Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

Swim went very well. My HR monitor strap fell down to my waist in the start, so I tucked it into my shorts since I was topless. Other than that, navigation was nearly perfect, pace was nearly perfect, sighting was very good although a few people stopped and I plowed 'em, sorry. Came out of the water feeling fresh like it was something in practice, but 3:00 faster than goal! Nice start. One sad note, I did see the person who died in the water, at the time I could not process why he looked "odd" to me, later I figured out why he was so pale-blue from other reports. Prayers and wishes of peace go out to him and his family.

Nothing.

This was my first "bag" transition, so I never thougth to practice this. Frankly I was planning to take T1 easy, why leave something behind? So, once I had my bag I was in the tent... controlled chaos. I had my "valet" helper, which was nice. Once I had my shirt on, helmet, shoes, I was out the door and got sun-block. I hit the portojohn because I did not want to pee my bike, again this is the 1st IM and wanted to enjoy it. Getting out of T1 was fine, mount line was crazy like most races, saw family screaming and off I went.

Practice it a little maybe, I could have skipped the bathroom break but otherwise it was fine. I could have shaved off time but why?

Bike was my biggest area for growth and was to be my challenge, a good execution here sets up a good run. I drove the course Wednesday to get an idea, these are much harder hills than home, by a lot! I redialed my goal from 5:45 to 5:53 which was smart I think. Coach wanted me out "easy" first 20 miles and I thought I did, but looking back it was about .5 mph faster than I should, hindsight is 20/20. Overall, bike was a good effort and "learning" to do hills was a trial by fire, I feel proud to have done as well as I did with no hills to train on whatsoever. One one large descent on the loop, me and anothr "guy" were neck to neck on the descent, 43 mph which I have never done before, we looked at each other oddly, turns out it was McDonald on the 2nd loop as I started the first, nice to go head to head with a pro, even for a very short time. I learned quite a bit about climbing on a tri bike that day.

Hill training, but that is a jaunt from my house. Next IM venue will be flat.

T2 was smooth and faster than T1. Getting through crowd @ dismount was not easy, but it was nice to have "valet bike parker". Ran to tent with bag, easy change and I was running before I realized... hey... I am starting the last leg of my 1st IM! Sweet. Lets do it!

Went perfect to me, I suppose I could have rushed, but I felt fine.

Definitely a tough run. My plan was to run 13 straight, then walk aide-stations in last 13 miles to finish. I was the complete opposite. I hit tough heat @ mile 4, 3.39 mi split was 9:32 pace which is a little fast, I was targeting 9:45. After that, it was run 1/2 mi, walk 30 sec, run to aide station, walk, repeat. Funny thing happened @ mi 18, met a guy struggling too, he had cramps and I had heat. We both collected ourselves, then started running station to station, sweet. Pace to mi 15 was 13:11, to mi 20 was 13:14 and then to mi 25 was 10:50 with last mi at 9:02. I sort of negative split the marathon oddly, not in a way I wanted but was PROUD to collect myself and finish the way I did. Once I got to last 1/2 mi the jets kicked in and felt NO PAIN to the carpet starting the finish area. The lights and music... the cowbells, the screaming, and finally... "Brian Adams, you are an IRONMAN!". That last 100 yrds summarized 9 months of being away from home and family, injuries, and countless miles in the pursuit of 4 simple words. What an amazing feeling, my post race photo smile says it all. I will be back, not right away but I will return to IM one day in a few years. The kids need a full time dad.

Tough to say. It was very hot on the run, much more than the 81 deg F forecasted, I am not a hot-weather runner, so that is for certain. Mentally I do not think I was as tough as I could have been, but lets move on and next IM focus on what to do different. Thank you to DJ Hanback as my coach, mentor, and guide into this world of Ironman. If anyone wants a coach, email me @ [email protected] for a reference. Most of all, thank you to my family and particularly my wife for supporting me regardless, if at times she wanted to or not she was there start to finish.

Walk to convention center, massage, food, and drink. This was overwhelming at some points emotionally, realizing the completion of a huge life goal. 6 years ago... 50 lbs overweight, horrendous biometrics, I could not run a mile and lost a close friend to a heart condition... This one is for you Tom. Here I am now, have motivated literally 20 or more people in my own life to a new lifestyle of fitness, it all came to me at this moment.


Lack of experience, but not worried since time was not my focus in my first IM. I would rather think of it as what limited my ability to enjoy it more? Answer - nothing, it was more than I could expect in the best way.


For those thinking of doing this, first chose your race based on your abilities rather than location. For those who can stay on their feet until midnight to see the last official finisher, don't miss this! That is what IM is all about... first or last you are an Ironman. One last note, the volunteers were the best in any race I have done in 6 years. Who could stand out there for 12+ hrs in heat dealing with people who are in all different mental and physical states and do it so well, I thanked as many as I could have, they made the day too.