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 Swim
Comments: The water felt great. It was cooler than it has been in years past – still not wetsuit legal, but it was cooler than bathwater. It was still dark and murky, but it is the Ohio River. The swim is 1/3 upstream and 2/3 downstream. The dam was open during the practice swim and lots of people struggled with the current. They always close the dam the night before the race and leave it close during the race to reduce the current. There was not much current for the race. Most people swim close to the island the buoy line. I have learned that this is a mess of poor swimmer. Since I start in the back and am a fairly strong swimmer, I end up swimming around lots of people. To avoid the mass, I swim out closer to the shore line. This was great! After passing the end of the island, I started to cut over toward the buoys and then reach the turn and ran into the mass of people. There were sidestrokers, backstrokers, and breaststrokers all trying to make forward progress – crazy!. I suffered a few kicks, but managed to swim through the crowd. After the turn, I swam out away from the crowd and more in the middle of the river. I felt happy and was enjoying the swim free of contact. I swam under the first bridge and had a nudge on my right shoulder. I thought it was another swimmer, but it was a kayaker pointing for me to swim closer to shore and the buoys. I have never been too good with sighting. I kept swimming and made it to the swim exit. It was a nice swim. I yelled for Tammy who was volunteering at the swim exit – she didn’t see me because she was too focused on looking at all the hot guys! LOL. I did a nice jog/run into transition. I felt great! I heard and saw lots of friends. What would you do differently?: Swim: This was fine. I used a speed suit for the first time and really liked it. My swim will probably always be within a +/- range of 5 minutes.  Transition 1
Comments: The transition area was fairly clear and I had a volunteer help me. No issues. This was about a minute or 2 slower than usual. Not sure what was different.  Bike
Comments: It felt good to get on the bike and start the ride. I love this bike course. I had a good pace going out River Road and made sure I was drinking and taking in nutrition. I am nervous on the out and back section of the course going into the gorge. Like always, I saw a few accidents and racers were trying to find their positions. I made it with no problems. Went up the big climb without an issue – spinning to save my legs. After this section, I really start to race. There are lots of rollers and hills. I worked to spin up theses and not mash. I went through La Grange and saw/heard friends yelling for me – fast and flat section. The country road climbs are enjoyable and I was having fun. It was hot and humid. My Clif bar melted in to a glob that I sucked down and the Shot Bloks turned into gel. I was slowing at every aid station for more fluids. A big group of friends were at mile 50 (and 80 on 2nd lap). Great to see them. I felt fine the entire ride, but didn’t have the extra speed/power I have previously had. It was hot and humid, but I felt great. I really enjoyed the ride, but knew I was riding about 1-2 miles per hour average slower than I have previously on this course. I was careful to keep a high cadence to save the legs for the run (ended up not needing them). As I finished the second loop and started the ride back in, I knew this was not going to be my day. I was okay with this and continued to enjoy the rest of the bike course. What would you do differently?: Bike: I love this bike course! It was hot and humid, but I felt fine. I did a great job with nutrition and hydration. I focused on cadence and didn’t mash the hills. My legs felt solid. I pushed, but not too much as killing my legs for the run – I have learned how important it is to balance this! I did slow at more aid stations that I have in the past for additional fluids. I was slower than I have been in the past on this course and believe it was due to the bike training leading up to this race. Mike likes to ride the coast road to train and I sometimes will ride this with him or other groups. The coast road is nice, but not great for training. There are lots of stop lights, stop signs, and traffic. The stop and go is not optimal training for a race. For an ironman, or any other triathlon, I do not get off the bike until I start the run. There are no stops in a race. I need to ride more on my own or with a faster group. We usually average 15 mph on our rides. The rides I did solo and in other locations, I would average 17+ mph. I can’t expect myself to hold a 20mph race if I am not training more frequently at a faster speed. Transition 2
Comments: I rode into transition 2 seeing lots of friends and getting kiss on the cheek from my friend, Paul, as he took my bike to rack it. Again, I was about 2 minutes slower here than usual. Volunteer was there to help. No issues.  Run
