Ironman Texas 70.3 (Half Ironman)

Well, I finished.  Not in the time or way I had envisioned, but I crossed the finish line and learned some valuable lessons along the way.

The weekend in Galveston was great.  Everything had pretty much gone as planned and come race morning everything was looking good. We had a great turnout for the pre-race prayer and as I pulled on my wetsuit and approached the pier I was calm and looking forward to a good day.  As the national anthem played the guy next to us lost it.  There's no crying in baseball, but there is in triathlon.

 

The 1.2 mile swim was pretty uneventful and went as expected.  The only surprise came when I found myself under a buoy.  Good news is I was swimming on line.  Bad news is you can't breathe under a huge inflatable. I managed to get out from under it, compose myself, and swim the rest of the way.  No matter how long the swim, it always feels good to get back on dry ground.  David informed me I was a few minutes off my goal time, but not by much.  Kyle had a smokin' fast time and had lengthened the five minute head start he had on me.  A quick fresh water rinse and off to the bike.

Despite strong headwind the trip westward over the San Luis pass was pretty uneventful. The most exciting part was witnessing Chris Lieto (see last post) fly by in the opposite direction with a huge lead over the professional pack.  Things quickly changed after the turnaround.  The tail wind was great and effortlessly my speed increased from 20mph to 25 mph. Unfortunately, just three miles after the turnaround my legs began to cramp.  My legs had never cramped in training, but I knew this was a possibility; I just never thought it would come on the bike!  I worked them out, but I knew another 25 miles on the bike and then running a half marathon was going to tough.  I felt good as I approached the bridge connecting the mainland and Galveston Island.  It's smooth, long, and had a strong tailwind.  I hit the day’s top speed of 27.1 mph when the rider just a few meters in front of me went down.  My first thought was I was going to hit him, but somehow I missed him, his bike, and the sprawling debris.  As I passed, his body was still sliding across the road.  The closest thing I can compare it to is witnessing a traffic accident that you barely diverted.  I was told by guys that came after he was evacuated by life flight.  Still praying for his recovery.  I informed the sheriff at the end of the bridge and did what I could to press on.  My heart rate was way over where it should be, the cramps were coming back, and the finish line was still 33.1 miles away.  

This is where I lost it and found it.  I knew my goal of 5:30 was impossible, every muscle group in my legs was cramping, and there was a half marathon waiting. It's pretty hard to cry while competing in triathlon, but I came close. It was in that moment I was reminded that in my weakness, Christ is strong.  There I gave the race to God in a new way and laid the outcome in His hands.  I drew strength from the thoughts of my children.  Neither they nor God cared if or when I finished and their love for me was certainly not dependent on the outcome.  Run with endurance the race set before you.  The scripture was on my jersey, but now I realized the race set before me was not the one I had previously envisioned.  I lowered my wattage which in turn lowered my heart rate in hopes of clearing some of the cramp causing lactic acid.  As riders began to pass I was able to encourage them and many reciprocated.  

As I returned to the Moody Gardens complex I was faced with an almost comical dilemma.  My legs were still cramping all over with just the short motion of a pedal stroke and now I had to lift a leg entirely over the bike to dismount.  I did some pretty silly looking stretches, but they worked and I made it in to T2.  At this point I had no idea how I was going to cover the next 13.1 miles, but I started with an easy jog.  Almost immediately the cramps returned, but now I had pickle juice- yep, straight from the pickle jar.  I drank about an ounce and it worked as promised.  As the cramps subsided I began an easy jog and even increased my pace to a decent run.        

As I exited transition I was met by my team mates and family.  I gave my kids a kiss took off.  I was walking before long, but David was there to encourage and allow me to talk some things out.  He informed me that Kyle was having similar issues and was a few minutes ahead of me.  I took off (slowly) after the rabbit.  As I made each lap the gap to Kyle closed and at the end of the third lap I caught him.  It only took 67 miles to do so.  Together we walked and ran as we could.  We stayed together a ways and once I knew he would make it I took off to make the final lap.  

Crossing the finish line was uneventful.  The announcer called my name, I gave a little fist pump and then acknowledged the God who had seen me through those long and many miles.  Once again I kissed my family and shortly thereafter we were joined by Kyle.  Chris Lieto had crossed that line a few hours before and won the race.

I finished in 5:49:49.  Twenty minutes off my goal, but still pretty close; 6% longer than I had hoped.  Sure I could have saved a few seconds not kissing my kids or walking with Kyle, but those were the most productive seconds of my race.  That was the race set before me.  I ran it well and am proud of it.  In retrospect I am also proud of my finishing time.  Twenty minutes long seemed to be the norm for the day, even among experienced long course racers.

Every time I reflect on the race I learn something new.  It's typically hardest during any trial to extract the lesson to be gained, but that day I learned I can push my body far beyond my preconceived limits.  I learned that my support runs deep and I can draw from you in a tangible way. I learned that victory is not always achieving your goals.  I also learned things like swim a little harder and don't pass so much early on the ride when there's a 25mph head wind!

So what now?  I bank all these lessons to be drawn on during Ironman, now seven months away.  Over the weekend professional triathlete Linsey Corbin also had a mediocre race and offered the following; 1. It's part of the sport 2. Did you give it your best? 3. Focus on what did work 4. Don't train your brains out 5. Onto the next.  So that's what I'm doing- focusing on what worked, taking my family on a weekend getaway, taking a week off from training, and setting my sights on the Sylvan Beach tri and Ironman Florida