Swim Bike Run

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Ironman Texas - Race Report (2012 OP & 2013 on Page 2) (Read 478 times)

jdais


    Enjoy the race!  During the tough times in the race, focus on why you race and the tough training you endured to get there

    Swim , Bike, and Run A LOT

      Thanks everybody.  Race time is about 10 1/2 hours from now.  Heading to bed soon.

      Should be a great day, and I look forward to updating you in a couple of days.

       

      (It looks like it'll be a hot day).

      93+/- degrees for the run.

      Life Goals:

      #1: Do what I can do

      #2: Enjoy life

       

       

        Congrats on the sub 12 Brian, you raised the bar.

         

        The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

         

        2014 Goals:

         

        Stay healthy

        Enjoy life

         

          Congratulations Brian, awesome race

            I'm back in Dallas after a nice long weekend getaway with the family.  After the race, we spent Sunday with extended family who decided to fly in from out of town.

             

            Race Report:

            Ironman Texas, 2013 -- May 18, 2013

             

            Race Day Weather:

            Water Temp: 77 degrees

            Morning Air Temp: 75 degrees

            Daytime High Air Temp: 93+ degrees

            Wind: early to mid-morning 8 - 10mph.  mid morning - afternoon from the south at about 15 mph.

            (people burned their feet while running barefoot through transition 2... keep your socks or shoes on)

             

            Pre Race:

            Drove in on Thursday and ate pizza pretty much every meal from Thursday at noon through Friday night.

            Thursday's USA Today had an article on deaths during triathlons... Read it when I got to the hotel... Perfect Smile

            Friday night, 1 salt tablet, 1 water.

             

            Race Morning:

            I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and went to IHOP with my oldest son and my brother in law.  I ate the same thing as last year.

            We left the hotel at 5:10am and got to transition area at 5:25 in the morning.  I had to borrow an air pump, and had a lot of trouble getting air in my tires due to the extenders I have on my valves.  I had to wait in line for a few minutes and had the technical people get my tires pumped to 120+/-.

            The walk is about 1/2 mile from the transition area to the swim start, and it was very crowded.  Last year, I was much earlier getting to the swim start, and because we were late and my support crew wanted a good spot on the bridge to see the swim start, we said goodbye at that time.  My brother in law and father in law walked down to the swim entrance with me so I could hand them my sandals and I wouldn't have to walk bare foot that last 1/4 mile.  While we were there, I remembered that I had an uneventful goodbye to my wife and kids, so I used my brother in laws cell phone to say bye to my wife and talk to her for a couple minutes.

             

            Swim:

            At 6:52am, I entered the water.  Before I entered, I got my garmin 310xt prepared for multisport.  (Last year, I did that while treading water with about 30 seconds prior to the race)

            At 6:54am, they sang the National anthem, and I felt awkward swimming to my start location rather than standing at attention.  (All other athletes were doing the same thing as I was).  I lined up the furthest left from all the starters to the left of the swim buoys.  The swim start was much wider this year and I'm guessing it was part of the new Ironman safety swim plan.

            The swim was OK.  I choose not to race the swim, as I'd rather race later in the day.  I choose swim at pace without exerting myself at the peak of my ability.

            Result: 1:21:44, (76 seconds faster than last year), 870th overall, 145th in my age group  

             

            Bike:

            Summary: WOW!!! Much faster than my goal time.

            The bike ride was hotter and windier than last year, and the wind was scheduled to pick up during the day, so I decided to push a little harder than last year without burning many matches.  (An endurance athlete has a matchbook of matches at their disposal in a given day with an unknown quantity of matches.  You must preserve your matches.)  I was only looking at my HR monitor and chose to keep my HR below 150 the entire ride.  My Garmin only showed my Heart Rate.  My Timex watch was on my other hand, and I had my bike time showing.  I was able to get my MPH based on my time (ie. at 3 hours in the ride, I was at 65 miles, and knew that I was happy with that pace).

            Result: 

            000 - 030 miles: 22.84mph

            030 - 056 miles: 20.19mph

            056 - 112 miles: 20.64mph

            Total Time: 5:18:53 (24 minutes faster than last year)

            After the bike, I was in 350th place overall, and 60th place in my age group.

             

            Run:

            Last year, the run was very tough.  This year, it was hotter, but I was more mentally prepared.  I had trained at a slower pace this year, and had planned on a run / walk strategy.  By being better prepared for the 'hell' of running in the high heat and humidity, I was able to run at a slower pace and run over 80% of the race.  My time was about 27 minutes slower than my goal, but I was pleased with my run.

            Result: 4:56:45 (15 minutes faster than last year)

             

            Overall:

            Time: 11:53:31

            Overall Rank: 369

            Age Group Rank: 62

             

            Post Race:

            After the race, we were planning on going back at 11:15pm to watch the last 45 minutes of finishers and cheer them on.

