As I mentioned in my previous post, I signed up for IRONMAN 70.3 Texas at the last minute – basically a few days before the event! I hadn’t even seen weather conditions for the race when I signed up, and in my mind I was signing up to simply have a long and fun training day in a race setting. Boy was the race challenging, but amazing.
The Day Before The Race
We travelled to Galveston, Texas the day before the race and arrived just in time for athlete check-in, packet pickup, and bike drop-off. The entire drive to the coast was drenched with nonstop pouring rain and cold wind hitting from everywhere. I had both trained and raced in similar conditions before. So while nervous, I was not too anxious about the weather. I also had some hope in the back of my mind that the rain would ease in time for the race. Hopefully the cold would ease too!
We arrived at the race venue to more downpours but no cold front yet. The rain simply didn’t stop! We checked in without issues, dropped off the bike, and basically rested and carb-loaded through the rest of the day.
The Morning Of The Race – What weather!
The race was scheduled to start at 6:45AM, so I woke up at around 4:00AM to begin my pre race ritual. I glanced outside the hotel window and noticed it was both super cold, and still pouring rain! Cold AND rain? Goodness, not at all my ideal conditions. Nervousness was really starting to creep in!
I began to assimilate the fact that I would be swimming in cold weather with heavy winds and rain – not my first situation like this but nonetheless not too exciting. I had swam the Brazos River in Waco for my first IRONMAN 70.3 in very similar conditions (46ish Fahrenheit/6-7 Celsius the morning of, minus pouring rain), so I figured it would be similar. Before walking to transition I had a cup of coffee, a sandwich, one zebra cake, one banana, and 22 oz of electrolytes. I felt great and was awake by the time I was organizing my gear one last time.
Shortly after 5:00AM I got the notification that transition had opened. Game-time. I started preparing my transition bags and finalizing nutrition I’d be taking, when I got an additional second notification – IRONMAN 70.3 TEXAS IMPORTANT SWIM UPDATE. In short, the swim had been cancelled. Ugh, no! I’m not going to lie, even though I wasn’t super enthusiastic about cold, rainy, windy saltwater swimming, I was bummed it wasn’t happening.
Swim Cancelled, But Race Still On
The IRONMAN 70.3 Texas team cited athlete safety as one of the main reasons for cancellation, and if that was the case, then I accepted it as a decision for the best. I silently thanked the organizers for thinking of us and our safety, knowing it was likely not an easy decision for them to make. That being said, once I confirmed there wouldn’t be any swimming that morning, it made planning for the transition and the other two disciplines (at least mentally) way easier!
Walking To Transition Through Intense Rain
The walk to transition felt like I was walking through a hurricane! Winds were gusting from everywhere, rain was pouring down, and it was COLD. Temperatures read 13 celsius with a feeling of 6 celsius and winds were blowing in the 40-45 kilometer per hour range. Unreal! In any case, the bike and half-marathon were still on. No time to dwell on weather and things outside my control, only time to focus on what’s in front of us.
In transition I talked to other athletes and found out many had decided not to race when the announcement for the swim cancellation came through. That left me quite a bit anxious, thinking “should I bow out? Are conditions too bad?”. Ultimately though my main goal for this race was for it to be a training day in race conditions with specific pace and nutrition goals. I decided I’d still race, even if slower than I had planned. I’d just have to be extra mindful of wet roads and turns.
Transition Setup
Now that I had decided to race, I began my transition ritual. The first thing I did was set up my transition bag area. I laid out a towel, and unpacked my gear – bike equipment first, run second. I made sure to properly inflate my tires as cold weather will make them loose PSI overnight. I’m glad I did as they were much lower than the day before. I ate my last banana (of two) and finished drinking my energy drink, and then began my stretching routine..
I was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt (that in hindsight, I’m so glad I carried with me) and a rain jacket for the bike. At the time I was undecided on taking either one or both layers with me. A cold gust of wind made the decision easy – a definitive yes – I would be taking both layers. Better to be warm, and remove a layer, than be freezing for the next 56 miles and 3.5 hours!
The Race – Gnarly Winds, But At Least No Pouring Rain!
Swim
With the swim cancelled I had some energy and adrenaline in store for the bike and run. Nothing happened with this discipline so I don’t have much to recap here! If anything, I’ll mention that I was ready with my wetsuit, goggles, and swim cap just in case something happened and the swim was back on.
Bike
The bike course was an out and back course along coastal highway. I had read prior to the race that winds were typically strong during this portion, and so was already expecting it to be very windy.
The ride had a time trial start, with the lowest bib numbers riding out first. I was bib 1656 of maybe 1750 so I for sure had at least an hour to wait in transition before my bike ride started. The situation left me both thankful and anxious. Thankful because I had an entire hour to wait for the weather to hopefully get better, anxious because I would rather have been out there riding my bike already!
Corrals were called one by one until mine was next. I walked to the mount line, hopped on my bike, and gleefully realized the rain had stopped for a bit! Some sunshine had even peeked through thick cloud cover and I was very hopeful for the possibility of better conditions. The only thing that hadn’t stopped was the cold, gusting wind. I wanted to keep a pace of 16-17 mph if possible, but I was well aware of the impact wind could and likely would have on my ride. I also know that I’m not the best with cold, so my nutrition would absolutely be impacted (meaning I’d have to eat more calories to account for cold weather).
First Miles, Feeling Great
I began the ride and kept my power output at a steady 150 watts while staying in Zone 2. This is where all my long Z2 indoor training rides shined, as I felt 150 watts was definitely doable while also keeping a lower and steady heart rate. The wind was blowing from everywhere without any rhyme or reason. Front, back, side to side, the bike was difficult to handle and I kept being pushed off to the side due to crosswind gusts. Thankfully I never ran into other athletes or their bikes! The roads were wet with some puddly patches, so I was trying to be extra aware of where my bike went.
