As we all know it’s been a very rocky 6 months for me, but to finally sort out my stomach issues and be back on top of the Podium at Ironman Texas it was a very emotional moment for me!
After my devastating DNF in the New Zealand Ironman I rallied together a great group of professionals to help me figure this problem out! One of the positives from all the DNF’s was that I was able to slowly eliminate various causes and eventually came to the conclusion that I was saturating my system with too much and the body started rejecting it! So throughout the last few months I essentially had to re training the way my body uses and requires fuel!
The effects were instant, and this new plan kick started my metabolism as I strung together 2 solid months of training! So by the time I arrived in Texas I was in good shape and quietly confident of putting together a good race, but also had my fingers crossed hoping that we were on the right track!
It was a pleasant surprise to check out the course and discover how picturesque it was, with the swim and run in the amazing Woodlands community and the bike on beautiful lush Texan farmland and through amazing State forests! They were also experiencing cooler than normal temps, with near perfect race day weather forecast in the early 80’s!
Race morning is always tough, especially after the standard 7 hours of looking at the hotel room ceiling, wishing your could sleep! The water was 71 degrees making it a wetsuit swim, much to the delight of most of the weaker swimmers. I got off to an average start slotting into 4th position, however by the time we got to the 1st turn buoy I had moved into 2nd. Unfortunately I just missed the feet of Brandon Marsh who proceeded to put a minute into us, but I knew it was going to be a long day and just to be patient!
I exited the water with a small group of 4 and we slowly got into our work on the bike. I felt comfortable but wasn’t too keen on dictating the pace this early on. Because we were so hesitant, we were picked up by Jordan Rapp who was obviously showing his cards early in the game, so it was time to starting riding! For the next 30miles (50km) Jordan set a strong pace, however I felt comfortable and still tried to remain patient! At around 70 miles we finally caught Marsh who was certainly riding a very controlled race, so I decided to stick with him as Rapp continued to push hard and slowly ride away! Honestly, I never felt fantastic the whole ride but I felt within myself and did my best to race smart.
By the end of the 112 mile ride we had lost close to 4 minutes on Rapp, however I knew Rapp wasn’t my biggest threat and could easily run him down. My biggest threat was going to be myself, running at a controlled pace and making sure fuel was going through my system! I felt strong heading out and the time checks were indicating that I was quickly closing in on Jordan and pulling away from the others. Sure enough just after the first lap of three I took the lead, now it was just a matter of counting down the miles and trying to hold it together! As each mile went by it hurt even more and more, as you dig deeper and deeper! I think I had blocked out the pain of my last Ironman, in fact there was a sign out there that said “Ironman, if it was easy it would be called your Mama!” Texan humor! Running through the crowds that lined the bars and restaurants on the water was pretty awesome however its didn’t mask the pain. Even with one mile to go and a 6 minute lead I couldn’t relax as serious cramps or even passing out could put you from hero to zero!
With the finishing line in sight I could finally show some emotional and enjoy the victory, crossing the line in 8:09:36! It certainly wasn’t a World beating performance, however I did what I needed to do to take the W, gain some valuable qualifying points for Kona and showed that I’m on the right track with my stomach and fitness!
As always thanks to my Sponsors, Friends and Family who make these moments possible. However, a special thank you to Stacey Sims from Osmo nutrition, Stuart Houltham, Larimore Cummings, Dr Glen Davies and Dr Chris Hanna who all played a part in solving this issue, it’s great to know a lot of people are there to help.
Once I’m able to move like a normal person again it will be an easy week of training and onwards and upwards to the Big island in October!