The amount of triathlon experience displayed each Sunday morning during Mere Mortals on Pensacola Beach is staggering. While the goal is to help, teach, mentor, and encourage new athletes, MANY experienced athletes also use the time to push themselves to new distances, speeds, and overall achievements. Ironman is often at the top of this list. From a TGC leadership perspective it’s extremely gratifying to see an athlete continue past his/her original goals. Each of the athletes in this blog series participated in the same race, but each of the athletes had a completely different experience. I hope these race reports inspire other athletes to take a chance, set a goal, and do something outside of his/her comfort zone.
From Brian Lang…
Ironman Texas
Last year I lost a friend in Tallahassee to cancer. The tri folks I used to work out with all planned to compete in Lake Placid in his memory. Initially I signed up for Ironman Lake Placid but had to change to Texas due to unforeseen logistical problems. Though I am not competing with them in Placid, this IM was still in my friend’s memory. Texas had always been on my DNR or Do Not Race list because of its history of tough weather, route issues, and another friend’s experience. However, I learned a large contingent of Pensacola triathletes were going to participate and decided to change my stance. Once the headache of working with Ironman HQ was resolved and my race was transferred, the fun began.
Pre-Race and Training:
I had done a lot of running and riding in 2018 so I felt I had a pretty good base and decided on a truncated training plan using a the Be Iron Fit guide and some tinkering of my own. I got into intense training in January and built from there. My longest ride was 107 miles about 3 weeks out from Texas with my longest run being 18 the same weekend. Overall training went well. The difficulty in training for Texas is the weather. Texas can be scorching in late April and as it was a lot of my training rides and runs were in reasonable 40-60 degree temps. One concern I had going into Texas was not enough heat training. I was able to get a few runs in warmer conditions, but not like I would have preferred. To add insult I had a couple bike issues and had to cut at least one 90 mile ride in half because of it. It all worked out though and the bike and I both made it to the start line.
The Woodlands Texas:
I had never been to The Woodlands and was impressed by the location. We got to the area about 3 days before the race and had some time to explore. My impression only improved. Pre-race setup was smooth and without incident, except for my pedal falling off right before bike drop off. After the cardiac events and stream of colorful vocabulary subsided, I realized it had just come unattached and I affixed back to my bike; problem solved. Incredibly, April 27th arrived. It was both the longest wait and quickest arrival I have ever experienced.
Race Day:
FOUR a.m. came quickly, and I slept surprisingly well. Breakfast consumed and race morning rounds done, I set off to transition. Around 5:15 a.m. I dropped off nutrition in my T1 and T2 bags and did a final bike check while filling water and nutrition bottles. Pedal was still there; success! I met up with THE John ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald and we headed off to the starting line.
Swim:
6:25-6:40: Pro men and women are in the water and shit just got real. The nerves hit me as the realization sets in that I was in line for my 2nd Ironman start. Being my 2nd time, I was surprisingly calm, more than I would have thought. Fitz and I trained a lot together leading up to this and we had a similar attitude – Just Finish. 6:50 comes, John accidentally cusses into Mike Reilly’s microphone, a final fist bump, and we’re in the water. The race was wetsuit legal so it was neoprene as far as the eye could see. I felt good in the water, and it went by rather quick. Though it was wetsuit legal, the water temp was 75 degrees and I did start to get a bit warm. All I had to do was give a quick yank on the neck of the wetsuit and let some cool water in, problem solved. Though it was in a large lake they kept us crammed together so I imagine we looked like a bunch of neoprene salmon fighting to get up stream. It was more clustered than I was used to and the constant bumping got tiresome. As usual, I started to get a headache about the 1 hour mark on the swim. I hate wearing swim caps and get a headache when I wear them for a long period. The last 30 minutes of the swim consisted of me intermittently adjusting my cap to relieve the headache, fighting off swimmers, and venting my wetsuit. I was out of the water and in transition at 1 hour and 29 minutes, feeling great physically and ecstatic emotionally to be out of the wetsuit and cap. I was overall happy with my swim. Off to bike.
Bike:
The bike started well. The first 20 miles had a lot of turns so it was hard to get a lot of momentum. At about mile 20 they dump you onto the Hardy Toll Road for a two loop 80 mile exercise in psychiatric warfare. Though the run was awesome and more scenic (we’ll get to that), the middle 80 miles of the bike tests your psychological limit as there is nothing to look at but cyclists, roads, and construction. The realization soon set in that we were riding into a head wind, and I realized it was going to be nothing more than a ride for survival. After 20 miles straight, I was over the wind and starting to wear out physically. There was relief when I turned to start the trek back to the beginning of the loop, but was wearing down. I used the tail wind for recovery and didn’t push any speed. About 5 miles from the start of the second loop I started cussing at my bike, making deals with the God above, and dreading the impending turnaround. Plus I was starting to get numbness in my feet. This was especially frustrating as I had no issues with numbness leading up to the race.
