Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

As pleasantly expected, the swim was great for me. Aside from some toe tickling and soft brushes with other swimmers, there was zero contact due to the time trial start. The last month I've been lake swimming with no wetsuit and this swim was no problem. I'd read here and there that the Ohio River is polluted and I must say, it was fine - even clean in my opinion. I could see swimmers underwater, and when I did take in an occasional accidental mouthful it tasted fine.

My goal time was between 1:18 and 1:20 - but my bigger goal was to just maintain good form and swim easy and smooth; really stay within myself and try to set myself up for a good day. And I did just that. For me, it was a thrilling experience to swim 2.4 miles in the Ohio River.

If I were to do this swim again (and I hope to) after the turn-around, when you begin swimming downstream for the last 2/3rds, I would make more of an effort to swim on a slight angle to the left. I kept finding myself swimming straight, which led me more toward the middle of the river, when indeed the River does bend to the left.

I'm actually surprised my T1 was this quick. I swam in my jammer so I had to do a full change into my tri suit, apply some lube to my crotch, I dried my shoulder blades with a towel to make sure the suncreen would adhere, dried my feet with a towel. I put on my Ironmanlive tracker belt and race belt. Stuffed my pockets with some nutrition.

I ran out of the transition tent and got sunscreen applied to my shoulder blades, neck and the little sliver on my lower back. (I have a permanent burn mark there from LP 2011!)
and downed a full liter of Smart Water.

I wouldn't do anything differently. In a 70.3 or shorter transition times are critical; in an Ironman (for me) I'm learning making sure I do everything right and carefully is more important.

I watched an Endurance Nation video on how to race Louisville. The coach in the video said to go easy on the swim. For the bike he said to "JRP' it for the first 38 miles (Just Ride Along Pace). Work some of the hills but keep it easy so you're not 'banished' from the aero bars for the last 22 miles back which are slightly downhill, fast and flat. I took this advice to heart and nailed the bike from start to finish. My first 23 mile split was slight faster than my other splits simply due to a tailwind:

23 mi 23 mi 1:11:21 2:40:48 19.34 mi/h
40 mi 17 mi 55:07 3:35:55 18.51 mi/h
70.5 mi 30.5 mi 1:37:55 5:13:50 18.69 mi/h
112 mi 41.5 mi 2:14:41 7:28:31 18.49 mi/h
total 5:59:04 avg 18.72 mi/h

Just a mile into my ride I was trying to adjust my livetracker belt and I accidentally ripped one of the holes on my race belt. My next thought was, If this is the worse thing that happens during the next 111 miles, I'll take it. And it ended up being true.

The first 12+ miles of this course are uber flat, and then you make a right for an out & back that had two bombing descents and two decent but short climbs. I was really surprised how many guys passed me and looked like they were at an all-out effort, burying there heads and pedalling like it was a sprint!

After the out & back we started the first of two loops of LaGrange. At this point I had to pee - really bad!! The Endurance Nation coach noted repeatedly in his video that you MUST drink an obscene amount. And so I did. My lower back was hurting and aero position too, so I pulled over at the top of a climb and peed next to a cauliflower field. Another rider (from South America I think) pulled over to and did his business. I tried to talk to him but I don't speak spanish :). He left and there I was still emptying my bladder. I timed it at about 2' 30". I felt a lot better after that but knew I'd have to readjust my strategy cause just around 30 miles into the bike, and two or three more stops like this, and I was going to cost myself a lot of time on the bike. I made the conscious decision to 'pee on the bike' and I ended up doing so, over and over and over again!! I tried to be mindful of it and wait for downhills and when no one was behind me.

The course was continually rolling - you're either going up or down, but even with my 12-25 cassette I rarely (if maybe four times) had to resort to my easiest granny gear. Some of the climbs (if it were training) I might have even kept it in my big ring. The course was very beautiful. Unfortunately on the far part of the loop I passed over 20 riders changing flats; later word got out that someone put tacks on the road. Oy vey.

On the second loop of LaGrange many riders came back to me, I was nailing my nurition plan and each hour that passed I felt better and better - the second loop went by quickly and I was grateful not to have flatted.

Around the 5 hour mark I started making my way back to town. At this point I was alone for some stretches and I was slowly reeling in riders. I was so damn proud of myself that I was able to maintain Aero Position for 95% of the ride back into town cause the winds that were pretty tame all ride, where not a NASTY HEADWIND.

Notta. Zip. Zero.

I did a perfect flying dismount and trotted easily into transition. I got into the transition tent and I SOAKED IN THE MOMENT. I was in a T2 Transition Tent feeling AWESOME. A month prior in Lake Placid this was oh-so not the case. It was so damn lovely to feel good, coherent even, in a T2 tent at an Ironman.

Again, I had another towel packed in my bag and I toweled off, put on fresh socks, drank some water, got my garmin out, threw out my old nutriton wrappers and stuffed my pockets with fresh.

I came out of transition and my legs felt great. I had my garmin in hand, waiting for a signal and BOOM - there was my family!! I was so happy to see them for the first time!! I stopped and kissed them all. What a BOOST. I ran up the bridge and already I was passing runners walking. Running on the bridge reminded me a little of the NYC Marathon. Coming down the bridge I saw my family again, but they were on the far side of the road so I just waved this time.

After restarting my garmin three times it never got signal so I just stuffed it back in my pocket. My running time on my watch read around 7 hours and 30-something minutes. Right on schedule. My plan was to run the first 10k at around a 9 min mile and then see how I feel. All along my goal was simply for a 4 hour flat marathon. My stand-alone marathons are all around 3:30 with a 3:15 PR; and my training has been spot on - so I think this is a realistic goal.

