Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

I cannonball into the water. HEY - they said not to dive! I'm on my way. I know not to push the swim too much. Obviously, I'm not a fast swimmer. Figure Id just stay to the side and swim along. And I did. Got ran over a lot, but looking at how many people passed me, I guess that is to be expected. Got tired towards the end. Didn't really know where the swim would end, but once I saw the finish, I was good to go.

Learn how to swim faster. Learn how to draft better. Become a fish.

I come out of water just a tad dizzy. That is one reason I didnt push too hard. I see my brother as I pass by. GO BETHANEY! YES! I've just done 1/3 of the ironman, haha or at least the first of the 3 sections. Call out my number to the volunteer, they have my bag ready to go. For some reason I was SO worried that I hadn't packed my bike shoes. Felt them in the back, and felt SO RELIEVED! Thats me fore you.

I had a list of things I needed to go in t1, written out in my bike gear bag. 1) Put on race belt. Don't normally do that for the bike, so I didnt want to forget 2) Put Gu in your side pockets 3) Put salt tabs in bra. Hey, its easier to get them there. They were in a small packet, dont even know they are there. 4) Band aids? I had some bad blisters and cuts on my feet the weeks leading up to IMKY. Tried to put on the bandaids, but my feet were so wet, they wouldnt stay on. Ok, Ill just shove them somewhere too, if I need them, I'll have them. 5) Sunscreen? Nah, I lathered up before the swim.

Grab my shoes, and run to my bike. You werent allowed to clip your shoes into your bike for some reason. Didnt bother me bc I haven't mastered that skill yet.


Think I handled this T1 pretty well. I wasted some time trying to get bandaids on. Otherwise, I think things went very smoothly.

Come out of T1, and its fast and flat. I know I am probably going WAY faster than my coach wants, but it feels good. I don't consider myself a hammerhead at this point. I do pass a lot of people, but GEEZ! Look at how many passed me on the swim, and how much my overall ranking came up! I had to pass people!

Feeling great, hit the first hill on 42. Yeah, its pretty long and gets my HR up a bit too high. Ok, I'll back down on the bike a bit, I've got a long way to go. Hit 1694, the out and back, and lo and behold, I see my Husband! WOW! I see my husband on the Ironman course! This gives me a HUGE bust of confidence. Could it be, that I am pretty much keeping pace with him?!

Take my time down 1694. I'm a wuss, and I dont care. I'll pass you fast decenders on the up hill. And I did. Come out of 1694, feeling great. Ready to hit LaGrange and see the family. LaGrange is fast, and it whizzes by way to fast for me. Did hear my name a few times, so I know friends and family were there. I pass a few EC and Dynamo athletes. I always tried to say their name and something encouraging. Most of them didn't seem to like it. Was I being rude? I hope not, I was seriously glad to see them out there!!!!

I play position swappage with a few guys the entire race. One guy had on normal shorts, like running shorts. That hurt my feelings. But whatever. Another guy asked me did I know Dan Arnett and Andrew Dollar since I had on my All3 uniform. YEAH I KNOW THEM! A kindred bond is formed.

A race official comes by a few times. I try and be VERY cautious, I don't want a penalty. Although there is plently of drafting going on, I try to take no part in it.

Hit 393, get up the hills. They werent too bad. So glad I've ridden this course before!!!! I know LaGrange is coming up again, I am pacing awesome!! Speed through the town, and BAM. A leg cramp comes from no where and hits my right upper leg and seizes it up. Since I'm still in front of the crowd, I just pedddle peddle peddle in pain. It went away. *shew!

Then, around mile 85, I start to feel a little off. My stomach is hurting. I think, maybe if I sit up for a minute it will help. Nope. Try and let out some "air", and thats not really happening. So, I stop taking the Gu and Cliff, and just drink water. BAM. Another leg cramp. So bad, I have to stop and massage my leg. GRRRR! I am off by 1mile to his the 18mph mark. GRRR!

It continues like this. Mile 97 or so, I have to stop again for the leg. I realize my stomach is in serious knots at this point. I'm down 2 miles or so for the 18mph mark. DANG IT!!!! Roll into T2.
Glad the bike is over!!!

Figure out what caused the cramp and what caused the stomach issues.
I took salt tablets and used the same nutrition as what I trained with.
I was hot, but I wasn't pouring sweat. Not sure.

Learn how to descend better. I loose a lot of time bc I'm such a wuss.

Not sure if you could have left shoes clipped in bike or not. Haven't mastered that either, so it doesnt matter to me. I hand my bike off to a volunteer. Take off the helmet, take off the shoes and jog down to the bag pick up.
My stomach hurts so freakin bad.

Pull out my list of things. 1) Bandaids? Still wont stay on foot. Still have some in pocket if need them 2) socks 3)Chapstick? 4) put on race belt 5) hat and glasses 6) Aquaphor on back bc of race belt rubbage
I know I may be crazy with these lists, but I know I get nervous and try and go too fast sometimes through transitions. I had a long freakin run ahead of me and if I didnt have chapstick...it would have been bad.

A volunteer brings me some pretzels and water. I try and force them down, thinking some bread like might help my stomach. Some other volunteers lather me in sunscreen.

I run to bathroom. I sit in there and try and force whatever I can out. I sit there and pray.......COME ON STOMACH, RELEASE THAT HURTAGE. After about 2 -4 minutes, I decide, I need to freakin go run.

I didnt realize my T2 time was so long. I didn't feel like it. I guess, just be faster at it all.

