Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

this was a nice swim. The water was brown and could not see much, but not a big deal for me. Water was warm which suits me well, I have trouble in cold water, so temps in the 80's was extremely pleasant. Going up the channel there were some really slow people already stopping to do breaststroke within the first few hundred meters. Part of the problem with the time trial start is that the cutoff time clock of 2 hours 20 mins did not start running until the last swimmer was in the water, so that gave incentive for the slow swimmers to get in the water early.

Once I turned the buoy and got into the main channel it was smooth sailing. I went a period of 10 mins or so without really seeing anybody, wondered for a sec if I was missing something. Stayed close to all of the buoys and swam right into the stairs to get out. I would have liked to swim a little faster. I was anticipating a little help from the current. In the overall I don't think the current played a factor, I can swim at least this fast in a normal lake.

Relax a bit more at the start. The last 10 mins I started to slow my pace a bit.

Good transition, nothing much to mention here. The only problem was after I got sunscreen slathered on me, I accidentally got it on my sunglasses, then in my eye. Took the better part of 4-5 miles to get it spread out, clean the goggles, and get my eye situation straightened out.

not much, spread sunscreen before getting onto bike would make things easier

Clearly my weak point of the day. I started out slow and with a good pace. Goal was to treat the first 2 hours as a warm-up. I was getting passed by what seemed like the whole race. Started wondering if there was anybody left behind me by the end.

Made it about 1.5 hours and started to go a little harder (mistake). I had missed a few longer bike workouts along the way which I paid for the whole bike leg. Nutrition was good. I was killing a bottle per hour of 290 calorie Infinit, supplementing that with water and gatorade at aid stations. Stopped to pee twice in porta potties, the third time I couldn't wait so I did that one on the run (my first time, ewww). Anyways, it seemed like the aid stations were a little far apart, the special needs bag was between miles 60-65 I think, swapped my bottles out there for new ones. Continued my hydration and calorie plans. Around mile 80 I started to feel the effects in my legs. I knew it was coming. Wendy, my coach (and '08 women's amateur Ironman World Champion, going back to defend this year, GO WENDY!!), warned me the race starts at the 80 mile point of the bike. Yeah, didn't feel too good at that point. As if some higher power could sense my fatigue I got a flat. It worked out ok I needed a break so I decided not to let it bother me, I would relax sit down and take my time fixing. I got my tube, CO2 and tools out, got the tire off, just when a cyclist pulls up. I cannot recall his name, but he was the guy in the pink polka dot jersey, perhaps many of you encountered him. He was riding around helping with flats. He helped my get everything in order and had me back on the bike in a few minutes. Overall damage was probably 10 mins due to the flat.

With a slight rest I was able to get back on the bike and tackle the last 25 miles. I got within about 7 miles and started hitting a wall with my legs. They did not want to pedal very hard. I came to terms with this and turned it down a couple notches. I reasoned slowing my bike down by 5-10 minutes at this point could save me dozens of minutes on the run. I focused on hydrating and getting to transition in one piece. It was tough with everybody passing me though.

Go a little harder in my long bikes and make sure to complete them as scheduled. This gives me something to improve on in AZ

Nothing to speak of here. Hit the porta john again, sunscreen, and off. Didn't think I took that long, but oh well.

nothing

There is room for improvement here, but I am happy with what I did. The goal going in was a sub-5 marathon. I delivered, painfully. I started out the run slow, knowing it was only a matter of time before the bike caught up with my legs. I completed the first 12 or so miles without walking at all except briefly through the aid stations.

First hour I took a couple endurolytes, about 10oz water, 10oz gatorade, and 8oz cola. I also ate 1/3 banana and a few pretzels. I was starving for solid food and was craving ribs (mmmmmmm). Second hour I did the same thing, started going for oranges as well, and a cookie here and there.

I got to about the halfway point of the marathon and started to get an inner knee pain. That was troubling. I was feeling great at this point other than the shooting pain in my knee which was staring to cause me to walk portions. I was dropping from a 10 min pace to 11min/mi. It was ok, I knew I could still finish handily.

I saw my parents and Misty at the turnaround. I stopped for a second to talk with them and stretch. Told them the second lap would be slower and they said no problem, get it done, and offered great support. It was emotional and uplifting running through the crowds and knowing when I returned I would be declared an official Ironman.

The adrenaline of running through the crowds wore off and I was faced with the harsh reality that my knee was extremely pissed off at me for running right now. I got into a run-walk routine. I would pick landmarks off in the distance and waddle to them, then walk until the pain went away. It was awfully hard. I kept telling myself I could do anything for a couple hours. I was also telling myself to be careful and not damage anything, I was going to finish, and want to be able to recover fast to train for AZ.

Somehow I was able to runwalk a pace of around 12min.mi. I was doing something like a 5min run/1 min walk deal. It was working, terribly painful, but working. I could feel myself grimacing every step. I could see other people having problems. My limp was getting progressively worse, but I knew I could bring it home. I got to within a half mile of the finish and the adrenaline of the crowd got me going. I was able to run the last .5mi painfree and bask in the glory of being proclaimed and Ironman as I came down the carpet.

I remembered Wendy telling me about holding my arms up and to keep them up. I haven't seen the photo, but I am pretty sure my arms were coming down when they snapped my finish line photo, damn! Oh well, I was feeling good. If it wasn't for the knee I could have really gotten a good time. I think it all traced back to my tough bike though. those rolling hills are something hard to train for in Colorado where you are either going up the mountain or down. In Kentucky it is constant up and down with no chance to get comfortable.

Prepare better for the bike

I was pleased with my finish time despite a rough day. I waited in line for the finish photo, slammed a cola, met the fam at the end of the chute and went to the food. mmmmmm pizza. Took down a whole pizza, some chips, a cookie, and some gatorade. Tried to keep walking, but I was pretty sore.


Cutting some of my longer bike rides short surely contributed to my poor bike, and then knee problems on the run. I am sure that tiring out my knee muscles on the bike made them susceptible to problems on the run. It was great to finish with a good time and plenty of room for improvement in the next 3 months, after a proper recovery period of course.


Not to be picky, but I would have prefered another aid station on the bike at the end on the way back into town. Other than that it was a great race which I will consider doing again, the only problem is it's so far from Colorado!