I arrived at the first aid station at mile 15 feeling physically fantastic. Mentally though I was a bit exasperated by the wind! I stopped for a quick restroom and refueling break and took the time to eat a Clif Bar and top off my sodium/carb mix bottle. I jetted out of the aid station feeling great, and pushed through to the turnaround and second aid station at mile 28-ish.
Miles 15-29, Still Going Strong
Through this segment between miles 15-29 I was keeping a solid 16 miles per hour with wind gusts still blowing from everywhere. I was proud of my pace and power output. It had definitely improved from my previous half-IRONMAN. There was a part where we raced across a channel on a completely open bridge. The wind here was brutal. Just brutal! Pushed through though as I knew I was still under the halfway point. Go go go!
I stopped at the second aid station at around mile 28-29 for a quick restroom and food refuel break. At this point I had eaten one pack of Clif Blok gummies (sour apple, such a great flavor!) and a regular Clif Bar. I ate another Clif Bar while stretching and prepared my next pack of Clif Blok gummies for the second half of the ride.
Last Third, 18 Miles To Go (But The Wind Is Getting Into My Head!)!
I weighed the option but ultimately didn’t stop at the third aid station – at around mile 43-ish I think – as I just wanted to push through and be done with the bike already. The cold wind was slowly but surely starting to get to me. It was demoralizing to see my pace drop off a cliff when the wind would pick up, but I figured I was very close to the run that I just needed to push through. I ensured I didn’t pedal too much over 150 watts (It’s what broke me during my first IRONMAN 70.3) even though there were parts where I inadvertently clocked much higher power output than that.
The last 18-20 miles were brutal, with most of them being or at least feeling like I was riding directly into headwind. The direct headwind was a huge mental barrier I knew I needed to overcome. I wanted to finish the bike strong enough to then begin the half-marathon run with high motivation and in good spirits. I got into a good rhythm and just pedaled forward, even passing quite a few athletes on the bike that I had noticed pass me earlier. Typically, I’d be on the other side of that situation with riders passing me on the bike all the time. It was a good morale boost as I knew my pacing and nutrition plans were both working!
I rode the last 5 miles as fast as possible while staying within my power output targets (150w). The last mile I focused on high cadence as I wanted to have loose legs for the run. I hit the dismount line and saw I had kept an almost exact pacing plan throughout the entire ride, then jumped for joy when I realized I had done all that under brutal conditions!
I ran into transition, packed my gear into my helmet, unpacked my running gear, and took off like a jet on a runway towards the run start arch.
Running
The run course was three laps in and around the host resort grounds. In truth, I wasn’t a big fan of the run, given how many twists and turns and narrow paths it had, but hey it wasn’t raining, and the wind wasn’t too cold anymore.
The run itself felt great physically and mentally. I started with an 8:30/mi pace, knowing that while maybe not personally sustainable for a half-marathon after a long bike ride, it would definitely push me through the first 6 miles quickly. I wasn’t too worried about keeping a fast pace during the run as much as I was about not injuring my foot again (had just come off a few weeks of R&R for the right foot). The first lap flew by. Before I knew it I was four miles in and starting my second lap.
I really want to give a huge shoutout to all the spectators on course – to say that the spectator support throughout the run was SO AWESOME would be an understatement! Spectators were cheering everywhere, including those with the classic epically funny posters that I couldn’t help burst out laughing at.
The second lap felt very quick too. I had slowed my pace to about 9:35/mi but again wasn’t too worried. I stopped a couple of times to say hello to and hug my family cheering me on. What a wonderful feeling, knowing they’re there for you and you only, their only goal being to help you cross the finish line. I can’t overstate how amazing it always is to see my family out on the course.
The third lap arrived quickly. I was starting to feel the lack of salt/sodium and so I devoured a cup of salty potato chips that I chased down with two cups of Mortal Hydration electrolytes. I pushed through keeping a 9:40/mi pace and began to think about the finish line.
Lately, I’ve let myself daydream of how I would cross finish lines at my personal major events. Would I jump, would I run through, walk with my hands in the air, cry out of happiness? I decided I would jump for joy on this one.
The IRONMAN Red Carpet
I crossed the finish line 5:46:27 minutes after starting my bike ride. I was ecstatic. I was so close to my goal pace of almost 16mph under these brutal conditions, and kept a 9:45/mi pace on the run. If I had used the same swim time from Waco 70.3 as a baseline for this one, I would have shaved off a bit over 30 minutes from my overall time! All in all, a fantastic personal result!
I met my goals of testing a race pace, nutrition and hydration plan, and shaving off at least 15 minutes from my first IRONMAN 70.3 time. It was a fantastic race, even with the tough starting conditions.
What’s Next?!
IRONMAN TEXAS is what’s next! In 17 days to be exact!!
IRONMAN Texas will be my second full-distance triathlon. It’s an event I learned not to underestimate the last time I raced it! I know now from experience that a full distance triathlon is not twice as hard – it’s actually exponentially more difficult than a half-distance race, so I’m definitely preparing mentally for it. Physically, I feel ready. I have a nutrition and pacing plan in place, I am ready for the heat and humidity, and incredibly excited about completing my second full distance IRONMAN.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, tips, tricks, or general comments about either IRONMAN 70.3 Texas, the upcoming IRONMAN Texas race, or triathlon in general!
As always, I hope this helps you in your own triathlon journey, and thank you so much for being here and reading. I truly appreciate it!
fortitudine vincimus
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