I had upped my volume drastically from 2011 and nailed every workout and all the key sessions that were called for. I was rested, ready, and eager to erase the time I put up at IMLP, which by my account was a great learning experience but no where near what I thought I was capable of. So going into this race the training hours and paces I had done in training had suggested a 1:24 swim, 5:33 bike, and a 3:43 marathon. Throw in 5 to 10 minutes for transitions and I was looking at a 10:48 overall time. This became my number. I wrote it on all my water bottles and hung it where I could see it for every basement session I did. It was a not a magical number and meant nothing to anyone else but me. What was special about it, was that it was real. Not some magical number that was too far out of reach. It was based on the training, the hours spent swimming, biking, and running. If I didn't hit those numbers then I could not blame the plan, I could only blame myself or worse, something out of my control.
Pre-Race: Considering it was my first time going to Mexico and never having done a race where I had to fly, it went very smooth. I pride myself on being adaptable to different situations, something that the Army hammered home, one drill sergeant after another (ummm that doesn't sound right does it?). Also a huge burden was taken away by shipping my bike with Tribike Transport.
Swim: Every race report I have read since the race (except Becky's) says that the swim was rough. I have yet to swim with 2700 people and experience calm waters. However considering most people have said that there swims were 5 to 10 minutes slow and 300+ people were pulled from the water I will take my time. Lots to work on for me as a swimmer but a non-wetsuit swim in rough waters with a current and I will take my time as a big improvement. I experienced none of the stomach issues I had in Lake Placid although I did trust a fart about a hour in and managed to keep it dry.
Time: 1:21:53 126th AG 727 OA
Bike: This is where I knew I had done the most training and my strength on the bike and the ability to stay aero for 5+ hours is key. The bike is 3 loops and within those 3 loops there are 3 distinct sections. Headwind, crosswind, and tailwind. So on every loop I would ride 23mph with the tailwind, 20mph with the crosswind, and 17mph with the headwind. All in all it averaged out to a 20.36mph average for the 112 miles. Again I tailored my training to be uncomfortable for the whole ride and knew that there would be no chance to sit up and spin if I wanted to hit my target time. So I rode it exactly the same for all 3 loops and was quite happy with the result. I will say this race is heavy on drafting and as someone who prides myself on playing by the rules it did get frustrating. I rode my ass off only to have large packs come by me quite easily and then decide to ease up and I just couldn't get around them. There were only two officials I could see and they seemed to be enjoying their scooter rides more than actually doing their jobs. All and all I don't think it hurt my overall time but I did consider a flying arm bar or two. The only thing that kept me from doing it was when in Mexico you never quite know who is a Lucha Libra. The last thing I need is a dnf from someone dropping a elbow on me from the top tube.
Time: 5:30:00 55th AG 292 OA
Run: This is where every good race is made. Their is no such thing as a great bike and a bad run. That simply means you over road the bike and payed for it on the run. So knowing I had kept a steady heart rate and rode what I was capable of I had no fear heading out on to the run course. I have a tendency to go out too hard and fade late but I knew that here, unlike Lake Placid I was strong enough to go faster, longer, harder (only at Ironman, not at home). So I headed out of the transition tent and just ran. I stopped looking at the watch and just did what I do best. I shut my mind off, zoned out and kept my feet moving. Having run 3 ultra marathons you become a master of not over thinking the run. It is such a simple task, one foot in front of the other, repeat and hope that it looks fairly decent for photo ops. It hurts, it's uncomfortable but is not nothing other than grit and balls for 26.2 miles. I took in the right amount of calories and hit all the Gatorade stops I could. Finally at mile 16 I made the switch to Pepsi (odd that the Mexicans don't like COKE) and never looked back. The only problem with this strategy was that they didn't let the soda go flat so it felt like I was drinking pop rocks, however on the bright side I got a little gas powered for a few stops. The down side was what felt like a cross between a Mariachi guy stabbing me repeatedly in the rib cage and smuggling heroin in places we don't talk about at parties. This made for a fun few miles until I passed the heroin and Pancho went back to serenading the ladies. All and all I was happy with my "run scared" strategy and think that had I gone out more conservatively It would not have resulted in a better time.
Time: 3:51:44 39th AG 218 OA
Overall: The crowds here are really great and the whole island gets behind the income, ummm I mean the race and what it brings to the island. They really do embrace the race and although I probably would not go back to race it again, it is a race worth putting on the IM bucket list. So long story short there was no magic on the day but instead a affirmation that hard work pays off. I was only 3 mins off my goal time and in a race of this length I am pretty proud of that. Was it the perfect race? by no means, but it was the race I was capable of and sometimes that can be just as good.
Time: 10:51:32 218th out of 2664 athletes
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