Tish Collier IMTX 2015 RR
WARNING, I LOVE TO WRITE, THIS IS LONG!!!
May 2015 Ironman Texas #2 Race Report
I’ve decided that hot races with humidity are not for me. I am from Biloxi, Mississippi, where we have humidity, but I was nowhere near prepared for how bad it was.
I’ve been feeling good all week. No nervousness, I felt READY to this time. Last year, I DNFd at mile 81ish, started seeing spots and not feeling good, was going to make the bike cutoff, but not enough time for my marathon, as I am a pretty slow runner. This year, I was prepared for this. I knew the course. I knew what I wanted.
Race morning I woke up at 3:45 am, after sleeping the past week very great! Had ½ bagel with 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 and ½ applesauce cups, along with 24 ounces of Gatorade. We left around 4:30ish and parked at the mall. We walked down to transition. (AKA MUDPIT!!! Who knew we’d be doing a mud race!!). Put aerobottle on filled with Gatorade, first 2 hours of power bars in bento box. Added a bottle of water to bike in case I needed to wash feet off (they ended up having kiddie pools for people to clean the mud off their feet.) And also added a cloth and water bottle to my T2 bag.
All was well….we headed down about a mile away to the swim start. Jumped in line for the bathroom right away. Carried another bottle of Gatorade and had a GU around 6:40 AM.Had plenty of time, body marked, family goodbyes, and carry on!! Also remembered to bring toilet paper, which always helps!!
Swim:
Swim start was what was called a rolling start this year, based on your projected finish time. ( My projected time was about 1:35-1:38 as I swam in our local lake, so I went in the 1:30 to 1:40 group).I imagined one person at a time with a couple seconds in between, but it was basically a few people going In at a time. I elected for no swimsuit, as the water temp was 81 degrees).My glasses immediately fogged up. Continued to swim out a bit more, and did a quick wipe of the glasses. I had bit of trouble spotting, the water was a little choppy. I just swam forward to other end of the lake. It was relatively quiet until the wetsuit swimmers caught us. When I say it was rough, then, it was like a real mass start. The huge guys were basically swimming over us, kicking us, you know, what is expected out of a mass start. Some of them were swimming sideways, one thought he was going the right way, I was right next to him, he pushed me out of the way. Good times really! Nothing can match swims like these! ?
The first turn buoy came pretty quickly then I remembered from last year, and I was still feeling great! The second one got there pretty quick, too. The last turn buoy into the canal seemed to take forever to get to, and then we turned into the canal. So last year I was a little further back and had no problem with choppy water, this year was different—LOTS of choppy water!!! But I never stopped swimming and only felt a little tired, shoulders were just starting to get sore. I also had some chafing on my left arm. I had put Ktape on and just one strip came off in the water.
Got up the stairs with some help and jogged into transition feeling pretty happy that I felt 100% better than I did last year! All that swim training had paid off!
Swim time: 1:47 and some change, last year was 1:59!
Grabbed bag, stuffed one bag of nutrition in a pocket and got into tent, got the first volunteer I saw to help me put my cool wings on and to spray sunscreen. Left all my stuff on a chair and volunteers bagged it all up---don’t be afraid to use them! They WANT to help!! Stuffed everything else into pockets.
I carried my bike shoes out since the ground was muddy. After my Augusta debacle and flat tire, I wasn’t about to let any debris make my tire flat right away! Put that thing on my shoulder like I was carrying a body and got outta there. Stepped in kiddie pool, put on shoes, and headed out. What I didn’t know was that the chami butter I had used was leaking WHITE by the crotch of my tri shorts. I heard someone say something, and I looked down, and HA! There it was----BUT. I never chafed as long as I was on the bike!!!
Transition time: 8 minutes and some change
Bike
I had missed the last 6 hour training ride because of illness, but I still felt ready. I kept on eye on my heart rate, expecting it to get back into my Zone 2. I counted FIVE people in the first two miles of the bike changing flat tires! The heart rate wouldn’t go down. I slowed down my cadence to keep trying. 15 minutes in, I took 2 salt pills with some Gatorade Endurance. At 20 minutes, I started my 15 minute increments of ¼ powerbar. The plan was to have 2 bottles of GE that first hour.
