IMTX 2013

IMTX 2013 Race Report

First I want to say thank you so much for those who supported me all weekend; even the ones that could not be there. You constantly text, messaged or called to check in on me throughout the process. I can not put into words how much I appreciate you.

This was a big weekend. As some of you know things have been a little rocky for me and this weekend was something I needed. (Yes, I can be a little needy). You showed me how much you wanted me to succeed and how much you believed in me. For that I will forever be grateful. Yada yada.  J 

I knew going into this race that it would be a hot one. Training prepared me for the distance but not the 94 degree heat and humidity. I don’t know how people not from Texas did it. When I did this race in 2011 at least we had cloud cover. This was brutal. As I process what happened to me during this day I remind myself how lucky I am to be able to participate in such an event. I feel frustration and complete happiness all at the same time.

Check In on Thursday and Friday:

I got to the Woodlands and made sure to eat before check in. The line is always long and I get distracted easily. I knew if I didn’t eat first bad things would happen. I was not nervous until my name was checked off and the wristband was secured.

This is happening.

Carrie, Padre, Holly, Dionn, Michelle, Dayna, Rhonda, Joey, Chad and Collier were all there checking in too. We took our d bag tri pictures, protected each other from spending money in the village, got our $600 backpacks and headed out to rest before the athlete din din. We were happy, excited and ready to race! Got to see Chris, Kevin, Scott, Rosita, and Mike at the dinner. A few of us left early. We needed wine. We sat outside by the canal, relaxing and taking it in.

Bike and Run/ Bike bag check in was on Friday. That in itself is stressful. Too much shit to pack. I went back to my cousin’s house (thank you Mendy and David for letting me stay there!) to hibernate and rest for the race on Saturday.

SATURDAY – IMTX day!

Breakfast at 4 am sucks. I am nervous and not hungry so throwing down 500 plus calories is rough. I probably got down half of what I needed. English muffins, peanut butter and banana.

Talie and Shannon drove me to transition to drop off my bike nutrition at around 5:30 am. Always chaotic with the rush of people trying to get in and out of there in time to get to the swim start a mile away. I stopped at the potty before heading back to the car. The man in the potty next to me yelled, “MI AMORE! ES MUY GRANDE!” Gotta say, I was a little jealous. (In case you are lost he was thrilled with his big poo poo).
I was on my way back to the car and ran into Lisa, Catherine, Mel, Nancy, Dylan, Jenny. Who did I miss?

Swim:

We drove to the swim start and immediately found everyone. Add Leslie who I didn’t get to see the day before. Fist pump and hug. Love her. The only one I didn’t get to see was Holly.  Ok, gotta make our way to the water. One big hug to Joey and the tears started flowing during the anthem. This was about to begin.

We all separate to get in the water to start for the day ahead. I tread water for about 5 minutes, let a couple of nervous people talk to me (I am very quiet before a race), move around to a better spot, then the gun went off.

As expected BRUTAL. I kept reminding myself just deal with this and try to remain calm. This cluster of kicking, scratching, hitting and swallowing water will be over in a few minutes.

 

Ahhh. Ok. Made it about 800 yards and finally had room to actually swim. My goggle were still on, no water was leaking in…I will finish the swim. My head was hurting so bad from my tight goggles. Ignore it! The swim stayed choppy the whole time but at least the washing machine was over….until the canal. The last 1200 meters was worse than the first! This time add wetsuit people (who started 10 minutes later and caught up) and a very small section to swim in. It was pure hell for me. I tried to pee in Amy’s speed suit but couldn’t. I had to go but there was just too much chaos. My watch got stuck on some big dude’s wetsuit. I punched his back to get my watch off. I was annoyed at his wetsuit. No offense to Joey and Chris but the wetsuits made me angry. J

 

One cool thing is you hear the spectators cheering on the sides so loudly! You feel like you are finishing for 1200 meters. 1:34 swim time. It was two minutes slower than 2011 and I had been training for a 1:30 swim. Ok. Fine. It was a rough swim and I made it out alive. Move on and make the bike rock! Don’t transfer any negative energy! Got into transition, peed and was on my way. No volunteer help this time. I didn’t need it since I wasn’t changing…just adding my tri top.

