Ironman 70.3 Texas

Now that it has been over a week since the race, and I have a quick break from studying for final exams, it’s time for a recap of Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas (formerlly known as 70.3 Lonestar), which took place on April 25th in Galveston, Texas. I had a fantastic result and won my age group, in addition to placing very well overall. The following recap is a more detailed version of my thoughts before, during, and after the race. I apologize in advance if it's not the most glorious thing to read....it's an honest look into my race.

We arrived on Friday morning into Houston, but we had an hour drive down to Galveston Island. First let’s get one thing straight – Jewish girls do NOT do well in the humidity of Texas. Within two minutes of stepping outside to get on the rental car shuttle, my hair went from straight to curly to frizzy to just plain out of control – and that is how it would stay for the remainder of the trip. David’s mom gave me some frizz-control advice on Friday night, but who are we kidding, I was here to race, not win a beauty pageant. Once we got to Galveston, Victoria and I realized that we were in for a different trip than we’d expected. The area is still recovering from the massive hurricane, and the economy is not good. It was actually a bit disheartening.

We had no clue where we’d get food – other than a shady bar or liquor store – on Friday night, but then David called, and he invited us out to a good Italian place he’d found. It took us nearly 24 hours to find a proper grocery store, but within a day, we’d navigated the entire island, and it was easy to drive around. And Victoria did get her beach time – she even convinced me to lay out for a bit on Saturday (I hate laying out in the sun!). The race expo was disappointing, but that was because the truck with all the goodies and gear had gotten blown over by the wind! Hence, when my race laces broke, I couldn’t get new ones and was going to have to tie my shoes on race day.

The half-ironman race was stacked with great athletes, especially in the pro field, as the race was as US Ironman 70.3 Championships. My friend David was racing in the men’s pro field, and he had told us about all the pros that had been at pro athlete meeting: Andy Potts, Chris Lieto, Terenzo Bozzone, Sam McGlone, Amanda Stevens, Pip Taylor…I was excited to see where I’d end up at the end of the day against these pros’ times.

Race morning began at 4am. We ate breakfast, got coffee from the only place open at that hour (McDonald’s), and were at the race site by 5:30am. We headed to transition. Our bikes were already racked, so I put my water bottles in, clipped my shoes in, set up my helmet/sunglasses on my aerobars, put a visor on top of my shoes and stuck some socks in my shoes. I kept my area neat and uncomplicated so that transitions would be quick.

At 6:45am, the transition area closed, and we headed to the swim start, where our wave wouldn’t go off until 8am. We put on our wetsuits. I knew immediately mine was too big, but I hoped that by pulling it up a lot, I could get it to do its job. Suddenly, I realized that our wave was already in line to go off on the dock. I panicked and got in the shallow water to get in a quick warm-up swim. Here is where things get ugly. Within two minutes, I’m hobbling back to shore with my hands outstretched, looking for Victoria and Kristina. I had gotten severely cut by zebra mussels! I was bleeding profusely from my hands and some from my feet. My thumb was gushing blood, and luckily nurse Victoria had medical staff there within 30 seconds. It wouldn’t stop bleeding because it was very deep. Victoria gave me a look saying “I don’t know if you can race”; then one of the medical guys said the grim statement out loud. Well, sir, I got news for you, I am racing this thing, whether I need stitches or not. In the end, they were able to use Dermabond skin glue to temporarily seal the gash and they wrapped my finger in layers of waterproof bandages, tape and whatnot. Luckily, I had spared my feet from too much damage.

The swim start was just off of the dock. I tried to stay calm; after all, I am a swimmer and feel comfortable in the water, or so I should. I was going to ignore my throbbing finger, I told myself. I tried to find someone to draft off of, but failed miserably. I kept looking up for anyone to draft off of, but saw no one. I couldn’t find my stroke. My wetsuit was restricting my shoulders and I was barely using my stronger right hand to pull because of the bandaging. The water was quite choppy. They’d canceled the swim for the Olympic distance race the day before due to unsafe conditions, and now I knew why. Still, I just could not get my stroke on this day. Needless to say, this was my slowest swim time ever.

Out of the water, and I’m trying to get my wetsuit off, but my right hand is a bit handicapped. I keep running and I see wetsuit strippers – sweeeeet! I promptly laid down and let them tear it off of me. I run into T1 and nearly all the bikes are still there, and now I realize why I couldn’t find anyone to draft off of in the swim. I ran my bike out of transition – with my shoes already on the pedals – and I hopped on. It took me less than a quarter mile to get both feet in the shoes…..YESSSSS…..I successfully got into my shoes while they were on the bike, and no one was hurt in the making! Thank you to coach Greg who spent Thursday afternoon with me at the park working on this....despite all of my frustration and not-so-lady-like words, I guess I got it after all! I’m lucky to have a coach with such patience.

