IMTX 2018 8th edition

What a wonderful day to be an Ironman. Some of you that follow me may have already heard some of this but  See post ->

This is my 10th Ironman and 8th time doing IMTexas. I’ve race with starting temps of 35 in Florida with tidal waves. Had 54 degree air temps with sleet in Coeure DeAlene, Texas with a heat index over 100, Tsunami rain and wind, hail, extremely dangerous lightening, and flash flooding. 

I knew that if I did enough Ironman races I would eventually have one that had decent race conditions. Except for the run temps., I don’t think you can ask for a better day to be an Ironman.

Lets start at the beginning. The off season went great. Made some tweaks to my plan and everything was going to great, and my motivation was high. December-January brought great running weather, which was a bummer for me because I sustained an injury from a skiing accident. That really hampered my run progress. Swim and bike were on track to be some new PR’s for me. My swim was feeling very strong and my bike power was ever increasing. 

Bike training also had its challenges but I was able to turn those into positives. Once we got some decent weather for south Texas I really took advantage of it. It was time to put all my indoor trainer rides to the test and see if what I designed would play out in real life. 

I was able to do more 100 milers than I ever have so far out from IMTX. I was feeling pretty confident except for my run. I wasn’t able to run pain free for more more than 12 miles and I had 4 weeks to get my volume up. 2 weeks out I was finally able to complete a 3hr run. It wasn’t pretty and I don’t recommend it, but I got it done. It was more of a mental thing than fitness.

Taper finally arrived and I was thrilled. I was so tired, which I knew meant that I was ready. I was getting my energy back and started doing more chores around the house. Although, my wife would probably disagree with that statement. I do owe her alot of thanks. She even offered to mow the yard several times. After being gone so much for training I knew she was as invested in this race as much as I was and was very supportive. 

With having so much more energy I probably chewed off more than could handle. I don’t know what happened but about 8 days out I sprained my back pretty bad and was on meds. I could hardly move! I was just hoping to be well enough to start the race and see what happens. I basically rested for 8 days with no activity. I slept in on Race Eve. Got in the hotel hot tub to loosen up. Then got in the pool for a few laps to test the pain level. I was able to put in some efforts but hip rotation was very painful. This will have to do. I grabbed my race bags and bike and rode to the bike and gear drop off. Even that was a little stressful because it was painful to get in the drops. Bags dropped off. Picked up something for dinner. Got my feet up and just rested my back. 

Race morning-

I couldn’t sleep worrying about the stress of being able race and trying to go over alternatives to my race plan and then deciding what to wear with this unusually cool Texas weather.  I got up at 3:30am had breakfast and got ready. I had plenty of time to do everything I needed to before the race. I even had time to talk and take pics with some pro’s while waiting in line for Transition to open. I made some last minute changes to my clothing as it was going to be a wetsuit legal race and the temps didn’t feel as cold as I was anticipating. In doing so I dropped my compression calve sleeve and with it being black it was impossible to find in the dark. I thought maybe it will all shake itself out when I open up my bike bag in T1. Finished up my business there and headed over to the swim start.  I was super early and there was plenty of parking. I put my wetsuit half up and walked to the start. I wanted to get in the porta potty line before it got too long. Too late. I have never seen so many people waiting for the potty EVER!, and I was early. It took 4 EVER! I did my business and ran over to the clothes drop off. A volunteer offered to help me finish putting on my wetsuit and sunscreen. I took off my watch for her to hold while I put on my wetsuit. I guess she thought I didn’t need my Garmin and dropped it in the backpack we received at packet pickup. I thought I was going to have plenty of time to get warmed up and get lined up in the swim where I wanted to this year. The gun went off. Crap! We frantically looked in the bag for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a  few seconds. My Garmin must have fallen into the backpack abyss. I finally said screw it and took off for the swim. I got in the water and was very timid at first trying to see how my back was going to feel since I didn’t take any meds. I started to feel ok so I picked up my pace and was constantly swerving every which way to get out of traffic. In doing so some lady  scratched my face with her Ironman bracelet. The water seemed darker than usual and I could not see anything, including the foot that I took to the nose and right goggle. This was a big guy and the kick carried a lot of weight to it. I just knew my eye ball was going to fall out when I took off my goggles. Only took on a little water from the kick so I kept going. About 50 yards later it was just too painful so I had to stop and take off my goggles for a few seconds to relive some of the pain and pressure. Then I got clobbered from the folks I had just passed. I swallowed a little water but not anything like the Duck Poop Smoothie I drank last year. Onward. After the first turn it cleared up and I had some room to swim my own pace and not worry about my back. I just stayed relaxed and tried not to do anything spectacular. Made it to the canal and was finally able to put in some good effort and hold my position. The thing about wetsuit swims is that is makes everyone much more aggressive.There was way more contact than years past in my opinion. With all the focus on my surroundings and my back I forgot to get my legs ready to stand up. I made the final turn buoy to the stairs and forgot how to walk. I felt like a new born doe learning to walk. https://youtu.be/f-orxRWXA20

Swim time: an unimpressive 1:22:10 but I got out unscathed.

T1- I took more time in T1 than usual. I got out and I was doing a once over to see how everything felt. I very gingerly bent over to put my socks and shoes on. I almost always clip my shoe into my bike but this yr. I was told by several officials that absolutely no one but the pro’s were allowed to clip in. I put on my one compression calf sleeve hoping the other would fall out of the bag. Nope. It must have fallen out of my bag in the morning when I was shuffling things around. Oh well, at least I had put a back up pair of socks in my bag. Got dressed and headed out for my bike. I am always pretty diligent about making mental notes as to where my things are. I knew exactly where my bike was supposed to be. I got to my rack. 3rd rack over in the middle and I could not see my bike. It was kind of hard to distinguish between the 10 other black and red bikes with disc wheels on. I finally spotted it and took off. 

T1 time 6:51 not too bad for taking my time.