Bike:

Tailwind and not too hot at 9 am. The first 50 miles were oh so delightful. The course is pretty where the rollers are and I was maintaining a great speed with a perfect heart rate.

 In comes mile 60. Chip seal and headwind. The heat showed up and temps at 94 degrees with not a cloud in the sky sound great if you are lying by the pool. Not so much on a bike on farm to market roads. I drank water and popped thermolytes like they were M&M’s. If you know how much I love M&M’s that was a lot of thermolytes. I even had electrolytes in my Pure Sport that was in my nutrition. I stayed on top of my nutrition and added some calories from the extra food I packed.

The volunteers were AWESOME at the water hand ups and I refilled my aerobottle at every stop…without stopping. J

A cat ran in front of us at one point and the guy in front of me almost hit him. The cat ended up running into a truck going the opposite direction. Yup. This happened right in front of me. In a fucking triathlon. Of all people to have to see that. Ok, shake it off.

Mile 80, pow! Flat tire. I started messing with it then luckily a tech drove up to help me. She was an angel! She took over and I stood there and ate my payday bar and peed. Yep. Just stood there and ate and peed. She sent me on my way.

Mile 90 -112. My legs seized with cramps like I had NEVER experienced before. I couldn’t pedal at times and had to unclip to release the cramp. If I added any tension to my gears they would cramp up again. I was taking in so many electrolytes that I started getting bloated and drank so much water that I don’t know what else I could do. I was upset. Was this going to bring me down? Will I be able to even walk? The last 10 miles were forever. God love the volunteers but don’t say 5 more miles when we actually have 10 more miles to go. It was like Groundhog Day. I didn’t want to look at my Cateye or Garmin.

Finally got to dismount and wondered what my legs were going to do. I left my bike with the volunteer and limped into transition. I saw Catherine who was talking me down off my panic and Rosita who got my bag, hugged me and sent me into the tent. Kathleen! She took me, dumped my bag, helped me change from my pee bike shorts to run shorts ( gross), put on my race belt, listen to me cry, rally, cry and rally, sprayed me with sunscreen and sent me on my way. The bike took me 45 minutes more than I trained for. 7:45. Sucked and I was not happy.

Run:

My legs cooperated as long as I walked. I was so frustrated! Running was going to be my moment and the fucking bike took that away. I had to change my attitude fast. Now it was take it all in, stay alive, keep your heart rate in a good place and visualize the finish. Just finish.

I saw T3 peeps, Nancy, Jane, Jennifer and Charles and tried to keep it together. Got a big ole pat on the butt from Nancy and that made me smile. Got to Kendall and it was great to see him. Booher! We stayed together for about 3 or 6 miles. I have no idea.

I started to get a little pep in my step at times so I would run when I could. Saw Bekah at the Texas Iron tent. Great little pep talk. Just when you have had it you get to the canal. FOMO yelling from across the water! YAY!!!!  I hear Tiny Bunny and cried again!  But this time it was a happy cry. I knew it was about a mile till I got to them.

Mel, Catherine, Lisa, Dylan, Jenny, Natalie, Shannon, Vegas, Kathleen, Rosita, Katy, Calvin, Ann, Maggie, Tim, Rachel, Heather, Kim and Christine.. and oh my god the bridge where Del, Kevin and Meredith were at. Those gay boys were dancing like they were at Rain! So much support and energy! I know I forgot someone.

I got around the canal and back to the quiet area where I would throw up once. I drank water at every stop and it was hard to stomach GU. I tried pretzels but couldn’t chew. I made myself down the GU because I needed those calories. Drank broth and downed a little pickle juice. I heard ambulances every ten minutes and just told myself to take it easy and make it in. I kept passing people passed out at the water stops. It was a fight to the finish.

 

The finish line:
I was never happier this whole race…except for when I passed my friends. Mike Reilly yelled my name and an amazing volunteer took me and stayed with me until she was comfortable that I was good on my own. She got me water, my shirt, hat, medal and made me get my picture taken. I really didn’t care. I didn’t even look to see what my time was. I don’t want to end this report on a negative. I was way short of the goal I trained hard for but I finished. I am happy with that. Thank you again so much for those who supported me all weekend. I don’t know if I could have done it without you and I have your back when it is your turn.