The bike course was a straight out and back, nearly all flat except for the bridges. The headwinds going out were brutal, and the crosswinds both ways were no fun either. I tried to stay on top of my nutrition – a weak point for me. All the male waves had gone off before us, so I spent the entire 56 miles on the left side passing the men. Most were good sports about it, unlike the men last year at Wildflower. I kept seeing the motorcycle guys that penalize you for drafting, so I was very careful to stay away from anyone’s wheel. My SRM computer was taped over – per coach’s instructions – so I was racing by “feel”. I am not good at this, and I definitely saved too much in the first half of the bike. So on the way back, I knew I needed to pick it up, which I did. I had put five vanilla GUs in a gel flask for the race, thinking that’d be plenty. Well, here is where I learn that you MUST practice your race nutrition strategy very carefully – which I did not. The GU wouldn’t come out of the flask! It was stuck in there! Then I remembered – hours too late – that I was supposed to add a bit of water to the flask so that the GU would squeeze out.

Somewhere between mile 40 and mile 45, my hamstrings and sitbones started to scream. I was on a new saddle – the Adamo race saddle – which changes your position on the bike by putting all the pressure on your sitbones. I actually really love it, but I had only a couple rides on it, and had not “built up” time on it, as the instructions dictate. I had only ten days to get used to it, and this backfired, as they suggest you take a few weeks to let your sitbones adjust to taking all the pressure. I love my new saddle, but I wasn’t ready for 56 miles on it….hence I spent the last ten miles standing and squatting, to the anger of my hamstrings.

T2 went a little slower than planned as I was wobbling due to my sitbones. I figured this pain would go away. I grabbed the emergency GU I’d placed next to my shoes, since the gel flask was not working.

The run did not go as planned. It was four loops – all unshaded – but with lots of fan support. I had never felt that pain in my sitbones and groin area before. I knew it had to be from not being used to the saddle. I could not find my normal run stride, and was just praying the pain in my groins would go away. I totally underestimated my caloric needs, and I blew up/bonked (whatever the “technical” name is for it). I stopped at every aid station (every mile) for water and gatorade, but I was too behind at that point; I needed my GU, which was stuck in the silly flask. The aid stations were superb for Gatorade, water, and sponges. I chose not to take any Powergels from the aid stations, as I had not trained with them, and I am very sensitive to new flavors/brands. My biggest problem was probably not getting in enough salt. It was 90 degrees out there and humid, and after the long, cold winter we had in Philadelphia, I was not prepared in the least for such conditions. Victoria had warned me, and she’d told me to use endurolytes/salt tabs, but I didn’t….and I regretted it (Victoria ended up taking in 20 endurolytes…smart girl!)

I saw Kristina on loops 2 and 3 of the run – she is an amazing Sherpa! Despite the 90 degree weather and being pregnant, she stayed out there the whole time….even though I know she was itching to be racing too. She really lifted my spirit when I wanted to throw in the towel because my run wasn’t going as I’d planned. But, so is race day. Things don’t go as planned. You make mistakes. You learn lessons. You persevere. And so, knowing that no one in my age group could catch me, I just tried to run the best my sitbones would let me. After all my work during the off-season to improve my run, I was frustrated. But I would not DNF….after all, Greg said his “athletes don’t DNF”.

The last two loops of the run were super hot. I was dehydrated and my legs were cramping badly from lack of salt and calories, but I tried to trick myself into thinking I was enjoying it by having a smile on my face. Lots of spectators commented on this…..it was really my own mental game with myself to help me ignore the legs cramping and dizziness. I always have a sprint finish (soccer player style), and this race would be no different. I crossed the line, and looked at my watch. This led to immediate disappointment because I was off of my goal time; but I would think about this later. Now it was time thank all of the volunteers, congratulate those around me, cheer on my friends, and be thankful for what I’d just done. I am grateful for by body’s abilities and so very thankful for the opportunity to race.

In total, my first race of the 2010 season taught me a lot. From a results standpoint, I did well: 1st in my age group (by 25 minutes), 12th overall, and top 25 including the pros. And it was still a PR time for me. I am proud that I never gave up mentally, which is something I have struggled with before. It would have been easy to DNF when I was cramping up on the run. Instead I hung in tough on the run, staying patient, and my legs did loosen a bit for me to pick up the pace for the final lap. I come out of Galveston having learned many things about racing, strategy, and nutrition…and many more things about myself. With this bittersweet ending, I am even hungrier to race again, and I know that these are all valuable lessons for my ultimate goal to win 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater this season.

Up next is the Tempe International Triathlon in Arizona on May 16th, Ironman 70.3 Mooseman on June 6th, and then the Philly Tri at the end of June. I can’t wait to see the CCF Mastery Tri Team race the Philly Sprint….I hope they have as much fun as I do!

Train hard and have fun,
Michelle

Congrats CCF Cycling Coach Nathan Jacobs!

Congrats CCF Coach Nathan Jacobs for finishing a FULL Iron Man this weekend in Utah!