I just can’t understand why I felt just bad by mile 5. Did I take in too much lake water? What did I do wrong? I had 2 hours of nutrition in my first bag. I finished that, moved into the second bag of 3 hours. I tried drinking. I’d have to say that after that 2 hours, things got worse. I did take the 2 salt pills at the top of every hour, but at one point, I stopped being able to put anything in. I tried and tried, I knew I had to drink! Can’t stomach powerbars, then DRINK!! Heart rate never went down.
I can’t understand why the bike course felt so hard. Harder than last year. I was looking forward to that happy first fast 40 miles, but when I got to that 40 miles, I was already 6 minutes behind my usual 4 hours. I was okay with that, was just waiting for my belly to adjust!
At mile 50, I remembered Coach P had said that was the highest point of the course. The scenery was beautiful from there. The winds, not so much. Windy, hot, more humid. The road conditions weren’t terrible, but it felt like there was a lot of traffic on the course.
Pulled into special needs at approx. 12:51 ( I think this was the time) to get sunscreen. As soon as I stopped, lips and tongue were numb, I had slurred speech that got worse as I kept talking, and my hands started to cramp. They turned in like I had cerebral palsy , or the way spasms occur with seizures and eventually into a fist. I had tunnel vision for the first time in my life, and as a nurse (Hyponatremia or hypomagnesaemia), I knew that I probably needed to stop, but I waited it out. HR averaged 131 for that time period. Even pepped talked a girl who had crashed, but had to bike damage or visible injuries. Told her to hang out with me for just a few minutes and we can keep going. The cut off was a couple of miles down the road, and we didn’t have much time to get there. I believe I waited till close to 1:20, knew I had to get there by 1:40. I made it, hands almost uncramped. I stopped at this station feeling terrible still. Took a GU, ( I know, caffeine ups the HR, but I was willing to try anything at this point.) I couldn’t stomach a banana, or a whole GU). I did try to take off again, thinking something magical was going to happen, and kept pedaling. Math on my watch showed a no go. I sobbed and sobbed knowing I would have to try to get to mile 70 and turn my chip in. I wondered if I could stop on the side of the road and wait for SAG. But then I worried, what if something happened to me, no one would see me I the grass! Worried I was going to crash the bike, but most of all pissed off, because I was READY for this race. Who knew the body wasn’t?! All my training had gone great. I never had a negative thought during the training. Between mile 67 and 68, I spotted 3 other bikers with race techs and bikes down. “ Yall done?” Yeah, me too.
Sagged back and got stuck in traffic for about 2 hours. Held it together in the truck and had some really good conversation with the other 3 people. A lot of the things one of them told me will always stick in my mind. Lost it when I saw my mom, I talked about how stupid it was to be crying over this, but why are my lips still so numb at that point?! Still hadn’t peed since that morning before swim. Tried getting a bottle of Gatorade down. Finally able to pee in the shower ( I KNOW, TMI!). Probably should have sat in the air conditioner a little while longer, but needed to see all my tri friends competing! Took another bottle of Gatorade and a small serving of lay’s potato chips for the salt. The only other thing I had that day was a couple of M&Ms and a sip of a protein drink, and a coke when I went through with JG after he finished. So sick to stomach. But how could I complain! I’m not the one that finished the Ironman! I had to hold it together for JG, he was the one that had finished and deserved to complain.
I had a great breakfast, but mixed between hunger/nausea/generally feeling bad for the rest of the day. I’m sure it’s just dehydration, will have to get fluids in. I just feel “ off.”
It’s not over for me, but I think the journey to finish IMTX is…….
May 2015 Ironman Texas #2 Race Report
I’ve decided that hot races with humidity are not for me. I am from Biloxi, Mississippi, where we have humidity, but I was nowhere near prepared for how bad it was.
I’ve been feeling good all week. No nervousness, I felt READY to this time. Last year, I DNFd at mile 81ish, started seeing spots and not feeling good, was going to make the bike cutoff, but not enough time for my marathon, as I am a pretty slow runner. This year, I was prepared for this. I knew the course. I knew what I wanted.
Race morning I woke up at 3:45 am, after sleeping the past week very great! Had ½ bagel with 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 and ½ applesauce cups, along with 24 ounces of Gatorade. We left around 4:30ish and parked at the mall. We walked down to transition. (AKA MUDPIT!!! Who knew we’d be doing a mud race!!). Put aerobottle on filled with Gatorade, first 2 hours of power bars in bento box. Added a bottle of water to bike in case I needed to wash feet off (they ended up having kiddie pools for people to clean the mud off their feet.) And also added a cloth and water bottle to my T2 bag.
