Ironman Texas 2011 - The Bike

The start of the bike leg of an Ironman always feels a bit like organized chaos to me – like a stadium emptying after a big concert or football game and everyone finding their own way - and Ironman Texas was no exception. It usually takes the first 20-something miles of the race for things to settle down and for the shuffle of fast swimmers, slow swimmers, fast cyclists and slower cyclists to work itself out.

The crowd support heading out of town was great as well and made for a nice send off into the rolling hills of the Piney Forest area. I quickly settled into a comfortably hard pace and put it on cruise control at that effort level.

I rode the hilly portion of the IMTX course twice leading up to the race so I was really happy when we approached Montgomery and the road began to look familiar. I pushed the down
hills which helped me power up the up hills and kept the pace dialed in on the flats. I saw a couple of familiar faces on the course throughout the day which is always a great pick me up.

The wind was pretty calm and we had nice cloud coverage for a good portion of the bike segment, so I stayed cool, or rather – not hot. The volunteers, as usual, at the aid stations were incredible. I chose not to use the special needs bags for the bike or run because we were told that we would not get them back and I didn’t want to lose anything. Plus, I had everything nutrition-wise that I needed with me on the bike (from what I understand, no one got the bags back, so I was glad I didn’t use them). So, as we approached the half-way point and special needs I stayed to left while a lot of people stopped.

At the half-way mark, my total bike time was less than 3 hours and I realized that if I kept pace that I could break six hours on the bike. I made a mid-race decision to go for it. My fastest HIM bike split is about 3 hours, so hitting 6 hours in a full would be a big deal for me. I knew I was jeopardizing my run, but I felt strong and knew that a fast bike split would give me the best shot at breaking 12 hours.

My only concern at this point in the ride was that I had not seen Doug and Ryan yet. I made it a game to look for the suburban, which helped pass the time, but it was also a bit disconcerting – where were they???

Around this time I went over a rail road track and lost a bottle. I have always thought it was silly that athletes who lose nutrition don’t stop to pick it up – especially if they are going to need it, so I stopped to pick up my bottle. Unfortunately, the top broke on the fall and I lost most of my liquid concentrated nutrition in that bottle. I made two bottles with 3.5 hours worth of nutrition each, so losing that bottle would have been a game changer if I had not brought a flask of First Endurance Liquid Shot “just in case”. I did pick up my broken bottle as to not litter. Overall, the stop was only about 30 seconds, max.

After the nutrition mishap I did a quick re-evaluation of my nutrition plan and adjusted accordingly. I still had plenty of calories to get me through the bike.

Around the 75 mile marker I FINALLY saw Doug and Ryan! What a pick me up! I normally would have just waved but I decided a quick kiss was in order, so I made another 30 second stop to say hello to my support crew and managed to bruise my quad getting off my bike. Thankfully, the bruise didn’t really hurt or show up until Sunday. Doug told me to get going quickly because they had been stopping bikes for as long as 3 + minutes to let cars pass at the major intersection where they were. From what I understand, there was some drama around this because it should not have been happening, so hopefully race officials will get that squared away for 2012.


I took off after seeing Doug and Ryan with a renewed sense of purpose to get back to transition because I knew that is where I would see them again. I finally stopped for a potty break at the 90 mile marker and then the countdown was on! For reference, I stopped at least 3 times during IMFL and 2 times at Cedar Point, so I was happy to have made it 90 miles without a potty stop. With an empty bladder, I felt refreshed and the break was good for me mentally as well.

At this point in the race, I am like a horse running to the stables. I was still focused on breaking 6 hours and my pace had slowed a bit during the second half, so with my albeit brief stops, I knew it was going to be close. I kicked it up a notch as I counted the miles off one by one. With 10 miles to go, my feet hurt, a deep ache. I did my best to move my toes around and just ignore the pain. I knew it would go away as soon as I got off my bike so I was incentivized to get back to transition as quickly as possible.

