Ironman Louisville 2013 would be my 3rd go at the full iron distance. I'd previously done IMLou in 2011, finishing in 15:55 and feeling like I could have gone all day so perhaps leaving something on the course, and Rev 3 Cedar Point full in 2012, finishing in 14:38 but with the pain of about 45 minutes lost due to a bike mechanical.
With those results in mind and with a good feel for the course and conditions under my belt, I was really thinking I might be able to pull off a sub-14 hour finish this time. Without boring you with the details, I was thinking in these general terms:
- 90 minute swim
- 6:40 hour bike
- 5:30 marathon
- 20 minutes in transitions
- Grand total: 14 hours
I see my first familiar faces, Kim, Jessie, Megan, Carlos and others who are body marking and doing a great job pepping up the 50+ tri club members we had doing the event. It was a welcome sight and then I was on my way over to the swim line. (Remember that Louisville is a time trial start instead of a mass swim like most events.) The rules are set up to prevent you from saving places, having family members hold spots, etc. but a spot in the line is important for a lot of people as the time in line counts against the 17 hour time limit. So as I started walking from the front of the line toward the end, I bump into several Landsharks and just happened to slide into line with them undetected. So instead of waiting until 7:10-7:15 to be in the water, I was swimming at 7:01 or something like that. It was nice to be in the water so quick.
Didn't have a great swim, partially because I have never been able to get a strong kick sorted, but I've really focused on that as I've worked with my swim coach over the last few months. I've also started doing some strength training, which I rather ignored during the last few years, so perhaps that's helping. Final time for the swim: 1:33:52. Not too terrible relative to my goal and faster than the 1:41 I had in 2011. I was a bit faster at Rev3, but I was wearing a wetsuit there.
Into T-1 I go, where I've decided to change into a tri-kit. I had worn my normal swim jammers on the swim. First crisis occurs when I can't find one of my socks. After me and the helpful volunteer searched frantically, we find it...in one of my cycling shoes. In my bike gear bag, it had somehow wound up in my shoe. So it was on with some anti-chafing cream, socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and gloves and I was on my way. Most of the time I don't wear gloves, but the "pads" of my hands have been sore recently on long rides so decided to wear gloves. Quick stop for some sunscreen and I was on the course. T1: 10:50, so a bit longer than goal.
With a goal of about 6:40, I was hoping to average about 17 mph. I don't know if it was a nice cool start to the day or perhaps going out a little fast but I was having the Ironman bike of my life. I did see a gnarly crash on the out and back, which we all know is dangerous on a normal day, let alone with 2500 riders, but beyond that the bike was rather uneventful. Saw many friends, my wife twice, while I was on the course. I felt like I kept my hydration good, my calories consistent, but probably went a bit fast. Grand total: 6:20:16. That compares to a 7:32 in 2011. I knew I was in better shape but wasn't expecting that.
Into T2 where things started to go a bit sideways. I don't know if it was the early morning cool weather and it was now heating up but I could tell I was a bit dehydrated. I was starting to get that "tunnel vision" and knew I was in a bit of trouble. It manifested itself when I was convinced in the changing tent that I had lost the GPS tracker I was using so my friends and family could track me. I probably wasted 4-5 minutes trying to find it. I finally gave up and heading out to the run after another complete change into running gear(more on the tracker later). T2: 13:04. Faster than 2011 but not what I wanted.
The first couple miles of the run were great but then the dehydration really got to me. On the advice of a pro, Chris McDonald, who spoke to our tri club a few days before the race, I started taking Coke as part of my regular hydration/calories from the start. But even with that, I was forced to walk. It probably took me nearly the entire first lap, or half marathon, to get enough hydration in me to feel better. Luckily, as you've read earlier, my walking pace is quite fast so I was able to keep up a good pace, even while walking. Somewhere in the middle of the marathon, I was trying to find something in my running shorts pocket and what do I discover? The lost tracker. It was on an elastic belt but had slipped down into my shorts. The dehydration I was suffering as I left the bike definitely had me losing my mind. The run was fun because I got to run with so many of my tri club buddies, many of them first timers, and experience the joy with them. The second lap was definitely more running than the first. Run total: 5:53:58 compared to 6:12 in 2011. The best part was that I got faster over the course of the marathon with my fastest segment coming as I finished. So even though I wasn't pleased with the total, overcoming my hydration issues and having negative splits made up for it.
Final total for the day: 14:12:00. Not quite my sub-14 goal, but still beat my prior IM Louisville by 1 hour 43 minutes and my Rev3 time by 26 minutes. I think a sub-14 is in my grasp if I keep at it!
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