Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

SWIM

Finally, at about 7:09am I jumped in the Ohio River and my race had begun! Funny, though, seconds before jumping in I surprisingly jogged right in front of Jen and my parents, who had VIP passes (thanks to her Dad via Janus). That was a good way to start!
The first 1/3 of the swim is upstream in a channel between an island and shore, then we turn around the island and head downstream (though there was hardly a current thanks to no rain recently and the locks being closed). The first part of the swim was pretty congested – because of the nature of the time trial start, a lot of the slower swimmers worried about the swim cutoff (it’s 2:20 from LAST swimmer in the water) are the ones who make sure to get there early. Therefore, things really bottleneck early on. Still, wasn’t terrible, got hit a few times, hit others a few times, but could have been worse. I had to exert a little more energy than I wanted in the first 1/3 of the swim in order to get around lots of people. And the water was very warm. Once I passed the turnaround, things cleared up a lot and I was able to settle into a nice pace and enjoy myself. Overall the water wasn’t too bad for a river, couldn’t see beyond my hands and did go through an area with strong diesel fuel smell. My sighting seemed to be ok, but I should have practiced more breathing on my left because that’s where most of the kayaks were lining the course. I think I stayed mostly in the middle of the course, but drifted towards the outside or inside a couple times. It was great when I noticed several hot air balloons in the sky checking us out…that was neat. As I started to get closer to the end, I could see the buildings downtown and all the people gathered at the swim exit, which was cool. Before I knew it I was on the steps and out of the water!
At the time, I had no idea what my time was. Like I said, I had misplaced my watch…and I didn’t see the race clock. Going into the race, based on pool swims I figured if I took it easy I’d probably swim around 1:15-1:20 – turns out I swam 1:12, so I was pleased with that.


not much...maybe practice breathing on left side to help sighting to stay straighter

T1

Having the primary goal of just finishing, I really took my time with transitions. I did feel my right calf on the verge of cramping during the late stages of the swim, which never happens, so even better reason to just calm down and walk through transition. I grabbed my bike gear, went to the changing tent and got ready for the bike. It was my understanding that there was supposed to be a volunteer dedicated to each athlete in the changing tent, but there were none close to me. It took seemingly forever for me to pull on my tri top by myself. Finally I was ready and stopped for sunscreen, headed to the portapotty, then bike, mount line, and I was off. Total T1 time was 12:48, which was horribly slow.


make sure sunscreen was applied sufficiently, specifically above tri-shorts line since when pedaling the shorts come up more - ended up with nasty sunburn on both legs right there. Oh, and move faster!

