Ironman Louisville - Triathlon

Swim was a little congested going upstream, had some contact but not much. Maintained easy/warm up pace until the tip of Towhead Island and then started stretching it out a bit. Made it to the turn buoy at 32min. and still felt good. Turned downstream and stayed on the left edge of the main travel lane. Very minimal contact from here on out and made it to the first bridge in under an hour. A few short minutes later I was at the finish being hauled out.

Nothing, I was prepared and had a good swim.

The changing tent was chaos. I was hoping a good swim would give me some more open space here but not the case. A great volunteer grabbed a seat for me and helped with my gear. I didn't rush but didn't go slow either, think I was only in the tent about 5 minutes

Nothing

My plan was to go comfortable but steady and never feel like I was working too hard. I figured that was the best way for me to save my legs for the marathon. My coworker's wife Toni passed me just out of transition. Gave her a shout out and kept going. I averaged about 16mph in the flat 10 miles out of town and then started the hills. Just kept spinning up the hills and going comfortable on the way down. Pretty soon I hit the out and back, gave a high five to the Grim Reaper and hit the aid station.

The rest was pretty uneventful until I made the turn on 42. I was pleasantly surprised to have a light tail wind which did wonders for my frame of mind. Knowing that would be there for the 2nd time around was great. The road had been paved since 2012 and was very smooth compared to then. Plus, no tacks!!

Wound my way back into LaGrange and hit the special needs for a banana and some more lube. Around 1:30 or so the sun really started to come out and it was getting hotter.

Made the turn onto 42 for the last time and felt really good. That tail wind was so much better than the head wind in 2012. It helped me up my avg. speed by one mph. and helped me get my 7 1/2 hr. goal. Just kept cruising along comfortably and pretty soon I was in transition. I saw my coworker's support crew and also my college buddies. A few words with them and off to the tent.

Drink a little more, I had one bottle of Perform between each aid station but I was a little thirstier than I think I should've been when I reached transition. Otherwise not much, I ate well and had a Frogg Togg around my neck which was nice and wet and cool.

Being a slow rider means more space in the tent. I could actually move around a bit getting my stuff ready. Again had a great volunteer taking care of me. Got my stuff changed and away I went.

Nothing

I felt pretty good hitting the run course. My goal was to run the whole thing no matter how slow of a pace. It was still very hot and I was sweating pretty heavy. It seemed like there was more people walking than I would have thought but maybe most of those were on their 2nd lap. I was able to keep a pace between 12-13min/mile which was fine with me. Around the 10 mile mark I saw Toni heading up on her 2nd lap. Another shout out and some high fives and we split.

My feet were sore but otherwise I was doing okay up until the 19 mile mark. I started to feel the beginning stages of wooziness setting in. I had been taking plenty of fluid in but not enough other calories and it was catching up. I slowed to a fast walk (not much faster than my run pace) and started eating as much as I could stand at the next few aid stations. Around the 22 I actually started to feel better and started my 200 step run/100 step walk routine. Between 24 and 25 I was able to run for a few minutes and only took about a minute to walk for a break. Finally rounded the corner on 4th St. and took it on in to the finish.

Now here's the thing I think is ironic about endurance events. Even though you spend hours on a course, you can still be mere seconds over or under your goal. My secondary goal for that race was to be under 15 hours. It turns out that I made it by about 30 seconds. So if I had done one single thing different, another porta-potty stop, lingered just a little longer with my friends, or stopped at special needs on the run and I wouldn't have made it. Figure that one out!

Eat more, should have taken in a little more than I did at each aid station and I think I would have been fine.

Had a bottle of water and chocolate milk, I can never eat much after long races. Walked out of the finish area with my friends and met up with Toni and her fans. Was able to call my wife who couldn't make the trip but was able to watch my finish on line. Hung around for a few more minutes and then headed back to the hotel for a looooooong shower.


I'm still a novice cyclist so experience and strength in that area. Better nutrition on the run and maybe a little more strength there too. It was my 2nd time here so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. With all that in mind I still knocked 48 minutes off my previous time.


I love this race and have nothing but good memories from here. The volunteers are top notch. The course and supporters were great. Ironman does a great job with this race.