            But, I guess there were other plans for the evening.. Smile

            At the end of the race, I felt fine and didn't need medical attention.  About an hour later, we went back to the hotel so I could take a shower and change my clothes and drink a beer or two.

            Sometime between the clothes and the beer, I decided I needed to puke for the next 15 minutes or so.  That pretty much ended my evening, and afterwards, I went to bed to sleep for the next 10 hours.  Next year, I want to see the end of the race!!!

             

             

            Link to Pictures:

            Link to Results:

             

            Last year, I wrote the following:

            "What I realized through this journey is that we (all of us here as well as those not reading this) can do so much more than we think we can do.

            Years ago, this was a sport reserved for crazy people.

            A few years ago, it was a dream.

            A couple years ago, it was a possibility.

            A few weeks ago, it was a probability.

            This week, and forever, it is a reality.

            I am an Ironman.

            I have climbed my Everest!"

             

            This year wasn't as surreal as last year.

            Last year was more of a "let me finish and enjoy an Ironman" race.

            Ever since I began running in 1999, I NEVER had a time goal.

            My goal has ALWAYS been to be active and enjoy myself.

            But, this year, I had a strong desire to beat 12 hours.

            This year, I battled tough weather and tough conditions and was able to achieve a time goal.

            I was also able to raise over $2,000 for a local teenage girl who is raising $100,000 for an orphanage in Zambia in memory of her father (my friend) who died 4 years ago of a brain tumor.

            Great day.  Great race.  Great memories.

             

            Cheers,
            Brian

            Life Goals:

            #1: Do what I can do

            #2: Enjoy life

             

             

              Congrats man.  Nice read.


              Village people

                That was great! Congratulations!

                  I've spent the past week looking at IMTX race reports on SlowTwitch.com, and cannot believe how rough some of their experiences were.

                  A couple of common themes from the race:

                   

                  1. T2 Burnt Feet: People were forced to run along a sidewalk at the end of Transition 2 after dropping off their bike (and bike shoes) in order to pick up their running shoe bag, and quite a few of them burned their feet while running through transition.  (I wore socks and kept my socks on while running through T2, and that wasn't a problem for me).  There were complaints to Ironman, and apparently, they were able to sign up for another race because they burned their feet?!?!

                   

                  2. Dehydration and DNF's was a factor.  There were many DNF's this year 15% overall, and some older age groups had 40+% DNFs.  FWIW, the Male Pro's had a 43% DNF ratio.  There are some race reports where people lost 12 pounds -- 175lb down to 163lb (and that's after quitting 8 miles into the run and rehydrating after the run and before going back on the scale at night).

                   

                  3.  Quick weather change prior to IMTX.  In the past, we'd have a few weeks of warm weather prior to mid-May.  This year, though, there wasn't many hot training days prior to the race.  In fact, the weekend before the race, I did a 50 mile ride wearing a warm jacket and full legging to protect from the cold.  The 90+ degrees was a challenge and surprise for even the regional "locals".

                   

                  4.  Times were slower in 2013.  The average time for 2013 was about 40 minutes slower than 2012 due to the heat and weather conditions.

                   

                  I was super excited about my race time and my race performance (38 minutes faster than 2012 overall, and kicked butt on my bike ride compared to my goals as well as past performance).

                   

                  What I *might* have done right regarding the race

                  1.  swim the swim, don't race the swim.  Water was 77 degrees, and was cool and refreshing.  Didn't wear a wetsuit to speed up my race time.

                  2.  forced myselft to take in a lot of salt (6 tablets, 1 endurolyte fizz, 5+ IronmanPerform drinks), nutrition (6 strawberry Stingers, 8 bonk breakers) and water (4 x 24oz bottles of water) on the bike ride.

                  3.  did not "race" through transitions (9 minutes in T1 thanks in part to a #2 porta potty stop, 6 minutes in T2.)

                  4.  started the run knowing that it's 95 degrees outside by maintaining a relatively slow and steady pace (10:30 through 12:00/mile pace).  Some people had the "PR or ER" race shirts on, and they may have ended out in the ER.  For me, I knew my limitations, and stayed within myself

                  5.  ice sponges / ice.  I was able to maintain a core body temperature that was normal and regulated.  I never felt overheated throughout the race, and was able to put ice in my hat after every aid station.

                   

                  A couple hours after the race, I felt like crap and threw up.  I guess I had some level of GI distress.  I was fortunate to have that happen after I crossed the finish line.

                   

                  I had 4 other friends race with me that day, and 2 of the 4 DNF'd due to challenges.  1 of the 2 has previously finished 8 Ironman's and claimed this to be the hardest conditions he's experienced.  The other was doing his 1st Ironman and had nutrition issues and serious dehydration and leg cramping.

