Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

I mentally broke the swim into three almost equal parts ... the start to turnaround, the turnaround to end of the island, and then the end of the island to the swim exit.

START to TURNAROUND:
We got into the line around 5:40AM and were probably just over half way back. The time trial dock start was an easy start. I had no problem jumping off the dock and getting going. I was actually even feeling good and able to draft for the first 1500 or so til the turn around. The current was no problem. Sighting was also no problem, though it was both funny and discouraging to notice the helicopters overhead heading away, meaning that the pros were heading out on the bikes.

TURNAROUND to END OF ISLAND:
I sighted the turn buoy pretty well and rounded it real tight. This is when my sighting or understanding of the swim course started to fall apart. I ended up swimming to close to the island, between the buoys and the island. Apparently, they didn't really mind and this had the added benefit of allowing me to be closer to the safety kayaks. During the first half of the island stretch I actually used the kayaks once to get a combination breather and to fix my goggles which were really starting to give me a headache. Shortly after that I started to feel awful. I believe it was a combination of swallowing some dirty Ohio river water and starting to get sea sick from the rocking nature of my swim stroke with its over rotation and breathing ever stroke to the right ... and maybe nerves too. I even stopped about two more times on kayaks for breathers.

END OF ISLAND to SWIM EXIT:
Once I passed the island the water seemed to get a bit choppier and my nausea got a lot worse. Very quickly it even progressed to vomiting. I found that swimming with my eyes closed and only opening them to occasionally sight helped a bit but the only way I would last would be to stop every couple 100 or so and rest on a kayak. This made a slow swim even slower.

Actually do Masters swimming twice a week in training to raise my level of swimming. Hopefully learning to breath on every three strokes.
I would also suggest anyone doing this particular race to send a friend to the swim start real early (4:00AMish) to save you a spot in line.

I had a bit of trouble getting up onto the water steps on the swim exit. It was hard to find that first under water step but the volunteers' help was great. I quickly stripped my goggles and cap and reached into my tri-top's back pocket to grab a gel I was carrying. My plan was to have an immediate gel to start refueling from the long swim. I was only able to eat it slowly because I was still pretty nauseous. I walked the whole way up the path to T1 because I was pretty slow to recover from the swim.
The volunteers were quite helpful and quick with directing me to my transition bag ... mind you, this was a bit easier in my case because there were less bags left ;). I grabbed my bag and headed to the changing tent. I grabbed an empty seat with space around me and started going through my bag. This was a slow process because of how I felt and the state of my bag. I definitely over packed the bag because I didn't know what I would want. I had lots of food to choose from and my clothes for my ride. I decided to stick with my plan of wearing my new, white de soto arm cooler sleeves. It took more time than expected to pull them on. I decided against putting my calf compression on. I "updated" my Body Glide, Vaseline, and Chamois Buttr. Then I pulled my UGA bike Jersey on, deciding to not do rest of the race in my tritop but rather a bike jersey because of the extra pockets and additional skin coverage. I pulled socks and bike shoes because I had never practiced doing this on the bike. I put on my Headsweats CoolMax Shorty Hat and my helmet over it. The headsweats beanie and armcoolers were two recent riding choices I added to help me handle the heat.
I tried to have another gel and then I got help repacking my T1 bag and left the tent. I immediately stopped outside for a thorough lathering in sunblock. I ran up the side of the racks looking for my bike. One would think this would be easy considering I walked the area to my bike the previous day and because there were VERY FEW bikes left. Somehow, I still managed to over shoot my bike rack by one but didn't panic and actually just laughed at my self. I grabbed my bike and jogged it to the mount line and gingerly threw my leg over the bike and got going.
... None of this sounds like all that much but it did take me a while because I was moving real slowly because of being exhausted and nauseous from the swim.

I would probably try to tune my nutrition needs so I could get away with packing less food options on race day. I always seem to have way to much food left over on my rides.

I broke the ride up into 5 parts: "FLATS" til OUT & BACK, OUT & BACK, LOOP 1, LOOP 2, & "FLATS" back to TRANSITION

"FLATS" til OUT & BACK:
I was told to take the beginning, "flattish" section easy til the beginning of the hilly out and back, using it to conserve your legs and take on extra nutrition. My plan was to stay around 17-18mph depending on what felt easy. I was still feeling sick from the swim and the heat was already starting to worry me so I didn't think I would be pushing it much at all. I was able to do at least 16mph real easy on the completely flat River Rd. It became a bit harder on the following slight hills leading to the out & back. Nutrition was a bit harder to deal with at this point. I tried to drink my Hammer HEED/PERPETUEM drink but it didn't sit to well and I had real hard time with any of the solid SHOT BLOCKS/LUNA MOONS I was carrying ... they would cause me to become nauseous or even get sick. I think I was able to wash down two GU gels though.

