Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 2)

One week(ish) to go! Hope everyone has an awesome race!

Is anyone else doing Louisville this year?

I am in!

Edited by trinunya 2018-04-02 8:54 PM

I raced it in 2016 and went down to spectate for an athlete I was coaching last year. I would be happy to answer any questions people might have about the course or the area. On a somewhat related note, spectating was a lot more fun, haha! We watched the swim start, walked down to see our friends come out of the water, then drove to La Grange and set ourselves up to cheer/heckle/drink beer for the day... it was truly awesome!

This year is my third year doing Louisville. I like the venue and it's a good time of the year for me. In 2019 I will change things up and race Lake Placid.

I did it last year. My first and likely only ever full IM.
I enjoyed every second of it. Well, except for about 3 miles of the run after the sun went down and the front fully passed through and the temp dropped and I was cold. But knowing that I had a long sleeve t-shirt 100 feet away made turning away from the finish line for the second loop a welcomed experience. I wanted to be warmer more than I wanted to be 'done'.

It was everything I could have ever hoped for in my bucketlist experience. I missed the serious rain and barely got sprinkled on. And the headwinds? Welp, just something more to brag about.

For any first timers obsessing...don't worry about the hills. They exist that's about it. I never once was grouchy with them. NONE are deal breakers. There's only two of note. One leading up to the school....just take it easy, chuckle at the sign that will be there, and you'll be fine (through stroke of random luck, I met "Grandma" several weeks later at a completely unrelated event and I'm not from Louisville). By the time you think you need to get up out of the saddle or give it a little extra or something, you'll be at the top. The other one on the windy/narrow road...yah...lots of people drop their chain because it's steep and comes on a bit unexpectedly. But it's so short you could throw a rock from the bottom to the top.

I'm not a great cyclist and I did the entire first loop in the big ring. Like I said...I'm not a great cyclist. Life was far more pleasant on loop two when I made better use of the gears. Especially with the wind.

Easiest swim ever in terms of "sighting".

Lots of "fun" people watching and doing silliness along the course.

Stellar finish line.

Thanks for all the good info here. I am on week 15 and looking for motivation. This will be IM #3 but 1st time in Louisville.

What is the swim like? Current? water conditions?

Also, any good suggestions for a campground nearby? I am pulling a small travel trailer for lodging.

The current can vary from year to year, but it’s generally a pretty fair swim. The island protects you a bit heading upstream. People debate whether you should head further out into the river to try and catch the current heading downstream but I found it didn’t really help. Water quality is not the greatest, but about what you’d expect for a heavily trafficked river. Very dark/murky. I suggest you not walk along the river before the race as you can see all sorts of gross things floating... sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I believe there are a few campgrounds south of town a bit but the one across the bridge to the north is probably closest. Unfortunately I didn’t stay at any so I can’t speak to how nice they are.

This is my third too. All at Louisville. Sage advice about not looking at the river before. There are a few nasty collection spots. I haven't come across trash while swimming.
I do like swimming out by the bouys. The first year I stayed closer in and was slower, and it wasn't because of great swim training. I swim like a river barge.
The water has been barely wet suit legal both years I did it.

I stayed in hotels, so no help with camping.

Thanks Toefuzz, I was also reminded that the New York City swim events are the ones to worry about with water quality. I am looking into the camp site just north of the river. Its about what you would expect from a place in town. I may try the Charlestown State park. ggod luck with your training!

Thanks - hopefully I can get into the river That Thursday or Friday and try swimming out with the current. Is it usually safe to swim on non-race days?

Saturday morning they have a short swim at the end of the course, for the athletes. Timing chip is required. Otherwise it seems dicey.