Felt a strong current going out and it took me 30+ minutes to reach the turnaround bouy. Then I flew down to the finish in 36 minutes. Very comfortable but very crowded. Guess it would have been much worse in a mass start as this was a time trial start.

I need to get better at pacing myself. I still find myself doing the breastsroke periodically.

I put my shoes on in the tent. We weren't allowed to put them on our bikes and do the flying start, but I've not done this before and I wasn't about to try it at my first Ironman. I felt like this was a good transition time and about average. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't forget anything and I didn't.

Nothing.

The bike went well for me. I am not a strong rider and this was by far the biggest improvement for me. I was thrilled to be off the bike in less than six hours. The course was very crowded and a bit dangerous. I don't know how they think you can avoid drafting or blocking. People are EVERYWHERE. It wasn't until mile 60 of the ride that things seemed to thin out some. I

I was so happy to stop at the special needs tent and drink my red bull and eat my PB&J sandwich. that totally recharged me. My splits coming in where faster than they were going out. I find it interesting how many transient pains go through your body over the course of a long ride. After 20 miles my legs were sore and felt crampy. That went away. My knee was hurting after 40 miles, that went away. My shoulders and butt hurt for the remainder of the ride but I kept telling myself that it would go away when I got off the bike and it did.

Nothing really. Just the area I have the most to improve in.

I almost crashed at dismount because my back brake didn't work (it was wet) and I hit the front brake which sent me over the handle bars, but I landed on my feet and caught the bike. It was really rather funny. Fortunately I decided at the last minute to NOT try leaving my shoes on the bike. I hadn't done it before so I thought I would just stick with what I know. All in all, it was a fine transition.

Maybe learn to dismount with shoes on bike.

I felt absolutely awesome for the first 15 miles. Then I felt my stomach getting a little weird. I switched to just water at the stations for a while. About mile 20 I threw in a couple of cola drinks and a banana or two. I only took three gels because I thought that might be causing it. It wasn't until mile 22 that I really started feeling terrible. It became a sufferfest from that point on but I was convinced that I had to keep running. I walked 10 or 20 steps at a few aid stations just to get hydrated, which I apparently did okay with since I peed like a race horse at mile 25. All told, it went really well and I'm glad I suffered for the last 4 miles, at least I know I gave it everything I had.

Nothing at all.

Really nothing. I walked around for a while and watched some people come in. My friend came in at 11:56 and we walked over to the convention center to get our morning bags. Had a couple of pieces of pizza and kept moving. Went back to the hotel and grabbed my car keys. Drove over to transition and got my bike and stuff. Dropped my friend off at his hotel and went back and ate a little, talked to friends and family on the phone and went to bed.


Everything went so much better than I expected. I was hoping to come in under 13 hours. I did that!

In the future, I am going to work hard on my bike and running. That is where I see I will have to improve if I ever hope to qualify for Kona.


While the entrance fees are high, that organization knows how to put on a race! I love the town of Louisville and I couldn't imagine a better experience.