BIKE

Heading off on the bike, my main goal was to relax and take it easy, especially for the first couple hours. Spin easy up the hills, coast downhill and never feel like I’m pushing it at all. The first 10 and last 10 miles are flat, but pretty much non-stop rollers with some decent hills everywhere else. The course is a lollipop with 2 loops, plus an out and back section on the way out to the loop.
My nutrition plan was same as all training rides – a 3 hour bottle of concentrated INFINIT which I would sip 2 oz every 15 minutes and chase it with water from aerobottle that I would refill at all aid stations (and drink extra water as needed). I had a gel in my jersey pocket just in case.
I was getting settled in at mile 2 when I went over the railroad tracks on River Rd and the velcro pieces holding each side of my aerobottle to my aerobars BOTH came undone (never happened in training despite some really rough roads). So 2 miles into it I had to stop for about 3-4 minutes and try to get them back on. Sounds easy, but I had a heck of a time getting the little straps through the bracket slots, probably because of impatience. Finally I’m off again and settle into what feels like an easy 20ish mph pace on the first flat section. I’m getting passed a lot, which is what I was hoping to see, means I’m pacing well. After a bit, I get to the out and back section of the course which has the biggest climb (and downhill). I continue to feel good, though my left toe/foot thing is noticeable already. I spin up the hills, pedal over the crest a bit then coast down. My position isn’t that aggressive on the bike, but I must be pretty aero because I was coasting down the hills faster than mostly everyone around me the entire way. I go through the first aid station, grabbed a water and filled aerobottle, then grabbed another water on the way out and took a drink and poured the rest of it over my head. I knew it was going to be hot – forecast called for 91 (more on that later!) – so was focused on staying hydrated and not overheat. At mile 38, I approached the big festival in LaGrange and was excited to see family. It was an amazing feeling going through there, people lining the streets, cowbells everywhere…just awesome. As I got toward the end of the festival area, I spotted all my supporters in their yellow shirts (thanks Mom!). That was definitely a real boost. The next bit of the course was a little boring. Still rolling hills and a few more steeper climbs for about 25 miles before beginning the second loop and going through LaGrange again at mile 68. I did have to go to the bathroom a couple times, so I was confident my hydration was adequate at this point. My average speed was hovering at about 18mph, which was a little faster than I thought I would be, but I still felt good and did not seem to be pushing very hard. And I was still just spinning the hills in my easiest gear (34/27). At somewhere around mile 75-80, things started going south a bit. My left toe/foot was really hurting, and the right one starting hurting in the same spot. Not sure why the right one hurt, it never did before. Maybe it was the bare feet on the concrete jogging at the swim start. Also, right about the same time I started feeling a slight nauseous feeling in my throat. It felt just like I had experienced in training when I first started trying out the concentrated INFINIT drink mix. At the time I determined that I didn’t drink enough water with the concentrate and my stomach didn’t like it. So, I must have screwed that up a bit, I thought, and did what I did in training to remedy the situation – drank only water for 30-45 minutes and slowed down. It seemed to work, at which point I took my gel and then I really started feeling good again. The last 15 miles or so I was really cruising along, passing a lot of people despite not feeling like I was pushing overly hard. In hindsight, maybe I got caught up in the moment and pushed too hard at this point. As I got towards the end of River Rd, I saw downtown Louisville come into view and was excited to be getting off the bike soon. Soon thereafter I pulled up to the dismount line, got off my bike and headed to T2.
My official time was 6:15:01, 17.92mph. My computer, which didn’t count the stop at mile 2, showed an average of 18.1mph. Like I said, except for the last 10-15 miles I really felt like I stayed well within myself. But, given what lied ahead on the run, maybe I just didn’t take it easy enough. Nonetheless, I was very happy with the bike, especially considering it's not much less speed than I averaged in my only other tri - a sprint a year ago - and I was definitely on the lower end of volume, longest ride was 98 miles and only did that once.


Given run issues, maybe:
1) go easier (probably would have if I would have known how hot it would have been....ended up 5+ degrees above forecast I saw)
2) when adjusting nutrition strategy, make sure to keep getting enough electrolytes...not sure I did from water/gel

T2

Again, I casually walked through transition and took my time. My feet were happy to be off the bike for sure. I had a little more volunteer help this time and got a glass of water from one of them so I could take another gel, as it had been about 45 minutes since my first gel after stopping the INFINIT. Plus, I started many runs by taking a gel just beforehand. Put on shoes, patella strap, hat and took the gel and headed to the portapotty. This was about the 4th time peeing since the bike start, which was a good sign at the time I thought….little did I know I wouldn’t go again for over 10 hours.