All was well….we headed down about a mile away to the swim start. Jumped in line for the bathroom right away. Carried another bottle of Gatorade and had a GU around 6:40 AM.Had plenty of time, body marked, family goodbyes, and carry on!! Also remembered to bring toilet paper, which always helps!!
Swim:
Swim start was what was called a rolling start this year, based on your projected finish time. ( My projected time was about 1:35-1:38 as I swam in our local lake, so I went in the 1:30 to 1:40 group).I imagined one person at a time with a couple seconds in between, but it was basically a few people going In at a time. I elected for no swimsuit, as the water temp was 81 degrees).My glasses immediately fogged up. Continued to swim out a bit more, and did a quick wipe of the glasses. I had bit of trouble spotting, the water was a little choppy. I just swam forward to other end of the lake. It was relatively quiet until the wetsuit swimmers caught us. When I say it was rough, then, it was like a real mass start. The huge guys were basically swimming over us, kicking us, you know, what is expected out of a mass start. Some of them were swimming sideways, one thought he was going the right way, I was right next to him, he pushed me out of the way. Good times really! Nothing can match swims like these! ?
The first turn buoy came pretty quickly then I remembered from last year, and I was still feeling great! The second one got there pretty quick, too. The last turn buoy into the canal seemed to take forever to get to, and then we turned into the canal. So last year I was a little further back and had no problem with choppy water, this year was different—LOTS of choppy water!!! But I never stopped swimming and only felt a little tired, shoulders were just starting to get sore. I also had some chafing on my left arm. I had put Ktape on and just one strip came off in the water.
Got up the stairs with some help and jogged into transition feeling pretty happy that I felt 100% better than I did last year! All that swim training had paid off!
Swim time: 1:47 and some change, last year was 1:59!
Grabbed bag, stuffed one bag of nutrition in a pocket and got into tent, got the first volunteer I saw to help me put my cool wings on and to spray sunscreen. Left all my stuff on a chair and volunteers bagged it all up---don’t be afraid to use them! They WANT to help!! Stuffed everything else into pockets.
I carried my bike shoes out since the ground was muddy. After my Augusta debacle and flat tire, I wasn’t about to let any debris make my tire flat right away! Put that thing on my shoulder like I was carrying a body and got outta there. Stepped in kiddie pool, put on shoes, and headed out. What I didn’t know was that the chami butter I had used was leaking WHITE by the crotch of my tri shorts. I heard someone say something, and I looked down, and HA! There it was----BUT. I never chafed as long as I was on the bike!!!
Transition time: 8 minutes and some change
Bike
I had missed the last 6 hour training ride because of illness, but I still felt ready. I kept on eye on my heart rate, expecting it to get back into my Zone 2. I counted FIVE people in the first two miles of the bike changing flat tires! The heart rate wouldn’t go down. I slowed down my cadence to keep trying. 15 minutes in, I took 2 salt pills with some Gatorade Endurance. At 20 minutes, I started my 15 minute increments of ¼ powerbar. The plan was to have 2 bottles of GE that first hour.
I just can’t understand why I felt just bad by mile 5. Did I take in too much lake water? What did I do wrong? I had 2 hours of nutrition in my first bag. I finished that, moved into the second bag of 3 hours. I tried drinking. I’d have to say that after that 2 hours, things got worse. I did take the 2 salt pills at the top of every hour, but at one point, I stopped being able to put anything in. I tried and tried, I knew I had to drink! Can’t stomach powerbars, then DRINK!! Heart rate never went down.
I can’t understand why the bike course felt so hard. Harder than last year. I was looking forward to that happy first fast 40 miles, but when I got to that 40 miles, I was already 6 minutes behind my usual 4 hours. I was okay with that, was just waiting for my belly to adjust!
At mile 50, I remembered Coach P had said that was the highest point of the course. The scenery was beautiful from there. The winds, not so much. Windy, hot, more humid. The road conditions weren’t terrible, but it felt like there was a lot of traffic on the course.