As we got closer to transition, the crowd support got bigger and bigger, which just fed my adrenaline. As usual, the last several miles felt long, but as I finally approached transition and was surrounded by the excited crowd, I got a huge smile on my face. I took a deep breath and thanked God for a safe ride and no mechanicals. I saw Doug and Ryan as I dismounted my bike and ran it into transition.

It felt so good to hand my bike off to a volunteer! I immediately stopped to take off my bike shoes to alleviate my foot pain and so that I could run more easily to the transition bags and the change tent.

I was amazed when I saw the cumulative clock time as I rounded the corner to the gear bags – it was around 7:35 – I knew that I had done what I needed to do on the swim and the bike to set myself up to break 12 hours. I was not sure what my bike time was, but I knew it was close to 6 hours and I was really happy with that. I was even happier after the race when I found out that I had indeed broken 6 hours on the bike, finishing it in 5:59:56. 4 seconds to spare!

I easily found my bag and went straight into the change tent. It was pretty empty and I had two volunteers helping me. I realized at that point that I had forgotten to put my all day sunscreen on my face before the swim so I was thankful to have a spray bottle of sunscreen in my bag. I sprayed it in my hands and did my best to get it on my face. I also changed socks (now wet and dirty from running in the grass), put on my shoes, changed the nutrition I carry in the back pocket of my tri top from bike nutrition to run nutrition, put on my visor and Garmin and gave the volunteers my sunglasses and bike gear and then I was off.

Bike Time: 05:59:56 (hell yeah!)
Average Speed 18.7 MPH, or 30 KM per hr for my Canadian friends :)
Overall Place: 891 / 2156
Gender Place: 134 / 537
Division Place: 21 / 78

T2 Time: 00:04:25
Overall Place: 288 / 2156
Gender Place: 71 / 537
Division Place: 12 / 78

Ironman Texas 2011 - The Swim

The nice thing about racing my third iron distance race was knowing what to expect … and knowing that despite the fact that my training volume was much lower this training cycle, that I have the capacity to finish the race.

My number one worry going into a race is having a catastrophic mechanical issue or wreck that prevents me from continuing the race. I don’t stress too much about race times – the day will unfold how it will unfold – so I try to put the things that are out of my control (mechanicals, wind, weather) out of my mind.

Race morning is fairly simple when racing long because you have already turned in all of your gear and the only race gear that you have to remember is your bike nutrition … well that and trislide and sunscreen and breakfast and your swim stuff and timing chip… but still, far less stuff to remember than a normal race day.

We chose to stay at home, a short 45 minute easy drive from the Woodlands. We woke up around 3:45 am, got dressed, made breakfast (toast with peanut butter) and hit the road by 4:30 am. My Iron Sherpa hubby and our good friend Ryan were going to be my primary race crew for the day. My children and parents would be joining them much later in the day to watch the finish.

Transition

We arrived in the Woodlands around 5:30 am, found parking and made it to transition to drop off my bike nutrition before walking the mile or so to the swim start. It was a pretty laid back morning and I enjoyed talking to lots of different people on the walk to the swim start. Once at the swim start, I got body marked and then put on my TYR Torque. The race was not wetsuit legal for those competing for AG awards and Kona slots. I knew I had no shot at either, but chose to race without my wetsuit anyhow so that I would see how I fared against the best.

Support Crew - Check out those shirts!

My Iron Sherpa
I always get teary-eyed before saying goodbye to Douglas before big races and this race was no exception. I have no idea why, but it happens every time! After one last quick kiss, I got into the “no wetsuit” corral and started making my way into the water. I finally made it into the water with a couple of minutes to spare before the gun and was surrounded by athletes. I really had no place to go to get away from people (in Florida I started a bit further down the beach to avoid the washing machine) – and there was still a decent line of people trying to get into the water.

Swim Entry Line
At the Gun
When the gun went off it was mayhem. Bodies everywhere. It was the definition of the washing machine effect and it was by far the most difficult mass start swim I have done (Redman Full Aqua Bike, IMFL, Rev3 Cedar Point, IMTX). It took about 15 minutes to find clear water – and for the rest of the race it was a constant battle to stay in clear water. It was as if we all had magnets on that were attracted to each other and we wanted to swim in pods to beat the crap out of each other rather than swim a couple of feet in any other direction in clear water. I got slapped and kicked and had my goggles knocked off my face once, but that is not so bad considering the chaos.

