Congrats Gina Shand (Virginia) on a stellar Ironman Texas!! Here is her report.
Race Morning
Got up at 4am, ate a Clif bar and a banana. Got everything together and headed up to the race. Stomach and head were in better shape than I expected. I did not get as emotional as usual and was not dreading the swim like I had at Placid or Wisconsin. Stopped at transition, dropped off bottles, pumped tires, easy peasy. Decided to use the porta john at transition, figuring the lines would be shorter. Turned out to be a good call. Also, became the hero of the line when we noticed there were a few bathrooms that no one seemed to come out of. I jumped out of line when no one else wanted to check the doors and pulled on one of the doors to find a never been used portojohn. Winning! Line felt I earned the right to use it! Helped everyone out to get the line moving faster. Good race karma.
Munched on some Glukos chews and water on the way to the swim. Nerves were under control. Got to swim, dropped our bags and weaved our way up to the front of the swim pack. The time signs were gone, so we just kept moving forward until we found some space. Turned out to be a good spot because we were in the water within a minute with not a lot of drama.
Swim 1:17:47 - Got my swim title back!
Once in the water, really only took one hit to the face. I'll take it. Felt steady and strong. Not all that fast, but solid. I felt the chafing on my neck almost immediately. My left calf started to cramp as I was headed into the canal. Was able to manage it by flexing my foot off and on. The canal seemed to take a long time and I was getting passed a lot. I knew I wasn't flying but kept moving forward. As soon as I got out of the water I heard Coach's voice asking how do you feel and his hand on my back. Looked at my watch and said, slow I guess. I assumed that my Dave was ahead of me but didn't want to ask. Decided to shake it off and head to the change tent. Nothing I could do to change the swim time but now needed to find 10 minutes on the bike and run.
T1 6:04
Found my bag and the change tent was not busy. Volunteer was great as usual, got changed pretty quickly. Used the bathroom, stopped for sunscreen and confirmed, my neck was in fact chaffed. Ouch. On the run through transition to grab my bike, I saw Frances. Great to see her there! She said that she had not seen Dave. I thought for sure she had just missed him. Grabbed Armando and headed out. I should have used the shower caps to cover my cleats. Ended up with more mud than I needed in them.
Bike 6:05:54
Hopped on and got ready to settle in. Was looking for Dave on the out and back, assuming he was in front of me. Was shocked (but a little giddy) to see him after I hit the turn around. After about 30 minutes, my power meter started reading low so I decided to focus on cadence and not worry about it. Started taking in my Infinit on schedule every 15 minutes. After the rough section before the highway I thought I heard something rubbing my front wheel, made a quick stop to make sure it was all good and got some of the mud out of my cleats because my left foot didn't want to stay clipped in. I really had to use the bathroom coming up on mile 30 but didn't want to stop until I saw Dave. Fortunately he caught up to me right before the aid station so I was able to say hi and then stop. Easy stop and headed back out. At two hours my power meter went out altogether. Didn't faze me too much since it wasn't reading right anyway. I decided to keep my HR down and ride one gear easier than I wanted to. Just wanted to ride strong, keeping an eye on the time to keep me about where my BBS had projected. I was expecting more of a headwind at the turn around and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't that bad. Stopped again at mile 50 to pee ahead of special needs since there wasn't a line at the bathroom.
Got to see Dave again after he turned. Coming up on the turn around, sky was reallllly dark and there was a definite drop in temperature. Stopped at special needs, got my new bottle, some sunscreen and chamois butter. I was rolling on this 20 mile section and knew I would pay for it at the turn around. Kept in aero, rode strong, didn't have any issues with drafting or crowding. Even though the course itself was a bit boring, I entertained myself by watching for Dave coming back the other way. I saw him about 2 miles before the turn around and asked him how bad the wind was but he was gone before he could answer. After the turn, the wind was worse than I thought it was going to be 12/13 mph. I made sure to just spin through it and remind myself that I still had to run a marathon. Got caught by a big group that sucked me in about mile 90. Quickly did what I could to get out of that. Didn't want any part of it. Stopped to pee a third time at the final tollroad turn around. My four stops only cost me 5 minutes, but that is still 5 minutes. Gotta learn to pee on the bike. Went back and forth with a few people on the way back in, but was very happy to see the course was a bit short. I was ready to get off the bike, but not desperate to do so. Stomach was a little upset, but nowhere near as bad as it had been before. I took in all the calories I brought, but did not take in all the sodium.
T2 5:45
T2 5:45
Dropped Armando off, ran down the sidewalk, made a quick stop to take off my bike shoes since I knew it was a bit of a jog back to the change tent. Was great to see Coach and smiled because I was feeling good. I actually wanted to run through transition cause I could. Volunteer had my bag, grabbed and changed. Great change tent volunteer. She was a bit thrown when she asked if I needed vaseline and I said yes and raised my arms. I knew they were chaffed but I couldn't see it. She said, oh, you want me to put in on? No one has asked me to do that. Ooops. At least it was my arms. Changed shorts, shoes, knee compression, more sunscreen. Out on the run. I was feeling good. No pepto needed!
Run 4:40:37
Came out, ran into Coach. Totally should have walked and chatted. Looking back I feel bad for making him jog with me. I was supposed to slow down anyway. Felt good to have someone to tell that I was feeling good! Words of encouragement are always uplifting and a good reminder to slow down. On that first mile I had to keep telling myself to slow down. Opted not to take anything in on the first water stop since my stomach was feeling good and I wanted to keep it that way. Made one portojohn stop at the park, but that was my only stop on the run. Was watching my HR and kept it under 150, pace was comfortable, walked briefly at every other water stop for the first loop. Took water and ice at each stop, put ice in the bra to snack on, took chews at every third stop. Mile 7, legs were beginning to hint at cramping, so I took some base salt. It was amazing to run and not feel like I was going to vomit. Got a boost when I saw Frances from the finish line as I was starting loop 2.The little things. I was looking forward to seeing Coach at loop 2 to tell him I hadn’t walked yet outside a water stop. Didn't see him, but probably for the best cause now I needed to make another loop to tell him the next time I saw him. Was getting tired, told myself no walking until 13. Made it to 13, told myself, make the second loop. Thought I might see Dave as he was finishing his third loop and I was finishing my second, but I didn't see him. Got to see Frances again. On my third loop it was crazy that I was the only one running. It kept me moving. Nice and steady. At mile 19 I was really tired and all of a sudden I was walking. I knew I could PR as long as the wheels didn't come off. I was doing the math in my head and I think that it was allowed me to walk a bit. I pulled it back together and kept going. Met a couple people who were on their third loop and we would go back and forth a bit. I couldn't believe my stomach was still cooperating. I took in about 70 calories every 30 minutes or so. My stomach was cooperating and my energy level did not feel like it was going down. Added some coke over the last few aide stations. No consistent salt, but felt like I got enough in because I didn't wipe out at the finish line when I raised my arms.
Total race time: 12:16:07
I am over the moon with this race and this time. I am most proud of how I kept it together all day. I never had the "this sport is BS" moment. Don't get me wrong, there were moments that were not great, but I kept my focus and plan together. It was really one step at a time. I knew I put the work in and trusted that I could go after what I wanted to accomplish. My leg was bothering me all day but because I had pushed it in training I knew the difference between just enough and too much that it is going to go out. It was pretty cool to rely on myself.
Overall, I really enjoyed Ironman Texas. The headwind on the bike was worth the lower temperatures on the run for sure. Now I have to get my leg healthy and figure out what is next for the rest of the season!
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