move faster

Run

The run course starts off by going up and across the 2nd Street bridge, then back down, through downtown and then 2 “laps” of an out and back south of town towards UofL and Churchill Downs. My nutrition plan on the run was a little more vague than the bike. I was going to live off the course, but I didn’t plan exactly what I would eat/drink and when, just go by feel. I had trained with the PERFORM drink that was on the course and didn’t have any issues.
As I left T2, I started jogging until I got to the bridge. Given my knee problem, I planned on walking up the bridge, jogging across, then walking back down, which is what I did. I actually felt good and had visions of a 12 hour IM dancing in my head! When I got to the first aid station, I drank some water, some PERFORM and grabbed a couple orange slices. Still feeling good, I ran to the next aid station at about a 9:30-10:00/mile pace and drank some more water and PERFORM. I also was refilling a Ziploc bag I took with me for ice under my hat. Don’t remember where I read about that, but it was a great tip and helped me stay cool. I ran again to the next aid station at mile 3, and at this point I think I started feeling a little worse. I honestly don’t remember exactly what I felt, but for whatever reason I decided to drink/eat even more at that aid station and then keep running. I made it to mile 4 still mostly running, but wasn’t feeling any better. At that point, I started walking between mile 4 and 5, albeit at a quick pace, hoping to feel better. At mile 5 I grabbed more food/drink and then started running a little bit. I think I lasted about ½ mile then started walking again…honestly, this is where everything starts to get a little fuzzy, as I don’t remember exactly what I was feeling/thinking. There was an older guy from Pittsburgh who was walking pretty quickly, so I started walking/talking with him. I wasn’t feeling great, but good enough to walk about 15min/mile. We walked together all the way back into downtown and headed out for the 2nd out and back. I have to say, the course creators are a little cruel because on your first lap you walk right towards the finish line, get everything within plain view about a block away, see people finish, then have to take a right turn and start your last 12+ miles. At this point I was definitely feeling worse. I was slowing down substantially with my walk and did not feel good at all. I could also feel my stomach was very sloshy and realized that it hadn't been digesting anything I had recently eaten or drank. Nonetheless, I tried my best to keep up with a fast walking pace. And by the way, whoever said this run course has shade is a liar! Maybe at 7pm there’s shade from some of the trees/houses, but not before then. Anyway, at about mile 14-15, I saw Jen, Ryan and more of her family again. I had started feeling pretty horrible so used them as an excuse to tell the Pittsburgh guy to just keep going and that I had to slow down. I gave a high five to Ryan, kissed Jen and told them I better not stop or else I may not get going again. I think they started to worry a little at this point as I don’t think I looked very good. As I slowly walked, it was difficult to drink anything anymore. It just made me feel worse and I knew it was just sitting in my stomach anyway. I finally tried to make myself throw up around mile 17, but wasn’t able to. I was absolutely miserable. It felt like walking with the worst hangover of my life but not being able to drink anything and not able to get relief by throwing up. And I couldn’t believe how slow I was walking. I started timing myself and the miles took 20+ minutes. It's usually hard to walk that slow if I try!! I tried to throw up a couple more times between miles 18-23 but was still unsuccessful. Around mile 23, a woman who works in my department and lives on the run course walked with me briefly on the sidewalk close to the road. If nothing else, it made 10 minutes go by a little faster. Then I told her I was going to try and throw up again so she probably should turn around. I walked a little further to just past the mile 24 marker then sat down again. I decided that I was going to put my finger down my throat as many times as needed to throw up. It took about 5 tries, but finally I got a little bit up. I sat there another minute and realized it did help a little so started walking again. I actually walked a little faster until mile 25, then started feeling worse again like before I threw up. It was only 1.2 miles from the finish and there were more people around, so I decided to not try to throw up again and just move ahead to the finish. As I approached the finish, I was able to jog the last block or so to the finish line. Despite the daze I was in, I did see the family cheering me on at the finish, and did hear Mike Reilly say “Jonathan Piazza from Louisville, KY, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!” Awesome.


I wish I knew for sure. I think I made a few mistakes that added up to DISASTER. First of all, I should have taken the beginning of the run much easier and not eaten/drank nearly as much in the first few miles. I knew this going in, but it's amazing how quickly you forget things in the midst of a race. Also, I should have had a better run nutrition strategy going in. I could have accomplished this by doing a couple of runs coming off of my longer training rides. Lastly, I should have forced myself to throw up much sooner. My early attempts were not good enough.

Post Race

I wish I could have enjoyed the finish, but honestly I was in a miserable daze and all I could think about was sitting down. I got helped to a chair by a volunteer, who immediately could tell I was in bad shape and very dehydrated (4 hours of not drinking in 96 degree heat will do that I guess), so off I went to Medical…after my finisher’s photo of course. I quickly realized that it could have been worse after seeing so many people worse than me (seizures, etc). I got an IV and some Zofran for the nausea, which made me feel much better – good enough to walk back to the hotel and take a shower at least. After that, I ate a banana, drank some water and went to bed.
I’m finally appreciating the accomplishment. It took a while because all I could think about was how miserable the last 5 hours were. I definitely have an even greater appreciation for all my fellow Ironmen and Ironwomen. I will admit that I figured I would have no problem finishing, even if I was slow…...boy, was I wrong. I’ve also been thinking of how wonderful the support was – not just my family and friends, who were all incredible – but all the volunteers and spectators during the event. I was truly amazed at the hospitality and kindness shown by so many random people.



stomach problems on run


Good organization overall, but 2 slight problems:
1) no volunteer assistance in T1 changing tent
2) course ran out of water at a couple aid stations - fortunately I swam and biked just fast enough to avoid being affected, but HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN????