Ironman Louisville 2008 Race Report

Ahhh - my first Ironman Race Report - hopefully the first of many in the remainder of my life!

We arrived at Louisville on Thursday, August 28 after a 10hour car ride that started at 5:40am. Thank goodness the kids were angels in the car and that made it easy. I was pretty nervous and edgy.

Upon checking in at the Galt I went to athlete check-in - wow! The caliber of people I was surrounded by was intimidating. I wasn't scared but more feeling like I didn't belong there - I didn't look like they did and my bike was nothing like theirs. I have a Trek 1000 that I bought in 1999/2000 and stuck some aerobars on. It's nothing fancy at all. Oh yeah, and I didn't have an M-dot (Ironman logo) tattoo to show off either ;)

Friday
Friday morning we were able to do our first practice swim in the Ohio River from the swim finish. I jumped in and had no shock from the water temperature. It was very, very comfortable. So I swam up stream for about 10minutes and then back down river in about 8 minutes. The current either way wasn't noticeable. That was a bit disappointing as I was hoping to have a faster swim time so I'd have some wiggle room on the run. Oh well! Can't change it so I just dealt with it. When I got out of the water, my nice white Smile Train Triathlon swim suit was a nice dingy cream color. Yuck! Dirty silty river... most of it washed off when I got home.

Friday mid-morning my mom and Aunt Phyllis and Aunt Pam arrived at The Galt House hotel and we went to eat. It's what we do best together! John napped, Polly did lots of adventure walks around the hotel and I went shopping at the Expo. Got myself a nice Ironman jacket for running in the winter and some tri-shorts. No, they aren't SkirtSports tri shorts but they are from my first IM so I'll make a concession on my wardrobe with that one.

The welcome dinner was ok - I probably wouldn't go again because I didn't have any friends there and I really didn't eat anything. But I wanted the full IM experience so we did. After dinner it was in bed by 9:30 for me!

My wonderful husband, Richard, was such a good sport through all of this. Friday was our 10-year-anniversary and this is all I wanted for my gift. He got a great new gun (whooo hoo!) and I got to do an Ironman.

Saturday Practice
Saturday I met up with my most awesome 10-time-Ironman friend Katie Paulson and her crazy friend Suzanne. Katie is actually training for an Ultraman race in October... she's an amazing athlete! I digress - we did another practice swim in the water and again, no great current. Good for the confidence. Following the swim we drove out the first 15miles of the bike course and saw that it was mostly flat so it would be a nice warm up. We stopped at a church right before the out-and-back on the bike course and rode that portion of the course. It was the steepest incline and decline we would have on the entire course.

I wish my computer were on my bike to see how fast we were going - at least 40+mph. It was awesome. Of course every hill you go down you must come up. These 2 inclines were hard but having trained in North Carolina I thought they were manageable. Just took them easy and knew that eventually they would end. Since my strength on the bike is the hills I enjoyed this ride.

After our ride we did a little 5/10minute transition run. I love it when I do a little run like that after some big hills and my legs feel normal! It was very good for my confidence. I did deserve to be at IM Louisville - I had trained as hard as I could and as much as I could. It felt good to realize that yes, I belonged there.

While I was doing this my family got to go see the Louisville Slugger Museum and play around downtown Louisville. John got 2 new baseball bats that instantly became swords with which he could get the "bad guys" because, as he tells me "he's a bad boy."

So Saturday afternoon during naptime I got all my gear ready as it had to be turned in that afternoon before 5pm. Really glad we did that the day before - it took a load off my mind knowing that I didn't have to worry about it after I turned it in. Of course it did take me a full hour to check, re-check, and re-re-check it all. We finally got it all turned in, did the tour of the transition area and walked up the 1mile to dinner at Tumbleweeds.

Again, I didn't eat after having snacked all day I was pretty sick of food. I should mention that I eat so much during the morning and afternoon that usually by dinner time the last thing I want is food. I'm usually done eating by 5pm and then have a little snack after my kids go to bed.

Saturday night I was pretty nervous. Sitting around making plans with my family and providing them with estimated times for where I would be at what time was a good exercise. It helped me make a mental map of the day. I ended up referring to these times in my head through the course so I would know if I was ahead or behind my pace.

I was in bed by 10pm and slept quite soundly for a pre-race night. At 4:10am I heard the doors slamming, potties flushing, the athletes were rising. I too got up and gathered up my special needs food bags and got dressed.

My mom and Aunt Phyllis were awake so we hung out for a moment, said a prayer and I was off to the transition area then the swim start.

Pre-race
The transition area was open at 4:55am when I got there so I dropped my helmet, shades, food, bottles, bento box, etc. on my bike and headed up to the swim start. The swim start was a first-come-first-in time trial start and I'm so glad I got there early. I did have to sit in line for an hour but I was also in the water in the first 3minutes of the race.

I lined up, took my Sport Legs, waited, chatted, waited, and finally we heard the National Anthem. Surprisingly I wasn't teary. I wasn't nervous, just ready to get it on. As we approached the swim start I got my cap on, goggles ready, crossed the mat and people were jumping in one after another.

