Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

The Ohio River is greyer and smells a lot worse than Lake Springfield that I trained in, but I am so glad that I did so much open water training! So helpful! I caught a man's heel to my left goggle, which convinced me I would have a black eye the whole day, but I didn't. The two bridges that you go under seemed to take forever to get to, but overall the swim was pretty easy. It was a bit difficult to sight off the buoys and I think I went a little extra, but overall my sighting was good.

Not get kicked in the face. Get to the lineup earlier.

This was my first Ironman, and I was so pleasantly surprised at how helpful the volunteer was. She had all my stuff set out and I quickly changed. I had heard about the lack of modesty in the tent and it was very true. Which is a good thing since we were all in a rush to get changed and no one cared. I made sure to get all my nutrition in my tri suit and that my bike shorts and socks were comfy.

Nothing.

They ran out of water at 2 aid stations and we were pouring out Ironman Perform for some water out of a hose. It did not taste very good. But I forced myself to drink. I stopped at one portapotty and lost one of my race belt number holder on things and tied a few knots. Seeing the family really helped at La Grange, although they were bored with the city. They drove themselves, which was easier for them. I wish there had been more hills in Illinois to train on, but oh well. I wanted to stay comfortable with my ride to save something for the run, and I did. It was tough seeing so many riders sitting under trees on the second loop.

Train on more hills. I did really well with my Endurolytes which helped a lot, and really drank and ate well. I wish I could've gone faster...

Again the volunteer was really helpful although she started asking me questions about my compression socks which I really didn't want to answer at that time... Saw a lot of people having a difficult time leaving the tent, so I got out of there before I could be tempted. Made sure my socks, shoes, and compressports were good to go and took off.

Didn't seem like 12 minutes...

Saw a lot of people sitting/peuking. I walked all the aid stations and made a conscious decision to walk miles 10 and 20 just to make sure I had enough. Walking 20 made me feel worse than jogging, so I knew I wasn't stopping after that. I started to get nauseated and a bit dizzy, so I started drinking Coke and Chicken broth - they tasted terrible!! But it seemed to help. Saw my friends and husband at 12 and 18 and my best friend Steph ran with me in her jean shorts for .5! I was surprised at how many athletes had people on bikes with them or walking with them. Going by the finish line the first time only motivated me to get through that second lap. The finish was spectacular!!!

Not walk mile 20.

After hearing the voice of the ironman, "Jennifer Bradley from Springfield, Illinois you are an Ironman!" I was promptly escorted by my family to Red Star Tavern. This was not a good idea, as no food sounded good, and I wished that I had gone to the post-race area, but I was a bit confused at that point and felt bad leaving all those that had spent their long, hot day cheering for me. So I had 3 glasses of chocolate milk courtesy of The Galt House room service.


The heat. Luckily I had planned for this and tried to train in the very similar heat and humidity of Springfield, IL. This just made me used to it, not any faster in it. It still zaps the quickness from you, and seemed to affect everyone.


Overall I achieved my goal of finishing my first Ironman. I did manage to have some fun and meet some nice people along the way, including another 27 y/o girl named Jennifer from Illinois wearing the same Hammer nutrition tri top as me! Ha! I would do this race again, and plan on doing some more hill training and working on my bike speed for next time!! Don't be scared of Louisville!!!