Bike and Run

Since I am on my last day of full rest, I figured I better get this RR finished before I forget everything.

The Bike -

Exiting out of T1 I was in a state of panic. I wasnt sure what was going to happen out there on the bike, but I knew that I had to just ride my race and not worry about what anyone else was doing. I had ridden most of the course a few weeks back and the winds were insane, so all I could do was hope for a better day. And boy did we luck out! The entire ride was overcast with almost no winds, so the first half and the last half felt about the same for me. My goal was to never dig too deep so I could make it through the run, and it worked. I got on the bike and started to try to take in my nutrition, but I felt so crampy and sick and couldnt get anything in but water. I think it was from swallowing so much lake water. I was starting to worry, but knew at one point I would feel well enough to start taking something in. There of course were tons of people passing me, but they all had words of encouragement or something funny to say. The miles were clicking off and even though I couldnt take anything in, I wasnt bonking. I got to the halfway point with our special needs bags and stopped. I drank my coke and a rice krispie treat and took off my HR monitor strap (I think that was putting some pressure on my stomach, making it worse), and headed out again. I kept thinking to myself that if I had to I could stop and regroup, but I was feeling much better. I started taking in my carbopro/gatorade/salt tab mix at every mile and that helped too, and I felt so much better on the second half. I just kept waiting for it to get hard, and it never really did. I know I wasnt pushing to where I could have, but this was my first IM and I wanted to do a smart race. The most annoying part of the bike was that I had Lady Gaga's Born this way stuck in my head throughout the entire 112 mile ride. I dont know all the words, so I just had the first part going through my mind over and over again. Finally I just decided to start singing it, probably annoying everyone else around me. I came into T2 and to my surprise I was able to walk.





T2 - I didnt want to leave. Everyone there was so nice and helpful, and if someone had given me a beer at that point, I would have called it a day and hung out in the tent.

The Run -
I thought after I was feeling better on the bike, I thought that I would be able to break 13 hours. I didnt have a goal other than to finish, but at that point, I knew a sub 13 was possible. However, the bad (and good) part of an ironman is that everything changes. I started to run and immediately cramped up and felt like I was going to puke. So I walked. When I walked I felt fine, but as soon as I started running, I started feeling sick. I ran into a group of people who were all walking for the same reason as I was. They werent used to the heat and couldnt take in any calories. I told one of the ladies that if I ran I felt like I was going to throw up, and she told me that she saw two people who got pulled off the course for throwing up. I didnt want that to happen to me. Plus I knew that I only got in half of my calories on the bike and didnt want to throw them all up. At every aid station I took in water, coke and pretzels, and figured at one point I would feel ok to run, and if not, I would still finish and I was ok with that. Around the end of the first lap I heard my name from behind and turned around to see Beth kicking ass in the run on her last lap. And right after that I ran into my family and a few friends. The second lap was about the same as the first with a lot more portapotty stops. I do not recommend going into one during an ironman, as apparently people use the entire thing as a toilet and there was shit everywhere. Even on the toilet paper. Finally at the very end of the second lap they brought out the chicken broth and I had about two cups and instantly started to feel better, which was good because I think hell is having to walk an entire marathon. I started running and didnt feel sick. YAY! I got a lot of comments about how fast I was going, but I think that was an illusion becuase almost everyone else was walking, so my shuffle looked like a run. Now my new goal was to break 14 hours. My garmin was dead, so I didnt know how much time I had, but I knew it would be close. When I got to the last section and saw my family I heard Mike Reilly say Rachel Ryerson from Houston Texas needs to hurry in order to break 14 hours. I looked up and had about 20 seconds left and the crowd went crazy. I sprinted as fast as I could (which was probably a 10 min pace at this point) to try to break 14 hours. I knew the best part of the race would be the finish chute and I wanted to be able to slow down and enjoy it, but breaking 14 hours became my goal, and to do that I had to kick it up a notch. I didnt even hear my name announced as I crossed the finish line, but some nice lady was there to catch me and help me walk around and wouldnt let me go until I found my family and they agreed to take care of me.

Finally able to run - bloated stomach and all.


Giving my grandmother a kiss in the middle of the run.