The Swim
My turn - jump in and whoosh - my top and heart rate monitor go right up under my arms! Yep, lost my top in the first 3 seconds of the race. I fix my wardrobe blunder and I'm really off.

The swim along the protected side of towhead island was easy. In about 33 minutes I made it to the turn around buoy. Nothing great to report, just swimming. As I turned I noticed the wake was a bit more rough but the current wasn't very strong either way. Keep swimming. The swim was relatively easy but it did take me longer than I thought. I finished the swim right around 1:24 but was hoping to do it in 1:15. I wasn't really pushing it at all during the swim, probably doing a pretty slow warm-up-pace but I was pretty concerned about not pushing it too hard too early in the day. My hip flexors were surprisingly fatigued during the swim but as soon as I exited the water that went away.

Transition 1
I saw my mom as I was running into T1 so I gave her a quick kiss and kept on jogging. Picked up my bag and was very glad that I had tied colored ribbons to my bag so I could easily identify it among the bunch. Others had put colored duct-tape or balloons on their bag to make it stand out. In T1 I just had to put on my Race Belt Skirt that had my number attached to it. Since we had to wear our numbers on the bike I just wore my Skirt backwards then I was dressed for the rest of the day. Threw on my shoes (no socks for me), strapped on my Camelback hydration pack and I was off. Got to my bike, strapped on my helmet and shades and ran to the mount line. As I was going I saw my cheering section - that was awesome again! My babies were cheering "go mommy!"

I was out of T1 in about 3-4minutes. No big wardrobe changes so that gave me some more time to enjoy my day on the run and ride!

The Bike
The first 15miles of the bike were relatively uneventful. The course is rather flat, actually a bit of a false flat so I just warmed up, got passed a bit, but held to my own plan. My heart rate was hovering right around 143 - perfect for me. We made it to the out-and-back that I had ridden the day before and I was very glad I knew what was ahead. I hammered the down hills when I could to get as much speed so I could spin the uphills and work a little less. Thanks to my friend Mike Brown for teaching me that! We finally made it to the loop that we would do twice.

I had a number of people comment on my baby-feet footprint tattoos on my back but more guys comment on my outfit. I wore my Blue Paradise top and race belt skirt. The head USAT ref actually said I had the cutest outfit on the course. I of course told him, that no - he did because I wanted him to be on my side. He just laughed and moved on. I got comments like "aren't you worried about your tan lines", "I can see up your skirt", "hey cute outfit"... from girls and guys alike!

I was grinning the entire bike ride and actually thought "wait, smiling is using muscles which are using energy - gotta stop smiling and conserve that energy!"

The hills were not too different from what I usually ride but there were just more of them. I took water at every water stop and splashed it on my head, chest, back, legs, everywhere to keep me cool. By this time the temperature was getting close to 90 (high that day was close to 95) and it was perfectly sunny.

In La Grange I saw my family again and got teary. That pumped me up. I was a bit behind schedule but knew that I could make up the time on the back part of the loop.

On the second loop around (started around 12:30) I noticed that people were starting to fall back. Guys who looked strong were getting passed by me in my skirt on my old Trek going uphill. People were pulling off and resting in the shade under the trees.

On the first 65miles of the ride I emptied my 40'ish oz Camelback filled with regular Gatorade and 2-20oz. bottles of Gatorade Endurance. My food consisted of 2 pb&j sandwiches, 1 Power Bar, and 1 Hammer Gel, and 2 doses of Sport Legs.

At mile 65 I got my special needs back and realized that I had tons of food. I got another sandwich, gel and Power Bar and filled up my Camelback again.

The second loop was warmer than the first but I knew I could do it. Never at any point in this bike ride did I think about getting off my bike. My heart rate was hovering right around 145 which was exactly where I wanted it. Of course, on the up hills it would go up but recovered quickly. Upon reaching the final big turn where we had a tail wind and lots of downhills I went back into my aerobars (I had been riding upright for most of miles 30-70) and hammered it in to make up for some lost time. The downhills were awesome and I really enjoyed myself out there.

During the last 5miles or so I slowed down a little bit so I could start spinning out my legs to get ready for the run. I got passed some more and realized that the pros were probably about to finish up their run.

I managed to do the bike in just under 7hours. Again, that was slower than I expected by about 20 minutes but there were more uphills than I had in my training rides so I wasn't surprised.

Transition 2
As I approached T2 the volunteers were there to take my bike and re-rack it. I handed it off, ran a few feet and realized I couldn't run in my bike shoes. So I quickly took them off and ran through T2 barefoot. Got my bag - again it was easy to find - and made my way to the changing tent.

Not much to do again. Got out of my tri-briefs and into my most comfy SkirtSport Spankies under my Race Belt Skirt, dried my feet and slipped on my socks, shoes, and visor. Dumped my Camelback since I knew there would be aid stations every mile. No need to carry anything on the run except my Sport Legs. I stopped for my first potty break, got some sun screen and I was off on the run.

