The Inaugural Ironman Texas occurred on Saturday May 22nd 2011 and I was there. The excitement and energy was electric and intoxicating. I love Ironman Races. They are like no other triathlons. They are almost as good as Xterras ;-) The people who race these races are intense and inspiring. So many people signed up for this race last summer and put in the time and effort to prepare for it. You can expect a full day of racing with more spectators than the average triathlon. Normally triathlons end sometime early in the day. Not Ironman, it goes all day until midnight. And the later the day gets the more energy builds at the finish line.
This was the first full Ironman for the state of Texas and over half the athletes that signed up were from Texas. Two of those Texans were my sister-in-law Paulina and brother-in-law Buddy. This was their first Ironman after volunteering at my first Ironman, Ironman Arizona one and a half years ago. We were originally going to sign up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene but after hearing of the first Ironman opening in Texas, they talked me and Kasia into doing this race instead. I also talked my uncle Jim into trying his first triathlon so he signed up as well. He grew up riding bikes competitively and had an incredible journey leading up to this race.
Kasia and I trained harder than we have ever done in the past. We came to Texas prepared. What we could not prepare for in California was the heat and humidity of Texas, which was full in effect in the Woodlands. It was 94 degrees and high humidity, the air felt thick and wet.
We flew in on Wednesday and picked up our bikes from TriBike Transport next to the Ironman Village set up near our hotel. We had used them before for Ironman Hawaii 70.3 and they make life easy when having to travel for races. The Woodlands is about a half hour north of Houston and lies pretty close to the Gulf of Mexico. The wind blows predominately south to north. We would be facing a tailwind going out on the bike and a headwind coming back. The swim was in warm 79 degree water so no wetsuits were allowed. The hottest part of the day would occur late afternoon, either at the end of the bike or during the run. We did a practice swim and a short ride the day before the race. We then dropped off our bags and bikes Friday afternoon. Having done an Ironman before made getting ready this time much easier. After dropping the bikes off we relaxed and prepared for the next day. The night before an Ironman race is intense and not relaxing. All you want to do is get the race started. We set the alarm for 4:20AM.
We were up before we knew it and headed over to transition in the dark. We got our tires filled and bikes all set up. Walking out of transition I made sure to live in the moment and take in the whole experience. Thousands of people are getting ready. Some people are walking towards you and others away. Everyone is making sure their bike is ready for the 112 miles ahead. The swim start was about a mile away so all 2600 people had to walk over to the start line. This was a nice way to warm up and fun. Little did I know I would be running the same way later that afternoon.
Before I knew it I was in the water before the start, me and all the other age groupers. When the race started there were still people getting in the water. This was the busiest and craziest swim I have ever done. So many people running into other people; complete madness. I got kicked a couple times and one time it really hurt; I let a grunt out under water. I was like man this sucks. Towards the end of the swim you had to funnel into this small finger of the lake. I was about to finish the swim and I was getting excited to ride my bike. There was a current down the finger due to all the people swimming the same way in such a small area. Swim time was 1:18 with no wetsuit.
I was out of the water and running towards my bike bag. Got it and ran over to the hot steamy changing tent. I saw a couple people changing outside so I did the same. Got all ready except for my tri shorts, then ran into the tent and changed my shorts. So many people changing clothes, craziness! The tent is like 15 degrees warmer than outside due to the heat coming off everyone’s body after the swim.
Got out of there and grabbed my Specialized Transition. All ready to crush the bike I headed out.
It was humid and felt like it just rained. We had a tail wind and I was feeling good. This bike course was awesome. There were no major climbs but the entire course was rolling hills and kept you pedaling the whole time. There was not much coasting in this ride. I was in and out of small Texas towns separated by a variety of forests. I saw a hiking trailhead at one point which made me think of all the backpacking and hiking, trail running I am going to do this summer. I love life and absolutely live to see what I am capable of. I took it easy on the first part of the bike. When I hit the 56 mile marker I turned and started heading back south towards the Woodlands. The wind I was thinking was going to be an issue turned out to be not that bad. I held a pace above 20 miles an hour the whole ride. The only bad part of the bike occurred around mile 80 when my toes on my left foot started to hurt and I had to ride non aero the last 32 miles. I didn’t care, I still hammered. I came into T2 around 1:45PM, so stoked. My bike time was 5 hours and 24 minutes. The bike course was beautiful and fun to ride.
I was out of T2 at 1:55pm and thought to myself you can do this - sub 4 hour marathon and sub 11 hour Ironman. That was my goal. I hit the run and felt good initially. The run was pretty flat with great support from the spectators. The first loop felt ok but my pace slowed towards the end of the 1st lap as the temperature started to climb. I went by the finish line for the first time and headed out on my second lap. That’s when I started to unwind. My head started to pound, my body felt hot, I started to feel terrible. I had fueled properly for this race and hydrated the entire bike but it was hot and muggy. I made it by the swim start on my second lap and had to take a break and walk for about 15 min to cool down. After I got it back together I had to dig deep and start running again. I started to jog in between the aid stations. During the aid stations I would fill a bottle with ice and water, eat something and then squeeze ice cold sponges on my head and replace the sponges I had in my jersey. I had to do that another 10 or so times until I finished the run. This run hurt bad and was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I passed the finish line again and knew this would be my last lap. My final loop sucked, it hurt badly but I made it through. I remembered one thing I heard before this race from my friend Adam Schepps.; the last mile of an Ironman makes it worth the race and he was right.
The last mile of an Ironman is amazing. At some point I ditched my sponges, zipped up my jersey and tossed my bottle of ice water. I started to take in the last minutes of my second Ironman race. I was almost done. At some point I felt a tingle over my whole body and my pain disappeared. It is an indescribable feeling and it will bring me back for many more. Running down the finishing chute of an Ironman race is amazing. I loved every second of it. Then the day hit me and I started to feel super tired. Man was I ready to stop running. 4:50 marathon – slowest and hardest yet. Total 11:47 hours.
I headed over to the hotel for a shower. That is the best part of staying as close to the race as possible. I came back to watch Kasia, Paulina, and Buddy finish their races. Kasia shaved 1 hour and 4 min off her first Ironman time and Paulina and Buddy finished their first Ironman. My uncle finished the swim and bike but got pulled by medical after running into some stomach issues. He had not ridden 112 miles for over 20 years. Welcome back Jim. I can only hope this experience fuels his desire for redemption.
After this second Ironman I know that will never stop doing these races. There is something amazing about participating in one. The energy of the day, the 6 months of prepping, the hard times, the good times, the bad times all make them one of a kind. It’s just one day of my life.