I mentally broke the swim into three parts – the first segment was the “out” to the turnaround buoy, the second segment was the “back” which took us back towards the bridge where we started and the turn into the canal and the third segment was the canal itself. Once in the canal, it was really neat to see spectators on both sides – until I noticed one guy basically walking next to his swimmer. I’m not sure why this annoyed me other than every time I breathed to that side he was there and it felt like I was not going anywhere!

I really try to enjoy the swim even though it is my weakest of the three sports because it just passes so quickly and before I know it I will be spending hours and hours and hours on my bike. When I get tired or frustrated during any part of the race I will often think of people who would love to be where I am at that given moment and for health or other reasons they cannot train for or race an Ironman – and that helps get me through. So as I approach the swim exit I try to remember one last time to embrace and enjoy the day.

As soon as I hit the stairs I got a huge smile on my face – one leg down, two to go! I nearly lost my balance as I started to run for the wetsuit strippers. I opted to have them help me pull off my Torque so that I wouldn’t end up struggling with it in the change tent.

With the Torque off, I ran towards the transition bags and passed the time clock, the time showed it was less than 1:30 into the race. I was pretty happy with what I saw on the clock, especially since I had not been swimming the yardage I had for previous races leading up to IMTX – think, once a week in the pool, maybe. I ran through the sea of bags to the 200s and immediately saw my bag its neon green duct tape on it, grabbed it and was off to change for the bike. I saw Doug at this point and it is always such a relief to me to see him – for one, I am happy he knows that I am safe (I always worry he is going to miss me) and two, it is just a big mental boost to see him.

Grabbing my transition bag
There was an empty seat on the bench outside of transition and I opted to sit there rather than in the dark change tent. I only had to put on my socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses and gloves and to grab my bike nutrition, so it was a fairly simple transition. I did panic for one moment because it took a couple of looks in my bag to find my second bike shoe, but it was just for a moment. I threw my swim gear into the bag and was off to grab my bike.

Literally, millions of dollars worth of bikes in transition

My only real complaint from a race perspective is that my bike was at the far end of the rack so I had to run to the end of the rack to get it and then back to the middle to exit, so theoretically someone in my age group racked closer to the middle had an advantage. I guess when I am ready to fight for a slot to Kona these little differences will be a much bigger deal :)

The nice thing about being on the end of the rack it that it was also close to the fence so I got to see Doug and Ryan for a moment while I grabbed my bike before running to the bike exit. I saw Doug running towards the bike mount line just as I was mounting my bike (spectating is hard work!), and then I was off.

Swim Time: 01:27:56
100M Pace: 2:18
Overall Place: 1230 / 2156
Gender Place: 256 / 537
Division Place: 46 / 78

T1 Time: 00:05:02
Overall Place: 449 / 2156
Gender Place: 129 / 537
Division Place: 23 / 78

IMTX Race Report – Quick(ish) and Dirty

Doing an IM at home town was a very different experience from traveling to race.

When I travel, it is easier to leave behind day-to-day life and just focus on my travel plans – and in the case of a race – focus on the race. When traveling for a race, my Iron Sherpa is with me every step of the way and we are usually situated close to the race site.

Racing at home means commuting back and forth (minimum 45 minutes each way) to the race site for pre-race activities, not having my Iron Sherpa with me for pre-race stuff (he was working) and multi-tasking until nearly the last hour the night before the race (unloading the dishwasher among other fun things).

However, racing at home also means that I am at HOME! I enjoy sleeping in my own bed, not having to disrupt everyone’s schedule and routine because I am racing and having my own cheering section at the race is icing on the cake.

For those of you who just want the race highlights – here is a quick(ish) and dirty race recap. I have a lot more to say about the race, the experience, my nutrition, etc, but this will give you the highlights and focuses on how I performed time wise and in comparison to the field.

