Ironman Texas Wrap-up

Strangely, writing this final report to wrap-up some items feels bittersweet. For almost a year, Ironman Texas was my one real goal race where everything else was merely a part of building towards this race. I certainly leave this experience better off because of it-- I have made some great new friends and gotten to know other friends better, I have improved my fitness by any standard I can think of, I pursued and achieved a difficult goal and (regadless of whether it was my first or only Ironman race--hopefully first of several/many) I had the experience of a lifetime throughout the process.

What Did I Do Right?
1. I did the training. I was prepared for this race and told myself--and others--that I was only coming off the race course one of two ways: running across the finish line or being dragged off by events entirely beyond my control. I am glad to say that it was by crossing the finish line!
2. I entered the day with a plan and followed it for the most part. Things went well where I followed my plan and I spent most of the day on or ahead of schedule with my plan. Where I went off plan...well, that is below this section.
3. I picked a great race for my first Ironman experience. Sure the weather was tough, but I always knew that was a likelihood. By my doing a local event, I found that I had friends all over the place. It was definitely a great motivator seeing them out there along the course and at aid stations. When I crossed the aid stations that had a volunteer that I knew, one of them would often walk with me for a moment to make sure I had everything I needed and grab it for me if I did not. The other benefit of a local event was being able to stay at home and save money on not having travel costs.
4. I put Body Glide into every transition and special needs bag. By doing this I had access to Body Glide at several points during the race and was able to prevent additional chaffing issues when they started in a location where I had not previously chaffed--and while chaffing was never an issue during my training, it became one during the race....fortunately, a problem that was marginalized because of my preparation.

What Would I Do Different Next Time?
Not much, I had a good plan and had problems with it's execution, so I think I would largely work on improving those things for next time. As far as specifics:
1. Don't deviate on the nutrition plan! I made one minor change that I thought was inconsequential, but it looks like it could have been the cause of my upset stomach. In brief, I had trained to sip one aero bottle (mounted to the front of the bike) with a solution of electrolytes over the entire ride while also taking in one bottle of water plus other nutrition each hour. What I decided to do at almost the last minute for convenience was to put drink each hourly water bottle through the aero bottle and dissolve the electrolyte tablets for an hour at a time. What I did not consider was that the electrolyte solution was a moderate acidic solution and I spent 7 hours consuming this solution where I had been used to my primary method of fueling being near a neutral pH.
2. I found that my wet feet during the bike ride were uncomfortable at times and I wished that I had an extra pair of socks to change into in the second half of the bike ride. Other than feeling uncomfortable, I don't see that this cost me anytime. I have some friends who ride without socks and that may be a potential solution as well.
3. Swim without the tri top on if I wear the two piece tri suit in the future. For some reason the tri top was chaffing around the front of my shoulders and had not done this before. The time saved by not having to put on the top in transition was minimal and I could have saved myself some minor discomfort issues early in the race.

All in all, the positives far outweighed the negatives in my race experience and I accomplished the goals I set forth for myself. I am looking forward to my next Ironman race experience even though I have not yet decided where and when it will be. A return entry to IM Texas is not likely due to other races already on my schedule, so perhaps another 2012 PIM race location or even the 2013 IM Texas event will be selected.
Strangely, writing this final report to wrap-up some items feels bittersweet. For almost a year, Ironman Teaxs was my one real goal race where everything else was merely a part of building towards this race. I certainly leave this experience better off because of it-- I have made some great new friends and gotten to know other friends better, I have improved my fitness by any standard I can think of, I pursued and achieved a difficult goal and (regadless of whether it was my first or only Ironman race--hopefully first of several/many) I had the experience of a lifetime throughout the process.

What Did I Do Right?
1. I did the training. I was prepared for this race and told myself--and others--that I was only coming off the race course: running across the finish line or being dragged off by events entirely beyond my control. I am glad to say that it was by crossing the finish line!
2. I entered the day with a plan and followed it for the most part. Things went well where I followed my plan and I spent most of the day on or ahead of schedule with my plan. Where I went off plan...well, that is below this section.
3. I picked a great race for my first Ironman experience. Sure the weather was tough, but I always knew that was a likelihood. By my doing a local event, I found that I had friends all over the place. It was definitely a great motivator seeing them out there along the course and at aid stations. When I crossed the aid stations that had a volunteer that I knew, one of them would often walk with me for a moment to make sure I had everything I needed and grab it for me if I did not. The other benefit of a local event was being able to stay at home and save money on not having travel costs.
4. I put Body Glide into very transition and special needs bag. By doing this I had access to Body Glide at several points during the race and was able to prevent additional chaffing issues when they started in a location where I had not previously chaffed.

What Would I Do Different Next Time?
Not much, I had a good plan and had problems with it's execution, so I think I would largely work on improving those things for next time. As far as specifics,:
1. Don't deviate on the nutrition plan! I made one minor changes that I thought was inconsequential, but it looks like it could have been the cause of my upset stomach. In brief, I had trained to sip one aero bottle (mounted to the front of the bike) with a solution of electrolytes over the entire ride while also taking in one bottle of water plus other nutrition each hour. What I decided to do late for convenience was to put drink each hourly water bottle through the aero bottle and dissolve the electrolyte an hour at a time. What I did not consider was that the electrolyte solution was a moderate acidic solution and I spent 7 hours consuming this solution where I had been used to my primary method of fueling being near a neutral pH.
2. I found that my wet feet during the bike ride were uncomfortable at times and I wished that I had an extra pair of socks to change into in the second half of the bike ride. Other than feeling uncomfortable, I don't see that this cost me anytime. I have some friends who ride without socks and that may be a potential solution as well.
3. Swim without the tri top on if I wear the two piece tri suit in the future. For some reason the tri top was chaffing around the front of my shoulders and had not done this before. The time saved by not having to put on the top in transition was minimal and I could have saved myself some minor discomfort issues early in the race.

All in all, the positives far outweighed the negatives in my race experience and I accomplished the goals I set forth for myself. I am looking forward to my next Ironman race experience even though I have not yet decided where and when it will be. A return entry to IM Texas is not likely due to other races already on my schedule, so perhaps another 2012 IM race location or even the 2013 IM Texas event will be selected.