"Sprinting" to the finish.



Realizing that I was about to finish this thing and trying not to cry.


Finishing with just a few seconds to spare


I dont know if it was because the mental image I had of what the ironman would be like was basically a death march, or if I was delirious from lack of sleep, but I enjoyed every minute of this event, and never really got to a point where I felt like I couldnt go on. Even at my worst and sickest, I still was having a great time. This is a huge testament to the volunteers and people cheering out there (especially my family and friends) because they really made this event and kept me going. Any memory of the pain I experienced passed quickly because on Sunday I was begging Chris to let me do this race next year. Congrats to everyone who finished IMTX! Now I am off to enjoy my last day of full rest before I ease back into things tomorrow. No more eating crap and drinking wine every night.

Pre-Race and Swim

The whole week leading up to the race was a nighmare for me. I am not very good in the mental department and I kept having visions of not finishing the bike or getting so sick that I had to pull out of the race, things like that. I was even dreaming about the race nightly and walking up sweating. The mental game is a tough one and I need to get better at it when it comes to racing. Chris and I got to Houston on Wednesday night and headed to my mom's house. I had a complete day off on Thursday so after checking in at the woodlands, I did errands, watched Khloe and Lamar and basically tried to keep my mind off the race. Most people stayed in the Woodlands Wednesday and Thursday nights, but I wanted to stay away from the excitement of it all until the very last minute to keep my nerves away.
Friday AM Chris, my mom and I all drove up to the woodlands to do the bike and gear bag check ins and I had conversations with some very nice people. Most of whom were from places like NYC and were petrified of the heat we had in Houston. We nervously chatted while walking to drop the bikes off, and the rest of the day I spent relaxing in the hotel room and getting things ready for the next morning.
People who say you can sleep the night before your first ironman are lying! I tossed and turned until about 2:30 AM when I finally decided to get up and get going. I checked Facebook, ate and got everything ready and woke up the rest of the crew so we could head down to the race site at 4:30. The walk from the transition area to the start was about a 30 minute walk and I tried my best to just remain calm. I got marked and ran into my coach who I had never met in person. I was so glad I did because she gave me some great last minute advice that I used the entire way to keep me going.
The swim start was sort of a cluster f**k. I was one of the first in the water and had planned to stay to the outside and take a longer line into the first buoy so I could stay away from the mass, but it took so long for everyone to enter the water that I was actually in the middle of a huge mass of people. I got elbowed by some guy in my face and my nose and lip were bleeding so I had to stop and tread water for a while so I could calm down and start moving again. Other than swallowing massive amounts of nasty water, the swim was without incident after the start. The hit to the face cost me some time, but I was also slow because I didnt ever want to push too hard. Not knowing what to expect for the day, I didnt want to die at the end of the bike or run because I had a pushed too hard to have a great swim. So I kept it conservative and was about 10 minutes off what I was hoping to do.

Looking over at Chris wondering what the hell I am doing and thinking I really should pull out and go back to bed instead of doing this crazy thing.


The start - Im in there somewhere

I am an IRONMAN!

I know I am about 3 days late with this, but I finished Ironman Texas! I am going to do a full race recap (dont worry, it will be in parts) over the weekend since I am traveling for work right now, but overall I had the best experience of my life! I loved every second of the race and never once thought that I wanted to sell my bike to the stranger on the side of the road in the middle of the ride and quit triathlon for good. Going into it I thought the swim would be a piece of cake, but after a really bad start and busted nose and lip, it was the worst part of the day. And my nemesis, the bike, is now my friend and I really had no issues on that portion of the race. So I guess it really is true that you cant predict anything in an ironman. I wasnt sure what to expect since it was a first time event, but it was amazing - the directors did an excellent job! The volunteers were out in full force and couldnt have been more amazing. I made sure to chat them up all along the way and thank them even when I felt like crap, and it always made me feel better. The spectators were out there even after dark and there were a few parts along the run where the fans were standing outside of the bars cheering well into the night. I am ready for my next one (and if Chris lets me, I may even do IMTX again).
I had some great pieces of advice that I used throughout the day that really helped me cross the finish line:
1) No matter how bad you feel, you will always get better and no matter how good you feel you will always get worse. This was my mantra throughout the first half of the bike and first 17 miles of the run when I was so nauseus I couldnt get anything down.
2) Take it one step at a time and never think about what is next. When I was on the bike I would not let myself even think about the run coming up. If I had, I think I might have quit altogether.
3) The race is a just three long training days put together. First a long swim, then a long ride, then a long run. All of them I had done before with no problems.
4) SMILE - even when I felt like crap, I smiled and it always made me feel better.

