Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Ironman Texas

Ironman Texas

The 2014 season had gotten off to a rocky start with 2 bad races in a row. I managed to figure out my asthma issues and changed my diet in hopes of making it to the start line healthy for once, but the bigger challenge was working on my mental game.  After Oceanside 70.3 I had a few weeks to prep physically and mentally for Ironman Texas. I felt like I was in the best shape I had ever been in but my head hadn’t been in the game and that’s the difference between a great race and a bad one. So Joanna and I spent more time working on my mental toughness than my watts and I hoped I could finally pull my head out of my ass in time for IM Texas!

The days leading up to the race were great as the venue was beautiful and the locals were really friendly. Thankfully I had fellow LA’er Jeff Ku with me who was such a big help in prepping for the race and making sure I didn’t have to eat dinner alone every night!

Race morning went as planned and Cheryll Ku was an amazing Sherpa, helping to make everything easier. We found out that morning that the swim was going to be wetsuit legal and I did a little happy dance. YAY!

SWIM: 1:09:25
Just like any Ironman, the swim start is a pretty amazing event. As I sat there bobbing in the water with 2800 of my new friends I couldn’t help but get excited. This is why I race-it’s freaking fun!
Photo courtesy of Cheryll Ku


The swim was rather uneventful-just the typical kicking and punching. I got hit in the face so hard once that my goggles came off so that wasn’t fun. It’s been almost 2 years since I have raced an IM and I forgot how long that swim is. I felt like it would never end! I came out of the water about a minute slower than my usual time but I was just happy to be done! I have been swimming slower and slower lately so definitely need to make some changes.

T1: The volunteers were amazing and before I knew it I was on my new bike

BIKE: 5:32:34
I recently became the proud owner of a new Cervelo P3 (thanks to http://www.triathlonlab.com) and I was so excited to race on this bike. I had an amazing fit dialed in by Jim Manton (http://www.ero-sports.com) and I knew I was in for a fast and comfortable ride, or so I thought. About 20 minutes into the bike course I hit a lip in the road and my seat slipped. WTF? (I had this problem twice already in the weeks leading up to the race). I tried not to panic (mental focus is the name of the game, right?).  I figured I would stop at the first aid station and fix it and not lose much time.  Around that time I came up on a girl in my AG (bib # 520) and we jockeyed back and forth until the aid station at which point I had to pull over. IT WAS SO HARD to do this and watch her ride away but I knew I had to be smart. Unfortunately when I looked at my seat it hadn’t slipped down like I thought. Nobody had an allen wrench (seriously) so I thought as long as the height of the seat hadn’t changed I would be fine. I jumped back on my bike and tried not to kill myself to catch up. Within a few minutes I realized the seat had tipped back (with the nose pointing up higher) and I was REALLY uncomfortable. I got pissed realizing I was going to have to stop again. I rolled into aid station #2 yelling for an allen wrench and again nobody had one.  Typically at this point I would have pulled a Norman Stadler and thrown my bike across the road feeling like I was losing too much time and my day was ruined. Instead I used my new mantra that I had been practicing for the race… KEEP YOUR SHIT TOGETHER (found this gem in an interview with Shalane Flanagan after Boston).  I got back on my bike and tried to just control what I could and not stress about the rest.

I had found a sweet spot on the seat that made the position tolerable and I thought I was going to be fine, until the nausea set in around mile 30. Not to worry, I had packed some Tums so I thought things would be fine. However, I couldn’t shake the nausea and soon I couldn’t take in any calories and just being in the aero position made my stomach worse. This wasn’t good. Around mile 45 I threw up a little but then I felt better. I thought that the worst was over and I was ready to get in some calories and pick up the pace. That lasted about 10 miles and then things started feeling bad again. Around mile 60 I was totally caught off guard by a massive projectile vomit! Thankfully nobody was around me to experience it, although I do wish the race photographers had captured this! I felt much better though so I started to slowly add some calories. By mile 80 I caught up to #520 and I literally said out loud “I’m back in this!” But of course that feeling didn’t last long and soon I was feeling sick again. This lasted the rest of the ride. I started to panic knowing I was going into the run in a massive calorie deficit, so at mile 90 I grabbed 3 gels from the aid station. Before I could take any of them they all blew out of my bento box. Did I mention how freaking windy it was? Needless to say the last 30 miles were just a suffer fest and a few more girls started gaining on me, including #520. I rolled into T2 much later than I had hoped but I was happy to be off the bike and upright!

T2: Again the volunteers were great. I think this is the worst shape I have ever been in coming off the bike. I was a sweaty, salty, puke stained mess. The volunteers basically washed me down with water as another helped me with my gear.  Soon I was on my way to start a marathon with nothing in the tank!