OUT & BACK:
I had driven the out & back and was freaking out about this section. It started off flat and I tried to stay calm on this part. I then reached the first serious set of hills. They are basically two "valleys" on the out & back ... one good downhill followed by a good uphill. They are pretty steep and not exactly short. Fortunately the downhills help get you a good way up the uphill but on both of them you need to be careful to not take to much speed from the downhill because they had numerous accidents this year and years past. I was able to grind out the top of the hills but my energy was starting to fail me because I wasn't taking much on and the heat was starting to pick up. I was bothered by the actual turnaround because it was tight road and turn and I got stock behind a car with old people in it. On the flat part at the end of the out & back I wanted to start to take on nutrition again when I ate a couple of blocks I instantly got sick. I had to pull over to recompose myself.

LOOP 1:
I began LOOP 1 feeling REAL BAD. My stomach was awful and the heat was starting to break me. I also was worried about the first stretch of hills from the beginning of the loop to the high school turn. I decided to keep going but wasn't sure how much more I could take. The hills turned out to be tolerable because parts of them were in shade and they were rolling with the downhills helping quite a bit on the uphills. After passing the school, the shade disappeared and I started to cook. The hills were not that bad but I started to cramp up and actually had to stop numerous times for the cramps (probably from dehydration) and because I would have to get sick from anything I tried to eat. Quite a few times people would really cheer me on, yelling "You can do it Georgia" or "Come on DAWGS" (b/c of UGA bike jersey) this helped a lot mentally because I couldn't help but smile and keep going. At one of the last aid stations on the loop I actually stopped and dumped water all over me, replaced the hammer drink with the ironman drink & ice, and dumped LOTS of ice down the front and back of my jersey. Amazingly, these choices showed almost immediate improvement. I felt cooler right away and I was actually able to keep the drink down.

LOOP 2:
By the time I started LOOP 2, I was already starting to turn things around. The ironman drink had started to renew my energy and the body packing of ice was cooling me down. I have even joked with people since that the ice had a second bonus effect of icing my previously cramping quads. This time I was able to do the hills leading to the high school even faster. I was also able to maintain a higher speed on the back side of the loop. That being said my, my splits were only a little faster because I think I stopped at every aid station to stock up on a couple of bottles of the ironman drink and to refill my jersey with ice. This was time I was willing to sacrifice to make sure I wouldn't have to stop entirely plus I was quickly realizing that even with these delays, I was still staying within any time cutoffs.
Right before I finished the second loop, I had some equipment problems. I was going up a slight hill then my bike lurched, the whole cage/support system fell off from the back of my seat and hit my back wheel. Causing me to run off the road to the right. At first I didn't realize what it was but when I saw what it was I had to figure out what to do. I contemplated leaving the gear or just carrying it. Right before deciding to leave it, I realized I could slide the cages down the front of my aerobars. If this was earlier in the ride I wouldn't have done this but I figured they would be tolerable for the 20-30 miles left.

FLATS to TRANSITION:
After finishing the loop, I felt a shot of adrenaline and was feeling real good. I felt like against all odds I had pushed through being sick, heat problems, bike problems, and a pretty hilly course ... not to mention doing the longest ride I had ever done. I was actually looking forward to the "flattish" 20 miles ahead. I thought I could gain some time back. This stretch of road seemed not that bad but I didn't get the speed I wanted because I wasn't real comfortable in aero because of the cages up front and I had a bit of a head wind on River Rd. I didn't let this get me down, I was feeling pretty good and started to switch my focus to the run. I kept taking in the ironman drink and tried to raise the cadence to prep my legs.
I did have one last issue right at the end though. As I was taking the last turn, a pedestrian decides to cross the street without looking and I nearly wiped out avoiding her.

I would do what ever I could for more hot weather prep. I would tuned my nutrition so I would have lugged as much with me. I would do more century bike rides. I would like to have biked the course ahead of time during training. Train to not wear socks.

I had a slow dismount and handed my bike off to the first volunteer I saw. I then walked my way to the transition bags and then the tent, eating a gel on the way. I sat for just a little bit to gather my thoughts. I then removed my helmet and shoes and put on my headsweats hat.
I tried to decide between changing between my bike jersey or a dryfit that I packed for the run. I went with the bike jersey because of the pockets and the elastic bottom that held in ice. I felt I might need to use my ice trick some on the run to keep my core temp down.
I then focused on my feet. I pulled my socks off but my feet were pretty wet. I asked a volunteer for a towel and they found one but it took a couple of minutes. I dried my feet then put a fresh pair of bike socks on and then my running shoes.
I grabbed my nutrition belt with bottle and got help repacking my bag. I headed towards the aid table in the tent and dumped water on my head. I added cold water and ice to my running bottle that already had powder in it.
I headed out the tent and instantly had a volunteer add some more sunblock to any exposed skin.
Then I started jogging. I was surprised to find my legs felt pretty comfortable. I jogged/ran the rest of the way out of T2.

