I did end up thinking about racing it and on fathers day, after the Boulder 5430 Sprint and a few beers at my parents, I signed up... So I basically went into this race with no real expectations or anything. I was looking forward to getting to do something different.
I got into Louisville at midnight on Tues/Wed with my (almost) two year old son and parents. We stayed at they Hyatt and had a few awesome days touring and getting to know Louisville. My wife joined us Thursday and went to Churchill Downs, ate some great food, etc...
I started swimming three weeks ago after the Boulder 70.3 (only swam in races up to that) and went to this race VERY undertrained in that discipline. I wasn’t looking forward to that river at all! I am very glad that I decided to go down to the practice swim on Saturday and do one of the loops. The water was absolutely perfect and MUCH cleaner than I would have ever expected. I was also able to get my hands on a speed suit and I think it made a fairly big difference. Temp was perfect and I really think that it was much, much cleaner than the Boulder Res back home. Had dinner that night at an awesome seafood restaurant across the street and enjoyed a glass of wine and local Bluegrass Brewing Co. beer.
[/img]Race day came and I was up at 3:03 am. Didn’t really sleep at all that night so it wasn’t a big deal getting up. Rolled down to try and find a bathroom to park in for half hour or so and was amused by all of the drunks getting in from 4th street live. I had some nice comments from some women carrying some pizza - “you doing the f**king ironman?... thats dumb”
The bagel shop opened at 4am and the line was crazy. Got two chocolate chip bagels with cream cheese and was off to transition with my awesome wife. After dropping my stuff off and toping off the tires, we walked over to the crazy long swim start line. Got there at 5:20 or so and was able to get a spot that would eventually get me in at about 7:15 or so. Line was cool and met some really nice people.
SWIM:
The TT start was actually great. I think that it did spread people out fairly well and I was able to pass or be passed without any sort of chaos. It was also just great walking in that line and getting some cheers from all of the spectators and awesome volunteers - swim start felt very festive. The start of the swim went “up” river and around a little island. Everyone was nicely spread out and had no real encounters with anyone. My biggest fear about this race was the swim and had no workouts in the past 3 weeks over 2400yrds. I had been swimming every day, but was not in shape to go as fast as I could have. I was able to find a nice grove and was feeling pretty great! I have only ever really done wetsuit swims and I think that the speedsuit made a HUGE difference in being able to swim with my natural stroke. Honestly throughout the swim, I felt great. After I was around the island and past the turn to go back to transition, I had a hard time knowing if I had one or two bridges to go under. I went with a goal of 1:05 to 1:10 and knew I would get that if it was just one bridge. It ended up being both bridges that I needed to get under but luckily I didn’t gauge the distance that well and it was closer than I thought. I got out of the water at 1:02:53 and was very very happy with those results. Transition went off without any real hitch, got sunscreened up and off with my bike.
[/img]Bike:
Is it just me or is the bike ridiculously long in an IM distance race!? I had no idea how hilly this ride would actually be, and didn’t know how I would physically respond to the course. I opted not to use an odometer and just went with my Garmin forerunner 110 with time to get an approximate overall pace.
For some reason, the bike always is a blur to me. All I can really recall was pretty cool spectators scattered along a beautiful course, a ton of non stop hills, and stuffing my body with as much food and liquid as I could get down. At mile 70 or so, I dropped my flat kit that was in one of my water bottle holders. I opted to stop, grab it, and toss one of my 350 cal bottles to the bike help truck that was conveniently 100 or so feet away. Never flatted - but glad I stopped to pick it up! Only think I lost 1.5 or 2 minutes there.
After the final loop, heading back was lonely and hot. I opted to use an aero helmet and it started to get pretty rough. I don’t ever think that I overheated much but it was just a bit uncomfortable. I am glad I chose aero and would recommend it... I think the savings outweighed the discomfort for the last few miles.
Last 10 miles I peed about 3 times and emptied myself out for the run. Overall, I was expecting to ride a 5:15-5:25 with all of the hills. Overall time was 5:04:55. Used a 900 rear and 808 front on a cervelo P3
[/img]what my kid did during the bike
Run:
I love running and was looking forward to this all day... I got in transition and the volunteer said that it was in the mid 90s and I had no idea how it was going to go. My feet started to cramp up on the bike so I didn’t know if my day was about to become really long or if I would just DNF. Up and out of transition, I was actually feeling great. I loved the out and back on the bridge and remember it hearing one of the river boats playing “it’s a small world” - that gave me a good laugh and reminded me that this is only a hobby and to have a bit of fun.
I saw my wife, son, and parents right off of the bridge and she told me I was in first or second place. I knew this in the back of my mind but never dreamed of finishing in that position. Throughout the first loop, I felt great and was able to hold 7:03-:7:25’s with little effort. I felt like I was managing the heat well and did’t mind it much at all.
[/img]I ended up bringing 25 saltsticks on the run (ended up using all) and I am glad I did.
I did start to feel the fatigue at about mile 14 though. By that point, I had taken the lead and just wanted to keep it. I kept getting the cheers for the bikini dude/speedo guy (I wore a speedo) and that helped. The second loop got hotter and I felt it. Cramps and gas started about mile 16 and just had to play with coke/gu/salt/pretzels to keep it in check. I never ever got to a point where I thought I had to walk and found the last 4 miles incredibly enjoyable even though I was a bit stiff. I got ice at every aid station and just started to chew it as I ran. With a mile to go, I knew that I was probably going to win the ag and go under 9:40, a pipe dream at the start. Seeing 4th street live was amazing - truly one of the coolest finishes I have ever seen/heard of in the sport. I had a goal of running 3:15-3:25. Ran a 3:20:41. Overall time was 9:37:14... Good enough for 1st in 25-29, 6th overall AG, 12th overall w/pros , and a trip to Kona. Was back to the finish by 6 with a beer in hand... stayed there partying till about 1am and it was awesome!
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[/img]This kept me up till 12+
This race was incredible and first class all the way. Louisville is amazing, people are awesome, and the finish makes it all worth it! Very glad I did this and would highly recommend it as a race for anyone!
The only downside is that I am now racing 3 IM’s in about 2 months. Hope I will be able to walk by christmas.