Bike- I eased into the aerobars as my back was feeling a little tight and had slight discomfort. After my back warmed up I was pretty comfortable in aero. I took the first 20 miles easy just trying to focus on my nutrition and keep my power under control. Got to the toll way and I was ready to finally start racing. I start to pull up my power numbers and I think I am flying pretty good at about 22-23mph. Then I get passed on the left. I ease up to let him pass then another guys is right on his wheel so I ease up some more. Then I get passed on the right. I’m thinking WTH. So I sit up and look back and there is an entire pack on my wheel. By this time I am right in the middle of this peloton with really no safe way out. So I gradually make my way to the back. After being behind these guys for just a minute and seeing them swerve around and jut left and right unexpectedly, it was clear these guys had no business riding in a pack like that. Not to mention several were in aero position. I didn’t want any part in what I knew was inevitable. I make my way out the back and there are few stragglers trying to keep up with the group. By then we were approaching the turn around at the bottom of a hill. I sat up and just coasted. All the while I am thinking why are they hammering to be the first to the turn around they are just going to slam on the breaks and get bunched up. Sure enough as predicted the got tangled up and I saw 1 guy take out 2 others, as I passed the group going wide and outside. Of course they got right back on my wheel and  reorganized. I just did my thing and tried to stay safe. No sense in averaging 26mph if you wreck and can’t finish. I never did see another race official after that first out and back. I did see an official come up on a group but there were no penalties given out. The official must have just given verbal warnings. Super frustrating. By the time I made the second out and back it was very clear that this had become a team event. I couldn’t believe how big the groups were getting and no one seemed to care. Except for some leap frogging with a few guys I mostly rode solo the entire ride. I was feeling really good and was putting in some surges when I could. Then about mile 90 my back and hamstring were really talking back to me. I backed off my power and said lets just make it to mile 100 then we can start to shut things down and get ready for the run. Remember, my run is almost an unknown with the lack of training volume. I wanted to give myself my best chance to put in a decent run. Losing a few minutes on the bike was worth not loosing hours on the run. I make the final turn to transition and I dismount, forget to stop my bike computer so I go back and stop it. Then I go back again to take it off the mount. I put it in my helmet so I wouldn’t lose it also. 

Bike time 5:21:42 WOW! I am shocked. I thought and hoped that I was capable of 5:30’s but did not expect this. My computer said 110 miles. Two miles short of the 112 but If you factor that time in I still come off at about 5:28ish. I felt like I had a solid bike split but I have to admit that alot of that free speed came in the form of expertise bike mechanics. 2 days before leaving town I took my bike in for a tune up, (since I could finally carry it around). My race wheel was a little wonky so I asked them to true it. A few hours later I get a call that a spoke broke. Apparently, my wheel uses a special spoke thats not commonly used and patented for this wheel. It took some calling around but they were able to get me fixed up. Crisis averted. I have to hand it to Matt and all the guys and gals at Bicycle Heaven. They really took care of me. Matt was not going to let my bike leave the shop until he was 100% sure my bike was a clean and fast as it could be. When I picked it up I almost didn’t recognize it. It even smelled good. My bike hasn’t been this smooth since the day I bought it. I owe you guys big time. At least 20 minutes. 

T2- Had a decent transition. My back was a little stiff so didn’t try to run too hard into the tent. Grab my stuff, put on my shoes, Still no compression sock. Dang it. I guess I am going to have one crazy tan leg tomorrow. I am so happy to be off the bike I can’t wait to run. I shove everything in my bag, hand it to a volunteer and take off. As soon as I exit I thought, Dang it. I should have brought my bike computer so I could at least have a timer. Another lesson learned. 

TIME 4:29

RUN- Since I was running completely on feel with no Garmin feedback I wanted to be sure to start very easy. In the past I have been so pumped to run that I usually take off a little too fast. I wanted to race smart so I stopped to get lathered up with sunscreen, said hi to Michele and Leia, I took 20 steps then started to run slowly. Again, I did a once over to see how everything was feeling and trying to keep the focus off my back. It honestly felt better to be erect than slumped over for 5 hrs. <-(insert that’s what she said joke here). I start running and breaking down the miles, nutrition, pace, etc. when I ran up on the Moxie Crew. I fist bump a guy and a girl and keep running, Then a guy runs up from behind be and starts aggressively cheering me on like he knows me or something. I keep running and final realized it was my San Antonio Tri-friend Carlos and his wife Brittney. That was a good mental boost. Thanks for being there to help support the athletes. 

I get out past the HUMP. You all know what I am talking about. Its literally the hardest 10 yards on the run course. It’s starting to really warm up and there is one lonely cloud in the sky. I pick up some ice cold sponges and fill my top with as many sponge boobs as I can fit in there. Ok, now its time to start settling into a consistent pace. My entire goal was to be patient and hold back for the first loop. I complete the first loop and see Michele and Leia at their usual cheering spot. I feel good so now its time to pick up the pace. Careful not to go too hard I speed up to a guy just ahead of me and ask what pace he is running. I decide to run with him for a few minutes then decide it is slower than what I want so I pull away. I hit special needs and pick up my bottles of RedBull. While I am doing that there is a guy coming up that looks like he is running a good pace. 

I run up to him and ask the same question. He says we are just under 9. Cool I will run with you if you don’t mind. He welcomes it. We come up to the aid station on the backside of the lake and as I slow down to pick up some ice my left calf starts to lock up on me. WTH is this! Ouch!. I have never had a cramp like this in a race in my life. What is going on? I stop to try and stretch. I end up right at the med tent so they ask if I need to lay down and have them stretch. I  said no because I’m afraid I won’t get up. I stretch and stretch. I finally start walking and the muscle is still very stiff. I slowly start to jog and it only takes a few steps before it locks up again. I stretch and maybe let out a few choice words and decide to just walk. It’s getting FN hot by now. I decide to limp run until I can’t any more. This felt weird but worked. After a while I lock up again and need to stop and walk. This goes on for the rest of loop 2 but I continue to run my best pace given the circumstances. It’s about the time I saw Michele again that I realized that I probably don’t have enough sodium since I have just been drinking redbull this entire time. I increase my sodium intake and this seems to help. The tightness in my calf never really goes away but relaxed enough that I can run a decent pace. I am very aware of running too hard as my calf is just one hard push away from locking up again. Besides the calf the rest of my body feels amazing (Might be all the redbull in my system). I get to mile 20 and enter the HURT BOX! BIG TIME! I am really in excruciating pain. My right knee doesn’t want to bend too much so I am sure my run looked really funky. But I am still running. Keep going, Keep going. I get mile 23 and I literally ask myself out loud. Why do you do this to yourself every year? Then I can hear Michele say “but did you die? Suck it up buttercup!” So I keep running. I tell myself that I am literally less than a 5K away from the finish. JUST GO! I decide to run as fast as I can until my body fails me or I cross the finish line. The finish line came first. Final TIme 11:30:1.

Despite all the things that went wrong this was my fastest race, (well if you don’t count the 2016 shortened course)

. It is also the race I am most proud of. Sure things didn’t go the way I pictured in my head, but they never do. I did what I could do when I could do it and I didn’t let anything get in my way. I knew what my body was capable of. So in my mind this was just another long training day. I dealt with my obstacles and found a way to make it happen. 

I have to thank my awesome Cheering squad. Michele and Leia you are my motivation to always keep going no matter what. Your undying support means everything to me.