To compare IMTX versus other IMs, check out RunTri’s analysis. IMTX currently ranks as one of the top 5 most difficult races on RunTri’s Toughest Ironman Index (based on finishing times).

Swim - Did not wear a wetsuit – wore TYR swim skin. First 15 minutes were brutal, tough to get into any sort of rhythm thanks to the endless slaps, hits, kicks and punches. Toughest mass swim I have done to date. That being said, I was thrilled with my time, given how little I had been swimming in the two months leading up to the race. I’ll take it!

Swim Time: 01:27:56
100M Pace: 2:18
Overall Place: 1230 / 2156
Gender Place: 256 / 537
Division Place: 46 / 78
**Overall and Gender includes Pros!**

T1 – Easily found my bag and an empty seat on the bench outside of the chaos of the change tent. The only disadvantage I saw here is that my bike was at the end of my row so I had to run down the row and back to get my bike whereas people in my AG racked on the end did not have to do this.

T1 Time: 00:05:02
Overall Place: 449 / 2156
Gender Place: 129 / 537
Division Place: 23 / 78

After T1
Overall Place: 1057 / 2156 ---- passed 173 people in transition!
Gender Place: 221 / 537 ---- passed 35 women in transition!
Division Place: 40 / 78 ---- passed 6 women in my AG in transition!

Transitions are free speed!!

Bike – The beginning of course had great spectator support. Easily found my rhythm and a good pace. I was thankful that I had ridden a good 55 miles of the hilly section of the course because I knew what to expect -- when to push hard on the down hills, when the pavement was going to change, etc. Saw many friendly faces on the course – another perk of a hometown race. At the half way point, I saw that I could break 6 hours on the bike if I kept my pace up and I decided to go for it, even it if would cost me a bit on my run later. I only had to stop twice on the bike. Once to pick up a bottle of nutrition that was ejected going over railroad tracks (unfortunately, it broke and I lost the nutrition) and once for the porta-potty. Thank God I brought a flask of First Endurance Liquid Shot in my tri top, just in case, so I was still ok on the nutrition front. My feet started to hurt during the last 10 or so miles, but adrenaline took me to the bike dismount line. I was thrilled with my bike performance.

Bike Time: 05:59:56 (hell yeah!)
Average Speed 18.7 MPH, or 30 KM per hr for my Canadian friends :)
Overall Place: 891 / 2156
Gender Place: 134 / 537
Division Place: 21 / 78

Getting off the bike, I was 07:32:54 into the race and my standings were:

Overall Place: 915 / 2156 ---- passed 142 people on the bike
Gender Place: 142 / 537 ---- passed 79 women on the bike
Division Place: 25 / 78 ---- passed 15 women in my AG on the bike

T2 – my favorite part of T2 is handing my bike to a volunteer and taking off my bike shoes before running to my T2 bag and the change tent. Again, easily found my bag and went into the shade of the change tent to change. It wasn’t very busy and I had help. Switched out my nutrition and changed socks, shoes, put on my Garmin and visor and I was out the door.

T2 Time: 00:04:25
Overall Place: 288 / 2156
Gender Place: 71 / 537
Division Place: 12 / 78

I’m not sure why I am faster than my peers in T2 than I am in T1???

After T2
Overall Place: 850 / 2156 ---- passed 65 people in transition!
Gender Place: 133 / 537 ---- passed 9 women in transition!
Division Place: 22 / 78 ---- passed 3 women in my AG in transition!

Starting the marathon, the race clock was 07:37:19 …

Run – On a “perfect” day, my goal would be to break 12 hours. All I had to do was run a 4:22:40 marathon and I would be set. I am 100% confident that my body is capable of a 4:22 Ironman marathon … it was my mind that was not capable today. 3 lap run – first lap was really tough and hot, second lap felt better but was still hot and the third lap felt even better and it was actually not as hot. Crowd support was a major boost and I rocked the last 2 miles (sub 9:00 pace). This was not the run I am capable of, however, even with the heat, I felt pretty good and I’ll take it!

I rev’d up the crowd during the last quarter mile and high-fived as many people as I could in the finisher’s chute.

