We arrived in Houston on Friday and went straight to Galveston to pick up our packets. Pickup was a really quick 30 minutes. We attended one of the meetings, then walked around to look what the vendors had to offer. I spotted the Cryotherapy tent and got a killer deal because they were setting up. I love the cryogenic and if you haven't done it you really need to try it. All I can explain is it feels like the soreness is being pulled out of your bones.
Friday night, we drove back to Houston to stay with family and the main reason we choose Galveston. It was incredible to have family & friends there to cheer us. Saturday We checked into our hotel, we stayed at the Inn@ the Waterpark. Walking distance to Moody Gardens. Checking in our bikes was like walking into a candy store for Danny. Me, I really just wanted to get it done. I found my spot and racked my bike. I tried to find a marker to remember where Ursula was to find her in the morning. I briefly talked to a few ladies around me and realized a few lived close to the dfw area. When we got done with the bikes we went to walk to the swim start. The buoys were not out yet so I really could not tell where I was going to be swimming. I was really calm and was not having the butterflies like I thought I would at this point. I had come to the conclusion that I could only do my best at this point and embrace the training.
We had dinner and was in bed by 8:30pm. Right before bed, we set all our gear out. I went through it a few times and was done. I wasn't going to stress over transition. I tried to keep it really simple. I had Mary's words of wisdom ringing in my ear. I was not going to be a transition hog. That was that, I slept so sound and I got a really good night's sleep, which was so surprising.
I have several text messages and phone calls wishing us the best. This type of encouragement keep me going. Love it!
Sunday: We got up close to 4:45 am and I had a cup of coffee, half a bagel & half a banana. I really didn't feel like eating. We walked to the transition with a small crowd. Watching the rows of vehicles coming into the park at 5am was starting to make things very real. This was really going to happen. I was about to do a 70.3 ironman.
I found my bike and used the small towel we got at packet pick up. I set everything up that I needed.
Bike: helmet, glasses, shoes, socks, crustable, gels, sunscreen, water
Run: shoes, belt, visor
I placed a flowered beach towel over my bike so I could spot it in the rows of never ending bikes. This would also be used to wipe my face once I came out of the water.
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The swim this morning changed to a wetsuit optional race. I had to make a decision what to do and choose to go with my wave or wear the wetsuit and go at the end. I'm glad I choose not wet suit because 400 people went with the penalty and wore a wetsuit. Wetsuits go at the end and from what I heard was a bit of chaos.
I checked my Garmin once I got home and it recorded a 1.34 miles on the swim. I need to get better at swimming in a straight line. At one point, I was halfway way to the coast guard boat. I had salt water in my eyes and couldn't see in the swim. I knew I couldn't mess with my goggles are that would be worst. I used my legs way too much in the swim. I just keep moving.
On the bike it rained and sleeted for the first half of the bike and the wind coming back was the hardest. Humidity is no joke. I am really happy with my bike time. My great accomplishment was I took a Gatorade from a water station on the bike and didn't fall over. For some this is easy, for me this is another story. I just knew I would fall over.
I kept pedaling. I was not going to get off the bike because I knew if I did I may not get back on. Many people were drafting in groups of 4-5 riders. No official was saying anything about the drafting. A few times I thought I had a flat, but told myself "ride that baby till you reach the rim" I was not stopping. I didn't, but your mind tells you all kinds of funny stuff on that bike. Once I got done with the bike, I just didn't have it in me to run much. Once I got off the bike I was pretty much done, but was going to try.
I had to stop at an aid station because of chaffing on a leg and I peed once. I didn't try to take those spandex off just poured water on me and keep moving. There are things you do with triathlon that I never thought I could have done 6 months ago. It seems like every time I came around the loop the announcement was "here comes Pamela Mears" I was so confused like I missed the counts and did the loop one too many times.
I checked my Garmin once I got home and it recorded a 1.34 miles on the swim. I need to get better at swimming in a straight line. At one point, I was halfway way to the coast guard boat. I had salt water in my eyes and couldn't see in the swim. I knew I couldn't mess with my goggles are that would be worst. I used my legs way too much in the swim. I just keep moving.
On the bike it rained and sleeted for the first half of the bike and the wind coming back was the hardest. Humidity is no joke. I am really happy with my bike time. My great accomplishment was I took a Gatorade from a water station on the bike and didn't fall over. For some this is easy, for me this is another story. I just knew I would fall over.
I kept pedaling. I was not going to get off the bike because I knew if I did I may not get back on. Many people were drafting in groups of 4-5 riders. No official was saying anything about the drafting. A few times I thought I had a flat, but told myself "ride that baby till you reach the rim" I was not stopping. I didn't, but your mind tells you all kinds of funny stuff on that bike. Once I got done with the bike, I just didn't have it in me to run much. Once I got off the bike I was pretty much done, but was going to try.
I had to stop at an aid station because of chaffing on a leg and I peed once. I didn't try to take those spandex off just poured water on me and keep moving. There are things you do with triathlon that I never thought I could have done 6 months ago. It seems like every time I came around the loop the announcement was "here comes Pamela Mears" I was so confused like I missed the counts and did the loop one too many times.
I did the whole thing, came across the finish line. Even with a DNF because I finished less than 10 min late. I'm pretty proud of sticking it out for my first 70.3. One of the best feelings was having my coach hug me and tell me I did a good job. Not really sure why Coach Mike's acceptance is so important to me but it is. I just want to do better when I’m around him. Coach Mike does not do whining and with that Danny has started to ignore my daily complaining. Oh Well the dogs still love me. I don't get a lot of feed back just a lot of tough love from Coach. I'm good, maybe because of that is the reason I Tri. He promised me a hug if I finished and I was NOT going to stop till I crossed that finish line.
So I now know I can do it and what to work on. Git'er done!
Thank you for all the team support. I saw everyone along my path cheering me on and asking how I was doing. I love my IronTex family. Having my sister, brother-in-love, dad and best friends from high school was amazing. We even had two dogs cheering us on the run. Knowing that I had family in North Carolina, Arizona and Houston watching online was so unreal that I felt like I was in a dream. The support of my crazy running group and BFF Tiffany, who keep everyone across the country updated. This is why I do what I do. That is going to be my next blog. WHY DO I TRI…..
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