying to regain composure. I was trying to get my mind focused in hopes to regain my race.
Bike Data: CLICK HERE
Looking over this data, temperatures hit 99 degrees by mile 65 of the bike and over 100 degrees by mile 90. WOW! That is HOT!
T2 Time: 7:52
T2: The nail in my coffin. In my traditional fashion, I did a flying dismount because running in bike shoes is not fun. But what I wasn’t anticipating was a scalding surface the sun had been roasting all day. The run from T2 had about 100 ft of concrete and that was enough to completely fry the bottoms of my feet. So now not only was I hot, overheated, and battling mental demons, I now had burnt feet before the run started. I was sitting in T2 pouring ice water on the soles of my feet and thinking, how am I going to do this? I was in tears from being afraid of the pain and disappointment in my performance. At that point I knew the only way I was going to make it to this finish line was to focus on what I came to do and move on. Anything can happen!
T2: The nail in my coffin. In my traditional fashion, I did a flying dismount because running in bike shoes is not fun. But what I wasn’t anticipating was a scalding surface the sun had been roasting all day. The run from T2 had about 100 ft of concrete and that was enough to completely fry the bottoms of my feet. So now not only was I hot, overheated, and battling mental demons, I now had burnt feet before the run started. I was sitting in T2 pouring ice water on the soles of my feet and thinking, how am I going to do this? I was in tears from being afraid of the pain and disappointment in my performance. At that point I knew the only way I was going to make it to this finish line was to focus on what I came to do and move on. Anything can happen!
Run Time: 5:21:52
Run: Coming out of T2 it took a solid two miles to get the pain of my feet out of my mind. I was focusing on form, trying to keep a pace I thought was conservative for the heat and actually started to feel good. The heat was terrible but I was doing a great job with hydrating and cooling myself off at every mile with ice and water over my head and in my tri suit. After one loop of the run, about 9 miles, my feet started to really hurt from the burns. From then on, it was a run through pain of my feet with this dying mental strength to push through. I couldn’t keep out the pain thoughts and at two loops I gave way. Every step from then on was pure agony and all I thought about was making it to the finish line. All hopes of a time or goal were shattered, I was crushed.
Run Data: CLICK HERE
The challenges I faced made me a stronger and even more
determined athlete. I pushed through a day when so many obstacles were thrown
my way. I have so many family and friends to thank for bringing me to the
finish line. Charlie was my number one support throughout the day. His smiling
face and encouraging words helped more than he knows. I would search for him at
every corner or turn and sure enough he would be there. Also knowing so many
family and friends were tracking, supporting, and watching me kept me fighting.
It is amazing what positive thoughts can do when you are in such despair. The
mental strength it takes to do an Iroman is by far one of the largest factors
in determining your day. I will never stop fighting because I am an Ironman. Run: Coming out of T2 it took a solid two miles to get the pain of my feet out of my mind. I was focusing on form, trying to keep a pace I thought was conservative for the heat and actually started to feel good. The heat was terrible but I was doing a great job with hydrating and cooling myself off at every mile with ice and water over my head and in my tri suit. After one loop of the run, about 9 miles, my feet started to really hurt from the burns. From then on, it was a run through pain of my feet with this dying mental strength to push through. I couldn’t keep out the pain thoughts and at two loops I gave way. Every step from then on was pure agony and all I thought about was making it to the finish line. All hopes of a time or goal were shattered, I was crushed.
Run Data: CLICK HERE
Race Statistics from Run Tri: http://www.runtri.com/2013/05/ironman-texas-2013-results-analysis.html
Female 25-29 Age Group
Ave Time: 13:47
Ave Swim: 1:23
Ave Bike: 6:32
Ave Run: 5:33
Ave T: 0:16
DNS (Did not start): 12%
DNF (Did not finish): 15%