Run Time: 04:42:44
Average Pace: 10:47
Overall Place: 474 / 2156
Gender Place: 104 / 537
Division Place: 18 / 78

Overall Race: 12:20:02 – a PR by 3 minutes and 55 seconds!

Overall Place: 586 / 2156 ---- passed 264 people on the run
Gender Place: 109 / 537 ---- passed 24 women on the run
Division Place: 17 / 78 ---- passed 5 women in my AG on the run

For those of you who are not keeping track, I ended up passing 644 people throughout the day after getting out of the water, including 147 women and 29 women in my AG. Clearly I need to learn to swim faster!

Overall, I am really happy with my performance and results, especially since I had to cut back on my training volume this IM training cycle. I was just outside the top 20% for women overall and in my AG. I was just outside of the top 25% of the overall field and my time was nearly an hour faster than the average finishing time of 13:19. This is a huge improvement in my comparative results from IMFL, so I feel great about the strides I have made in the last 18 months!

Stay tuned for a segment by segment detailed race report to follow soon!

Back from Paradise

You may recall from this post that directly after IMTX, I planned a 10 day second honeymoon to Belize for me and my amazing, supportive husband of 10 years.

Well, 6 short days after PRing the IMTX with a time of 12:20:02, we left for Belize and 10 days of rest, relaxation and not a minute of S/B/R! Ok, I did swim but not in a training fashion. I drank, I ate and I didn't feel a hint of guilt (ok, maybe a tinge once or twice).

The trip was amazing and I am back feeling energized and refreshed and ready to figure out what my next challenge will be.

IMTX race report to follow soon ...

Creatures of Habit

As a general rule, I think most people are creatures of habit. I know that I am. I often run the same run route, drive the exact same way to work, eat the same meals for dinner most weeks and usually eat the same thing for lunch everyday.

Why?

Because it is easy ... and familiar. No surprises. Why try something new and risk disappointment when you have a good thing going, right?

The problem with this is that it can be too much of a good thing and we are reticent to try new things that may actually help us improve (in terms of training) or that we may actually like better!

One of the best things about being on Team Trakkers (besides the camraderie of my super cool teammates) is trying new products from our sponsors. I will tell you with 100% honesty that I was very nervous to try new products. I had been wearing the same brand of shoes for close to a decade. I was using nutrition that I liked. I wore the same goggles ... the list goes on and on.

I am happy to say that this experimentation has been great for me. I have discovered new products that I swear by that I would not have otherwise known about. Not everything new I try works for me - and that's ok too - sometimes I learn more when trying something that doesn't work than finding new things that do.

Be on the look out soon for an "Anne's Triathlon Favorite Things" post that I will use to share with you well, my favorite things. Unfortunately, unlike Oprah, I won't be giving away my list of items, but I do encourage you to think outside of your routine and perhaps try something new!

The Big Dance in T minus 1 Month

When life gets so busy that keeping all the balls in the air feels like a nearly an impossible task, what do you do?

Keep your head down, stay focused and work hard.

So, that is exactly what I have been doing for the last month. While I have had to make some sacrifices on the training front, my main focus has been to be active during the week in s/b/r and nailing my long workouts on the weekends.

The temps in Texas are starting to soar and I can definitely feel it on my long runs, but my pace is still holding up. My long bike rides have been strong and consistent and I got to ride two loops of the hilly section of the IMTX course last weekend. While there are some hills, there are downhills as well, with lots of opportunities to pick up some good speed.

I don't know if I am going to be a trained "ready" for this race, but I have never been more ready for a race to arrive!

Hope your training and racing has been going well - stay safe, train hard and may the wind be at your back! Hope to see a lot of you on the IMTX course one month from today!

The Verdict Is In ...

Thank you so much for all of the great advice on whether I should race IMTX 70.3. I found myself being swayed back and forth as I read the various comments. Ultimately, I have decided not to race it, but after much deliberation I feel confident that I am making the decision for the right reasons.