The start of the 2nd loop went exactly as expected; like shit. That wind punched me in the face and I felt like I was riding with my brakes on. I wasn’t; I checked. I was about 1.5 mph slower on the second loop as the wind was a constant 12-15 mph with occasional gusts up to 20. I’ve never thought about pulling out of a race like this until the second loop of this bike. Miles 75-80, the last 5 before we turned around, were hell on wheels. I was feeling bad physically, out of my head mentally, and about ready to quit. I felt that bad. However mile 80 arrives with the turnaround and most of my prayers answered, except I was still alive, on my bike, and on the concrete hell that is the Hardy Toll Road. Miles 80-112 were miserable as I tried to recover some for the run. As I entered transition I was feeling poor mentally and physically but happy to see my family which really helped. I’m still not talking to my bike currently. I was about 30 minutes slower than I expected to be and got off the bike at 6 hours and 32 minutes. Not happy with it but finished.
Run:
The run began as the bike finished, miserable. I had no energy, was uncomfortable, and was ready to settle in for a death march. I tried jogging coming out of T2, however my legs, feet, back, stomach, and brain had other ideas and so I settled in for a nice walk around The Woodlands. It remained fairly slow going until Fitz caught me around mile 3.8. He slowed to a walk with me for a short time and I tried to run some until he scurried off. I was tolerating water, Gatorade, banana, and orange at the stops so my nutrition was maintaining. Soon after Fitz left me I started drinking some Redbull at the aid stops as well. This was also around the time I hit stride. Whether I adjusted to the run, died and went to heaven (or hell by some perspective), or was boosted by the canned nectar that is Redbull, I regained some energy and was able to start jogging some. I continued water, Gatorade, Redbull, banana and oranges as they were offered and kept the pace up pretty well. The last few miles of each loop are through the main downtown area of The Woodlands and it was incredible. Those few miles on each loop kept you going and the energy was infectious. The run was by far the best part of Ironman Texas and I can understand why its voted best run often. I improved with each of the next 2 loops and ended up running the 2nd half of the marathon about 10 minutes quicker than the first. I regained more energy with each loop and was more appreciative of the crowd each time. This is also where I got to see the family and seeing them, even for a few seconds, gave me tons of energy. Run time was 5 hours and 31 minutes.
*Side note on the run; Redbull helped with this race and in races past I haven’t stomached it. If Redbull is the canned nectar of the Gods, then Chicken Broth is the Holy Grail. This is the second IM I have used it, and I will fight anyone who makes a negative comment about it.
Finish:
Like all IM and IM70.3 finishes before, the finisher chute was rocking. In a sense, I raced 14 hours for those few minutes of a feeling I can’t even describe. There are some many thoughts, emotions, and feelings as you come around the corner with the lights bright and the announcers blaring. I glimpsed my family screaming and yelling for me as I came up to the finish. It was perfect, except it almost wasn’t. As I round the corner I cut it too tight and kick the barrier and quite nearly face plant a mere 30 feet from the finish. (I didn’t hear this live, but in the video my wife recorded she can be heard yelling, “Get it together Brian!” – I needed that, she’s my rock) Had I gone down, it would have been a roll to the finish. Exuberant from the race, the emotions, and my near fatal fall I decide to jump and slap the finishing structure as I stride through grinning ear to ear. In my head I imagined Michael Jordan flying in for the game winning layup, while in real life it was more like Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro. 14 hours and 2 minutes later it was done and I had finished upright. I wanted a sub 14 but was happy to beat Ironman Chattanooga by 3 minutes and to accomplish my goal of finishing. I felt far better after this IM than I did after Choo, but still felt like garbage the next 2 days. That was it, Ironman x2! It feels amazing each time.
Learning Moments:
With every race I do I try to take away a few pearls of wisdom.
Prior to IM Texas there had been discussion on the Pathetic Triathletes FB group and between myself and Fitz about easier IM courses. In fact, I think we both believed this IM would be ‘easier’. I soon found myself in a realization easy does not go with Ironman. All courses offer different complexities and challenges. Some may be ‘faster’ but that certainly doesn’t make them easier.
Ironman is as mental as it is physical. My mental game really messed me up during the bike and it took a while to straighten that out.
Finishing is as much credit to your family and the crowd because I could feel the energy returning inside me as I ran through the supporters and past my family.
Even after 14 hours of exercise I can still keep my balance.