I dedicate this race to my Aunt Sally who recently lost her battle with cancer. Every time I was hurting I thought about you and what all you went through. Facing every day with optimism, humor, and always with a smile. It was then that I always felt lighter on my feet. I know you were smiling down and watching over me.  To my awesome sponsors I couldn't do this sport that I love without your support. #AlamoSpringsDental, #AvertineHillInc. #BicycleHeaven, #CarabinShaw, @ceramicspeed #partofthevictory, @infinitnutrition #Iaminfinit, # Cryofit, #Findfaster @Roka, @RolfPrimaWheels, #RudyProject 

The tools to Recovery

In this issue we cover different modalities to optimize your recovery of your long days in the saddle or those epic slog jogs. There is a time and place to use each recovery method. Some can be used any time and others are better implemented at certain times in your training in limited doses. Lets dive in.

 Hydration- As the temperatures heat up it is important to take precautions before and after training to maintain proper performance and health. Second only to sleep this is the most important aspect of recovery. The body is approx. 65% water. Without the proper level of hydration the nutrients can not reach their destination. Without the proper ratio of fluids glycogen stores can not be replenished. The timing, quality, and make up are essential for proper and effective recovery. If you are unsure about your sweat rate contact us and we can get you dialed in or schedule a consult with our reps at Infinit Nutrition. Nutrition timing is paramount to ensuring optimal performance.

Nutrition/nutrition timing- provides the body with the energy needs to perform work. By properly timing the appropriate proportions of Carbohydrates, Fats, and Protein you can maximize protein synthesis  and replenish depleted glycogen stores. Athletes often think about post nutrition recovery but often neglect pre workout preparation. You have to consider the time that it takes the body to re-synthesize the glycogen and protein you used during your workout. If you start with a tank that is nearly empty it will take that much longer to fully recovery. Think about if you are going on a road trip, you always want to start with a full tank of gas. In this way you can more effectively refill your tank for the next session instead of ending prematurely due to lack of proper fuel or energy requirements. 


Sleep- probably the most under utilized method. The body can not recover without sleep. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is the cycle of sleep where the brain refreshes itself and in the process repairs the body. The neuromuscular system, the ability to focus, and be motivated to push your body are all dependent on this cycle of sleep. As humans we have the ability to override our body’s built in safeguards and continue to push our limits, but that is another subject for another day. Too often athletes will sacrifice sleep for training. Doing so continuously will lead to injury. It would be better to take an extra hour or 2 and sleep and have a great shorter training session, than to put in a mediocre workout. The fitness gains will be better with the shorter session than the longer one you made yourself do while tired. If you were too tired to hit the prescribed intensities then you really gained little to no fitness and you just made yourself more tired and put yourself deeper into the training hole. 


Massage- Soft tissue manipulation. This is another under utilized method of recovery. A good therapist can pinpoint trouble spots and perform manual mobilization therapy to “free up” the joint and flush toxins out of the muscles in the same fashion as compression boots, they can act as another pump to take some of the load off the heart. Any where you can reduce the workload the more resources the body can delegate to recovering. A good therapist can also perform myofascial release therapy. Myofascial release is releasing the micro adhesions that are formed on the Myofascia. These form as a way to repair the tears caused by exercise but in the process restrict mobility and causing imbalances around joints. 


Foam rollers- Probably the most popular and talked about. Easy to use and accessible. Myofascial release can be achieved using a foam roller. In order optimize you must know how to  properly use this tool














Stretch cords or Stretch bands- used to stretch and relieve built up tension in the muscles and around the joints.  



R8 Roller- Works similar to a foam roller with self administering Pressure

Compression Boots/ garments- similar to massage and compression gear. Works by massaging the muscle with compression to “milk” the lymphatic system to rid the body of toxins and lactate that build and are stored in the interstitial spaces in the muscle cells. Compression socks or tights help in a similar way but can be worn all day or while sleeping.

CryoFit- Freezes the body at -278 degree to put the body in a state of shock. This forces the body to shunt blood from the peripheral body to the core in an attempt to keep your vital organs alive. In the process it carries all the toxins in this “dirty blood” and filters it more efficiently along with removing any inflammatory toxins. Upon “thawing” the clean oxygen rich blood floods the the body. The constricted vessels then super-compensate by dilating and making it easy and faster for fresh blood to get into the muscles, hence decreasing the recovery time.
Implementing any or all of these methods will help with your recovery but some tools are better used for specific reasons. If you are unsure which tool is best for you or how you should implement it into your program contact your favorite E2MULTISPORTS coach at Coach@e2multisports.com for guidance. You can also find many of these products at our sponsors website. Trisports.com 

@TriSports

IRONMAN TEXAS 2017 EDITION

Special thanks to all my awesome sponsors. @BicycleHeaven,@carabinShaw, @cryofitsanantonio @ceramicspeed, ClearClinicalResearch, Alamo Springs Dental, @TheInfinitLoop, @RokaSports, @RolfPrima , @RudyProjectNA, @SRAMroad, @Trisports @Quarq

To my loving wife and daughter, your support allows me to continue following my Ironman dream. I couldn’t do this without you.

  This year Ironman Texas was going to be a question mark. After my accident in Sept. I thought about not racing again. All the time and commitment away from my family, lost sleep, and constant fatigue just didn't seem worth it to me anymore. I trained so hard all year long to then have a nasty spill on your day to shine. I really questioned whether or not I wanted to continue doing this. I even put my bike up for sale. After 2 months of recovering 

and getting the okay to train again I told myself, “If no one buys my bike I will start training again”. I had a few serious inquires but no solid offers. I took that as my sign that I shouldn’t quit. After being bed ridden I realized how much I enjoy the spirit of racing. The training, not so much. I love the feeling of setting a goal and pushing your body beyond what you thought you could do and achieving that goal.  I gave myself a cutoff date of Jan. 1. If I felt my body was strong enough to handle the Ironman training I would decide to race. I was already way behind in my training but I had already paid my registration fee 8 months earlier and reserved a room. I figured I should at least try. I usually work well under  pressure and being behind in my training was motivation.

 My  friend Troy sent me some kind words after my accident that I remembered. He said he had some of his best races coming back from injuries and it provided motivation for him. He was right. I decided to use my setback as motivation. I designed my plan and incorporated milestones that I needed to achieve along the way to ensure I would be ready. By Feb. I was almost to the same fitness I was a year ago at that time. Due to the nature of my injuries my run training was lacking. That just gave me more time to spend on my swim and bike. I made great gains in my swim. I was swimming more volume in the same amount of time as last year and I wasn’t feeling any negative effects from it. My bike training was going great. The lack of outdoor riding due to weather was a bummer. It made it hard to get  real time feedback on my training. Overall my power numbers weren’t where they were last year but I was feeling confident in my progress. By March I knew I could finish Ironman Texas. Now it was about getting my run volume up and nailing some goal times. 

I put in some big blocks of training during my last build and was feeling good. Swim was looking like a PR. Bike was right on track to set a PR. My run times were great  and I was finally able to put in a 3 hr run. Overall I was poised to have my best race. 

 

The weather leading up to the race was not looking great, but each passing day it was improving. I didn't want a repeat of 2016’s Typhoon, but if it happened I was ready for it this year. 

I have to admit that I probably did a little too much training when I should have been tapering. I got to The Woodland’s and I was pretty tired. Then I was running around all day getting checked in, attending the race meeting, attending the dinner, and getting gear bags ready. By the time my family showed up Thursday night I was exhausted. 

Friday I met my team mates at the lake to check out the water. I advised everyone not to swim and under no circumstances were they to drink the water. That statement would come back to haunt me. We returned to our hotels and picked our gear bags and went to bike drop off. It was mostly uneventful, except that I forgot the number that goes on my bike. Luckily my amazing wife and daughter were still at the hotel and were able to drop it off to me. I got all checked in and headed out. We continued our tradition of having a picnic and watching an early movie, then an early dinner afterwards. 

Hoping to get some sleep we got to bed early and my mind was just racing. I was confident in my fitness but I must have been nervous because I got up to pee about 10 times. The last time I looked at the clock it was 1:41am. and I was planning on getting at 4am. You know how you start doing the math “if I fall asleep now I can sleep x amount of time before I need to wake up” that was me. I fall asleep but wake up before the alarm goes off. I might as well just get up. I get dressed, gather my things, and head to transition. I don’t know why I thought I would be able to find parking. It took me a while to park and put me a little behind my schedule. I always bring my own air pump. I can never say no to fellow athletes that ask to use my pump but at some point you just have to say no. I was now way behind my schedule. I was just hoping my goodwill to my fellow competitors would bring me some good karma. I got out of transition and met Shannan to pick up Jason on the way to the swim start. I don’t think I have seen the line to the porta potty so long, so early. We get in line and wait, and wait. You get the picture. We do our thing and I finish getting ready. The gun goes off on my way to get in the swim line. I was not mentally prepared to start. I get in 3 minutes later than preferred. I don’t know why people think that on race day they will miraculously swim 10 minutes faster than they know they can. I get in and find some clean water and use this time as a kind of warm up. Things are going well Garmin says I am right on track. I then pick up my pace and fall in line. All those ambitious swimmers are now getting tired and starting to fall back. I start maneuvering around and unintentionally over a tons of swimmers. Some guy is now vigorously trying to stay with me. He clocks me in the head with what feels like a closed fist and knocks my goggles off. I have heard that some people carry an extra pair of goggles and I could never imagine that they could actually get knock completely off. The water is so dark and the light is still low so I was very luck that I found my goggles and they didn’t end up at the bottom of the lake. I drain them and continue. Just then I get pummeled by all the swimmers I had passed. I inhale a large gulp of Duck poop smoothie. I don’t panic and just keep moving. Again maneuver around the slower swimmers, but still right on track, not feeling tired, and ready to start pushing my pace. I suspect my goggle strap must have been loosened in the contact I received because I keep stopping about every 10 minutes to drain my goggles. I see the turn to the canal and feel awesome. I look at my watch. 43 minutes in and I am not tired at all and ready to set a new 1k TT. This is where my Garmin stops recording. My goggles start to fill up so I do a hard push to get ahead of a group of swimmers then stop to drain my goggles. I can stand here so I look around and see the finish. I tell myself I am going to push hard and not stop again even if my goggles are full of water. My goggles accepted that challenge. I got to the stairs and was feeling around for volunteers to pull me out because my goggles were so full of water I couldn’t see anything. Non Wetsuit Swim time 1:20:00. I feel disappointed and happy at the same time. Planned to be faster but still fast considering. I remember what Dave Scott said. You still have an opportunity to turn this around. 

T1- 6:56. I am a little thrown off because I changed my clothing options after hearing the swim was wetsuit optional. I fumble around a bit because I think all my blood is still in my arms. I get dressed and run out.

(I like seeing so many bikes still in T1)

BIKE- Time to put all those hard bike sessions to work. I hear, then see my buddy Robert pass by me. I feel good but soon realize that I haven’t peed. This can’t be good. I slow down my pace a little and try to take in more fluids and calories. We start making the climbs up the on ramps and I have no shifting. I muscle up the hills and then stop at the top to see what is going on. The plugs that connect the junction box to the etap shifters are unplugged. I reattach them and continue into the headwind. I make the first turn around and expect a tailwind. Well, that doesn’t really happen. About 5 miles later the cold front starts to move in and it is accompanied by a monster head wind. Luckily, I had some practice training in some headwind in my last few training rides. I told myself, this is just like my training. I put my head down and just keep pushing. I pass several riders. I start feeling nausea at this point. I heave a few times up nothing comes up. I figure I was taking too many calories early on in order to try to make myself pee. I decide I will back off my nutrition and just take in water and salt for a few miles. I hit a divide on one of the overpasses and my salt tabs go flying off. I almost stop to pick them up but didn’t want to lose any more time. I am now thinking my stomach is fine to start drinking calories again so I don’t need my salt tabs. I begin drinking when I see my shifter is unplugged again. I still have 1 shifter so I decide to just stop messing with it and leave it be. I start feeling really nauseous again. I decide to only take in water at this point. Because I stopped taking in salt I begin to get very thirsty but I don’t want to dilute sodium levels more than they already are so I just sip and just use the rest of the water to cool myself off. The only thing that gives me relief is that I just made the turn around and finally have a tailwind. I am now flying at 27 mph without pushing and it feels great. I know the wind is going to blow (pun intended) on the way back so I make a conscious effort to keep things easy during this section. A few overzealous riders pass me and I tell myself to stick with the plan. The tailwind portion of the ride seemed very disproportional to the time spend in a headwind even though it is 40ish miles out and back 2 times. I make the turn around into the wind and immediately catch and pass all those riders that passed me 10 miles earlier. Again, I put my head down and just keep pushing. About a mile later I get out of my saddle to stretch and look around and there is a peloton of about 12 riders on my wheel. I slow down to allow them to pass and they never do. I push on and they just stay there. Then I slow down considerably and finally a few riders start to over take me. Then they just sit there. One just in front and two to the left of me and one comes around the right side of me. I am trapped in the middle of this peloton. They are only going about 15mph so I try to get out of there before an official comes by and finds me guilty by association. I am faster if I ride by myself anyway. I finally make my way out the back and start to pass them. They continue to draft and then pass me. We keep leap frogging like this the rest of the ride. I am shocked and disappointed that I never saw any more officials. There would not have been enough room in  the penalty tent for everyone. Oh well. I just mind my own business and stick with my plan. At last there is the the final turn around. I think we will get some relief with a tail wind but then we are immediately directed to get off the toll road and head back north into the wind. Great. At least I am almost done and my legs aren’t too tired. 

