Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

I was one of the last people in the water. I think I jumped in just before 7:45. Originally I was worried I wouldn't be able to see too well with my tinted goggles but by the time I was in the water it was pretty bright out. Right away I settled into a nice rhythm and looked for someone to draft off of. However, every pair of feet I found was swimming a slower pace then I wanted to go. Gave up on the idea of drafting and just concentrated on keeping a nice smooth rhythm. Water started to get a little choppier once in the main channel. I had some contact with other swimmers but not near as bad as some of the races I have done. For the most part I felt I had a lot of space. I did get some bad cramps in my left calf toward the end of the swim. It stayed tight until about 30 miles into the bike.

I didn't like starting so far back but I hate standing in line even more. If I knew how late I would have gotten into the water I would have taken my time getting to the start, maybe sleep in a bit longer. Oh yeah, don't forget to put glide on my neck. Always do with a wetsuit but realized a speed suit can give you a nice "kiss" on your neck as well.

Really took my time in transition. Changed from suit to bike shorts and jersey. Since this was my first Ironman I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything and I made sure I had put glide in all the right places. I did lose all of my sport beans, Tylenol, Salt Tabs, and Imodium AD. They fell out of my pocket when I was running to the mount line.

Make sure I don't lose anything out of my pockets. Maybe try to go a little faster but my goal was to finish, so I was ok with taking my time.

My plan was to start very slow on the bike and then increase speed later if I could. It was tough to stick with this because I was getting passed so often it made me want to speed up. But I stayed slow and I think this saved me for later in the day. The course was amazing, very fun to ride, smooth roads and beautiful scenery. I picked up special needs bag during my first lap because I needed salt tabs and tylenol, which had fallen out of my pocket during transition. Biggest problem with this was now I had too much of everything. My back pockets were stuffed with powerbars, gels, salt tabs, and an extra tube and co2. The original plan was to skip special needs if I didn't need anything but this early in the ride I didn't know what I would need later. Started to increase my speed as I started on my second lap. I was feeling great and everything I ate agreed with my stomach. Powerbars on the hour, gels on the half hour, bananas at each aid station, and sipping on water and gatorade throughout ride. One close call while passing special needs on my second lap. There was a van in front of me who moved to the left of the lane so he didn't hit bikers picking up their special needs bags. I passed him on the left but cars were coming from the other direction as well. Not sure how I made it through, but I could have touched both the car on my left and the van on my right with my elbows. Started to have a lot of knee pain around mile 68, just after the climb into La Grange. It hurt really bad especially when climbing and I had already taken my only 2 tylenol earlier in the ride. Stopped at an aid station around mile 75 to use the rest room and was given some advil by another racer. The pills saved the day, took enough of the pain away where I could increase my speed and finish the bike strong.

Maybe go out a little faster. I had no idea what to expect because I had not seen or ridden the course before. I wanted to save most of my energy for the hills.

Again, really took my time. Changed from cycling gear to running shorts and running top. Made sure to get glide everywhere it was needed. Changed watches so I could run with my Garmin 305. Had the volunteers put some more sunscreen on my neck. Used the rest room before heading out of transition.

Nothing really, I was planning on taking my time.

Felt great coming out of transition. Looked down at my Garmin a couple miles into the marathon to see I was running an 8:30/mile pace. I was fine with this but knew I still had a long way to go so I slowed down. Settled into a nice rhythm. I would jog from aid station to aid station. I allowed myself to walk as long as I had a cup in my hand. I used this strategy during my first marathon and it worked well for me. I was amazed at how great my stomach felt. I usually have cramping, bloating, and G.I. problems but not today. I took coke, gatorade, water, bananas, grapes, oranges, gels, a couple of cookies and a few pretzels. My stomach agreed with everything. I also took a salt tab every hour. Finished the first half in a time of 2:04. My original goal was to run a sub 5 hour marathon so unless something went really wrong I knew I would. Made a turn to start my second loop, very hard to do considering you just passed the finish line. I had goose bumps from hearing people finish but knew I still had one more lap to go. Started to get really tired around mile 20. I had been walking through the aid stations the whole marathon but now found it tougher to start running again. Started taking chicken broth along with whatever else I could grab at the aid stations. Pushed myself through miles 20-25. By far the toughest part of my day. As you hit downtown and get close to making a left to 4th street you forget/can't feel any of the pain. As I approached 4th street live I couldn't feel anything. It felt like I just floated toward the bright lights. I got chills and goose bumps running down the shoot. The crowd was amazing and I couldn't stop smiling. An incredible finish to an incredible day.

Nothing, I ran as I had planned. Everything worked out almost perfect. I never expected to feel so great during the run.

After getting my finisher photo taken I walked back to my hotel. I relaxed for a bit, took and shower, changed my clothes, and headed back to the finish line to watch others. I stayed until midnight to watch and cheer on others as they finished.


I really felt great all day. The weather was almost perfect. As I continue to race I will work a lot harder on biking, especially hills. This is my weakest area and taking 45 minutes off my bike time would make a big difference.


I couldn't have picked a better first Ironman. Weather was amazing, course was beautiful, and I felt fantastic all day long. Overall an incredible experience, I can't wait to do another.