Age: 48
Weight: 173
I joined EN just after 2013 IMTX but I found and used many of the free EN resources last year, with much success. Actually, the quality and value of those free resources are a big reason why I joined EN.
2014 IMTX was my second full. I've also done 2 HIM and several international distance races.
The lead in to the race was great. It was really nice meeting everyone and putting faces to names. I was not really an active poster to the forum, but I was trying to keep up reading what was posted and it was really helpful.
For Texas, I stay with my daughter and her family in Houston, so Saturday morning started pretty early, although, I guess, not early enough. My wife and I got out of the house late and we were trying to make time on 45 North. I noticed one of the traffic warning signs flashing that the road was closed due to a bad traffic accident. I’m not that familiar with the area so I was trying to pull up the map to see if we would be impacted at about the same time that we came up on the traffic back up. Yikes! Fortunately, we were able to jump off of the freeway and onto the access road. We sat in traffic on the access road for about 10 minutes before we passed the accident and were able to get back onto the freeway. I’m not sure what would have happened if we had missed that last exit but I’m sure glad we didn’t.
Other than that hiccup, we got into the woodlands and parked without incident.
I made quick work of my transition chores – adding my bottles to my bike and adding my solidly frozen bottles to my run bag. This is one thing that I did differently from last year that was much improved. Last year my run bottles sat in the sun all day and by the time I picked them up they were really hot and drinking hot drink mix was unpleasant. This year I froze the bottles overnight and they were thawed and still cool when I picked them up after the bike.
I had no issues with body marking or getting in for the swim start, although I did miss the team picture. I warmed up a little and then grabbed on to a paddle board since I was not wearing a wet suit and I didn’t want to tread water. Just before the gun went off, I looked over for the clock and was surprised to see quite a few participants still trying to get into the water. I’m guessing there were at least 100+ who were still dry and on the boat ramp when the gun went off.
I found the swim this year to be much more congested than last, but I did not have problems with people grabbing my ankles or climbing up my back. I did get kicked HARD this year and that did not happen last year. Twice to the face including once in the eye where I had to stop and pull my goggles off, and once somewhere else that took my breath away for a second. I swam up on someone who had stopped and I stopped just as he gave a big breast stroke kick. Yup, that was uncomfortable.
My sighting was mostly accurate with only one small gaffe near the entrance to the canal. I swam left of center on the way out and right of center on the way back in.
Other than that, my swim was uneventful. I got out of the water almost two minutes faster than last year with the same feelings of relief and joy. (I hate swimming)
T1 was slow but I knew that was going to happen. Last year I ended up with BAD sunburn after the bike so I was much more careful about putting on sunscreen and also about my choice of clothes. The only real mistake I made in T1 was that my socks were inside-out and I chose to turn them right-side-out just to be safe.
The bike was weird, but fantastic and so much better than last year. I followed my nutrition plan to a T and I did not have any real stomach issues. At one point I thought I was starting to rumble a little but a couple of long burps took care of that. I think I peed four times on the bike which is pretty normal for me.
The winds were a factor but I found them to be more manageable this year vs last. I could see that my splits were slower than I expected going out of the woodlands, but I didn’t worry about it, I just stuck to my numbers and rode my plan. Then, on the way back in, I was prepared for the hurt of riding into the wind for 25 straight miles and that never really materialized. At mile 85 I felt fresh and ready to make some time and I was able to finish strong and ready to run.
One change that I made this year was a new helmet. I have neck issues and thus have a hard time looking up for long periods of time. My old aero helmet had a long tail and I was concerned that I spent too much time with the tail sticking up in the air instead of sitting on or near my shoulders. To eliminate this concern, I switched to a Giro Air Attack Shield, which has no tail. I don’t know how much if any difference the tail made but the mental win of being able to look down without worrying about that dumb tail sticking up in the wind was worth the investment. The other big win was the shield. I can’t wear sunglasses on the bike because I end up looking over the top of them because of my neck. Last year, the sun reflection off of the bright white concrete that starts at about mile 90(?) was just awful. This year it was annoying, but much more manageable thanks to the tinted shield.
My bike split was about two minutes slower than last year and I’m not sure what to make of that. I would guess that the course rode slower this year but I have no data to support that. If anyone has any insight I would love to hear it.
T2 was slow but again, I sort of expected that. I did the sunscreen thing again, changed my socks and shoes and shirt as I had planned. Then I decided to change my shorts too since I was starting to chafe, which meant I was changing my shorts over my shoes. Dumb. I already mentioned my frozen run bottles but I’m mentioning it again as that was a huge improvement.
My run was nothing short of fantastic. I stuck with my, overly aggressive, nutrition plan for the first lap and then I got tired of carrying the hand bottle and mixing concentrate with water. I strapped the bottle to my run belt and switched off to perform. I’ll be rethinking my run nutrition for IMAZ for sure. Not because my plan did not work, but because I’m tired of carrying three bottles on the run.
Anyway, my run was smooth and on target. I did not negative split but at 2:02/2:08 I came pretty darn close. The perfect run for me would have been something just under 4:00 so I was really pleased with the 4:10.
Overall I went 12:01:26, which is 34 minutes faster than last year and just a little slower than I wanted to go. If I had a great day and if the weather was perfect, I figured I could break 12:00 and I came pretty darn close. The interesting thing is that all of the improvement came as a result of the run.
It was a fantastic day at the woodlands and now Ironman number two is under my belt. I’ve learned a lot and I have so much more to learn going forward. You all have been great teachers and coaches and I look forward to continuing to grow as a triathlete. I’m super happy to be doing IMAZ. I can’t wait to take what I learned in Texas and try to put it to good use next time.
Comments
Great job - a friction free-IM, for sure. You say you're worried about being two minutes slower on the bike? That's a rounding error, and, besides, you ran so much better - maybe those two minutes made part of the difference
I look forward to racing with you in Tempe, where I'm sure you'll go sub 12 hours with ease.
Clark....great report. Sounds like you had a really good day overall. That is a fast marathon for sure. While I didn't do IMTX last year, seems like everyone's bike times were a little slower this year. 2 minutes is pretty close, so it sounds like you improved there too really. It was great to meet you in person. I love your scatter plot analysis thing...I've gotta learn how to do that! Best of skill in AZ and I look forward to following you race there.
My only question is why no wetsuit?...esp if you hate swimming!
JL
I had never heard of Scape sunscreen. Looks like a good product but it seems like they've gone out of business, bummer. I too applied the night before and again in the morning and then again after the swim and bike. I will continue to refine the sunscreen/transition plan to shave time where I can.
Thanks again,
Clark
Congrats on your race and a 34' PR! See you in AZ!
Congrats on the PR! It was nice meeting you Thursday night. Good luck in Arizona
Maybe see you in az if i volunteer.