I make the turn into transition and see my bike split is 5:42. I was aiming for 5:30’s without wind so i think this is a great time for me. Take that Ironman Texas

T2- I am so ready to be off my bike and finally see what I can do on the run. My feet are numb from staying aero for over 100 miles and not moving much to avoid being a bigger target for the wind.  I run to get my bag and I am out of there feeling good in 3:13. 

RUN- I am feeling pretty good, mostly because I am glad to be off the bike and I know I am about to see my family. I see Leia and Michele with such big smiles and I am so happy to see them. I try to keep my pace slow and easy for the first 3 miles but I am still running low 8min pace. I stop to walk and reset everything. This is where everything starts to go south. My stomach really starts to ache. 

I slow down and take in some fluids and salt.

 Dropping my pace usually helps ease any stomach issues. 

After a while I begin to realize that this is something different. 

My stomach never starts to ease up. I hit the porta potty to see if that will resolve any issues. It helps but something is still wrong. I am running easy 10-11 minute miles and no relief. 

I see my family as I am finishing the first loop and 

tell them this might be a long marathon for me. 

On the second loop I really start to vomit a lot.

 I had trouble even drinking water because it felt like I was swallowing razor blades followed tequila shots and salt. Eventually, I was just dry heaving. I hit another porta and come to terms that i will be walking a lot. This is where I see Shannan. She comes up to me and we run for about a mile and a half. I stop to hack again but  continue to run with Shannan.

 I can no longer keep up with Shannan so I tell her to continue without me. Run, puke, portapotty, repeat. This was my routine for the next 5 miles. I make it around to my family again and I had decided to quit. I told my wife. “I don’t want to quit, but I am hunched over in so much stomach pain I don’t think I can finish”. Then she said “You have never, not  finished a race. You can’t stop now.” She was right. I said “Ok, I will finish, but its going to be a long slow final lap”. She said “Well you better get going then”. Off I went jogging, heaving, walking, repeat. By this time I had full on Flu like symptoms. I was in pain from head to toe. I felt miserable and dizzy but just kept trying to move forward. On the last stretch I see my

family again and my daughter says come on DADDY lets run! I muster up the strength to run with her. At this point I tell myself it’s not going to hurt anymore than it already does so just keep running until your stomach stops you. Because I was already in a state of dehydration I was very aware not to get too over heated since I had stopped sweating on the second loop. I didn’t want to cause any permanent damage. Live to race another day. I build up the strength to run to the finish line with what little energy I have left. Final run time 5:45. Finish time 12:58

I have raced this course every year since its inception and every year it present a new challenge. Ironman Texas you never disappoint. You have a new challenge every year. Just when we think it can’t be worse than last year, every year you say  Hold my beer and watch this!

Training effect and quality of workouts

Training effect and quality of workouts

Its that time of the year where athletes are coming out of hibernation. You are probably coming  out of the Out Season plan and starting your builds for your early season half or full ironman races. This usually means your weekend rides are getting longer. An athletes asked me recently, in reference to this, why the weekend long rides with lower power output feel so much harder than the threshold work they do during the week. They said they would rather do the hard workouts instead of the easier ones. The answer is multifaceted, as there are many variables that can weight in on how you feel during a particular workout. We will try to keep it simple and narrow it down to training for the sake of this article. 

Genetics- For the most part we are all very similar. Approximately 85% of the population has the same percentage of fast twitch to slow twitch muscles fibers. The other 15% fall at either end of the spectrum with predominately more fast twitch or slow twitch fibers. These are your world class athletes that you see at the Olympics. If you fall towards one of these extremes you handle the workouts better and/or recover better. This allows you to handle the longer rides better. Fortunately for triathletes, endurance is the most trainable characteristic of the human body. Although it is still debatable whether or not we can change muscle fiber types, we know we can change all the other physiological characteristics surrounding and supporting the muscles ability to perform work. A coach that is knowledgeable and educated in this area can identify markers during key workouts and further design a program that emphasizes work on your limiters and enhances your strengths.

Fatigue- The more likely answer for the perceived exertion during your longer ride is that the stress of the threshold work during the week loaded your body and still has residual fatigue and has yet to clear out all the lactate that has been building up during the week. This is a good thing. This stress creates the physiological stimulus the body needs to create a response. Over time this repeated response to stimulus will cause a physiological adaptation. This adaptation is what makes you a faster athlete. Keep in mind that more is not always better. Too much load without the proper amount of recovery can cause injury or put you in a training hole too deep to climb out of in time without loosing fitness. It is always a balancing act of pushing your body and the right amount of recovery. This is the reason your workouts are designed the way they are and the reason your longer rides with lower output can feel harder. 

Stay tuned for our next article where the topic will be recovery.

IRONMAN TEXApocalypse 2016

What an insane race. If I hadn’t raced it, I wouldn’t believe it happened. There were so many issues leading into this race it seemed like Ironman Texas was cursed from the beginning. It all started with the construction that forced officials to alter the original bike course. After finding an approved course the floods happened and washed away roads that were to be used. Back to the drawing board. The result was a bike course that everyone considered to be a joke. Because of logistics, permits, and the lack of time the course was shortened from 112 to 95 miles. This bummed a lot of people out including myself. I had trained very hard and was ready to dominate the 112 mile course. The changes resulted in a course that included 84 turns within that 95 miles. Most Ironman bike courses are out-and-back, one big loop, or multiple loops.   See below. 

If the uncertainty of the bike course wasn’t enough of a headache to deal with, 2 days before the race the officials decided to change the swim course because of E. Coli. We now had a different swim course than what I was familiar with. In the past you would swim the last 1200 meters down a canal with spectators on either side of the river and yelling from the bridges you pass under. It is probably one of my favorite parts of this race. Not to mention that it is fast if you pace yourself correctly. Now we are swimming one giant loop that covered the entire perimeter of the lake. They must not have had time to verify the course because everyone I talked to said it measured 300-500 yards too long. We now also had two transitions that change the logistics of race morning. Not a huge deal but mentally it can have an effect on you. Pre-prep goes fine. Just relaxed and caught a movie the day before the race after checking in my bike and gear bags. 

