Not a Race Report

I have A LOT of catching up to do. There is so much to write/say about Ironman Texas, it will probably take me a month's worth of blog posts to get it all out. But there are a few things I need to get off my chest right away:

#1: I AM AN IRONMAN.
Actually, I feel like kind of a poser. Sure, I finished, but I have such mixed emotions about it. I went SO FREAKING SLOWLY to make sure I didn't overheat. I spun easy on the bike the WHOLE TIME and I walked about two thirds of the marathon. This is not what I had practiced, planned for, envisioned, or wanted. I feel so unfulfilled.

Yet, I'm extremely grateful that I generally felt well the entire race. So many people were puking, bonking, overheating, passing out - you name it. It was one of my main goals to do the race smartly, and I nailed it. I freaking nailed it. But I'm left wondering - could I have pushed harder on the bike and still finished strongly? Could I have run more and still felt well? I won't ever have answers to these questions.

#2: MY HUSBAND IS AWESOME.
After spending the last 5-6 months training and ignoring a lot of things at home (sorry about forgetting to pay the water bill in February...), it was MARVELOUS to spend 8 days with Jeff. The days leading up to race day were an emotional roller coaster, and he was my rock. He never complained, always said "yes" to my requests ("Will you just walk the mile and a half to the swim practice with me early in the morning, stand around holding my shit whilst I swim, then walk back with me?"), and kept me calm when I needed it most.

I am unbelievably glad we were able to experience IMTX week together.

I also want to mention he had a certain gleam in his eye. He mentioned several times how he kind of wished he were doing it, and maybe he'd do an Ironman one day. He always said he was kidding, but I saw something in there. (Yes, he is the same guy who, upon finishing the Charleston Sprint Tri, said, "Y'all can have this shit.")

I'm really looking forward to supporting him in his next endeavors. I have so much to give back. I love you, schmoops. <3

#3: I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT MY MOM.
This topic is really worthy of a full post, and I'll get to that one day. I just want to say that having my mom on my team was essential to my success, both in training and on race day. During low points on the run, when I was having one of those periods of feeling shitty, I talked to her in my head: "Mom, I'm doing everything we talked about. I'm hydrating properly (read: enough but not too much), I'm electrolyting the f*ck out of myself, I'm taking in fuel appropriately, my heartrate is low, I'm lucid, I'm not nauseated, I'm doing the best I can." And in my head, she would reply: "Jen, you can do it. You trained for this. You're strong and healthy. You can do it."

I know she was a nervous wreck about me doing an Ironman. When I first told her last summer that I had signed up to do Ironman Texas, her response (with huge eyes) was, "WHAT?!?! WHY???" As physical issues cropped up this spring (screw you, asthma), she was an integral part of my plan for treatment. She helped me research the meds I had to begin taking, and recommended I make adjustments with my electrolyte intake, because of the medication's effect on potassium. She came over to my house after the early March workout/electrolyte imbalance episode that instigated my two-week-long Ironman Freak-Out; she examined me, reassured me, and, yes, implored me to stop this craziness called Ironman training. Yet she still helped me as I continued, despite her own fears.

During long rides I did alone, I would text her periodically to let her know where I was and that I was okay. On one ride early in my training, she even drove out into the middle of nowhere to look for me and make sure I was okay. On the last long ride I did, just a few weeks ago, in the cold rain with a rubbing rear brake and my really bad attitude, she texted me encouragement: "You can do it. You're so close to your goal. Don't give up now," even though I know she was thinking, "Jen, you've already done so much. Do you really need to do this crazy race?"

Yeah, I did need to do it. Thanks, Mom, for all your help, your brains, your love, your strength. I love you. <3

#4: EVERYONE ON MY SUPPORT TEAM IS AMAZING.
Throughout training and race day, I always felt like I had a team of people sending me encouragement. Some were already Ironmen, some were accomplished athletes in other disciplines, some were friends, some were relatives, some were professionals who worked on me - my muscles, my joints, my lungs - some were fellow athletes training for IMTX whom I had never met but reached out to me on Facebook to give encouragement... There were so many people on my team.

During the swim, I thought about every one of you. I thanked you over and over with each stroke. For the entire race, I felt like we were out there together. In T2, when I decided I didn't really want to be an Ironman, and frankly, I didn't even want to hear that word ever again, it was the thought of everyone on my team that got me out of the changing tent and onto the course. With everything you have given me, I couldn't let you down.

Thank you for being there for me, with me, in my head and my heart. You guys are AWESOME.

#5: I MET THREE AND A HALF GOALS.
I had posted my 5 goals for this race, and noted that achieving the top three would constitute a 100%successful race. Here is the outcome:

Don't die. CHECK!

Finish. CHECK!

Don't shit or vomit on myself. CHECK! (Nor did I shit or vomit on anyone else! Bonus!)

Perform at the level of ability for which I trained.
This is where it gets muddy. I know, I understand, I accept that there are challenges in every Ironman race. But when you're training, you're always envisioning what you think you could do. What would my perfect race have looked like, time-wise?