The Run
Thank goodness for the cleavage alley pocket on my tri top. Through the bike and the run I stashed my sport legs (in a travel medicine tube), a power bar, and a gel in that pocket. I could probably have fit more!

Wow - the first 2 miles on the run were interesting. My legs were tired as I expected but my stomach was a mess. I kept moving forward and knew it would take a few miles for my body to re-adjust to this leg of the race. After running and walking the first 4miles I hit a good groove. I was so excited to see that through the entire run course my heart rate was in the mid/high 130's. I was staying in my ideal range and wasn't winded at all.

For the first part of the run I drank Gatorade at every stop, put ice down my top, and used cold sponges on my head as needed. I didn't want to be too soaked as I could hear people around me sploshing in their shoes - I had that happen to me at my half IM and it wasn't very comfortable. The ice down the shirt did wonders for me. I knew it was hot b/c people were dropping out, and looking really red but I managed to not really feel the heat.

As I approached mile 13 I got my special needs bag which had nothing good in it. I didn't really need anything on the run as the aid stations were so well stocked. I could have gone without it.

One thing that did surprise me on the entire run course was how much walking was being done by everyone - even people that looked like they were pros and really fast. I didn't mind walking myself and just let the day progress as it would.

I realized at the half-way mark that my hopeful time of 13:30/13:45 wasn't going to happen. I saw my family at around 6:30 at mile 14 and told them to give me about 3 more hours to do the next half of the race. After that point I pretty much race-walked the remainder of the run course. My walk was a quick 12/13/13.5 mph pace but my run didn't seem much faster.

My feet were very tired. I don't think any amount of training could have prepared my feet for the fatigue they would experience. I knew they would be tired so I never thought I would have to stop or wouldn't finish.

I also had heard - don't sit down - never sit down so I didn't. Not even in the transition area. Keep moving forward at all times.

I did notice around mile 15 that my hands seemed swollen and I was having to pee more often so I cut back on the fluids. Apparently I was getting enough. This didn't seem to have a negative effect. For the next 3-4miles I just sipped Gatorade or Coke to keep my mouth moist. As the evening set in I didn't need the ice anymore and just used the sponges to wash the grime off my body and keep my head feeling cool. Again, being careful not to have water dripping down my legs into my shoes.

Funny things started happening around mile 18. I would get to the food/water stations and it was like I was tipsy! They volunteers would ask me if I wanted Gatorade or water and I really didn't know what I wanted. I'd look at them and say "what?" - really, I didn't remember what I was asked! It was sort of fun because I was so there in the moment and new it was an easy question but I just couldn't come up with my answer! Ha!
Around mile 24 I noticed that my heels were really hurting - probably from the race walking. I didn't do too much of that so I was getting some new blisters under my old calluses. I had, before the race started, covered my feet in New Skin/Liquid Bandaid wherever I thought I might get a blister but didn't do anything on my heels. It was actually on the bottom of my feet where I got them so it probably wouldn't have made a difference.

The Finish
At mile 25.5 I was elated to be finishing. I started a slow jog. At mile 26 we rounded the corner to Fourth Street Live where the finish was. I got faster. We entered the finishing chute and I was running as fast as I could and smiling so big! I passed the Ford Flex (which I'm in love with) and hit the lights. I did it! I was crossing the finish line!!! I heard my family calling for me but was afraid to look - afraid if I lost focus I might trip. I wanted a picture perfect finish and I got it.

The Standings
1174 of about 1800 finishers (but I saw bibs with #s in the 2300's)
49 of 78 in my age group
Swim: 1:24:27
Transition 1: 3:56
Bike: 6:56
Transition 2: 7:50
Run: 5:55:19
Total Time: 14:27:30

The Photos
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35535&l=04c1c&id=606960484
Post Race
I was pumped the rest of the night. Walking a little gently on my feet but happy, smiling and feeling good. My kids were at the finish line so they got to see me. When I was done they were so sweet kissing me and wanting to wear my medal.

Richard and my Aunts took them to bed and my mom stayed with me to get my massage. I didn't really feel like eating anything at all so we just talked and enjoyed the moment.

The Scoop
I did get some scoop while on my trip. My mom sat next to 2 Race Directors who are going to be organizing Ironman Utah in 2010 in St. George. It's a new race, going to be hilly, but the down hills are supposed to be amazing. I'm pumped and ready for my next challenge. I think I may be able to do this but I have to give Richard a break with all this.

The Thanks
Of course, I must thank Richard, my wonderful husband. He put up with a summer of long training weekends, a moody and stressed me the weeks before the race, and he sacrificed having a long relaxing weekend for our 10th anniversary for running around Ironman Louisville.

I have to thank my training buddies - especially Bill for all the support on those long rides, Ali for being my jack rabbit on the runs, and the entire Y tri team for their ongoing support and encouragement.

Thanks to my family, neighbors, and the SkirtSports Entourage gals for all the support and jolly banter about the race. I'm glad it's over but soooooo ready to do it again! Good thing I told Richard I wouldn't do one in 2009 or I'd already be signed up for IM Louisville again.