Trying to get my mind run, I start jogging. It is so painful with my stomach in knots. Talk to myself, "Bethaney, mind over matter." Can't find my family, but I'm probably grimacing, so I don't care. I come up to the bridge, and I see a sign that says "Bring back lots of fun prizes from IN." Makes me laught, didn't realize I was going into IN. Get up to the turn around point, and I decide I'm gonna walk for a minute. I start basically pushing on my stomach, hitting it, doing whatever I can to "dislodge" whatever is hurting. I start with the gas. WOW! I wish that that force could propell me forward! It becomes humorous as I am just basically letting it RIP down this bridge. People are running by me, probably thinking, O MY GOD! I dont care at this point. I try and get EVERYTHING out of me.

AAHHH, I think I'm better. Start to run, and see my parents. Dad runs with me for a minute. I tell him to please pray for me bc my stomach hurts so bad. There is a guy running with us in a skeleton tri suit, and he asks my dad to pray too. So my dad reaches out and touches both us of and says "In Jesus Name." Its a bit humorous, but later on down the road the Skeleton man says thank you because the prayer seems to have worked.

Running, running, running along. BAM. Cold sweats. Oh yes, cold sweats in 97 degree weather. Sweet Jesus, where is the Portojohn?! I make it, and basically begin to empty out every bit of nutrition I had put into my body. I start to cry. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? I leave the bathroom and start to run again. Pick up some ice, put it in my hat. Pick up some cold sponges, put them down my back. Ahh. BAM. Cold sweats again. Are you SERIOUS!?!?!
This happens for the first 14 miles. It become a game almost. How quickly can I get to the next Portojohn? I start to think of funny quotes to keep my mental attitude in check. Quotes like, Shit Happens - literally. And, oh well, you'll just have a crappy race - literally.

I see Daniel Harris, an EC athlete around mile 5ish. WOW!!! Really? I know he can run, what is he doing back here??? I've never officially met him before, but I run up to him and say HEY!! I'm Bethaney!!! We chat for awhile, and I learn he is feeling like crap too, but he needs to puke instead. Someone else is in pain with me!!!!! YES!! Somehow, this brings such joy to me. I tell him, stick a finger down your throat!!!!! He doesnt want to. Shoot, if I could have given myself an instant enima I would have!! crazy boy! But I'm glad to have a parter. Along the way, we pick up a Dynamo athlete. Maybe Michael? I call him Dynamo Dude all day anyways. I see Tj finishing his first loop. He isn't feeling to great either, his calf is flaring up hurting him. Well, we are all just a sight to behold I figure out.

I make many more trips to the portojohns. I play cat and mouse with Daniel, Dynamo Dude, Skeleton Dude, and many others. I know that my run is actually ok, since I am spending 2-3 minutes at least in the bathroom, and still keeping up with all these people. I find Daniel and he confides he finally puked. I can tell he is feeling better, I congratulate him on his regurgitation, and tell him to please proceed forward, and I am making another explosive stop.

As I finish the first loop, I see Shanks and his bubbly girlfriend. What a releif. He runs with me for a minute, asking how I feel. I tell him, without going into detail about my explosions. He tells me to do what I can, and just keep trucking. Gotcha. Round the turn, and I see the finish. Its so close, yet so far away, as I have at least 13 more miles to go. My dad runs with me again, asking how I'm doing. I almost say "shitty," which makes me smile. I say I'm fine, bc all in all I am.

I think I might look pained or something. A lady looks me dead in the eye and says, "You are Awesome." And she meant it. She didnt scream it, or it wasn't said to the masses. She looked right at me, smiled, and said it in a calm voice. It caught me off guard, because it was such a personal moment that I didn't know how to handle it. Maybe she was an angel or something, because that was exactly what I needed. I realized at that point, that no matter what - I was doing this thing.

I got the smile back on my face. I found some chicken broth. Oh man, did that taste AMAZING OR WHAT?!?! And, I think it soothed my stomach! About mile 15, I realize I'm starting to feel better. Make one last trip to the portojohn and have a little talk to myself. I say, "this is the LAST stop. We are in control. We are doing an Ironman and we are having fun."

And, I start to run. And I basically dont stop. I start to pass people. There are people just sitting on the side of the road. There are people dumping ice over their heads. there are people stretching on the sidewalk. There are people puking their guts out. And I just run along.

Im shivering at this point, I realize I am most likely dehydrated. The volunteers try to give me cold sponges and spray me down, and all i want is warm chicken broth. chicken broth and water, thats it.

I pass Dynamo Dude at mile 21. I yell, We have less than 5 miles, LETS GO DYNAMO! I'm not sure if he started to run or not, but I dont see him again. It starts to get dusks, and the crowd has thinned. I'm great until mile 24.5 I just want to finish. I feel lonely as there arent many people around and no one is running, but me. Run, Run, Run Run.
I can see the lights, I can hear the crowd. I see Shanks. He runs to me and tells me that I've had a great race and to enjoy the finish. I slow down, this is my last mile of my 1st Ironman. I'll never have this again.
I start to cry, thank god it dark and no one can see me.

I turn the corner and the roar of the crowd begins. I see dad again. He says he is proud of me. I see my mom, Tjs mom, Tj and my brother. YES!!! I have done this!!!!! I close my eyes as I run those last few meters. Sweet, sweet victory!!!!

Cross the finish line, and JUMP AS HIGH as I CAN!!!!!!! IM AN IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Figure out how to settle my stomach.
Drink chicken broth ASAP.

Nothing really. Went to the medical tent with Tj bc he ended up getting 2 IVs. I was good. just tired. Ate some pizza. that REALLY hurt my throat.


My stomach. GI Issues.



I heard they ran out of water on the bike course. Only the mile 80 station was out when I was out there. NOT GOOD.
Other than that, it was amazing!