                   

                  As I was drinking chocolate milk after the race, a guy at the table that was sitting there was an 18 time Ironman finisher and has done Kona 5 times (fast dude), and he said that this was in the top 2 for most challenging race day conditions he's ever experienced.  He claimed that there was 1 Kona race that was tougher than this, but this ranked among the toughest ever for him.

                   

                  I think I dodged a bullet as it relates to this race, because this was my best race ever.
                  Cheers,
                  Brian

                  Life Goals:

                  #1: Do what I can do

                  #2: Enjoy life

                   

                   

                    A long time ago, I raced IM Texas, and wrote about it.  I'm reading it again because I'm weeks away from Ironman #3 (Ironman Florida).

                    I know that this group is all but non-existent and that I'm likely writing to myself for myself.

                     

                    I've gained a lot from reading my race reports 5 years later.

                    I'm thinking through the things I need to think about (ie. Nutrition, pacing, etc.)

                    I'm coming up with a game plan and a race strategy, and I'm "43" days from toeing the starting line.

                     

                    For any that end out reading this, I hope that 'you' are doing well.

                    I will write a time or 2 before I race, and then also post a "Race Report" update after the race.

                     

                    In the meantime, though.... yes, I "retired" for a while. (Aug. 2015 - Oct. 2017)

                    Life got tough for a while, and I toughed it out.  I changed for the better.

                    I refocused my energy and my efforts, and I'm in a much better position today than I was in 2013.

                    Do what you're doing for a reason.

                    Do what you're doing with proper passion.

                    Be focused.   Have a burning desire to achieve great things while also recognizing those around us.

                    Process stuff.  Don't use activity to mask unprocessed pain.

                     

                    Anyway, I'm still here, alive, and ticking, and ready to properly conquer my 3rd Ironman.


                    Cheers,
                    Brian.

                    Life Goals:

                    #1: Do what I can do

                    #2: Enjoy life

                     

                     

                      Boy, you must like the humidity!  IMTX and now IMFL. How has your training and preparation going this go around?  Good luck in final weeks of training.

                        For some weird reason, I do not know when it’s humid outside. I can’t tell if it’s 100% or 30%.  It affects me, but I don’t know until after I run, ride, race.

                         

                        This is training cycle is going well.  I started training last October after taking a couple years off of anything serious.  Very basic start up (up to 3 mile run on treadmill, NEVER faster than 6.0mph.  Just building aerobics base.  Did that for 3 months and by Jan 1, I was able to build beyond that to prepare for a half marathon in mid- March.   That went well.

                        Since May 1, I’m laser focus on doing things to get me to the starting line of IMFL.  I think I’ll finish about the same as 2012 / 2013.  I think I’ll be between 11:30 and 13:00.   My nutrition is much different this year. It’s all liquid.  No solids.  All training so far says that this is going to work better, but, who knows until race day.

                        Life Goals:

                        #1: Do what I can do

                        #2: Enjoy life

                         

                         

                          I believe that Ironman Florida is cancelled.

                          (Confirmation of cancellation will come tomorrow afternoon).

                          Hurricane Michael put a hurting on the Panama City Beach communities last week.

                          That community is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than my race.

                           

                          I may have some disappointment about not racing, but I have much more pride in what I did do over the past year to get ready to toe the starting line of this race.

                           

                          I was / am ready.

                          Over the past 365 days, I completed 324 hours of training doing 341 workouts.

                          I've biked 100mile rides 2 times, 1 time averaging over 20.5mph solo.

                          I've biked over 80 miles about 10 times.

                          I've run 16+ mile 1 time at my goal pace on tired legs.

                          I've run 13+ miles about 8 times (including 2 half marathons).

                          I've swum the yards.

                          Last Monday / Tuesday, I swam 4500 yards and biked 101 miles.

                          I would be entering peak/taper this week, but instead, I'm looking to find another race in 2019.  Quite possibly, Ironman Mont Tremblant.  (I'll need to learn French and figure out how to convert Miles to KM by that time Smile).

                           

                          In all seriousness, I'm more proud of doing the training and getting ready for the race than I am in the disappointment of not racing this year.
                          Cheers,
                          Brian

                          Life Goals:

                          #1: Do what I can do

                          #2: Enjoy life

                           

                           

                            Update.... IM Florida is NOT cancelled.  
                            But, it's changed from Panama City to Haines City (400 miles away).

                            And, it's changed from Saturday, Nov 3rd to Sunday, Nov 4th.


                            Scrambled a bit and I'm making this race work.

