At 6:50 the cannon went of signaling the start of the pro race. It was cool to see the pros start. The Louisville swim is in the Ohio River. The first mile is upstream in a protected channel and the remaining 1.4 is downstream in the main river channel. The line started moving and at 7:00 the cannon went off and the race was on. I was in the water within 5 minutes. I started off very easy and had moderate contact for the first 500 meters. The bad thing about a time trial start is that there is no rhyme or reason to positioning. In a mass start the fast swimmers will migrate to the front and the slower swimmers to the back. In this format you are constantly swimming over slower swimmers and being swum over by faster swimmers. It was hard getting in a rhythm. The upstream leg was uneventful. I did notice the current, but it wasn’t bad. As we approached the turn buoy I noticed everyone slowing down and I looked up and saw people standing up. There was a sand bar in the middle of the river – it was odd to see people walking in an Ironman swim. There was heavy contact as we all fought to get around the turn buoy. Once around I stayed to the left hoping to get some benefit from the downstream current. The current that was present at the practice swims was gone. I did not feel any downstream help at all. I had a nagging calf cramp that I could not get rid of. This would be a major problem later in the day. The rest of the swim was uneventful and I was out of the water in 1:39, which was about 10 minutes slower than I wanted – but I was ok with it.

We had about a 200 yard run to the transition area. The volunteers were great and someone handed my bag when I neared the changing tent. I had my tri-suit on underneath my speed suit and all I had to do was shed my suit, put on socks and my helmet and I was off. I got some sun screen applied before I headed out to my bike. I was out of T-1 in 6 minutes and change which was good.

I mounted my bike and headed out on the 112 mile course. The first 15 miles are flattish and it’s very easy to drop the hammer on this section. I kept telling myself to relax and go easy. People were blowing by me, but I kept to my plan and was going at an easy 20mph pace. After you gradually climb out of Louisville you come to an out an back section. This was a great part of the course – you had some screaming down hills and some good climbs. Things started to spread out after this and the course was not as crowded. I train in the hills and thought I would be prepared for this course. It was hillier than I was expecting. In looking at my Garmin – I was either going 40mph on the downhill or 10 on the uphill. It was constant up and down. As we neared Lagrange – the crowds started picking up and it was unreal as you got into Lagrange. There were thousands of people lining the street screaming. It was a great motivational boost. Reality hit after the screams subsided and you realized you have 75 more miles to go? I settled in on the second loop and stayed within my power zone. One problem I encountered was the temperature. I had been training all summer in the heat in anticipation of a scorcher. It was 70 degrees and I was not sweating very much. I continued to take in my calories, but had to stop 3 or 4 times for bio breaks. On the backside of the Lagrange loop I noticed numerous people changing flats. We later learned that some disgruntled locals had put down tacks on the road. Going through Lagrange again was a great boost. Jenni and the support team had bright yellow signs that were easy for me to pick out. I saw them as I blew by going about 30. I started to cramp on the steep uphills. I would try and get out of the saddle to climb, but would cramp up. I struggled on the last part of the loop and was glad to finally get to the last 20 miles into Louisville. The last section is flat heading back into town and I opened it up a bit coming into T2. I was shooting for a sub 6 bike, but came up short finishing the 112 in 6:20.

As I entered T2 it felt great to get off my bike. 112 miles is a long time to be in the saddle. It took me a few steps to get my legs back. I got my run bag and headed into the change tent. It was carnage – people lying on the ground, stuff strewn about. I found an empty chair and changed my socks, put on my shoes and hat, applied body glide and headed out of the tent. The volunteers were great – I got some sun screen applied and headed out on the run course.

I actually felt great – I was excited to be off my bike and the crowds were great motivation. I saw Jenni and the kids as I excited T2 and headed out on the run course. My goal for the run was to simply run as long as I could. I had been injured all summer and did not put in adequate run training. We headed out on the bridge over the Ohio River. My plan was to walk the aid stations. As I neared the aid station at mile 1 I stopped and got some Vaseline for my feet. As I came off the bridge I saw Jenni again and stopped for a minute to say hi. I felt great and was clipping off the miles. As I got to mile 4 I saw Dean on the other side finishing up lap one. He was struggling it appeared (He finished in 10 and change). I continued to walk the aid stations and felt fine coming into the mile 10 aid station. This is the point in the race that things fell apart. My ankles were hurting a bit and my calf cramp was nagging. I decided to stop and stretch for a few minutes and get my heart rate down. When I stopped both my ankles started swelling and my entire body cramped up. I knew I had to keep moving at this point. I started to run again but I had no flex in my ankles. They were both visible swollen and were getting worse. Finishing was the name of the game from this point on. I had 15 miles to go and it was a struggle. I would run a little and walk more for the rest of the race. I met up with another athlete who was in similar shape. It was great to have someone to talk with taking your mind off the pain you are in. I finished lap 1 and saw Brett Daniels (Sportfactory Coach) and we chatted for a bit. When you start the second loop in Louisville you are only about 100 yards from the finish line. It was a major tease being so close and knowing that you had another 13 miles to go! I saw Jenni at the turn and told her I would be a while. The miles clicked off and we could see the glowing lights of downtown Louisville. As we got closed we could hear Mike Reilly’s voice and the music. It’s hard to explain the emotion that I felt. I was happy that the day was coming to an end, but also very sad that the day was over. I picked up the pace and promised myself that I would slow down and enjoy the finish chute. After being in the dark and quite for that past several hours – all of the lights, thousand s of people were overwhelming. Needless to say – I don’t remember anything about the finish. I remember a nice gentleman catching me as I finished and ushering me through the picture and shirt stand. As I excited the finish area I saw my family and it felt great to be finished. I had an great since of accomplishment. I also saw Brett, my coach at the finish line – thank to him for making the trip

I limped back to the hotel and sat down thinking about my day. I finished in 14:28, not fast by anyone’s standard. What is Ironman about? To some it is about qualifying for Kona or being competitive in their age group. For me – it was about setting a goal and finishing. A year ago Ironman was only a dream – now it is a reality. I left everything I had out on that course – I had nothing left to give. As I write this 2 months after the race, the images are still very vivid.

I signed up for Ironman Florida yesterday – I am hoping to put it all together for one race – Stay Tuned for more!