Ironman Louisville - Triathlon

I ended up getting in line around 5:30. This put me about a third of the way back from the start. Even though it took 90 minutes before the 7am canon start, I felt as if the time flew by. I am sure that was due to this being my first Ironman and the anticipation of what was to come. Took a Gu shot and got in the water at 7:14am. I ended up going to the far dock b/c nobody wanted to go down that side. I basically entered the water with nobody around me which was nice! The swim upstream required some punching and elbows but was totally comfortable. Sang lines from the musical 'Oklahoma' to keep a nice steady swim stroke and not get to caught up in the moment ('Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day'!!! perfect stanza for this event!). Anyhow, the turn buoy was a major choke point. Once past that though, it was open all the way to the exit. I swam on the inside left of the site buoys closest to the island. Very few people took that route which was awesome. Most people stayed out to the right in packs so I was able to swim freely and remain in my own world! The swim exit was a bit backed up but hey, at that time I didn't care b/c the swim was over!!

Nothing. I am not a swimmer and this by far exceeded my expectations. Thought the best I could do was 1:35 but ended up better than that so considered this a success.

I'll admit, my transition times were piss poor but I didn't care. I wanted to make sure I felt good and had all my gear. It is my fault for walking into T1 and out of T1 but I was enjoying the moment. Future races this won't fly but for this one, I was happy. Folks would laugh at my wife's comment though. She says to me "what happened in T1" to which I said "nothing". She looked at me funny and said "I thought something went wrong, you took so damn long!!" Actually made me laugh! Again, just enjoyed it all.

Trust myself and move faster than a snail but enjoyed it regardless

I will be honest, wasn't sure what to think on the bike segment so decided to just ride it out. The ride was fairly uneventful until about mile 80. My left foot started getting shooting pains if I wasn't pedaling. That was something new and interesting to say the least. Around mile 90 I was ready to hop off the bike. As much as I enjoy riding, I was ready to test myself on the run and lost patience with the ride. The aid stations were well handled by the volunteers. They were on point and amazing. I ended up taking a full bottle of water and racking it till the next aid station. I took another full bottle, took a few sips, poured over my legs and neck and then dumped it. For nutrition I ended up taking a salt tab every 40 minutes and then eating a honey stinger waffle every 50 minutes. At mile 65 I ate a PBJ sandwich which tasted amazing! Some real food hit the spot for sure. Got to see the family out on the double loop and that was quite awesome. Definitely keeps you driving forward. LaGrange was really nice to roll through as well. Good amount of support from the crowd along the barriers!. On a couple oddball notes, one biker had a support car riding along with him which was ridiculous. They kept riding along filming him. At one point he cramped up and they stopped to help him stretch. At other points on the road they were blocking other riders. It was just silly. Another odd car moment along mile 35ish just past the aid station a granny wagon was going slower than the bikes. It was just crazy but hey, that is all what made this memorable!!

Push a bit harder and trust my training but pleased overall

See T1 comments. This was an awful transition time by any standard but I didn't care. I took it easy, walked in/out of the Transition to ensure my legs caught up with me and it worked as the run started out really well! The volunteers were awesome in both T1 and T2. Can't say enough Thank You's to those people.

Future races, pick it up!

As stated by others, this tended to get a bit boring the further out from town you got but I wouldn't trade the flat course for anything. I ran the first loop really well but began to take it easy on loop 2. Saw my sister at mile 15 and she said to take it easy, people were falling apart b/c they wouldn't slow down. I took her advice and began to add walking to the run. Mile 16 I ran into my bike rack mate Ryan from Chi-town. At this point, I knew finishing was in the bag and time no longer mattered so he and I walked together and had some great conversations till the turnaround at mile 19. At that point, we decided to run it out. I couldn't keep up with Ryan to gave him my congrats as he sped away. I added run/walks for the next 4 miles. There was a group of fans that cracked me up. They were there the support 'IronBob' but every time I passed them they would yell 'There is the man with the hair' and we would exchange high fives. (Side Note: My Son and Daughter wanted me to get a Red Mohawk for this race. I obliged so this is what the fans were referencing) At mile 25 it was all run. Ran to .8 miles out and my wife started running alongside me on the sidewalk letting me know all was good. At mile 140 a volunteer started yelling at me that I had done 140 miles and only .6 was left to my goal. That was awesome. He made my day. At .4 miles out, I saw my sister, son and in-laws and gave high 5's as I passed. The crowd on 3rd street was going nuts and playing music and I was pumped. AND THIS WAS ONLY 3rd ST!!! I hit the cross street with my wife and sister running behind me saying "we can't keep up". That was funny, they kept me driving forward the whole day. Hit 4th St and the bright lights and loud crowd drove me home. I high 5'ed everyone as I ran to the finish. Saw my daughter and father and gave them high 5's 300 feet from the finish. Then god spoke 'Brian Godlove from Fairfax, Virginia....YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!' Got my finishing gear and pic. The volunteers again were so helpful and amazing. Met up with the family and went back to the hotel.

Not walk 3 miles as that added a good 20+ minutes but hey, first time out, who cares, Loved every minute of it (even if it was a lot of minutes!!!!)

Nothing special. Walked back to hotel, took an ice bath and shower. Threw up and then had dinner! Got to sleep around 12:30


This being my first Ironman. Next time I will know I have more to give and will press harder. I wanted to finish this one and accomplished my goal. Future races will be about doing better!


This was a challenging course for a first timer. The swim is not bad. The bike will work you and the run is flat but after the bike, takes focus. I loved this race as the atmosphere from the city and fans from Thursday through Monday was amazing. The race was well run. The volunteers were just amazing (can't say enough good things about these people) The finish line was awesome with the crowds. Having family there was huge. I have joined the ranks of Ironman and look forward to competing in future events. Louisville was a great 1st and I am happy I chose this race to test myself. Congrats to all the other competitors and happy healing!