                            And, I'm back to peaking/tapering rather than eating bonbons and thinking of 2019 Smile

                            Cheers,
                            Brian

                            Life Goals:

                            #1: Do what I can do

                            #2: Enjoy life

                             

                             

                              Race Report:

                              IM Florida, 11/4/2018 in Haines City, FL

                              This race report might be a little long.
                              Summary, I raced. It hurt. I finished. Fun day, but pictures might not look like I was having fun. Some of the pics were fake smiles. Some were purely goofy by pure chance. Feel free to scroll along, or read the post race report Smile

                              Background:
                              In 2012, I completed my 1st Ironman (Texas) and believed that I had “climbed my Everest”.
                              A few months later, I felt like I could climb it again, but just a little bit faster, and raced Texas for the 2nd time in 2013 and learned from some of those 1st time mistakes.
                              After that, I took 4 ½ years off before realizing that I wanted to race an Ironman for the 3rd time.
                              So, I began training again.
                              In early 2018, I signed up for Ironman Florida, which was supposed to be in Panama City Beach, FL.
                              But hurricane Michael blew through the town and destroyed that community a few short weeks ago.
                              So Ironman changed the venue to Haines City, FL (between Orlando and Tampa).

                              Early part of race day:
                              Alarm @ 3:15am
                              -Load up car and eat breakfast
                              Drive to race @ 4:20am
                              Arrive at race venue @ 5:00am
                              -Setup transition gear bags and nutrition on bike, air up tires, etc.
                              -Went for a short swim in the pool to prepare the body for the race
                              -Drank 20oz nutrition
                              Walk to swim start @ 6:20am

                              Swim:
                              The swim is shaped like a giant pair of pants. We had to swim that pair of pants 2 times. We’re all fairly well spread out because they had 5 people start every 5 seconds. It was busy, but not too bad. I kicked something solid 1 time (maybe someone’s nose). I got punched 1 time on my right goggle when I was up taking a breath, but it didn’t cause my goggles to leak. I just kept on swimming until I was finished. Happy with my 1:15:15 time, as that was 6 ½ minutes faster than my previous IM swim time (wetsuits make you faster).

                              Bike:
                              I like flat courses. IM Florida (Panama City) was supposed to be flat. But Haines City was fairly hilly. I love biking…. A lot! In my previous Ironmans, my bike times were 5:43 and 5:19. For this race, I did a 5:41, and I was pleased with that time considering the hills. But the last 30 – 40 miles hurt. My muscles started aching, and that ache never went away for the rest of the day. In retrospect, I think I was off on my nutrition some, and didn’t factor in the heat combination with the humidity. I believe I was dehydrated some, and should have picked up some extra water earlier. Over the course of the bike ride, I consumed 1700 calories of infinit nutrition with a total of 120 oz of fluid (all liquid, only liquid).

                              Run:
                              After my first Ironman, people would ask me what the hardest part of an ironman race was. I always said “the last half”. I like that answer. In general, I like to run. But I don’t like the run portion of an ironman. It hurts. A lot. And this ironman was no exception. It was painful. The most pain I’ve ever felt in a race. I thought about quitting a few times, but realized that my pain was not an injury, and it wasn’t a GI issue that was damaging my safety for later in the race. It was just so dang painful to move forward. There was 900ft of elevation for the run, and Panama City Beach would have been “100ft” of elevation, but that really wouldn’t have helped me at all.
                              I walked into the race hoping I could master the Ironman and run a 4:20:00 marathon (10 minute mile), but I knew 2 miles into the run that I wouldn’t hit that goal. It hurt too much. So I settled into a nice Sunday afternoon walk and finished it in 5:36:32. Not what I was planning for, but that’s ok.
                              In Ironman races, you don’t get to choose your finishing time. There are so many variables that come into play and lead to the results you receive.

                              Overall:
                              My overall time was 12:48:07. Very happy with that time. I crossed the finish line at about 7:30pm. The rain started about 7:25pm and it rained VERY hard until late in the evening. I’m glad I didn’t have to run in the torrential rain, but I wish I could have run through the 6 inch deep water in the finishing shoot that some of the others had to run through later that evening. That looked fun and reminded me of some of the games we’d play as kids on the playground at school or in the neighborhood playing in the rain. Anyway, I was wet after the race, and wanted to go back to the hotel to dry off.

                              Life Goals:

                              #1: Do what I can do

                              #2: Enjoy life

                               

                               

                                Race Report:

                                IM Florida, 11/4/2018 in Haines City, FL

                                 

                                 

                                Congrats on your race and finish. We had other friends racing FL that day too.  Funny to hear you comment on Haines City being hilly. I didn’t think there were ANY hills in FL.  These races are tough. Not only from the endurance perspective but from the planning and execution stand-point. I like your comment where you don’t chose your finish time. So true.  Again, congrats and thanks for posting your recap.

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