IMTex Recap

Ironman Texas was the first time I competed in an inugrual Ironman race and there was a special excitement that came with that. The crowds were amazing and the course was outstanding. I did something I've never done in an Ironman or ever in a race before - crashed my bike. It was minor by crash standards, but certainly sounds tough. The knees got the worst of it. It happened at mile 50, luckily I only had 60 more miles to bike and a full marathon to run! Obviously, I am thrilled I just finished.

The swim was point to point, so no loops, which was really nice. The water was 79 degrees and was the first Ironman swim I did without a wetsuit. (Wetsuits aren't Ironman legal at that temperature.) The course was a bit oddly shaped and swimmers kind of piled up on each other, it was hard to get away from flying arms and legs. The last mile was through a canal, which was cool, great for spectators, but way to narrow for swimmers competing. There was just no where from anyone to go, so it made it tough to blaze a path ahead or avoid someone trying to blaze past you.

The bike course was a single loop which never really had any boring stretches. It was mostly rolling hills and really pretty with tons of trees. Trouble came at mile 50 at an aid station. I was slowing down, maybe 10 mph, and reaching back to place a new water bottle in one of my bike cages and with only one hand on the front brakes I saw the guy in front of me brake really hard. I wasn't paying close attention ahead, panicked, and slammed hard on my front brake sending me over my bike's handle bars and sliding forward over on top of my bike. Thankfully, nobody crashed on top of me and the volunteers were really helpful. My bike had dings but amazingly nothing was broken and the parts still worked. The rest of the bike I kept replaying it in my head and could not believe how lucky I was. God must have been a spectator watching the race as well.

The weather had been ideal up until the run. It was overcast with some winds, but as I started out on loop 1 of 3 on the run the sun came out. The first loop I tried to gauge running in the heat and pushed a bit harder than I should have. I nearly walked the entire 2nd loop just to avoid overheating, knowing the sun would set with time and actually give me a shot at running a bit toward the end. The 3rd loop was cooler and I actually got running and finished with a crazy fast last 2 miles. The finish line was the coolest set up of any of the other races I've done and felt just as monumental as ever.

To have been signed up for so many races over the past couple years, to have had a goal in sight and kind of always top of mind and to cross a line that meant I had finished them all felt more relieving than anything. I don't think I'm done with triathlons, I still love race days, but a decade off might be nice.