Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

I was standing talking to people around me in the line and thinking wow I am really doing this. Then BOOM we hear the cannon go off. The line seamed to move so slowly. As we were getting closer the volunteers are yelling put your goggles on and jog. I was getting really nervous at this point and then next thing I know I am in the water (bummer it was 30 minutes after the cannon went off) The only real issue I had on the swim was the worry that my chip would fall off and my goggles fogged up a little. I love swimming so my goal was to just take is easy. I felt great the entire way.

Nothing I hit my time exactly where I wanted to.

At this point I just wanted to make sure I had everything for the bike and did not want to forget something. Applied a nice coating of BodyGlide and went on my way

Speed it up a little

A friend of mine whom is a very good cyclist drove the course on Saturday and told me not to overcook the bike. I took his advice to heart. So my goal was to be Sub 7 hours and an average above 16 on the bike. As I left transition I felt great and my pace was good. The downhill on the out and back section of the course was fun and I was moving @ 44.8 MPH. I just took my time on the uphill and followed other cyclist. At the first water station after the turn around there was an accident so I was trying to be very careful. I really enjoyed the pass through LaGrange the crowds were great. I was bummed that I did not see my family on the first loop. The second loop is where I had some issues. On the left had turn in to LaGrange I hit a bump while in my aero bars and BANG they broke. A piece fell off and went in to the crow. I could see a lady as I went on holding it up as if to say "Hey you want this". I had packed an extra tube and it was in my jersey so I pulled it out and wrapped it around the busted part of my bars and did the best I could the next 50 miles. My chain came off 2 times on the uphill parts of the second loop as well. Once I hit mile 80 I knew that I was going to make my time. So I tried to just take in water, GU and Cliff Bars to get ready for the run.

Get new Aero Bars.

I noticed some extra chaffing so I put BodyGlide on that and a little extra. Put Sun screen on my head and went on my way.
I felt great and was ready to run or so I thought.

Once again way to slow

Ok Here is where the wheels came off.
After leaving the tent I felt good and was aiming for 10min pace. At mile 2 I noticed a problem my feet really started to hurt but everything else felt great. By 2.5 I felt as if I was walking on hot nails with every step. So I decided to walk and see if I could cool my feet off. I kept up with the run jog for the next few miles and then just could not run any more. As I came up on mile 10 I see my wife run up from a side road toward me to see if I was ok. I guess that the TrackMyAthlete said I went 1.9 miles in 1 hour so she was worried that I would not make it and came out to find me on the course. I can’t tell you how great it was to see her and my two daughters at that point. I would have teared up but I think I was out of tears. I told them that I would make it to the end and it still looked good for my goal time of under 15 hours. Told them I loved them and thanks for the support and kept on moving. Once I was closer into town I had to jog a little more in front of the crowds they really pump you up. That little jog was not a good idea my feet now hurt worse than they ever had. I spotted my son at mile 14 and he walked with me a little. It felt great talking to him and feeling his support for me as I worked through the pain. Soon after that I meet a lady named Robin from Ohio we were both hurting at that point and the conversation helped us both to keep moving. We talked about everything we could think of just to keep our minds off my feet and her side. As we get closer to the finish some of her friends come up and walked with us as well. I could see my Father-in-law at mile 25.5 telling everyone where I was. Robin told me to go ahead as I was getting close to making my time goal. I can’t thank her enough for the conversation she was great. As I came around the corner I had to jog to the finish. This is the moment that had been in my mind for years but all I could think about was my feet. As I crossed the like I only looked at my watch and told the volunteer that my feet were gone and I had to sit down. He was great getting me water and anything I needed.

Just head to the hotel to put my feet on ice. My son went down and ordered me nice big beer and it really hit the spot.


FEET FEET FEET.

I believe I made a bad choice of socks when I packed my run bag.




My goal time on the swim was 1:10 to 1:20 Nailed it.
My goal time on the bike was sub 7 hours Nailed it.
My goal time on the run was 5 hours missed it by a long show.

All in all I wanted to at least finish my first IM in under 15 hours. I made it by 10 minutes and will be back to go for sub 13 next year.

I did have an issue when them running out of water at the LaGrange water stop. How does that happen during an IM? I really did not notice the heat so I must have done a good job a keeping my self cool