Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

I left T1 for the swim start which was 3/4 walk upstream at 6am. I thought that would give me plenty of time for a good placing. At the briefing the day before, director mentioned first come, first served, so line up early. When I arrived, the line was 1,000 deep! At that time I thought I would be waiting a long time to get into the water. Waiting around I felt as if I were waiting to ride Pirates of the Caribbean (mood, lighting, atmosphere). I got lucky cause the potty was very close to my waiting spot. After the cannon went off and the pros departed, the age groupers went in as if they were jumping out of an airplane. One every second. It was cool! I only had to wait approx 18min. Approx 10min into the swim, I had an issue with my googles leaking water so I trashed um, and swam the rest of the way without them. No biggie for me. I did find someone with the same speed and I just navigated off of them.

Nothing. I did upperbody work 2x week up until the week before the race and it helped with the current.

Not many racers in T1 tent as I expected. There were many seats available and my volunteer stayed and helped me get changed. I changed into a full bike kit. Volunteers were very helpfull and friendly!!

Nothing. Everything went as planned.

I enjoyed the bike course plus it's my favorite of the 3 events. I stayed in zone 2 (heart rate) most of the race. I was told by Coach Troy that the bike sets up the run so I didn't push it. I wanted too, but held back. My goal was to take in 450 calories per hour plus 3 e-caps which worked cause I didn't have any issues with nutrition. I stopped once to pee and once to grab my PB&J at special needs area. There were a few bright moments that I noticed along the course; a guy dressed up as a devil and a dead racoon covered with jewerly and a party hat.

Nothing, all went as planned. Remember, keep it simple.

Once again the volunteers in the transition area were great. I had my own body guard who helped me with everything.

Made the mistake of getting sunscreen. I trained in the heat and worked on my tan so I wouldn't need sunscreen. The wind blew the shit right into my eyes and I was blinded for about 30sec. In fact I ran right into the womens changing tent cause I was disoriented. The volunteers had to redirect me.

I knew the race comes down to the run. It's not how fast you go but how much you slow down. By this time of day, it was hot but I trained in the heat so I was ready! My plan was to keep moving and only walk the aid stations. Everything was on track until mile 18. That is when I felt the first cramp. Popped a few e-caps, several ibrophen and I was good to go. At mile 21+ the cramps starting getting worse so I popped more pills (ibrophen \ e-caps). When I stopped I couldn't get going again so I just keep going and going, and going. I have a Japanese engine with Ford parts so I just needed to keep the Ford parts intact until the end. Started to develope blisters and knee pain but just blocked it out mentally. The last mile was a gas with all the cheering fans and the finishing chute was way cool.

Do a marathon in the off season.

Went to hotel and jumped in the cold pool. Got the shivers so bad I had to run and take a hot shower. Sat around and ate some cold pizza and drank a cold beer in the hotel room then off to see others in my group finish.


I'm an old fart!


Overall they did a great job at this Inaugural event. Will I do an Ironman again, NO. God didn't put our bodies on this planet to be destroyed by an Ironman Event. My goals for the race were to have fun and finish before dark. Both were achived plus I heard today that they called my name for a roll down slot. Yes, it was a long journey but the payoff was great. I didn't have a coach, only discipline and motivation. I didn't know a fricken thing about Ironman 10 months ago so I read as much as I could via the internet to get educated. I would recommend 2 books that I used; Be Iron Fit (I used the competitive plan) and Going Long. These books were my bible. I didn't go and buy expensive stuff, I tried to keep it simple. I used my road bike with aerobars, and used a pair of spandex trunks from Target for the run and swim. It was a long 30 weeks of training and I know you can do it, cause I did it!! Go dog--