Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Louisville, Kentucky
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
93F / 34C
Sunny
Total Time = 13h 13m 33s
Overall Rank = 714/1975
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 109/320
Pre-race routine:

Arrived in Louisville on Thurs. night, too late for registration. Just grabbed some dinner, and unpacked. Friday was all about: hitting the Ironman Expo, retail therapy, Registration, lunch, dealing with the "freaking out at all the super-fit looking people"/"If I didn't have one before I've got one now" inferiority complex-thing, get my bike from TriBikeTransport.com, go for a checkout ride. Saturday morning was about the Gatorade practice swim, *CAREFULLY* packing your Bike and Run Gear bags and checking them in before the 5:00pm deadline, and then trying to stay calm all day/night until race morning.

Following Joel Friel's Triathlete Training Bible instructions, I really tried to avoid the crowds of other athletes all weekend. I know I might have missed making some really great friends, but this was about saving energy for the race. And anything to improve race performance and/or chances of finishing came first.

Woke at 3:30 (not that I slept that much anyway), dressed, packed up my Special Needs-nutrition and On-bike nutrition and liquids and started the 15-minute walk down to the Transition Area (Great Lawn) at about 4:30am. Stood in line until they opened it up at 5:00 on the dot. Pumped up my tires, double-checked my nutrition, and started off for my 15-minute walk to the Time Trial swim start (Tumbleweeds boat dock) by 5:15.

Stood in line for 90 minutes chit-chatting with other racers. Seemed like everyone around me was a multi-IM vet, and were all kind enough to share entertaining stories and offer excellent advice. What a great community the IM fraternity is!

There were perhaps 300-500 folks or so in front of us, but it was hard to tell because it was dark and so many of them were family and friends interspersed among the racers.

6:50 am and "BANG!" the starting gun for the pros goes off. After (a long) 10 minutes the AG'ers dave in at 7:00am, and I'm in the water at about 7:10am. And, after all that I forgot to start my watch. Oh well.

Event warmup:

There is no swim warm-up for AG'ers permitted in the water. I took (2) GU gels and sipped on a Gatorade bottle while in line.

Swim
  • 1h 29m 11s
  • 3862 meters
  • 02m 19s / 100 meters
Comments:

I'm a back-of-packer swimmer. I'm not going to be fast anytime soon, so I don't try to be. I just try and be comfortable in the water, keep my heart rate low, and swim to the mantra of "smooth & steady". I found my (draft) ride a little after the turnaround and sat on his ankles all the way to water exit.

The water is murky and it makes seeing other swimmers under water difficult. I had to literally "sight" my draftee every few strokes, or risk losing my ride.

I know I probably added 5 minutes or so to my swim by drafting off this particular swimmer, but I know it saved me a lot of energy. And while I couldn't be sure at the time, the trade-off turned out to be worth it.
What would you do differently?:

Not a thing...maybe just maybe look for a faster draftee.
Transition 1
  • 05m 57s
Comments:

Grabbed my bag on the way into the changing tent. Toweled off, socks on, shoes on, helmet on, apply sunsceen and bodyglide again...go!

At my bike, I clipped on my race belt and activated my MyAthlete GPS tracking device pulling a battery tab (which I was lucky enough to be one of their 40 beta testers at this race). Ran to the Bike Exit.

I immediately downed (2) GU gels, and washed it down with Gatorade and water.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Bike
  • 6h 39m 9s
  • 112 miles
  • 16.84 mile/hr
Comments:

I decided long ago that the bike was where my finishing or DNF'ing the race would be decided. If I hammered too hard, the run was going to punish me even worse than it does anyway. So, going in to the race I was going to try and average 150-160 watts.

The good news is all my training in California was on very similar rolling hills terrain. Thank God! There were absolutely no surprises in terms of the amount of climbing I had to do.

But, I actually ended up calling an audible and held closer to an average of 100-120 watts as often as I could--lowering my target power expenditure bigtime (and at the last minute...just to be safe)! Sure, I often exceeded the range while climbing or making small speed adjustments, but the lower range of watts was now my goal. And, yes, I was passed a lot, but not that much as I expected, and I managed to still pace with (careful to be 4 bikes lengths back) a number of other seemingly strong riders for most of the day.

I saw more Draft Marshall action in this race more so than any of my previous 6 races. I was constantly hearing one of the 15 Draft Marshall's motorcycle teams riding up alongside us. Didn't bother me, I just found it interesting. I never saw anyone in the Penalty Tent though on my two passes by it, though after the race I heard a number of riders tell me they did (see riders in the Penalty Tent...which is good IMO!)

Knowing this was my first IM, I was advised by one of my Club coaches to ride like I was just "touring the countryside". I took this message to heart.

My nutrition plan: (3) GU/Roctane packets per hour, supplemented with lots of water and Gatorade along the way--approx. 350-375 calories/hr. Additionally, I supplemented with (1) Salt tab at the top of every hour on the bike; and ate bananas whenever they were offered at the aid station.