Run: 3:42:34
My run training the last 6 months has been amazing and I had lofty goals for this race. I have never run well off the bike in an IM and I really thought Texas was going to be my breakthrough race. As I started the run I had to readjust my goals from trying to break 3:30 to just getting in calories so that I could finish. The first few miles weren’t so bad as the nausea had subsided and I was taking coke and water at every aid station.  Around mile 4 I heard someone coming up behind me and sure enough it was #520! UGH. I was pissed but I told myself that we still had over 20 miles to go and anything could happen, I just needed to keep my shit together! And that’s pretty much what I did over the course of the next 20 miles. By mile 8, I realized I needed electrolytes and I couldn’t get a gel down so I started adding PowerAde to my aid station stops. I definitely spent more time in the aid stations than any other race but I knew I needed the nutrition.  Aside from the coke, the other thing that got me through the race was the amazing support on the course. I have never experienced such energy on a run course. It was truly amazing and really helped me push through. By the third loop of the run it seemed like I was never going to catch #520 and I didn’t see anyone close to me at the out and backs so I figured if I could just hold on I could keep my position. I should mention that I assumed #520 was in the lead and that I was in 2nd (not so much).

At mile 24 as I was coming out of the wooded part of the run into the electrifying downtown area I saw her… #520 was in my sight! Holy shit I could pull this off (remember I am thinking she’s in first).  Anyone who knows me knows I am notorious for being a bad “closer” and losing within the last few minutes of a race. I have a tendency to get negative if I am losing and just think about quitting. This time my mental game was on and I took off! The crowd support was awesome and I passed her at a 6:45 pace. I tried to make it look effortless but it hurt more than anything I have ever done in a race. The next 2 miles my lungs and legs were on fire but I was determined not to let her pass me. I was using my mantra and talking out loud to myself (yes I was THAT crazy girl). But it worked, and at the turn around at mile 25.5 I saw that I had a big enough gap that I could enjoy the last half- mile. I ended up putting 5 minutes between us in those last 2 miles! Now if I can just learn how to push myself that hard for an entire race.

The finish line in TX is a long stretch right through the center of town. It is so pretty and I was the only finisher around so I took it all in as I crossed that line.
Enjoying the finish line all by myself!
Even though this wasn’t the race I was hoping for I had won my own personal victory. I had finally conquered my negative thoughts and on a day that I wasn’t physically racing the way I had planned.

I should mention that I still thought I had won my AG for about 30 mins until I finally made it to the results area and saw I was 2nd.
Fist pump thinking I had won! Oops
My heart sank a little but I felt like I couldn’t complain. Despite my slower splits, I had finally had the mental breakthrough that I had been needing for almost a year.

There weren’t very many people hanging around the finish so I grabbed my stuff, chatted with some teammates from TBT and headed to my car. It seemed a little uneventful to be driving myself back to the hotel and sitting in traffic just a few minutes after a hard fought race. That night was pretty rough as my stomach was in bad shape. I couldn’t enjoy my typical post-race margaritas or any fun food (why even race if you can’t be glutinous right after?)

The awards ceremony the next day was incredibly nerve-wracking, as I didn’t know how many Kona slot were in my AG. There tend to be fewer slots now, and especially for the women. I was also nervous for Jeff who was hoping for a roll down slot after a really impressive race. The 2 of us sat there like nervous little kids, praying we would both get the outcome we were hoping for. When I went on stage to get my award I was told there were 2 slots in my AG! Those last 2 miles made all of the difference! Phew! I should also mention that I met the infamous #520 and she was really nice! Always great to race with cool chicks!
#520 and the rest of the girls!


Jeff had to wait about another hour for the slot allocation process and he ended up getting his slot in dramatic fashion! It was awesome that we both came away with Kona slots and could celebrate together!

Shout Outs:
I have so many people to thank who helped get me to the start line. Of course my coach, Joanna Zeiger, who always figures out my problems and calms me down when I am a big ball of stress. Check out her new coaching company (http://racereadycoaching.com)

My amazing sponsors: TriBike Transport, Triathlon Lab and Athlete Octane.

To my friends who support me in so many ways, but especially Keevin Blue who did emergency surgery on my bike shoes the day before I left for TX, Jeff and Cheryll who let me be a third wheel during our trip, and to high school friends Randy McCall and Joe Feaga who saw I was racing in their area and came out to cheer me on. It was awesome having some familiar faces out on the course!

Up next is Vineman 70.3 where I will try to defend my AG win and Keep My Shit Together!