Race Morning- For the first time in 5 yrs I was able to sleep before the big day. I woke up and was so pumped and full of energy. I laid in bed going over the race in my head. My Sherpa AKA Suzy Cakes, arrived a little early to pick me up and caught me by surprise. I didn’t want to keep her waiting so I rushed to finish getting ready. Grabbed all my stuff in a rush and threw it in my swim bag. I grabbed my bottles that I had in the freezer and realized they were not cold. I grabbed a small cooler and rushed down stairs to put ice so I didn’t have to drink hot @InifinitNutrition. We head over to the run transition to drop off my run bottles and I discovered that I forgot to put my running glasses in the bag. We leave and start our way to the swim start which is also the bike transition. I load my water bottles, make sure my powermeter is synced and all batteries are charged. I air up my tires and walk over to drop of my morning clothes bag along with my run and bike special needs. What a waste of time that ended being. I find my buddy Rick and we get ready for the swim and this is when I start to panic. I am digging through my swim gear and can’t find my Roka swim skin. I knew exactly where it was. In my rush to get out the door I grabbed my stuff and my speed suit fell over the ottoman I had it on. 

THE SWIM- 

Thanks to Suzy for running back to the hotel and finding it. She got back just in time to zip me up. I ran about 100 yards to the swim start and the gun went off before I could get to the front where I wanted to seed myself. I thought if I can’t find a fast group to swim with I will just keep my distance from the “washing machine” and do my own thing. I got in and stayed far to the  right. I swam the first 1000 meters all alone. It was nice to race the way you practice with a  full stroke and not have to worry about feet, elbows, and hands all around you. 

 The bad thing was that there was fog on the water and it was hard to sight. This Photo taken by a volunteer on a kayak gives a good perspective off what we had to deal with. The swimmers are only about 20 yards away but you can hardly see them. I hold my line and use the athletes around me to navigate. As I start to merge into the group, all the swimmers that seeded themselves beyond their ability were starting to fall off the pace.

It was nice because I could easily pull away from them and find the next set of feet to follow. Swimming with a group of 3000 athletes has its challenges, especially as you get to the turns. Everyone wants to hug that inside corner, myself included, and it gets very crowded. Some one hit my garmin and changed the mode. I stop and reset it before I continue across to the turn-around. Then it happens again only I didn’t notice it until I stopped to check my distance and pace. Reset. With all the stopping to fix the garmin and the 4 times I stopped to drain my goggles I figured that I lost 3-5 minutes. The good thing about leaky goggles is that, at least they don’t fog up. The sun was starting to lift the fog but it was still a little difficult for me to see but I could make out the bridge and knew I was getting close. I picked up my pace and immediately started to get a cramp in my foot. This is normal for me when swimming this distance, but it usually goes away once I relax my kick. What is not usual is my forearms started to cramp, which made be think, I usually pee during the swim by now. This is not looking good. Remember all the chaos at the beginning of the race? Well, I was so freaked out that I forgot to finish all my pre race nutrition and hydration. The water was 80 degrees and I could tell I was very dehydrated. Inner dialogue: “Just hold back a little and finish. You are almost there.” I could hear announcer Mike Reilly, and before I knew it I was making the last turn and had about 400 meters to the finish. I figured I could sprint it out at this point and risk getting cramps. Knowing I was so close would help me finish even with cramps. I get out of the water and check the time. I was so bummed when I saw how late it was. I grab my gear bag and head to the changing tent.  Swim time 1:23:?? Way off my predicted time of 1:10:00

T1- Based on previous years I knew it would be hot and the possibly of getting burns on my feet today would be pretty high so I decided to wear socks on the bike. I knew it was going to be very sunny and I decide to wear my long sleeve to protect me from the sun. Putting on a compression shirt with sleeves while wet is almost impossible. It took two awesome volunteers to help get it on. They were slinging me around like a rag doll. It was probably pretty funny to watch if you were on the outside looking in. I grab my helmet and the visor falls off. I probably spend a good 2-3 minutes trying to get it to stay without falling out again. I finally make it to my bike and I am shocked to see that most of the bikes around me are still on the rack. I head out of transition which was a really long distance to carry your bike. I battle 2 guys that will not let me pass. Every year I see someone crash at the mount line because everyone gets to the mount line and stops to get on the bike. I yell to the athletes in front of me to keep going “don’t get on your bike yet. Keep going or you will get run over”! Sometimes you have to be assertive. In my mind I was helping them.

BIKE-   

 I get going and see my Support crew James, Suzy, Michele, and Leia. I didn’t see but could hear Kelly yelling for me.

It was hot with little wind starting out but I knew the wind was going to pick up. I start taking in my custom secret @infinit formula and try to replace all the fluids I lost in the water.  I push my power a little higher than I would normally, but not hard enough to cause damage. The roads were pretty fast and smooth except for a rough patch for a few miles around mile 20. If you take out about 40 of the 84 turns this is a very fast bike course. I settle in holding a steady power output and monitor my nutrition. The pelotons and pace lines were rampant on this flat course. More so than what I saw at Ironman Florida. Some unintentional drafting is normal but I tried to stay legal and just run my own race trying not to get caught up in the race mentally, yet. It is very frustrating to work so hard and see so many people cheat, especially when it's clear they will not be podium contenders but they could drop your overall standing. I am mostly by myself for most of the bike. I turn into the wind and put my head down to watch that my power doesn’t spike too much. Then I see a guy on a road bike come up next to me and I just keep my head down and do my own thing. Then I hear someone yell, “whats your number”? I sit up and look around.”Me?” I ask. It was an official on a motorbike. It must have been in stealth mode or I was just so focused on my power I didn’t hear or notice them next me. The road biker didn’t complete his pass and I guess to the official it looked like blocking. The official never shows me a penalty card but tells me to check in at the next penalty tent and then I can go. My fault. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings, so I own it.  I decide to push my efforts a little knowing I was going to be forced to stop. For the most part I rode as perfect of a bike split as you can with all the turns. Besides this incident my ride is pretty uneventful, except I just realized I only peed once on the bike. My standard protocol for making sure I am not dehydrated starting the run is to pee 2 times before starting the run. I forced myself to drink until my stomach couldn’t hold any more and started getting bloated and distended.  If I knew the only other penalty tent was right at the bike finish I would have rode a little harder. I get to the tent. I give them my number and the nice ladies ask what my penalty was for? Apparently, I beat the official to the tent and my info wasn’t turned in. I said that I didn’t know for sure. They asked what color card I was given. “I didn’t get a card. The official just said stop at the next penalty tent and check in and go.” They kept asking what color  the card was and because I didn’t get a card I guess the default was to make you wait 5 minutes. I was well into the first minute when I ask, “is someone timing me. Can we just start the clock so I can get out of here?!” Normally you are are forced to stand over your bike and are not allowed to drink. I guess they felt bad so they said I could get off and stretch. They kept telling me to drink up and stay hydrated. They clearly didn’t know the official rules of the penalty tent. The worst part of this penalty is that the finish is less than 50 yards away. Too close to get back on your bike but too far to run. My time is up and I jump on the pedal and give one big push thinking it would get me to the dismount line. NOPE! I was in too easy of a gear to get much out of that one stroke. I end up running the distance. Official bike time pre penalty 4:43:00 Exactly where I should be. I paced my bike split as perfect as you can. When I analyzed the data from my powermeter my output is a straight line across the entire file.   This guy’s drafting off me, yet I get the penalty. 