I would actually run more in transition. I would have a small towel in the T2 bag in case my feet need drying or even train to not wear socks. I would ask a volunteer to fill my running bottle while I was changing. I would also do more bricks during training to practice transition and to have a better idea of how my legs can make the change.

I split the run up into three sections: BRIDGE, LOOP 1, & LOOP 2

BRIDGE:
I came out of T2 feeling pretty good, both physically and mentally. I was able to jog about an 11min mile pace comfortably. I ran the couple of blocks around town to get to the bridge. I decided I should be careful about not taking the beginning of the run to hard. I needed to pace myself for my "first" marathon. I walked a bit of the little uphill to the bridge. I grabbed some oranges on the bridge and dumped ice all over myself because it was still pretty hot. I also decided to try another gel, figuring my new nutrition plan was liquids, oranges, and the occasional gel.

LOOP 1:
I began to do the math in my head and figured I could finish before the midnight cutoff with just a brisk walk ... about a 15min/mile. While this was reassuring, I wanted to give myself a comfortable cushion just in case the unforeseen happened. I decided to average about an 11min/mile and walk the aid stops.
As I started the first loop, I heard my name called. My girlfriend, Leslie, was finishing her first loop. We had a quick couple of words. She was excited that she might catch up with me. I told her that would be fun but I wouldn't be waiting for her. I had no trouble keeping up my goal pace and I won't lie, knowing Leslie might be overtaking me any minute really kept me going.
Along the run, numerous people started cheering me on with cheers like "go Dawgs" or "go Georgia" but this time people added "way to stick with it Georgia". Apparently, some of the same people that cheered me on while I was stuck at the side of the road on the bike were now cheering me on, impressed that I didn't throw in the towel.
I made it to the turnaround and was honestly surprised that Leslie hadn't caught me yet. I did see her on the other side about a couple hundred yards after the turnaround though. I took an extra long walk at the next aid station and Leslie finally caught up with me. It was real special to be able to do at least part of the race with her. We jogged/walked for a couple of miles together. We even walked across the timing strip that triggered the Ford motivational board together. Causing both our names to be up at the same time ... I am cheesy but that was sort of cool. At a certain point, I realized I was holding her a little back so I made her pull ahead of me. I warned her that I would probably take a bit longer on my second lap but I would make the cutoff easily and looked forward to seeing her there. The rest of the first loop was pretty uneventful.

LOOP 2:
I had some confusion at the end of the loop. They take you near the finishing shoot and I wasn't sure if I made a wrong turn. I slowed to ask people to make sure I wasn't adding any extra mileage.
Surprisingly, I wasn't really losing much speed on my run but I sort of noticed that my aid walks were dragging on a bit. I didn't mind this, I still had plenty of time. It was definitely starting to get dark at this time though and around the second aid station, I was given one of the infamous glow bands to hang on my neck.
Most of this loop was oddly enjoyable and I was smiling most of the way. The people I kept coming in contact with were similar to me in that they didn't really care about the time but were just thrilled they were on target to finish. There was a sort of fun commradery among these people. People kept pairing up to push each other and to talk to help pass the time together.

FINISHER SHOOT:
At the end of the loop, I was among a couple of people and it was sort of funny but without talking we sort of naturally staggered ourselves so that we would have our own time down the finisher shoot.
The shoot was a bit annoying in that it was cobblestones at the end of a run. This didn't stop me though. I ran the whole way, listening to UGA cheers. Even at 11:30ish, the crowd was so loud that I never heard my name called. I was quickly greeted by a volunteer to escort me and make sure I didn't need any medical help. I felt really good and was able to keep moving comfortably on my own. I got the standard finisher metal, hat, and shirt and took my finisher picture.
It was great to see Leslie and her parents there when I finished. It made me laugh a bit to see that Leslie was showered, changed, and even looked a bit rested though ... but I guess that would happen when you finish 3hrs earlier.


I would probably try to hold my run longer and not walk as much. I was real conservative with my pace because I had no idea what my body would do for my first marathon after such already traumatic day.

I did very little stretching. I tried to stay on my feet and keep moving so I wouldn't lock up. I walked over to the convention center where they had some food for finishers. I grabbed some pepperoni pizza and walked over with Leslie to some chairs. I actually opted to not sit but rather lean on the wall to eat.


Getting sick in the water. Heat was more than I was prepared for.
My stomach issues from the swim and heat limited my nutrition for the first half, slowing me down quite a bit.
Never having run a marathon limited my ability to know how to pace myself.


The race was very well supported in my opinion. Was pretty hot, definitely a lot hotter than 2009.

INTERESTING STATS:
-There were actually 200 less finishers than 2009 and the average time was about 47minutes slower.
-They announced at the awards banquet that 2555 athletes started the race, but only 2157 finished, there was a 15.6% DNF rate - 398 athletes. Over 400 athletes also didn't start the race