The Rookie

It is so hard to write a race report without talking about everything leading up to the race.  The race is only really a small part of the big picture.  I’ll spare all of the details but do want thank everyone who helped me along the way.  Specifically, I thank God; my wife; the rest of my supportive family, especially my Dad, who has been a big financial supporter as well; Inside-Out Sports; Premiere Sports Travel; 2XU; Synaptis; Winskins Printing and, of course, all of my friends who have helped along the way and have been sending emails and calling.  THANKS!

The swim was in the Ohio River .  The pro field started at 6:50 heading upstream in an area that was out of the main current.  My dad and I had done some testing to determine where the current was the slowest.  So, I started way off to the right as the rest of the field swam through the main current.  Since they didn’t allow us to warm up, I took the opportunity to take it nice and easy while still staying abreast of the rear of the field.  Once out of the protected section, I jumped in with the rear of the field (a group of about 6) and found the pace very comfortable to sit in.  I’d been struggling with my swim this year, but put in a big push with a month to go. I managed to not embarrass myself too much at this race as I have done all season. Time: 1:01:29

The first transition was smooth.  There was quite a bit of running to make it from the swim course, to the bike, and all the way to the street.

I have to say that I loved the bike course.  I plan to come back next year because of it.  It was 10 flat miles to warm up.  Then, the course climbed up to a bunch of hills.  The best part of the course is from about mile 81 to the finish.  It is pretty much all down hill and this year there was a tailwind.  I spent a most of the last 30 miles with my HR in the high 130s – it felt great.  My prep leading into the race told me that I was riding well and it showed on race day.  The only problem I had on the course was when I didn’t slow down enough (ok really not at all) through the first aid station.  One of the volunteers had a good grip on the Gatorade bottle that I latched on to.  In a flash, I was sliding on the pavement.  I take complete responsibility for my fall.  I should have slowed down.  My whole left side was oozing red and my hip was knocked hard.  After walking around a bit to make sure everything was whole, I checked the bike over only to find the brakes rubbing.  I spent a couple of minutes riding easy to assess how my hip and knee were doing.  I decided that I was hurt but not injured and carried on with my race plan.  I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself; I let my wife do that once I was done.  I probably lost ~3 minutes.  Subtract that from my 4:54:24 and I would have been right on pace to ride 4:50 which was my plan.

The second transition was uneventful and smooth.  I love how the volunteers grab your bike once you are done with the course at Ironman.

I remember watching an interview of Luke Bell after Ironman Australia .  He said that he was really happy with his race because he ran further during the marathon than in any previous races.  In Louisville , I felt like I was actually running for the first couple of miles.  This is a change from the first two Ironman races where I was only surviving right from the start of the run.  The combination of my injured hip altering my gate and dehydration caused me to slowly slow all the way to the end of the race.  I had the fitness to run probably 15 or 20 minutes faster.  However, I’m happy with my run given my goof at 10 miles into the bike.  Time: 3:36:59

Overall, I was 17^th.  That is being beaten by 13 male pros, 2 male amateurs, and (ahem) one female pro.  My overall time was 9:40:23 – not my fastest time, but my best placing in my opinion.

I don’t know what’s next, but Ironman Florida sounds nice while I lay here on the couch covered in Neosporin and Band Aids.

Thanks for reading.