T2- Looking back at the penalty, I can’t get the time back but the rest allowed me to zip through transition. I had a 3 minute T2 and most of that was because I was stuck behind two guys that wouldn’t allow me to pass until I got to my bag. I dump my stuff. Put on my shoes and take off. 

Run-

I start the run and I feel great except without the wind it is so hot. It was so hot I saw a bird picking up a worm with oven mitts. My goal is to run the first few miles no faster than 10 minute pace and get my heart rate down. My HR is abnormally high. I don’t want to run any slower than I already am and feel great so I decide to just hold my pace and see if my HR drops. I always use my own nutrition so at the aid stations I just grab water to dump on me and one cup of ice for the front of my suit and one for the back. I found that my fuel belt was collecting all the ice at my belly so I could reach in and eat some. So after that I was loading up my suit with ice. Despite this method I was still sweating like a $2 stripper on nickel night. There were no clouds and I could literally feel the sun burning my skin. I finish the first of a 3 lap marathon and I have never felt this good on the run in all my Ironman races. My main objective is to keep my core temp. down. I found that because of the heat I didn’t need as many calories as I needed fluids and electrolytes. Side note: I dropped my container of BASE SALT while picking up some cold sponges for my suit, giving me that sponge boob look. I enter the park (the location of our run special needs bag) for the second time and was tired of drinking the same flavor of Infinit so I ask for my special needs bag. A volunteer relay’s my number ahead while I finish running around the park. I pass special needs and there is no volly with my bag. I blame the heat and fatigue, but I was super frustrated and tried not to take it out on the volunteers because I know they are doing this for free and there to help. Luckily, I still have almost 1 bottle of Infinit so I need to make it last. I make sure to pay special attention to my glucose levels. From here on I only take salt and water and when I start to feel “low” I take in calories. I hit the Half Marathon at 2:04 slower than I wanted to be but right where my body needed be if I was going to continue running and not walk. I am stoked. I had stopped paying attention to my pace and was just running by feel. My goal was to go under 4 hours for the run and this put me a little behind pace. I was going to have to work for this. I slowly start to drop my pace into the low 9’ and some 8 min paces.  Big mistake. About 1 mile later I had entered the HURT BOX. I remember thinking, “oh no, this is way too early to feel like this. This is going to hurt”. Then I said “I came here to race, bring the pain!” I had trained for this scenario. I did lots of long runs that hurt and I knew I could handle the pain. The only difference was that the pain usually didn’t set in until mile 18 or 19 and I still have one more lap to run. I pass Pro triathlete Matt Hansen, last years winner that set a new run course record along the way. I pat him on the back and ask how his race went. He said “its still going”. I told him to hang tough and keep pushing. This is the only sport where you can get that close to a pro athlete and race on the same course at the same time. I love this sport and the camaraderie. It's about this point that the sky gets ominously dark. What a relief. The wind picks up and feels great. I get a mental boost and start to run faster. Thunder starts to rumble and then the wind really starts to blow. Suddenly, the sky opens up and it starts pouring. The wind is blowing so hard I thought I was in a Beyonce video.

I am leaning so hard and sprinting but I am hardly moving and at times I felt like this.

All the sidewalks run down to the river so we were now running up stream in ankle deep water under a lightening show like none I have ever seen. You could hear the thunder and see lightening almost simultaneously. It was the first time I thought about stopping to take cover for fear of my life. I immediately thought about my family and hoped they were safe. I picked up my pace so I could finish before they called off the race. I was hoping I wouldn’t see Michele and Leia but when I got to our usual spot I saw them standing in the rain. I stopped, gave Leia a kiss and told them to go home and take shelter. I said I would be fine. Everyone else is running so I am going to run until they stop me and I want to make up as much time as I can before that happens. I was running as hard as I could. If not for the wind I probably would be running a low 8min pace or 7’s. The wind gusts were over 40 mph with 20-25 sustained. At one point, I almost got blown into the river. Then I noticed the rain started to hurt. “Was that hail”? I look around and don’t see anything then I feel and hear hail bounce off my head. “That’s hail”, I said to the guy next to me. It was pretty dark but I put my sunglasses back on to protect my eyes and turn my visor to the side to protect my face from the hail because it was blowing in sideways. I start the final lap and I am feeling good and holding a strong pace. Most of the volunteers are in shelters but they are still out there. The Moxie crew is still out there hanging out under a bridge drinking and people are blocking the running path.  I yell “MOVE!!! OUT!!! OF!!! THE!!! WAY!!! I run into some 6’2 muscle head and give him a shoulder check. He goes flying and I hear some of his friends laugh. That brought my mood up a little. Then I thought I hope I didn’t piss him off and the starts chasing me. So I run just a little faster in case. I get to the little hill that gets you back up to street level and it has become a mud slide and not of the alcohol variety. Everyone is directed around to the grass but everyone is walking too slow. I try to pass them on the left and step onto that slippery mud and fall. Lucky for me the volunteers that were at the next aid station were on that hill and helping people up. Thank goodness one of them caught me because I probably would have slid all the way down to the river. I make it to the next aid station. I am out of nutrition and had to resort to refilling my bottle with gatorade at each aid station. This is taking me longer than I planned. After analyzing my run file I found that this cost me an average of 49 sec to 1 min. at each station for 16 stations. That would have easily put me at my goal of a 3 hr marathon, but that is all part of racing this distance. The storm is passing and there is just a light rain. Perfect for keeping you cool but you still have to be aware of your hydration. I get to the only part of the entire race course that has shade. You run on a trail that is covered by trees. I am looking down and watching my step because it is flooded with water. I turn a corner and run into a wall of people. “Whats going on?” I asked. Someone said the trail was flooded. I said so run through it. It can’t be worse than what we are standing in. I finally stop my watch and start pushing my way to the front. Then I see my friend Carrie sitting on a rock stretching. I asked her what was going on and she said they stopped the race because of the storm. What storm? its gone. They should have stopped it about 45 minutes ago, besides we are standing in water, under trees, near a lake. This was probably the worst place we could be. I’m getting out of here. I make my way to the front and find an official and he said it was going to be about an hour before they start they restart the clock. I am freezing at this point and notice there are porta potty’s near. I asked if I could use the restroom. I really just wanted to get out of the wind and stay warm. If you know me, you know I am a wimp when it comes to cold. The official allowed it. I walk over and just before I open the door I see a mob out of the corner of my eye. The best description I can give you is that scene in Forrest Gump when everyone is running behind Forrest. They are headed right for me and I don’t want to get stuck in that group so I take off running. It is really hard to start running again after standing around for about 25 minutes. I finally catch my stride. I see Rick at the little turn around at the Fire Station. This takes my mind off the pain. I look at my time and do the calculations. I need to run really hard if I want to reach my goal. I have less than 4 miles to go at this point but it feels much, much farther. I run the hardest pace I can hold without feeling I need to slow down. This really hurts but I tell myself it is not going to hurt anymore than it already does and if it becomes too much my body will stop for me. One mile to go. I am flying by people. I am in excruciating pain but I know my family and finish line are near. Just when I think I can’t go any harder I find another gear, and then another. I am to the point where I am about to loose my cookies. Suck it up. You're almost there. Last hill sprint. There is the finish chute. Last hill, again. Turn around and then this is finally the last hill. It is packed with spectators on both sides. Can’t throw up now there are cameras every where. This is not how I want to become YouTube famous.


