Athlete Race Recap: Ironman Tulsa
Next Level Athlete, Michael Hicks, coached by Coach Todd Judice, provides his race recap for his first full Ironman at Ironman Tulsa.
Big thanks to Coach Todd for getting me physically and mentally ready to take on Ironman Tulsa. Thanks to Jose’, Stacy, Phil, and Michelle who provided plenty of positive energy and support leading up to the event.
IM Tulsa Race Report:
Race morning went as planned until we lined up for the swim start. That’s when the announcement was made that the swim was changed from one long lap to two laps. This was done to avoid the waves and wind that had crept up on the far north end of the original course. It made sense to me as I had done a practice swim on the north end the day before and it was rough. I thoroughly enjoyed the swim. The water felt great and I kept moving and sighted well. I didn’t look at my watch (and had alerts turned off) so I was a little disappointed when I jogged up the ramp at the swim exit, glanced at a clock, and estimated it had taken me more than 1:35 (I was expecting about 1:30). But hey, I still felt great and survived what I thought would be the hardest part of the race for me. Coach Todd’s workouts paid off!
The bike course had 5,000’ of climbing with 15 or so climbs of 5-15 minutes where I couldn’t maintain 90 rpm cadence in the lowest gear and my power was >2X my target. I knew that wasn’t ideal so I spent a good portion of the rest of the ride managing my power trying to save my legs for the run. I had never been on a bike more than 60 miles before working with Coach Todd and I had done just about all my rides on the river levee. Even with the climbs I was feeling really good. I can even say it was a little fun going down the hills and the scenery. I made one stop to exchange bottles but outside of that was able to keep moving. I hadn’t looked at a clock, timer, or speed on the bike and thought I was flying (turned out it was a 7:23 bike... if I had known that at the time, I probably would’ve been a little discouraged).
After a 5:00 transition I started my 21st Marathon. But as Coach Todd told me... this wasn’t going to be a “normal” marathon. I did a lot of work on the run with Todd, increasing cadence, intervals, etc. I was physically ready. However, the first 5 miles didn’t feel like the start of any marathon I’d ever run before. Although I listened to Coach Todd, I couldn’t comprehend what he was telling me. I increased my cadence to 180 and my power was on the number but I could not get into any kind of rhythm. Even though my run wasn’t going to plan I was still enjoying every second. Somewhere after mile 5 I started to walk/run and in doing that met some really great people. It was a long afternoon. The finish line came into view a little after dark at 9:20. There is nothing like that red carpet and hearing the words “You are an Ironman.”
I am very thankful that I was able to keep moving all day. I spent 10 minutes in T1, 1 minute stopped at bike special needs, and 5 minutes in T2. Outside of that I DID NOT STOP (we can debate later if that had a negative impact on my overall time). I had thoughts of completing this journey on my own before I met Coach Todd. However, after meeting Coach Todd and having him in my corner I can say that IF I had been able to finish (and that’s a big IF) I would not have enjoyed the day as much as I did. It was everything I thought it would be.
NOTE ON THAT SWIM: After seeing some friends who had come out to support me, and thanking them, it was back to the hotel. That’s where I learned that the revised swim course had been mis-measured and the swim course was close to 5,000 yards. I guess I would’ve been closer to 1:20 after all.