Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

We were kinda far back in line. Heard the cannon for the pros and then for us. Took a while for the line to start to move. Once it started moving it seemed to go pretty quick. Before we made it to the ramp to the docks we were stopped for what seemed like 15 minutes. Heard Mike Reily say that they were helping one of the competitors out. Learned later that he had suffered cardiac arrest and died. Once the line got moving again things went fairly quickly.

Once I made it to the dock I jumped into the water ready to go. Once I hit the water I suddenly couldn't breath. My breathing was out of control and I couldn't hardly swim. I swam to the first house boat I saw and grabbed onto the ladder. I had to calm myself down and get my breathing under control. After about a minute I was swimming away. Once I got started things went well. I made it up the channel with little problems. I did run onto the sandbar as I approached the tip of the island. I took a knee there to clear my goggles and sight. I looked around to all the people walking on the sandbar. I couldn't believe all of the people walking. Made my way to the turn buoy and rounded well. The down river section seemed fairly easy, just long and boring. Didn't feel like I would ever make it to the end. Had a little sighting trouble trying to find each buoy. Rounded the final bouy and headed into the stairs where the great volunteers helped me out of the water. Was really hapy to be done with my first IM swim.

Try different goggles to help improve my sighting.

Came out of the water feeling pretty good. Saw my family on the run to transition and talked to them for a minute.

Not much.

Came out of the transition feeling good. Rolled out transition and just concentrated on getting my HR down and enjoying myself. First 10 miles went really good. Got passed by some and passed a few others. The out and back was a little exciting. The downhill was fast while I just spun the uphills. Was feeling pretty good heading into the first lap to LaGrange. As I rolled towards LaGrange my legs started to feel fatigued. I thought that this would pass. Stopped and talked to my family in Lagrange. At about mile 50 I couldn't shift into the big ring anymore. I tried several times over the next 5-10 miles with no success. Finally the last time I dropped my chain and had to stop and put it back on. Decided to ride on and keep my eye out for the roving bike fixit guy. Saw him twice fly by me and I couldn't get his attention. Rode the last 60 miles with only the small ring. Met some nice people on the course and tried to encourage them along. Legs continued to feel heavy during the rest of the ride. For the last 15-20 miles they were letting a lot more cars onto the roadways which led to some small traffic jams at times. There would be 10-15 bikes stuck behind a line of cars that we couldn't pass. Hydration must have been good since I had to stop 3-4 times to hit the porta johns.

Ride a little harder in the beginning and the end. Stop and find someone to fix my bike to I didn't have to ride in the small chain ring for 60 miles.

Made it to transition and handed my bike off to a catcher which was really cool, made me feel like a pro. Saw my family and waved to them. Made my way to the tent and changed my shoes and put on my visor. Exited transition and found my family. Figured out what my marathon pace needed to be.

Not much, maybe more a little faster.

Came out of transition knowing I had to make 14:48/mile to finish. My legs were thrashed so I just started walking fast. My plan was to walk for a couple of miles and then try and run/walk. I tried to run several times but my legs had nothing to do with it. As I walked my Garmin was telling me I was slowing down. As I approached the turn around for the second lap Jeremy passed me and I watched him run down fourth street and finish. I found my family at the turn around and they started walking with me. I told them I was going to withdrawl because I knew I couldn't finish by midnight. They wanted me to continue but I decided to withdrawl and be there to support Justin as he finished. I made my way to the next aid station and formally withdrew. I was disappointed in myself, but my family seemed to feel worse for me. We made our way back to the finish line to watch Justin finish.

Run more to at least give myself a chance.

Went back to the finish line to see Justin finish. Talked with several finishers and shared stories. After about thirty minutes I became nauseated and a little light headed. Ended up laying on the sidewalk to start feeling better. Watched Justin finish and then hobbled back to the hotel. My sweet wife went and got my bike and transition bags. I went and sat in the tub to soak my weary bones. Ended up falling asleep in the tub for I don't know how long. My body was totally done.


I missed some important workouts coming into this race. I think I underestimated the true extent of the race. I think I was lacking in both bike fitness and run fitness. Losing my big chain ring didn't help either. However, I was happy the whole race and only disappointed at the end.


Even though I did DNF, I had a great time. I completed nearly 3/4 of an Ironman. I was thankful all day long just to be out on the course participating. It was a long day, but a good day. I hope that just by starting I inspired a few people back at home.

I can't say enough good things about the volunteers. They were awesome. Everything from check in to the finish line was great. I have never been to a race with such great volunteers.

The only real complaints I have are allowing too many cars onto the bike course. This turned into a real safety issue as us slower bikers were trying to get back in. Also, it would be nice for the slower runners to not have to run through the crowds at the turn around to start your second loop. People were cheering me on to finish and when they saw me head out on the second loop they seemed to almost pity me. If they could just move the turn around over a block would be nice. One last thing. Some of our fellow athletes were frickin slobs on the run course. There was garbage strewn from one end of the course to the other. I saw several volunteers out with trash bags trying to clean up after us. People, just throw your stuff in a trash can or carry it to the next aid station.

Overall I am happy with my race, but disappointed in my finish. I was told after I got home that some of our greatest accomplishments come out of our greatest failures. I am sure this experience will make me grow. I am so thankful for my family and friends that were there to support me. They seemed more disappointed that I didn't finish than I did which made me feel worse than anything. Congrats to Justin, Jeremy and all others who finished.