JP's IM Texas Race Report - Perfect Day
Swim
There was a little rain during the night, but the storms had moved through and it was a nice cool overcast morning. At the swim start they started moving the age groupers into the water about 20 minutes before the age group start. Treading water for 20 minutes with no wetsuit was not a pleasant experience. I was able to move up to the line and hang on a kayak until just before the start. The start was wide and not very crowded. It seemed that it was taking forever for them to get all of the racers in the water. After the race, I found out that the problem was the racers refused to get in the water and were standing on the edge of the boat ramp. It looked like half the field was stuck up there.
The gun went off and the swim started. The first section wasn’t bad. Then as the course started to narrow about 500 meters out, the people that had not gotten in the water were catching up to the people already in the water and they were determined to make up time so it turned pretty physical for a while. Then the swim settled down.
We made the turn around and headed back to the Waterway. The course started to narrow again as people cut the turn to make it into final stretch. Once you turned into the Waterway, the race slowed down. There was not enough room to maneuver and swim around people and they were packed tight enough that swimming over people wasn’t really an option either. Every so often the person in front of you would stop swimming and actually stand up to rest since the water was so shallow. At this point I had to just relax and swim smooth into the finish and keep inside the box.
Out of the water in 1:23:14. Not fast but still not far off pace given no wetsuit.
Bike
The start of the bike was a little scary as usual. Heading out of T1, people were riding 6 across the road and figuring that they had to be in their aerobars. Saw a couple of near wrecks in the first 5 miles or so. Then it spread out and race was on. What a blast. It was about as much fun as you can have on a bike. I don’t know what was going on, but it was like you didn’t even have to try and the bike just went. The whole time I had to keep backing down on the climbs to keep the power on track.
Of course TXDOT decided that the best use of state highway funds was to tear up a couple of sections of the bike course so that roads were really rough in the few sections. But other than those surprises, the roads were smooth and fast. It was great to see Tom come flying past me on the bike on the way to his Kona slot.
I hit special needs @ 2:55 into the ride thinking that this was not good. Picked up my second Infinit bottle and was back on the course. Special needs was pretty narrow, but the volunteers did a great job of keeping it safe and getting you in and out fast. Special shout out to Elvis for the support.
At about 4 hours, the cloud cover started to break and the bike started to heat up. Amazingly we didn’t hit any car traffic until about mile 90 of the bike. It was like the roads had been closed until this point. Floated through the last 22 miles and cruised back into transition. The final turn leading to the bike dismount area was the perfect distance to let you get all your administrative stuff done to be off the bike and run to T2.
Off the bike in 5:51:09. This was 20 minutes faster than my IM AZ bike last year. I was a little concerned that I had ridden too hard and would pay for it on the run, but the entire ride was just fun. Everything clicked: nutrition was dead on, hydration was perfect and legs felt great.
Actual IF: .63. Not sure how you ride that low and still PR the bike. The whole ride I kept hearing Coach P.’s voice in the back of my head, “If you have a choice between riding harder or riding easier, choose to ride easier and prove it on the run.”
Run
If the bike was fun, the run seemed to be the opposite of fun. The sun had come out. The first six miles, as always, were mentally hard. It felt like the snails were passing me and I still had to keep reminding myself to slow down. Hit mile 6 and eased into my pace. Nutrition on the run went south. Just couldn’t take down the Infinit and had to switch to plan B of shot blocks which seemed to do the trick. As I hit each aid station I tried to stick to walking 30 steps, but there was just too much admin to handle at each aid station to get it all done in 30 steps. Sponges, water, ice in hat, ice in hands, salt tabs. A couple of times I had to grab a volunteer and have them hold stuff because I was just out of hands. When I passed Michael Lovato walking on the run course, you know it was a hard day.
I had to walk twice to get my heart rate back down and assess how I was feeling in the heat. Other than that, I walked the aid stations, and to give Penny a kiss on the run course. First time I have ever made it through the marathon without walking. Woo Hoo!!
About mile 13, I could really feel the heat. You just couldn’t take down enough water. At that point I closed my eyes and started to count my steps to keep my pace even. I hit mile 18 and saw Coach P and everyone again and was on the last loop. I don’t know how many people I passed on the way to the finish. I just kept my focus on my run cadence and ignored everything else.
I hit the last aid station stuck to walking 30 steps and then ran the 1.2 miles into the finish. As I rounded the turn to the finish I saw the clock @ 12:28 and thought they had to be kidding. I had absolutely no idea where I was time wise on the course.
Run: 5:04:37. Across the line at 12:28:50. A new PR by over 27 minutes. As I crossed the line, Alissa with WTC pushed Penny through the crowd to give me my finisher’s medal. What an amazing finish to a fantastic race.
Lead woman on the course
Second place woman on the course
The finish line is just around the corner
Comments
Great report and awesome 27 minute PR! Liked your bike comment where it seemed just too easy - I agree!
Also thanks for all your hard work making the EN weekend experience world class.
tom
John, great race and report. In the report I saw FUN multiple times and good EN style execution , yes to a PR!!!!