I only got through this with lots of support from my family, friends, virtual friends and my coach (who rocked out a 2nd place finish at IMTX!!), and of course, most importantly, Chris. He has put up with my crap, taken care of me, cooked my meals, cleaned my clothes, set up my powertap, made sure I got to sleep early, taken care of the dogs, and made sure I was able to function on a daily basis, and for all of this, I am so grateful. It means so much to have someone who supports my crazy habit! Oh, and he is in the process of making a video of the whole event that I will post! Seriously? What a bad ass!

Cold front came too early

This is the weather today in Houston




This is the weather for Saturday


Way back I mentioned that Houston weather in May is unpredictable. This is the second cool front that has come through in as many weeks, and we are just barely going to miss it. At least the high is 90 and not 100! I am also hoping that the weather cooled off the lake enough to make it wetsuit legal, but I think it is just wishful thinking.
We are less than a week away and the nerves and fear has totally kicked in. I. AM. FREAKING. OUT. I leave on Wednesday and Im sure I will be even more nervous then because I will have friends/family asking about the race, how fast I want to do it, etc. I had a long chat with coach and she told me to try and relax and keep calm, and to look at it like three long training segments. Easier said than done. She also told me to pee on the bike instead of actually getting off. I hope I dont get stage fright. I wont tell Chris if I am successful because he will probably be helping me clean my bike post race.
This AM I had the last swim I will have before Saturday morning, and I was thinking how this is all real now. Months ago when I signed up for this race it was a dream. Something that was on my bucket list. But it seemed so far away that I really didnt actually think it would ever get here. Now it is almost here, and I am nervous, scared and excited all rolled into one. All I can do now is trust in the plan coach has been giving me daily for the past 9ish months. I have a time goal in mind, but I am not putting too much thought into that because, really, my goal is to finish and not have to make a trip to the med tent. If the time goal is hit, then great. If not, I wont beat myself up over it as long as I cross that line before midnight. Chris is going to be utilizing his creative skilz and making a video of this ironman so you all can see first hand my suffering/excitement.
And I hope next time I am writing it starts with the words, I am an ironman.

Really?

Im not too sure what I think of this. I thought we would be safe from any scary fish in Lake Woodlands. But I watch River Monsters and should have known better.

Guess we all just have to swim faster.

Almost Taper, but not quite

I am in the last week of big training before I start to slowly taper. Last weekend was one of the longest runs I have done since before the marathon coupled with a ridiculous trainer ride. In addition to that we had a "bodadida" (wedding celebration for one couple - boda - and a going away party for another - despedida). This meant that right after my ride/run on Saturday I actually had to get into a somewhat decent state and put on regular clothes (no compression pants). It also meant that when we got home I spent the rest of the day like this.



Liko was really tired too because he had to wake up early and watch me ride. He does this only to catch the crumbs I may spill from my PB&J while I eat on the bike. Smart guy because trainer riding and eating without spilling do not go hand in hand, so he almost always gets his pre-breakfast snack.

I am heading back home tomorrow for my last weekend on my bike before the race. I have to make sure she is ready for May 21st. There was a cold front in Texas this weekend with temps in the 60s. It will be 90 again on saturday. Maybe we will get lucky with no wind AND cooler temps for the race. But I know that is just wishful thinking, and we most likely will have heat, humidity and wind. And lots of it.


I was reminded this AM by all of my American friends that it is Cinco de Mayo today. So happy Cinco de Mayo! May you all have lots of good mexican food and tequila tonight! It is a much bigger holiday in the US than it is in Mexico. No celebration going on here today. I was just greeted with another group of people protesting something on my way to work. Maybe they were protesting that we dont have a holiday for May 5th.