 I cross the finish line and I am so pumped with adrenaline and emotions I start shaking and crying uncontrollably. My catcher asked if I am okay. I nod my head yes. Then I find Michele and Leia and I can’t stop crying. Leia asked what's wrong. I said nothing, I am just so happy. I left it all on the course. I drained the tank. I couldn’t go any faster. I managed everything that I could control. I made adjustments where I needed to, and I got to the finish line in the fastest time my body would allow. This year my body didn’t fail me as in years past. I owed it to myself and my family for all the time I spent away training to do the best I could. 


I didn't find out until after the race that the finish line had blown away.
I may not have had the finishing time I was planning on but I finally had the race I knew my body was capable of. 666 starters in my age group. At last check I was ranked 101 in my age group and 500ish out of 3000ish starters. I can limp away happy with those results. Could I have gone faster? Very possible. I know I could swim much faster. Bike and run faster? Maybe. I finally negative split my marathon. I always tell athletes that it is a long day. Anything can happen so you need to be prepared to alter your plan and always, always keep moving forward. That’s what I did. With all that went on I am very proud of the race I put together.

Of course none of this would even be possible without my loving and supportive wife. I often times called her late into one of my long runs, when I had greatly under estimated my fluid and nutritional needs. On her one day off she would go and drop off more water bottles. On long rides she would sometimes provide SAG and then deal with me being grumpy and tired the rest of the weekend. To my little coach Leia, who would yell at me “FASTER DADDY, FASTER DADDY”, when I was doing speed work on the treadmill. Thanks for your love and encouragement. I always do my best to make you proud. To my teammates and training partners James, Rick, Shane, Marybelle, Suzy, Ben, Kelly, Jeff, Art, Shelly and anyone else I unintentionally forgot, thank you for being my sherpa, coach, and just plain pushing me when I needed it. Finally, to our amazing E2MULTISPORTS sponsors and partners. Your support allows us to keep raising the ceiling of what we thought were our limits. @TheInfinitLoop You literally keep us fueled. @ceramicspeed helping us find free speed. @mycryofit helping us recover day to day so we can keep breaking barriers. @bicycleheaven you guys make sure we are always tuned up and ready to put in our best bike split. @Rudyproject Thanks for keeping us safe at high speeds and looking good with your technically cool gear. @RolfPrima The best hand built cycling wheels in the world. Your support has been amazing. Aventinehills Partners Inc., @CarabinShaw, and Alamo Springs Dental thank you for your financial support.  Below is the Finish, Did Not Finish, Did Not Start Rate and other info. Notice those 40-44 Age Groupers are a stubborn bunch. Thanks to  Christian Wendenburg and Jon Walk from the Texas 20xx group manned by my good friend Troy Clifton, for providing the following data. 

And Now There Are only 27 ...NUTS

... who have completed all six (6) Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas triathlons.

They are as follows:

08:23:50 - Schuster, Patrick, #47, MPRO, Arlington, TX

09:20:08 - Robertson, Rusty, #501, M50-54, Wrightwood, CA

09:21:35 - Glynn, Tom, #2965, M55-59, Danville, CA

09:31:14 - Cooper, Derek, #614, M30-34, Houston, TX

09:48:02 - Lopez, Fernando, #465, M40-44, Houston, TX

10:01:28 - Gibbons, Greg, #689, M40-44, The Woodlands, TX

10:24:40 - Proko, Benjamin, #662, M35-39, Houston, TX

10:36:02 - Moreno, Roland, #2447, M40-44, San Antonio, TX
10:36:40 - Cooper, Todd, #786, M50-54, The Woodlands, TX

10:42:26 - Colvin, Greg, #491, M50-54, Houston, TX

10:45:17 - Wendenburg, Christian, #471, M40-44, Houston, TX

10:54:51 - Guiot, Roberto, #2351, M40-44, The Woodlands, TX

11:09:05 - Bartolome, Jerry, #451, M40-44, Mililani, HI

11:20:29 - Goodnight, Nancy, #587, F50-54, Waco, TX

11:31:42 - Kowal, Peri, #3116, F50-54, Austin, TX

12:05:51 - Conrad, Keith, #735, M45-49, Marble Falls, TX+

12:15:13 - Arnold, George, #1329, M50-54, Houston, TX

12:20:51 - Nisimblat, Giancarlo, #2715, M45-49, Alice, TX

12:25:22 - Marquez, Ana, #1673, F45-49, Chihuahua, MEX

12:25:55 - Saunders, Lesmond, #2923, M50-54, Woodbridge, VA

12:44:37 - Amundson, John, #1347, M55-59, Cedar Park, TX

12:45:05 - Pak, Bliss, #1686, F45-49, Austin, TX

12:46:38 - Hemminger, Terry, #510, M65-69, Pine Mountain, GA

13:04:40 - Miller, Mark, #1081, M55-59, Lafayette, LA

13:33:07 - Valdes, Norberto, #3024, M55-59, The Woodlands, TX

14:18:27 - Larsen, Joe, #1063, M65-69, South Jordan, UT

15:46:04 - Flores, Jose, #1011, M45-49, Kerrville, TX

Original research by Walk Sports Services, Spring, Texas