I think I could have done this:
Swim: 1:40
Bike: 6:45
Run: 4:50
Transitions: 25 minutes
Total: 13:40

Instead, I did this:
Swim: 1:48 (Happy with this)
Bike: 7:34 (I stopped to pee every hour and fifteen minutes, plus stopped at most aid stations to get ice; I think my actual moving time was around 7 hours)
Run: 6:27 (As a runner, this is the part I'm struggling with the most. I could have run more. I chose to walk most of the second loop and talk to Dan from Canada, who was puking and couldn't keep any calories in. I enjoyed that lap. I'm struggling with the fact that I enjoyed it instead of pushing myself.)
Transitions: 47 minutes (Yes, you read that right. I spent 47 minutes sitting, dressing, resting, being confused, talking to others... It didn't seem like that long, but damn, this is AWFUL.)
Total: 16:37

Win. Well, not this time.

Now, I know the numbers don't tell the whole story. The story includes things like temps in the mid-90s, full sun, winds on the bike (which I'm used to and had planned for), polluted air (both from the haze of Houston and the smoke blowing in from Mexico) which jacked up my lungs a good bit, and a PMS headache for the entire day. But that's all part of doing an Ironman. There is no "perfect race" - only smart and strong performances. Mine was smart - but strong, I'm not so sure.

You know what they call the person who graduates from med school at the bottom of his class?
Doctor.

You know what they call the person who finishes an Ironman in 16:37?
Ironman.

I. AM. AN. IRONMAN.

What's the plan, Phil?

I need a plan.

My two-week break is almost over, and I have yet to choose a training plan for IMTX. I have narrowed it down to two plans: a free one from beginnertriathlete.com (we’ll call this one “Freebie from BT”), and a not-even-in-the same-zip-code-as-free one by David Glover on trainingpeaks.com (we’ll call this one “Expensivie from TP”).

I’ve made a list of pros and cons of each plan. It goes like this:

Freebie from BT:

·         Pro: It’s FREE.

·         Con: I can’t import it into my TP account; I can only print it out on paper. I’ll have to manually enter each workout into TP.

·         Pro: I used a BT plan to train for my first 70.3, and it got the job done. I stayed injury-free and finished my race in 6:10 – not bad for my first, I guess.

·         Con: While my free 70.3 plan from BT was sufficient, there were some vague workout descriptions, and I didn’t think its long bike segments were long enough (so I added to them, which ended up being a good call).

·         Pro: There is a huge support community on BT, so I can probably find others online doing the same plan at the same time for the same race.

·         Con: There is no coach to email if I have questions about the plan.

·         Pro/Con (I’m not sure): It’s a 20-week plan, so it starts Dec. 30^th.

Expensivie from TP:

·         Pro: It will automatically populate in my online TP account.

·         Con: It costs a good chunk of money.

·         Pro: I can email the coach with questions about the plan (this is not the same thing as having a coach).

·         Con: The support community on TP is nil.

·         Pro: It includes information on tri-specific strength training and has strength workouts included in the plan.

·         Pro: It has supplemental video clips. (I found this to be enjoyable and informative with the Dave Scott plan I did for Augusta 70.3.)

·         Pro/Con: There are two plans I could choose from: A 24-week plan (begins Dec. 2^nd) and an 18-week plan (begins mid-January; it costs a little less, but I’d have to make my own ramp-up plan for December.)

·         Pro: This plan is supposedly tailored for my particular race, with bike workouts that pertain to IMTX terrain (flat to gently rolling hills).

Of course, no matter which one I choose, I still have to make my own plan for November. I know what some of you are thinking: This is the off season. You don’t need a plan. Do other stuff. Do what you feel like. But I know myself, and if I don’t have a plan and a goal, I won’t do ANYTHING. And while two weeks off is good, six weeks off is not. So even if I’m hula-hooping five hours a week, I need to plan where and when to do it.

If you have trained for an Ironman without a coach, I would love your input: What plan did you use? How many hours were your average and peak weeks? Did your plan include recovery weeks, and how often? What was your longest ride? What was your longest run? Did you feel adequately prepared? Would you recommend your plan?

A First Time for Everything

It's time. I can't avoid it any more. I knew I had to do it, and I put it off as long as I could. No, I'm not talking about shaving my legs.

I'm starting a blog.

Why now? Well, there are many reasons, but the top ten five three reasons go something like this:

3) I'm halfway through my annual two-week break from training and exercise. No biking plus no running equals more time and energy. Why not start a blog?

2) Everyone else seems to be doing it, so it must be fun. And I haven't heard of anyone tweaking their knee or getting overheated doing it, so it must be safe. And it doesn't involve doing laundry or cleaning anything (except maybe cleaning up my language), which means I'm not allergic to it.

1) I've committed to doing something really big next year: I signed up to race Ironman Texas. This is not something I do every day, or every month, or even every year; as a matter of fact, this will be my first full Ironman. It will be my only Ironman for a long, long time - maybe EVER. So, it seems worthy of being chronicled.

Besides, how hard could it be?