Background and pre-race:
Ironman Tulsa was my first early season full Ironman and first time navigating the logistics of a point to point race. Living in the weather-confused-Midwest, downsides to early season racing include reduced OWS and outdoor riding opportunities. Upsides are a race that starts and finishes during daylight and a nice summertime postrace recovery break; as an added bonus, I am not needing to schedule long training sessions into family summer vacations. IM Tulsa is not exactly considered a ‘vacation destination race,’ however that also meant nice hotel accommodations and quality dining that were very affordable and travel expenses were minimal as it is only a 5.5hr drive from my home in St. Louis. The run bag and bike drop off were required the day before the race and Ironman Tulsa offered free TBT bike delivery to your T1 rack. There was a mandatory shuttle ride (4:00am-6:00am) to the swim start which meant fueling needed to begin at 3:00am on race morning. Despite arriving to the IM village vicinity at 3:45am, I did not get parked until 4:15am due to traffic, road closures, and general parking lot chaos. Once I made it to the shuttle line with my bike & morning cloths bags, hydration/fuel, and swim gear, things went smoothly and I had plenty of time to get T1 set up and ready to swim.
Swim
As with other COVID races, the instructions were to wait in T1 by your bike until your predicted swim time is called and then go as a group to the start carrying your swim gear and morning clothing bag. I was very happy I wore my secondary tennis shoes as the 1.2mile walk to the swim start on flip-flops or barefoot in the dark would have been less than ideal for my feet. Water temp was 68 degrees and wetsuit legal. There were super friendly people at the morning clothing bag drop, around the swim start and everywhere in general. One major downside was that we were not allowed in the swim start area the days leading up to the race, and I could not view the course in its entirety. Also, they changed the shape of the swim course with no announcement. After ~500yd swimming I noticed a buoy that appeared out of line with the rest. It seemed as though half of the people were swimming on the right verses out of the way to the left. Fearing a DQ, I swam around to the left though it seemed longer. After the first official red turn buoys the sizes and colors of buoys was inconsistent (confusing!) and the finish was not visible until the final turn, ~500yd from the end. I would have benefitted greatly from viewing the entire swim course prior to being in the water during the race, but otherwise it was an uneventful swim.
Bike
In my opinion, the quality of the roads on the bike course was the greatest flaw in an otherwise excellent race. The first 15 miles consisted of treacherous, pothole laden roads with significant sections of downhill twisting mud slicks. Having driven the course prior to the race, I knew the roads were going to be sketchy up through mile 56. From mile 56-97 the quality improved greatly, unfortunately the last 15 miles was another conundrum of pothole and gravel obstacles. It rained most of the time on the bike which added to the stress and danger. The roads were completely littered with water bottles, bike parts, and many people with flats and mechanical issues. Thankfully, my training prepared me for the wind and hills (4,917ft elevation gain) however, the road quality issues (especially in the rain) were stressful. Hopefully Ironman will recognize this issue and route the future race course differently to include more distance on the better roads.
Run & Finish
Having survived the issues on the bike course, the run seemed glorious. Most of the distance was a 2 loop out and back on a lovely bike path along the riverway and Tulsa’s Gathering Place Park which included lots of pretty scenery with well-manicured pavement and genuinely happy cheering people. Aid stations were well run and stocked throughout the whole event. It was not hot but many people got sick during the run (suspicious of swim water quality issue?). The finish line was 0.7miles away from the IM Village and spectators were not allowed in the area unless they purchased a $600 VIP pass (I presume this will change when COVID restrictions are reduced). Apparently, the hot food was outstanding although there was none available when I finished. I did not feel like waiting around as I am never hungry after a race. I wanted to find my son and get back to the hotel to remove my muddy wet kit. Ironman Tulsa is a new race (really should be called IMOK!) and it was one of the first post-pandemic races. There were no AWA perks, no Tulsa swim cap, no poster, luggage tag or flag. The backpack is nice and I do like the finisher shirt, hat and medal. Very little event merchandise or next-morning finisher gear, which I found disappointing, but heard this is true of all post-COVID IM races right now. Ironman Tulsa is currently one of only two early season full Ironman races in the USA and I think it has the potential to be excellent if they address the road quality issues (and add more swag!).
All smiles after a successful race in tough conditions!