I was repeated advised by veteran IM racers that morning in the swim line to HYDRATE, HYDRATE, and HYDRATE some more. I took this message to heart and drank water and Gatorade like crazy.

This also meant I had to pee...ALOT! Like every 1/2 hour! I ended up (for the first time) just peeing on the bike and didn't even bother looking for a place to stop (with one or two exceptions) the whole race. And yes, the pee just runs down your leg and into your sock and shoe--gross! But, I didn't blister so I didn't care. I was careful to rinse off my thigh, leg, shoe with water after each peeing episode.
What would you do differently?:

Train harder on the bike, so that my "easy pace" is faster.
Transition 2
  • 09m 59s
Comments:

T2 I took my time. I was no threat to any podium finisher, so I figured why the hell would I rush out of T2 in an Ironman? I rinsed off my whole body with water, and toweled off again. I had a second pair of clean socks in my Run Gear bag (S-C-O-R-E!) and was able to ditch my urine/sweat/water/gatorade-soaked socks, and put on clean fresh ones...to soak with urine/sweat/water/gatorade. :)

Applied BODYGLIDE bit time under my warms and on my sides above my jersey cutouts where I chafe sometimes. I applied a TON of sunscreen to my arms, back, lower back, and face.

Put on my running shoes, visor, and hat and headed out of the changing tent. Drank as much water as I could stomach on the way out.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 4h 49m 17s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

It was HOT as hell in that crappy part of town. Later there were tree-lined boulevards, but you had to endure the inferno twice! Lots of racers succumbing to the heat, and having their IM dreams dashed--pros and AG'ers alike.

The aid stations every mile were a godsend. They had ice filled tubs with sponges, water, gatorade, flat Coke, gels, bananas, pretzels, etc.

My plan was to alternate a gel and salt-tab at every aid station. This worked well until Mile 17 when I somehow lost my salt-tabs.

Another audible I called during this race to "Galloway" my way through the marathon. I decided to do this literally as I ran out of the Run Exit. So, I would run for 5 minutes, then recover with a walk for 1 minute. Then, start running again. At the top of every hour, I rewarded myself with a 3 minute walk. At my pace, this dovetailed well enough with the aid stations with my breaks coinciding with the aid stations more often than not.

I believe my plan worked, because my body never denied me a restart of running after each minute of walk/recovery. I was going to extend the run periods...but the system was working and I didn't want to fix what weren't broke.

The second lap turn (with 12 miles to go) is cruelly within sight of the finishing chute and the Ironman archway. That's just plain WRONG. They couldn't turn you around like a block before you had to see that?

By mile 23 or was it 24 you hit the Ford motivational mile and know you're going to finish. That's a great feeling. I start running a little more now, and am soon hell bent for the finish line.

About 3 blocks out, I am almost at a full sprint. When I turn the corner onto Fourth Street and see the finishing chute, I am at full stride like I'm fresh up for running 400m repeats. I'm giving high-fives on the way in and just on Cloud 9.

Somewhere a block or two back from the finish line, I've even got the presence of mind to toss any/all crap (gels, sponges, whatever I've got tucked into my tri top), zipper up, and basically "primp" for a good finish photo!
What would you do differently?:

Try to run longer and faster between walk/recoveries. But being this was my first IM, I didn't want to DNF.
Post race
Warm down:

I finished this race with alot (I think) left in the tank. I wasn't woozy or particularly tired. My finish-line attendant kept asking me if I was ok, to which I replied "yes", and he even asked me to slow down as I was walking so fast he said towards the KICC.

They gave me a cool Gatorade towel, too, instead of the aluminum blanket.

I walked over to the KICC, where the post-race athlete care center was. En the way over I admittedly broke into tears. What an unbelievable emotion that overcomes you when you set out a goal, train hard for so long, and finally accomplish it.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

A possibly too conservative of a game plan. But, hey, stated goal was to "finish with a smile" and that was achieved. The next IM race will be for time.

Event comments:

Great race. But you need to be prepared for the heat. Highly recommended!




Last updated: 2008-03-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:29:11 | 3862 meters | 02m 19s / 100meters
Age Group: 188/320
Overall: 1302/1975
Performance: Good
Suit: swim skin / speed suit
Course: 2.4 mile point-to-point, first third upstream in a protected channel, then a left turn out into the river's main shipping channel.
Start type: Dive Plus: Shot
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:57
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
06:39:09 | 112 miles | 16.84 mile/hr
Age Group: 164/320
Overall: 1078/1975
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: 112 mi. with one long out-n-back, followed by two-loops through beautiful Kentucky countryside and the town of La Grange (where hundreds/thousands of spectators and family cheer you on!). Initially flat, then rolling hills between mile 10-100, before a flat-to-slightly-downhill last 10-miles.
Road:  Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 09:59
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
04:49:17 | 26.2 miles | 11m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 109/320
Overall: 714/1975
Performance: Good
Course: A two-loop course through the less-than-stellar concrete inferno jungle of downtown Louisville. Due to the UK vs UL football game, the run was detoured through this purgatory--instead of enjoying seeing Churchill Downs and the University campus. Oh well.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5