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.

IMTX Training Camp - Party of 1

Over Easter weekend I decided to use the long weekend to get in a full fledged IMTX training camp. It was the most mileage I have ever put into that short of time and I could definitely feel it at the end, but in a good way. I tried to get some friends to join me, but our schedules didnt match up, so I was solo. Which is definitely good mental training for the race, but not nearly as much fun.

The weekend started with a 3:45 wake up call to get on a flight to Houston. Once we landed I got right on my bike for a 4 hour ride. I took it somewhat easy knowing what I was going to be doing the next day. After the ride I went in to get my bike fit since I had discovered the leg length discrepancy a few weeks ago. I got a lot of tweaking done and it was ready for the next day. I was somehow able to talk Chris into getting up at 5AM with me and driving to the woodlands so he could SAG for me on the IMTX course. I promised him he could ditch me and go shopping as long as he was nearby enough and came and checked on me every so often. So I set out and had one rough ride. We all know houston is hot and humid (it was), but for the past month there have been some crazy winds. I was so sore in my shoulders and arms for holding onto the bike so tightly, and at one point I was going straight downhill into the wind at 6MPH. I didnt know that was possible. It was insane. All I can hope for is that it dies down before May 21, otherwise it will be an even rougher ride than I am expecting. I met Chris back at the start and he was carrying this.



It was the best food I have ever put in my mouth and it was the first time I have been able to finish an entire Freebirds burrito. Best post workout fuel ever!

The next day I was up early to get in a long run. My legs were screaming at me the first 6 miles, but then I started to feel better. The pace varied from 7:30 (with the wind) to 10:20 (into the wind). I lost my visor twice and almost got blown over at a stoplight - it was that strong. I meant to take pictures but I kept forgetting. After the run was a quick ice bath and then a friend's BBQ to top off the Easter weekend. All in all a great weekend.

Just a few notes for anyone racing IMTX

1) If the wind doesnt die down, the race wont be nearly as hot as it could be, but the bike will be difficult. The headwind is on the last half of the bike if the winds stay like they are.
2) The first part of the bike is flat, but dont be fooled. There are some rollers in the later parts, so dont go out too strong so that you are toast for the hills and the last half going into the wind.
3) The bike course is mind numbingly boring. I saw lots of dead animals and smelled lots of skunks. And had a major coughing fit because I inhaled something I was allergic to.
4) I only ran a part of the run course, but it seemed to be shielded from the wind, so that is good.


I put in 180 miles of riding and close to 30 miles of running and came out the other side. Now I have two more hard weeks before I start my taper. Chris is very happy that this crazy ride I am on is almost over. While it is the beginning of the season for a lot of people, it is my end. I have been training solidly for about 10 months and once the IM is over I will be cutting back big time and doing a few olys, sprints and maybe another 1/2 ironman over the next few months before I start with the marathon training. I will definitely be taking some time to hang out with Chris, friends and the family. Oh yeah, and maybe start to plan a wedding!

Happy training everyone!

Is Triathlon a Stupid Sport?

Chris came across this blog post the other day when he was searching for stupid triathlon outfits. He hates the suits that the guys wear for triathlon and endlessly makes fun of them. On a side note, he feels this way just about the lycra. He loves the shoes, equipment, glasses, etc, and has been sporting his yellow zoots that he wears in the yearly Houston half marathon and turkey trot on an almost daily basis. Apparently I am not the only one who cares about what I wear when I train or race. He really wants to do a race, but refuses to wear what the rest of the guys wear. I personally think it would be pretty sweet to have him kicking ass in some quicksilver shorts, but I can see his point. When we go to the triathlon and running stores in Houston there is such a limited amount for guys in mostly boring colors, and there are tons of stuff for girls. Even the lululemon has about 3/4 of the store for women only. I guess it is because most guys dont care about what they look like when they race?
Anyway, back to the point of the post. He showed me this blog post and we spent the next hour having a very in depth conversation about triathlon vs running. Im sure some of you have seen this on slowtwitch as well. While I do agree with some of his points, for example 1) yes it costs a fortune to pay to race a sanctioned ironman event and 2) Yes we have tons of gear to lug around - and I do respect other people's opinions, I of course have many issues with this post. But I found it entertaining/funny to read as well as read the back and forth comments, which is why I am posting it today. If you are bored at work, now you have something to do. Maybe this guy should get out there and actually do a triathlon before making these generalizations about triathletes. I personally love the races, the training (most of the time), the post parties and especially the new friends I have made. If I didnt, I wouldnt continue to do it because it does take a lot of time. And yes there are jerks who do triathlons, but I dont think it is any higher of a percentage than the jerks who dont do triathlons.