Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman

Once in the water the nerves go away and it's just you and the water. The water was warm and it felt awesome. I felt fast "against" the current. I remember thinking I couldn't wait to get to the turn around and have the current helping me. I was dreaming of a 1:10min swim! I felt that good. At the turn around I got to see the sun come-up over the horizon. "This is awesome." I think I smiled the whole Swim. I started down river and felt great so I said let's push it a bit. I felt strong and comfortable, but didn't feel much current? I hit the stairs at the finish, the crowd was loud. I felt like a pro. Check my watch. Thought it could have been worse.

Where a real swim suit.

SO COLD. The air temp must have been 60-65 degrees. I was COLD and STIFF. My ankles and calves felt like they were in a cast. I tried to jog it out. COLD. STIFF. I took some water from a volunteer and downed it. Got my bag, had a seat in the tent. I NEED TO GET WARM!I NEED A TOWEL. I found one a guy had left and got all the water off that I could. Got dressed. Asked a volunteer to put sunscreen on me(I think they kept it on ice) and headed out.

Bring a towel in my bike bag. Bring arm warmers.

I pretty much froze the first two hours. I was literally shivering. It was still early, the temp was cool and there was a lot of shade on the first part of the course. I couldn't in my right mind think about pushing the pace at all on the bike, so I just had to wait until the temperature rose. SUCK IT UP IRONMAN. The many downhills were the worst. The wind would just chill you. Performace wise, I knew immediatly that I was at a disadvantage on this course. It was all very hilly. 5-10 minute climbing efforts at 8-12MPH, wicked downhills,reaching speeds of 40MPH. I found myself in unfamiliar terretory. Frequent changes in gears. UP. DOWN. It was hard to get in a rhythm and I knew I wasn't getting along as fast as I thouhgt. I was eating, and drinking alot though. Stopped at each aid station to pee. Although I was losing more time this way, I knew I would be as ready for the marathon as I could be. The last 50 miles is all mental. It's a longer day than you can even imagine.

Train on a course similar to the race course.

Adrenaline is amazing. The crowd was great. I felt rejuvinated. Told myself to just keep moving. Shoes on. CHECK. Hat on. CHECK. Water bottle. CHECK. Shades. CHECK. Just keep moving. Another slathering of sunscreen and im off. 26 mile 1 mile runs to go.

nothing

BODY SCAN. Legs. good. Knees. good. Feet. Good. Stomach. CODE RED! I started the marathon feeling great, except for the nausea and inability to get anything into my stomach without feeling like I just ate glue. GU. VOMIT. Gatorade. VOMIT. I couldn't take in anything. But I was running well, and I was hydrated(or so I thought) after drinking a peeing a lot during the bike. So I figured I'd just run a few more miles and maybe my stomach just had too much in it? At mile 5 I tried some pretzels. 6 pretzels. 7 pretzels. OK good. No stomach issues. Mile 8-9, I started slowing a bit. I wasn't sweating. Was it getting cooler out? Were the icy sponges keeping me cool enough? I'm not thirsty? I took the next aid station slower. Nothing sounded appetizing. I need to get some calories in me. I have 16 more miles to go. OK. Just water, lost of ice. Next mile no stomach issues. OK fluids only. NO GATORADE THOUGH! By now it was like drinking maple syrup. How about COKE? YUM...It was working. Water and Coke from here on out. I was still feeling pretty bad at the turn around for the second loop. I saw the finish line too. The race director must have a sick sense of humor. I could have punched her in here knee cap. Shorty after I saw Lisa and told her I was struggling. I don't know how i was going to do this. I was already 10+ hours in. She pretty much said suck it up and pushed me down the road. OK 12 to go. My legs where running as they did at various speeds throughout the marathon. So I was thankful for that. Water. Coke. Water. Coke. Water. Coke. At mile 20 I had to pee. Lets just say that I confirmed that I was a bit dehydrated. Ooops. More water please. Coke. Chicken Broth. MMM? Not bad. At mile 25 I gave it all I got. I was bulletproof! NO PAIN! I was flying. Turns out it was only a 10 min mile, but I didn't know that at the time. The Crowd was getting louder. Cheers. Cowbells. I can hear the announcer. Barriers appeared on either side of me. Asphalt turned into carpet. I threw out my sponges. Chucked my water bottle. Straightened my bid. Zipped up my jersey. Flash bulbs go off everywhere. Finish line! I give a Tiger Woods fist pump and can't help cheesin. PARADISE!

Hydrate better in the early stages of the marathon.

A volunteer all but gave me a piggy back to the end of the finishing shoot. I could have walked by myself, but I really didn't mind. He just asked me where my people were and then handed me off to Lisa. I was acting like my team just won the Superbowl.I was so happy.


Virginia Beach topography. Inexperience in Ironman distance. Tiny bladder.


I'll be back.