The fans lining the Louisville streets were freaking awesome. Before I knew it I looked up and I was at Mile 5. The run is a flat, straight shot and it was real easy for me to get in a zone. It was hot out , but it felt manageable as the humidity did not compare to Orlando (where I ran 17 miles two weeks earlier in BRUTAL heat and humidity) or Long Island (where I do all my run training). I saw Jackie Arendt (2nd Female OA) running on the other side of the road and it was just really cool, almost surreal, to be on the run course and it was close-to-empty!! Just a few scattered runners here and there. This felt like a real privilege.

I was hitting aid stations and taking in water and Perform, but the gels in my back pocket stayed there as I had no desire for solids. Somewhere around mile 5.5 I could feel my gut bloating. I pushed myself to just tough it out to the out & back around mile 8. But I didn't make it. First I slowed my pace. Started walking longer at aid stations. And then the last mile before the turn around I wasn't taking in any nutrition at the aid stations and I was walking. I pretty-much walked from mile 7 to 14. After the turn-around I could see the scores of athletes flooding the roads. And I knew most of them were going to soon catch me.

Somewhere around around the 11 or 12-mile mark I spent a good amount of time in a port-a-potty. It was gosh-awful hot in there; tough to breathe even. Thoughts of another DNF ran through my head. I was feeling so sick that I couldn't even feel upset or disappointed - I was purely focusing on breathing and staying conscious! When I got out of there I felt a bit better. I looked down at my watch and knew that even if I had to walk it, I had more than enough time - and this whole trip was about finishing, about redemption; not some silly time on the finisher's clock.

Around mile 13 walking started becoming tough and even the other walkers were passing me! That's when I started to get nervous and upset. The crowds were awesome and people told me just great encouraging things. I knew I was going to see my family again when I entered back into the city so I forced myself to start taking in nutrition at the aid stations. I tried pretzels, but they were like eating chalk and I could barely get them down my throat. So I resorted to coke. And the coke was FLAT! I forced myself to drink at least two cups at every aid station. As we approached Louisville my bloating subsided a bit and I started trotting again. I couldn't let my family see me walking. I didn't want my kids to see that. And so I shuffled.

Many times during this dark period I thought of my good friends who I knew would be tracking me. Knowing you guys were watching from above in cyberspace helped me to keep moving forward.

I looked up and In front of me was the straight shot down to the finish chute. You can see the finish line from this point clear as day - and it motivated me. I made the right-hand turn to start the second loop and who's there on the corner - MY FAMILY! I had dragged them all the way to Louisville and here I was on the verge of another DNF. But the beaming exuberant expressions on their faces just filled me with some much energy. They were screaming and jumping; my son especially was do damned excited to see me. I was just about to tell my wife that I was falling apart and that I was having a terrible run (forgetting she had a livetracker and could see my pace every second) and before I could say a word she said, "It's okay. You're doing great!" For whatever reason those words were so welcomed and profound at that very instant. It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear - and I had no idea until I heard her say it.

Needless to say, I only walked one more time after leaving them. I made it my mission to take in coke at the aid stations and miraculous I was running again. And not only running, motivating other runners, interacting with the crowd, having a great time!! A woman picked up a man lying down on someone's lawn. She said, "C'mon and start moving!" I asked him how he was and he said he was fine, but his head felt spacey. I gave him a cup of coke I was holding and had him wash down two salt pills. And this is how my second loop went. I playfully played cat and mouse with other runners; I think I hit an 8:00 flat pace a few times; Made sure to walk the aid stations - commenting on the cleaner stations and thanking the volunteers profusely; it was Mardi Gras for me on the second loop. However I did need a carrot and was hoping to break 13 hours; so I pushed a bit much on the last 5k. This sent me spiraling back and I did have to walk again for a short while. I tried to motivate other athletes as best I could. By this point in the race there were lots of athletes walking (most actually) and there was a handful of athletes laid out on the side of the road being tended to by police and EMT's.

The last mile I was pretty disoriented and I actually wasn't recognizing the race route turns, despite having just ran it 13 miles earlier. Funny part was I initially started running down the wrong chute. I was halfway down the road when I saw I was in the coned lane for the 2nd loop and quickly jumped over to the Finish entrance. The 4th St Live finish chute was superbly loud and everything I imagined a finish chute should be. When I crossed the line I did a leaping heel click (see new avatar :)) Redemption accomplished!

It's frustrating, the Ironman Marathon. Frustrating to nail your nutirion, pacing, training, and still run way below your potential; but hey, that's Ironman. 140.6 miles is a different beast than any other triathlon race. I've signed up for four full Ironman's now. My first was a DNS due to injury just a month out from the race. 2nd Ironman I bonked on the Run 12 miles in, with much more favorable weather conditions. 3rd Ironman I totally screwed up my nutrition and earned a DNF. And now #4 is just my second finish. I'm still a rookie with lots and lots to learn.

Gathered for pics with the family. Nausea grew and grew and back in the hotel room I threw up all the remaining broth and coke in my belly.


Hmmmm... I may have took in a little extra fluids and calories on the bike; but I'd rather risk being a bit over than under. Also the heat was probably a factor.


Louisville is a fun city. Ironman did a great job. The volunteers where as good as it gets. A month removed from a DNF this race was more of a Life Lesson for me. I looked fear dead in the eyes, drove 1700 miles round-trip in 5 days, and after 140.6 miles I put my finisher's hat on a new man. And like I did in Lake Placid, I got my finisher's shirt in a size SMALL and gave it to the person who really deserved it. My wife.