I Conquered Ironman Louisville!

September 4th, 2009

I am an Ironman!!! I completed Ironman Louisville August 30th, 2009. What an incredible journey and experience. I couldn't have asked for a better venue for my first Ironman. On to the details!



Week of race:
From about 10 days out from race day until race day itself, I was checking the weather forecast every day. They were saying it would be in the 70s, but I didn't really want to believe it until race day drew closer. I knew the race in 2008 had been pretty hot, so I was praying for good weather, especially since it was my first Ironman. I was a bit nervious ;) I had been training in the hot Florida sun all summer so I knew I would be accustomed to the heat, but I had a few training days in there that were downers... e.g. had to cut it short because the heat was just too much, didn't go as fast as I wanted to, etc. It was frustrating. I was worried about how I would be affected in the actual Ironman. But as race day drew nearer, I tried to keep my head filled with positive thoughts. Most of my training had gone well. I knew Louisville definitely could not be any worse than Florida. I told myself that the hard work was over. I had made it this far and all I had to do was go out there, do my thing, and enjoy my race that I had worked for.

Day before race:
After taking care of the administrivia (athlete checkin, bike/gear checkin, signing up for post-race massage, etc), I met up with my girlfriend and the family to hang out, check out downtown Louisville, and grab some dinner. FYI, I ended up having teriyaki salmon... interesting :). I think that night I got about 4-5 hours of "decent" sleep, which was more than what I expected considering how occupied my mind was.

Race morning:
I awoke at 4am to eat a decent sized breakfast and to give it enough time to digest before the race start. Transition opened at 5am, which was about when I got there.  I made sure everything was cool with my bike, then headed to the swim start, which was actually 3/4 of a mile from transition, as this was actually a point to point swim that ended near the transition area.  Like I wanted to do more than 140.6 miles for the day!  But it wasn't too big of a deal.  I got to the swim start and realized how long the line was getting already.  I think I walked another half mile just to get to the end of the line. I chatted with a few folks to help pass the time.  What's great about these events is that you get to see people from all walks of life, each with unique pasts and different goals. Based on the temperature that morning (some were wearing sweatshirts), I knew the weather for the day would be great, so I was thrilled about that! This didn't change my race plan of course, but I knew I would feel better out there overall.

Swim:


This was a unique swim in that it was a time trial start.  They had two lines of people going into the water constantly with people entering every couple of seconds.  Your official time started when you crossed the timing mat.  It was also unique in that this was in a moving body of water, the Ohio river.  Since the line ran alongside the riverbank, I caught a glimpse of the swimmers who had already entered the water.  You could tell the current did have some effect, but some of the swim was upstream and some was downstream, so not much worry there.  The age groupers started going off at 7 and I remember entering the water about 7:24, so at least the line had moved relatively quickly. They had expected everyone would be in the water within a half hour of the start.  I tried to treat the swim as a warmup with respect to the rest of the race and made sure to relax as much as possible and just go at whatever pace felt comfortable without straining. I concentrated on long, smooth, efficient strokes.  I got out of the water and wasn't breathing heavy... so far so good!  Headed to T1!

T1:
I jogged over to get my bike gear bag from a kind volunteer, making sure to be efficient but not to rush like crazy.  Saw my sister and her boyfriend waving at me as I headed to my bike.  I waved back, grabbed my bike, and headed out to what was sure to be a fun-filled 112! 

Bike:


I absolutely LOVED this bike course!  So many beautiful surroundings, forest canopies, small towns, and horse farms!  The first 10 miles or so were relatively flat, which was nice, as it gave me some time to find my bike legs and find a little bit of a rhythm.  The first half hour went by like nothing.  Somewhere between miles 10 and 15, a few climbs started coming.  I had heard the course described by someone earlier as "relentless rolling hills", which was fairly accurate.  But man, I have never had so much fun climbing hills!  There were so many fun downhills as well where I got going to around 35-40mph.  Felt like a roller coaster!  I was having a blast.  Part of my race plan going into this was to do nothing spectacular on the bike to try and conserve as much as possible for the marathon.  After all, this was my first Ironman and I figured racing smart would be a good idea.  So back to the bike leg.  As I went through the course, my thoughts consisted mostly of things like: "Relax Brad, hold back... you DO still have a marathon to do after this!"  There were several times when I felt like "racing" and pushing the pace because of the atmosphere out there... but I didn't. I knew those feelings would come.  I remained patient and hoped it would pay off later.  When passing through La Grange, I saw the biggest crowds of the day, as that was one of the main meeting points for spectators.  I believe there were shuttles going there from the race start.  I really felt the energy here!  SOMEHOW I caught a glimpse of my family and girlfriend in the crowd as I went by as they were yelling and cheering.  I felt so excited that I saw them amongst so many people. On I went at a steady pace. The last 10-12 miles were relatively flat so I was able to pick up the pace a little towards the end while still remaining comfortable. After all the rolling hills, the flats felt like cake! Before I knew it I was back at transition!

