Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

All of the forums I've been reading about this race have said the swim course was a few hundred yards long. When I got out of the water I felt like my performance was very good and my time should have been around a 1:15. Except for a few areas including the first 500 meters, the turnaround buoy and the exit, I encountered very little physical contact. I loved the time trial start.

Nothing at all.

Great help from the volunteers at T1. I got help drying off, applying sunscreen and pulling on my tri top. I packed light and efficiently so it didn't take me long.

Nothing at all. I had rehearsed this multiple times both mentally and in my garage and it went perfect. Just remember, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast". You'd hate to forget something in T1 and pay for it the rest of the bike.

The bike is where my nutrition plan payed off a million times over. With temps in the 90's and high humidity, people were dropping like flies. I had done TONS of research and made sure to take in plenty of sodium and fluids. My plan consisted of a salt tablet every 30 minutes with 5 oz of water, a Powerbar gel every 45 minutes with 8 oz of water, and 24-32 oz of Ironman Perform every hour. I felt great the entire bike and didn't have a single cramp. I definitely took in plenty of fluids and peed 10 times on the bike!

Another thing that helped me was not looking at my watch. Too often I get caught up in the numbers whether it be overall time, mph or what mile I'm on. I made a point not to look at my watch and just enjoy the race.

I rode the entire 112 mile bike course with the IAMTRI group a month before race day and recommend this to everyone in the future. Knowing every turn and hill on the course helped me know where to expend my energy and where to take it easy.

I also took several pro's advice and didn't eat anything the last 10 miles so that my stomach could empty out and not feel too queasy at the start of the run.

Nothing at all. I felt great the entire bike.

I took my time here and dried my feet off with my towel, applied more Body Glide in those special areas and also put plenty of Body Glide on my feet and between my toes to prevent blisters. I took a 5 Hour Energy drink and walked to the Run Out sign.

Nothing. I felt like taking my time to get everything in order was the smartest move.

Everyone is hurting at this time and I was no different. I had done a great job so far with nutrition and staying within my physical ability. It took me the first mile or so to get my legs and then it was just trying to keep moving. I felt pretty well considering the long day already behind me. I took in cold sponges, ice, and water and every aid station. I occasionally ate a very small portion of the pretzels, potato chips, and cookies. On the second loop I tried the flat coke and chicken broth at a few aid stations but it just wasn't for me.

At this point I was sick of Powerbar gels, salt tablets and Ironman Perform. I tossed what I had prepared nutrition wise for the run and stuck to relying of the aid stations for all of my calories and fluids. I thought it was a good choice at the time but in retrospect I probably was running a bit low on sodium towards the start of the second loop. I was still taking in tons of fluids though and my body definitely let me know this because I had to stop 13 times to pee (sorry too much info again).

Overall I can't complain too much really because my run split was very respectable at 5:12 and that is including all of those stops.

I walked around with family and soaked in the moment, took a few pictures and watched a few people cross the finish. I then took a few previous Ironman finisher's advice and got an IV of fluids even though I didn't feel like I needed it. I'm very glad I did this because afterwards I felt fantastic. After that I had a few pieces of pizza, chocolate milk and cookies and relaxed for a few minutes before going to grab my bike.


Having to use the bathroom so much! But also very thankful that I was hydrated enough unlike the hundreds who had to drop out because of dehydration.


The volunteers at this race were top notch. I think they averaged like 5 volunteers per racer. Other racers and the community support were very friendly and supportive. I had an amazing FIRST Ironman. It was a very tough course, harsh weather conditions, and boring run but one of the best finish lines around. I keep a smile on my face all day long and kept a positive attitude the entire day. Not once did I ever meet that inner demon that told me I should quit or I will never do this again. Attitude can make or break your race and mine helped me finish in great time.

I won't be doing a full Ironman this coming year because I want to spend more time with my wife and one year old daughter but I will definitely be back again soon. On a related note, I made a point to show my wife and daughter that they meant more to me than training these past 7 months. I did all of my training at 4:15am (work from 7-4) and kept my weekend workouts very early in the morning as well. I did 95% of my bike rides on the indoor trainer and maxed out my run training at 15 miles. Always remember, its better to be 10% under trained than 1% over trained. I stayed injury free all year long and most importantly I kept my family happy with a husband and father who was always around. I had a great time and a special thanks to my family and friends for all of their support.