Ironman Texas Take Two

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After the race before the medical tent!

Ironman Texas Take Two
Saturday the 19th of May I did Ironman Texas for the second year in a row.  I guess if you can have a favorite Ironman this is mine.  This year the wind was more of a factor on the second half of the bike course.  Last year I don’t remember much wind at all.  Even with the stronger wind I improved my bike time by about 5 minutes.  You would think this is great however it showed on my run.  I was much slower on the run finishing overall about 5 minutes slower than last year.  Ironman is a funny thing because I always say I don’t want to do it again. But once it has you in its grips it won’t let you go. I don’t know why.  I keep coming back to it over and over again.  I currently don’t want to do another one but I have said this many times before. 
During the months of training for an Ironman you test yourself to your limits.  Your life becomes training, eating, sleeping; oh and I forgot work. Most of us have to carry on a 40 or more hour work week in addition to 20 hours a week of training.  It consumes your life.  But I don’t understand why it is so hard to stay away.  I keep coming back for more torture. It really is a rush when you finish the Ironman.  The interesting thing is that I have felt this rush at the finish for all of the Ironman previous to this one. When I finished this one I was glad I was done but didn’t feel the exuberance that I have felt in previous events.  Has it worn off?  Will this really be my last?  My boyfriend did his first Ironman with me and he did awesome finishing right behind me. I was happier for his finishing time and his accomplishment.  He is pumped and I fully expect him to do another.  Maybe I will be his cheerleader for that one! 
My next race is Alcatraz in a few weeks.  After each Ironman I have no desire to ever get on my bike again.  I enjoy running and swimming….not so much biking.  In fact I may not even get on my bike before Alcatraz.
After Alcatraz I don’t have any events planned until Worlds 70.3 on September 9th in Las Vegas. I am looking forward to this race. After training for an Ironman the training will be a piece of cake. But I will probably need to ride my bike a little bitJ

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