Pulled into special needs at approx. 12:51 ( I think this was the time) to get sunscreen. As soon as I stopped, lips and tongue were numb, I had slurred speech that got worse as I kept talking, and my hands started to cramp. They turned in like I had cerebral palsy , or the way spasms occur with seizures and eventually into a fist. I had tunnel vision for the first time in my life, and as a nurse (Hyponatremia or hypomagnesaemia), I knew that I probably needed to stop, but I waited it out. HR averaged 131 for that time period. Even pepped talked a girl who had crashed, but had to bike damage or visible injuries. Told her to hang out with me for just a few minutes and we can keep going. The cut off was a couple of miles down the road, and we didn’t have much time to get there. I believe I waited till close to 1:20, knew I had to get there by 1:40. I made it, hands almost uncramped. I stopped at this station feeling terrible still. Took a GU, ( I know, caffeine ups the HR, but I was willing to try anything at this point.) I couldn’t stomach a banana, or a whole GU). I did try to take off again, thinking something magical was going to happen, and kept pedaling. Math on my watch showed a no go. I sobbed and sobbed knowing I would have to try to get to mile 70 and turn my chip in. I wondered if I could stop on the side of the road and wait for SAG. But then I worried, what if something happened to me, no one would see me I the grass! Worried I was going to crash the bike, but most of all pissed off, because I was READY for this race. Who knew the body wasn’t?! All my training had gone great. I never had a negative thought during the training. Between mile 67 and 68, I spotted 3 other bikers with race techs and bikes down. “ Yall done?” Yeah, me too.
Sagged back and got stuck in traffic for about 2 hours. Held it together in the truck and had some really good conversation with the other 3 people. A lot of the things one of them told me will always stick in my mind. Lost it when I saw my mom, I talked about how stupid it was to be crying over this, but why are my lips still so numb at that point?! Still hadn’t peed since that morning before swim. Tried getting a bottle of Gatorade down. Finally able to pee in the shower ( I KNOW, TMI!). Probably should have sat in the air conditioner a little while longer, but needed to see all my tri friends competing! Took another bottle of Gatorade and a small serving of lay’s potato chips for the salt. The only other thing I had that day was a couple of M&Ms and a sip of a protein drink, and a coke when I went through with JG after he finished. So sick to stomach. But how could I complain! I’m not the one that finished the Ironman! I had to hold it together for JG, he was the one that had finished and deserved to complain.
I had a great breakfast, but mixed between hunger/nausea/generally feeling bad for the rest of the day. I’m sure it’s just dehydration, will have to get fluids in. I just feel “ off.”
It’s not over for me, but I think the journey to finish IMTX is…….
0
Comments
I'm much better today. It's not the end of the world, right?!
You're not done, just in the middle of your journey Tish.
You're with the right group of people.
Keep fighting, learning and progressing, for in this we are all together many of us a different points along the way.
SS
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/778570242
I'm feeling great today, researching other races and looking at some serious weight management!!!
I am debating that, but I have this fear of sharks! And a bit of vertigo in swells!! My uncertainty is getting past the water and waves.
Good luck, hang in there, and glad you are feeling better!
Reid
Sorry for the day.
sounds like you will continue to fight.
maybe try an official Core Diet consult to get at ways to get in fluid that will be tolerated?
Best for the future.
It seems you started out the morning under-fed. And the swim without nutrition added to that, putting you in a bad place to start the bike. Would you have been able to eat anything more that morning? Maybe the other half of that bagel? Did you finish off that second bottle of Endurance you were carrying at the swim start?
On the bike, it looks like you were taking salt pills once per hour, but taking 2 at a time. Would it have helped to take 1 salt pill every 30 minutes? (I had trouble getting a single pill down at a time, so 2 would have made me gag even worse).
Chris,
Great things for me to think about. I was pretty full after that breakfast. I did finish the second bottle of Gatorade prior to the swim.
The salt pills made me GAG as I put them down. I almost vomited just from those. I keep hearing about the "Base Salt" thing....
Lots of stuff to ponder over!!
I get the feeling - I've had 2 DNFs and 3 more DNS.
What HR were you aiming for on the bike? Could this represent some sort of cardiac arythmia, an atrial tachycardia? Don't just assume it was nutrition, nerves, or hydration. Maybe you need a medical eval?
My dad has Afib, mom had pacemaker at age 23-----