Ironman Louisville - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Louisville, Kentucky
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
31C / 88F
Sunny
Total Time = 13h 11m 24s
Overall Rank = 1168/2440
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 43/127
Pre-race routine:

Alarm went off around 3:30am. Not that it mattered much as I didn't sleep much due to nerves. I had read too much about the swim start and was nervous about it and wanted to be there early. Drank 2 cups of coffee, ate a banana, bowl of cereal and a PB & J sandwich, and made an extra one to put on my bike. Left the hotel at 4:45.
Event warmup:

Walked from the Galt House to transition, put the sandwich on my bike, realized I didn't have any water bottles, so grabbed one of the bottles of Perform they were handing out to put on the bike. Grabbed another bottle to bring down to the swim start with me. Arrived at the swim start around 5:30 and was relatively close to the front. The fellow behind me forgot to put his food on his bike so I told him I'd hold his spot while he went back. Had to pee and couldn't wait for line-buddy any longer. While waiting in the potty line, they start compressing the swim line!! omg! I ran back to see if my line-neighbour would hold my bag while I returned to the potty line!! After exiting the potty, I realized that the line had moved significantly and my line buddy (who had my swim cap and goggles!) was nowhere to be found!! I panicked and ran around like a crazy lady for what felt like an hour (but was likely about 5 minutes?) until I found line-buddy and subsequently my gear bag. I'm sure that was the highest my heart rate got all day?
Swim
  • 1h 25m 11s
  • 3862 meters
  • 02m 13s / 100 meters
Comments:

Got in the water at 7:05:57 - awesome! Ok, plan is a) don't drown; and b) don't get eaten by a big fish. I was having visions of giant sturgeon swimming under me and told myself "Safety in numbers!". Besides, I'm sure one of those quick, sleek swimmers looks much more appetizing than me flopping and thrashing around in the water, right?
OK, turn around time - whoo hoo! And look - there's a set of feet which I will follow almost all the way to the finish! Got out of the water feeling pretty good!
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Maybe learn to swim better? But I tell myself that every year...
Transition 1
  • 07m 15s
Comments:

Walked into the change tent, grabbed the first volunteer I saw, and put on the bike gear. Went for a pee and then left.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I like taking my time to make sure I'm ready.
Bike
  • 6h 20m 47s
  • 112 miles
  • 17.65 mile/hr
Comments:

I walked my bike out of transition and tried to avoid the guy who mounted his bike and immediately crashed into the fence - didn't want to end up like that!! Ate my PB & J sandwich on the way out and it tasted fantastic! Was excited to go downhill on the out & back, not as excited when I had to go back up though!

Missed a big crash and subsequent bike pile-up at an aid station by about 7 seconds - phew! Am I a jerk for not stopping to help those who fell? There seemed to be a lot of volunteers so figured they would take care of it?

While on the loop, I played "guess that roadkill" with myself for a few hours... multiple dead squirrels, half a deer (gross!), and what is that bloated grey thing? Are there possums in Kentucky?! (I was actually sort of excited at the thought of having seen my first possum, alive or not!)

I marveled at the fact that country roads in the US are paved and not all gravel like at home. Why is there a paved road in what appears to be the middle of nowhere? Amazing, really....

Oh, look at that - yet another hill! and another... and another... and another...

I thought the last 20 miles would kill me, and I spent the last hour of my ride thinking about what pace I had to walk in order to finish before midnight.... the guy dancing around in the devil costume on the side of the road earlier in the race would have been appropriate at this point...
What would you do differently?:

More hill training.
Transition 2
  • 07m 55s
Comments:

I left myself with some options and decided to do a complete wardrobe change - underwear and all! Not my normal routine but enjoyed my brief public nudity.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 5h 10m 16s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

The first couple miles were a blur... I felt like garbage after the bike and again, was calculating my potential walking pace. Then decided that I would try run 3 min / walk 1 min... then figured I'd try run 4 min / walk 1 min.... then for some reason, I started feeling ok so decided to run, walking through the aid stations and for a 30-60 second interval halfway b/w aid stations. Ate pretzels and cookies, which were awesome, and drank only water. Slowed down at the end, but ran in feeling good!
What would you do differently?:

Not much. This was unexpectedly better than I anticipated.
Post race
Warm down:

Went to go get pizza and then realized my throat was raw and I couldn't swallow anything?!! Walked out of the convention center to see Trent and all 5 kids!! Got multiple hugs and then listened to the kids tell me about their adventure that day, taking the bus to LaGrange, watching the swim & run, etc...

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training time.

Event comments:

Great race!!




Last updated: 2011-01-31 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:25:11 | 3862 meters | 02m 13s / 100meters
Age Group: 82/127
Overall: 1764/2440
Performance: Good
Suit: Speedo Swimsuit
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 07:15
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
06:20:47 | 112 miles | 17.65 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/127
Overall: 0/2440
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 07:55
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
05:10:16 | 26.2 miles | 11m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/127
Overall: 0/2440
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5