Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

We got to the start area around 5:30 with race start at 7:00, but Kati (my wife and co-racer) was right - it was better to be there early and starting right at the gun than to have to wait. We were about the 40th people in line and started not even 2-3 minutes after the gun. The water was surprisingly clear and did not have too much current. As a slow swimmer, I knew people would be passing me and boy and boy did they. I actually thought I was sighting pretty well - I sighted more this race (and had been practicing in the pool) than most of my sprints. In general, my swim time was a little faster than I expected but by starting in the front of the pack, I wonder if I was able to draft off people more than I realized - Even so, probably around 1000 people passed me on the swim! There was a lot made of the water quality for IMKY and even was questionable the night before due to a rain storm; however, the clarity and lack of vegetation in the race was better than a lot of the smaller lakes I have swam in for sprint distances - I guess it's more a question of whether you end up with a stomach bug etc from swallowing the water.

Swim faster - - Actually nothing, it went about as well as I could have hoped.

coming out of the water, I started running up toward transition and remembered I had a long day ahead - despite having time goals, my only real goal was to finish - so I ended up walking some into transition and taking in the crowds and atmosphere

in retrospect, a steady jog into T1 could have saved some time and probably wouldn't have worn me out any.

Wow. The bike course was tough! We had heard on line about how horrible the bike course was and drove it on Friday before the race. I had my concerns, but knew it was very similar to what we had trained on if not a little easier - it's just that what we trained on was hard too!!! The LeGrange festival area was totally awesome. People were lining the streets, ringing cowbells and cheering for every competitor. They were absolutely fantastic and it lasted for at least 2 miles - What a rush, I choked up as I rode through because I had spent most of the morning telling myself it's just another training day but your training all three sports together - but seeing all the people and hearing them yell "you're amazing" made me remember all of the time and effort it took to get to this point!

I started having stomach trouble on the bike around mile 60, just after special needs bag. I tried to eat my peanut butter sandwich and got my second bottle of perpeteum. Knowing I needed the energy for the run, I forced all of it down by mile 90 so it wouldn't be sitting in my stomach for the run. Between the increasing heat, the toughness of the course and taking in all my nutrition, I was feeling pretty rough for the relatively smooth ride back into Louisville for the last 15 miles.

In retrospect, I think I hydrated well but took in too much nutrition. It wasn't the flavor or anything else - I had practiced all of it during training rides. I think it was just too much. Most of my training rides, I planned nutrition more for the rides than to get through the marathon and I think I psyched myself out trying to get all of my food in. Ride hungrier so as to not overfill.

T2 was slow, I felt like i was beginning to overheat and the transition tent was hot causing me to sweat even more. My stomach was queasy from the end of the bike and I decided to move slowly. I knew I wasn't worried about 4 or 5 minutes in T2 as much as 26.2 miles after it. I also took time to apply sunscreen and change into running gear.

considering my stomach, nothing.

If I had felt better off the bike, I probably would have stayed in my race suit the whole day.

Feeling queasy off the bike, I settled into the run thinking I was already getting dehydrated and overheated. I got out and my legs felt great to not be cycling anymore and I was pumped about how fresh they felt. I was worried however about getting dehydrated and how my stomach felt. I used ice sponges at every aid station for probably 13 miles and put them in my hat to cool off. I started with my run 10 minutes walk 1 minute plan, but by mile 3 had to ditch it so as not to throw up. I switched to a walk 5 min run 5min, and even that was "just a guideline". I was able to walk fairly fast because my legs still felt fresh. At Mile 6, I saw Kati coming back from the turnaround - She was so positive saying how great she felt I didn't want to bring her down by saying how crappy I felt so I told her I'd see her at the finish line, but I might be walking it in. I took in no nutrition for the rest of the run except for watered down gatorade for the last 10 miles instead trying to sip water at each aid station. This plan seemed to work well and after the turnaround just over mile 13.1 my stomach finally started to settle. I was pleased that I could easily settle into my 5 min run 5 min walk and actually did a couple of 10 min run 5 min walks. I ended up with a faster 2nd half than 1st by probably close to 5 minutes and the last 2.2 miles was able to average just over a 9 min mile. I really wanted to finish under 14 1/2 hours and had to push it hard at the end. Looking back, it's hard to even remember the last 200 yards of the race other than giving high fives and knowing I was going to finish. Kati was waiting for me at the finish and gave me a big hug!

Be able to stick to my plan.

Walked to the massage area, sat for a while, had a short massage focusing around my traps and spine then the horribly long walk back to Transition to pick up our stuff. I tried to do an ice bath upon return to our hotel but began to shiver uncontrollably with just my feet in it. Went to sleep.


My stomach really kept me from having the race I could have but my hoped for best race scenario goal time was 14:30 and I reached it so it's hard to tell would've, could've, should've as a first time event. Overall, I think I race better hungry. You have to drink before your thirsty, but I think I need to pay better attention to eating when I'm hungry, not just "when I'm supposed to"


The crowd support and volunteer support were fantastic. Considering the logistics of the last minute swim start change and some other minor details, I can't imagine how much better this race could be run. What a fantastic experience the entire weekend was!