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