Comments: I could tell as I left transition that is was going to be a slow run on the double out and back course. This was my slowest marathon run – ever. I used my inhaler within the first mile due to the thick air and this helped my lungs. My legs actually felt okay. I tried to run, but couldn’t hold a pace faster than a 10:00 – 11:00 minute mile. I have no idea what happened. I didn’t over bike and my legs were not too sore or heavy. I just couldn’t run. I saw Mike in the first mile and told him that it was not happening. I just knew. I accepted this and decided to enjoy the rest of the day. I saw my E2 teammates on the course and had lots of friends all over the course cheering. I would run/jog for a little while and then stop to chat with some friends. Some people I have not seen since I moved away 2 years ago, so it was great to chat with them. I would stop for hugs, smacks on the butt, and pictures. I would walk and chat with my friends for a while. I attempted to use some Vaseline for some chafing I was having with the sports bra, but the Vaseline had melted! I put my hand in the jar and realized that the heat had caused it to separate! I did great with nutrition and hydration. I had no problems with cramping or feeling light headed. I still didn’t need to take/try the salt tabs. I felt fine, but just couldn’t run. It felt like I didn’t have enough miles on my legs. My run pace for this marathon was slower than the run pace I held during the double iron – that is crazy! At one point, I thought I was going to be on the course in the dark and need a glow stick, but this didn’t happen. Again, I am not sure what went wrong, but I couldn’t “run.” What would you do differently?: Run: I don’t know what happened here. My legs were not overly tired or sore. My lungs felt decent. I just couldn’t run faster than a 10-11 minute mile. I felt very out of shape. It was hot and humid, but I was okay with this. Still odd to realize that I ran the double with a faster mph than the run pace for this ironman. I honestly don’t have any thoughts. Once I realized what my pace was going to be, I had no problem stopping and walking to chat with friends. If I had continued to push at the pace I could, I may have been able to cut off 30 minutes. It was not worth it. I know what I need to change with the bike to get myself back to my old pace, but I am not sure for the run. Post race
Warm down: Coming to the finish line was an amazing feeling. I was finishing my 10th ironman race and felt great! I crossed the finish line with my hands up waving my 10 fingers and with a huge smile!!! Event comments: Overall: I had a great day! No, I didn’t PR, or go another sub 11, but I finished ironman #10 and had fun doing it. Swim – 56:20 T1 – 6:03 Bike – 5:48:05 T2 – 4:54 Run - 5:24:49 TOTAL = 12:20:11 13/79 age 35-39 F 73 Female 439 Overall Last updated: 2014-01-05 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
100F / 38C
Sunny
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 13/
I arrived in Louisville late Tuesday evening and was met with the lovely hot and humid weather. Two years in San Diego has spoiled me. My dad picked me up from the airport and we went home to Cincinnati. I needed time with my family. It was wonderful to spend time with them. My dad then did the 2 hour drive back to Louisville on Friday morning. I checked in at the Galt House Hotel at 10:00AM. Family time was over and it was now time to focus on the race.
I was lucky and my room was ready early, so I was able to check in and get settled. I then went to athlete check-in and was checked in by my amazing friend, Tammy! Perfect start to the weekend. I was so excited to see her. She crewed for me for the double iron and is just an inspiring person. We chatted a bit before she had to get back to her volunteer duties and I went located TriBike Transport to pick up my bike. This was my first time using this service. I have always packed my bike in my bike box and taken it with me on the plane. I must say, TriBike Transport is a little more expensive, but worth it. So easy and such nice people. I took my bike to the room and organized my gear. I then met my 3 Cincy/Dayton (E2) teammates down at check in. We walked around the expo and then hung out for a while. None of us were going to the athlete dinner. I met Tammy in the hotel lobby and we walked down to 4th Street for dinner.
The practice swim was Saturday morning from 8-10. I met my E2 teammates and we had a nice swim and took some pictures. I swam for about 20 minutes in the lovely Ohio River. After the swim, I went back to the hotel to shower and rest. I also had some time to see and chat with some Cincy friends. I packed my gear bags and then went to transition to drop off bags and the bike around 3:30. I like to eat a turkey sandwich for dinner the night before a race, so I went to PotBelly while I was out to pick up food. I was really nervous and worried about the race.
I was awake at 4:15AM on race morning. This is sleeping in for me, since I usually wake up between 3:30- 4:00AM. I ate my bagel with PB and had some OJ. I did not want to get to transition too early since I knew the swim start line would be crazy. I left the hotel for transition around 5:30ish and happened to meet my friend Sarah and her boyfriend Doug. We went to transition to check the bikes and then walked to the end of the swim start line. We were in the back – way in the back. I wore my tri shorts and sports bra under a speed suite (not wetsuit legal). I ate a banana and drank some water as we waited for the start. I entered the water about 32 minutes after 7:00 (race start).