T2:
Another kind volunteer took my bike for me after I dismounted and I lightly jogged through transition to get my run gear.  I didn't feel worn out, which is exactly what I wanted!  "Alright Brad, you've got this.  Just gotta get through a little run!" 

Run:


There is often a tendency to run the first mile or two fast after getting off the bike... legs haven't really adjusted yet, happy-to-be-off-the-bike syndrome, whatever you want to call it.  Anyway, I again tried to relax and find a rhthym.  I knew I wanted to take the first hour or so fairly easy and evaluate how I was feeling.  For about the first 6-8 miles I tried to keep my mind occupied by picking out people ahead of me to catch or running with people who seemed to be going at my pace.  I would ask them how their day was going, if it was their first Ironman, etc.  Then I would move on to another person.  I ran with one guy for a good 2-3 miles I think... for whatever reason we had actually both pegged this one girl ahead of us as our "target", probably because she had been running ahead of us for 20-30 minutes and seemed to be increasing the gap by 15 or 20 yards as each mile went by.  Well, by mile 8 or so I still felt relaxed and ended up passing her and never looking back.  I was in the zone! I started to pass more and more people. I kept my pace steady and went through each aid station as efficiently as I could, grabbing whatever fluids I needed.  I definitely didn't feel dehydrated like I had in the previous months on some of my runs in Florida!  The weather was definitely helping out.  But I was still wondering if I was going to be able to keep my pace, as I was venturing a little bit into the unknown at this point, simple because I hadn't actually covered this distance before.  I knew I had definitely paced myself well on the bike though, as I felt like I was on a long training run at times, as opposed to a brick from hell. As far as the course, it was actually two loops, with the second loop starting at mile 14 at an intersection.  When you got here, the finish line was straight ahead about 0.2 miles and turning right was the start of the second loop.  What a tease!  I could see the finish line!  I saw someone running down the finish chute and heard the crowds cheering.  But I was just starting my second loop... still had 12 miles to go... doh.  Around mile 17 or 18 I still had a decent amount of energy but my legs were definitely feeling some wear and tear.  I wondered a little if they would hold up another 8 miles. They were starting to feel like rubber. But positive thoughts prevailed and I knew if I just kept them moving at a steady cadence I'd be ok... and to my delight I still wasn't slowing down!   These were now mental miles. I wanted it.  Right after mile 23 I remember thinking "Cmon Brad, just a mere 5K race to run and you're an Ironman!!!" LOL. Anyway, I could obviously taste the finish.  I ran down the finish chute totally adrenalized and tried to enjoy it as much as possible. I saw my girlfriend and family and gave them high fives as I went by, and ran to the finish line.  YES!!! Finally I heard the words I had been wanting to hear all day: "Brad, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!"

Soon after I finished I went and got a little post-race massage (quads were quite sore!), ate some food, and celebrated with the family with a bit.  Not a bad day! Had a little trouble sleeping that night :)

Conclusion:
After replaying the race in my head many times, analyzing the results, and so on, I wondered a little how I would have done overall if I had pushed it on the bike a little more, but I don't really care too much. I have nothing to complain about. I really felt I executed my race plan perfectly and it had paid off, as I was able to finish strong. I really didn't have any major "low" points during the race like I expected where I was saying "What the hell have you gotten yourself into?!?" I had FUN out there. I kept a positive attitude, kept smiling, and took it all in. I was so glad I did it. It made me feel like I could do anything.

The Ironman was so special. The next best thing would be to inspire someone else to do the same.

Final official time (as luck would have it?): 11:11:11

And here is a video my Dad made for me of the whole experience (PRESS PLAY)!
Click here to view full screen version

Get the Flash Player to see this player.



Some of my other favorite videos that keep me inspired:
Ironman Triathlon
Ironman You WILL Do This
Dick and Rick Hoyt


On February 18, 1978, 15 competitors took on the challenge that has become the Ironman. Included in the list of pre-race instructions were these final words of encouragement: "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!"