Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

Did not know what to expect with a 2.4 mile swim in open water with lots of other people. I just tried to focus on maintaining good form and breathing easy.

I did'nt really push at all, just swam steady. I don't think pushing a little harder would have hurt as long as I could have maintained form.

The whole change bag and change tent thing was new to me. I think I should have a larger top tube container for more stuff so I would not have to worry about stuffing it in my pockets in the change tent. Maybe I could have attached my shades to my helmet or bike to put them on later. Pre-lubing my socks and bike shoes seemed to work out great.

Did not do much hill training to prepare and had no idea what it was going to be like to run 26.2 after a 112 bike so I was very conservative on the bike. I just kept a steady pace that seemed to be JRO "just riding along". I took advantage of any desents by pedeling down and using the momentum for the next climb. I rarely got out of the saddle and tried not to push too hard at any point. I did increase my speed and cadance on the last 15 or so miles in the flat return section of the course.

Include more hill work in training. Maybe push a little harder??? Hard to tell if pushing harder would have been a bad thing. I was slow, but I never "bonked" and my run was better than expected so maybe it was because of my conservative bike. Had to stop to go to the restroom 3 times! This was frustrating. Did I drink too much???

Moved a little slow to ensure I had not grit or debris in my running socks and shoes. Put on my hydration belt. It was a little combersome. Had my socks and shoes pre-lubed (no blisters at all on the run).

I'm sure I could probably streamline my supplies a bit and maybe consider wearing the same socks I wore on the bike to speed things up.

I think taking it easy on the bike and sticking to my nutrician plan from begining to end was a huge benefit. I thought I would be running a 10:30 to 11:00 min pace but was able to do better than that. Eating ice chips to break up the Perform and gel regimine was nice and helped with cooling. Tried to only slow down at the end of each hour to refill hydration belt. Had to stop for restroom break one time. Ran "easy" for about 20 miles, then shot for 10min pace for about 3 miles, then tried to move as quickly as possible for the remaining 3 (which turned out to be about a 9:30 pace) into the finish line.

Nothing I can think of right now. Hydration belt worked well, using mile markers for pacing since my watch would not pick up a satelite worked well. The "easy" start with little to no stopping and stronger pace finish worked well.

Walking back to transition and truck. No medical or other attention needed. Felt pretty darn good after such a long day.


Nothing, I chose to follow a conservative race plan in hopes of successfully completing my first IM and it worked! I had a "hope" of finishing in 13 hours and exceeded that goal by 25 minutes.


I think my training prepared me well. I think sticking to my race plan and maintaining a positive outlook was critical to my success. Thinking about my family, my supporters, and everyone "tracking" my progress was plenty of motivation. I never "hit the wall" or had any feeling of regret, dought, etc. It was a great experience. Carrying chap stick on the bike and run turned out to be critical to my comfort in the warm and dry climate! It's the simple things...