Primarily, my reasons for not racing are: 1) save the money 2) save the time (avoiding a weekend in Galveston away from my kids, especially since I am traveling most of the following week) and 3) for $275 I want to race not be conservative.

After a month of 80+ mile bike rides, followed by good brick runs and two recent long runs of 16 and 17 miles, I am feeling more and more confident about my fitness. I even had a wonderful swim this weekend despite being out of the pool for over a week.

I am definitely finding the family / work / training balance more difficult this IM go round, but am happy that I have two finishes under my belt so that I can be more flexible with my training without losing confidence in my ability to have a good race.

Thanks again for the advice - I will miss the fun and the atmosphere in Galveston, but it is the right decision for me this year. Have a great training week!

Decisions, decsions ... help me make one!

Ok, tri friends, I need your help again.

IMTX is 10 weeks away (yikes!) and IMTX 70.3 is 6 weeks before IMTX, making it 4 weeks from now. I did this race last year and had a great day, even PRing the race in my goal time (sub 5:45)

I have not registered for the 70.3 yet and I am on the fence on whether I should race it ...

I only did two races last year, one in the Spring - IMTX 70.3 in April and one in the Fall - Rev3 Cedar Point in September. So while technically my 140.6 was not my first race of the year, I clearly did not do one as a part of my build or peak leading up to my iron distance race.

Part of me wants to do the race so IMTX won't be my first race of the year, but I also have a whole list of reasons not to do it ...

- Save the money (two big vacations this year, fall races?)
- Not necessary
- Don't feel ready to race (would a poor race affect me confidence for IMTX?)
- Closer than I would like to IMTX

If this was my first IM distance race, I think I would definitely go for it, but since IMTX will be number 3, I need help deciding if I "need" to do a tune up race.

If I am being perfectly honest with myself, it also has something to do with the fact that I don't feel like I am in as good of shape as I was last year (e.g. If given similar race conditions and I felt the same, could I beat last year's time?).

My training doesn't feel like it has been as good and consistent as last year, mainly due to my travel schedule. Although, looking back, my training volume is similar, if not higher (since I was not training for an IM at this point last year, my hours were lower).

I can easily talk myself into or out of the race - I have twice while writing this blog post. So, give it to me ... should I race the 70.3 or skip it this year?

Remember Me?

I have just wrapped up one of the busiest months in as long as I can remember. The juggling act between family, work and training hit a serious peak over the last month between wrapping up a major project for work, traveling, two birthdays and two birthday parties, our whole family fighting the flu, oh and of course, training for a little race that is just around the corner.

I had my longest brick to date this weekend - 80 miles on the bike followed by a 5 mile run. I am starting to feel at home again in the saddle, but I am not quite to where I was leading up to Cedar Point.

Starting at the end of March, I plan to spend the two months leading up to the race doing as many of my long rides on the IMTX course as possible.

I am looking forward to catching up on all of your blogs and sharing a few product reviews that I have been working on. Long rides give me lots of time to think - lots of blog fodder!

Happy Monday!

Good News, Bad News and a PSA

I will keep this short because I am cuddled up in bed, resting and getting ready to watch The Big Bang Theory with my family.

I will start with my bad news -- I have the flu! The is the first time in as long as I can remember getting sick like this. I struggle with my sinuses like the rest of Houstonians, once or twice a year, but other than the congestion, it does not affect my ability to work or train or live life in general. I have been varying levels of miserable since Sunday night. The kicker is that I get a flu shot every year without fail, but I just didn't get around to it this winter. So, my PSA -- get your flu shot!

The good news is that I feel much better about my ride last Sunday now. My misery on the bike was probably in large part due to my coming down with the flu.

In more bad news, I was supposed to get 13 hours of training this week and all I have been able to manage is 1:45 of very easy spinning on the trainer. I am going to see how I feel over the next several days, but at best will get a bit more easy trainer time in. I have never had to miss significant training volume like this in a given week, but ...

In more good news, it is just one week. With IMTX just 100 days away, I have just enough time to build and peak without letting this illness set me back.

Here is to getting healthy ... and don't forget to get your flu shot!