Below is my extensive race report for Ironman Louisville
OVERALL time = 13 hours 39 minutes and 30 seconds (1:07 swim, 6:41 bike, 5:23 run and WAY too much time in transition :) )
46/90 in Age Group
1291/2600 finishers
245/599 women
Below is a collage of photos that my sis-in-law captured during the day:
ramp going down to the swim start - we jumped off a pier and started swimming 2.4 miles
we swam up-river (approximately 900 meters) to the end of this island, then turned around and swam down river on the other side of the island
Now for the play by play of 140.6 miles:
First, I must mention the crazy dreams that I had the night before the race. Completely random - but I want them in my "written memory". I had a dream that I was walking down to the start on a dirt-type road. There was a large hole in the road and big black crows were flying out of the hole in the road. The second dream I had - I woke up late for the race... with 3 minutes until transition was set to close I was hurrying down to transition - my sis-in-law had my bike pump and was a few minutes behind me on the road - I kept yelling to her that I needed my bike pump, but she could not hear me. I tried yelling louder, but she still could not hear me.
I woke up at 4:56 am - yes, I set my alarm for that random time :) Got ready and headed to the transition area to put my race food in my bags, pumped up the tires on my bike, and began the (approx.) 1 mile walk to the start. Got to the start and realized that I had to walk about another mile just to get in line... to walk that same mile back to the starting pier. Phew, I'm tired already and I still have 140.6 miles to go :)
Finally made it into the water - started swimming or should I say bumping and being bumped by hundreds of other swimmers! The swim start was not staged by ability or age group. It was first come, first served. The first 900 meters of the swim was upstream. The current was a little strong, I noticed the bubbles (and probably other things too - yuck!) from the swimmers in front of me were moving pretty fast past my face. I was able to get into a rhythm of breathing every 4 strokes, until I ran into another swimmer. I was looking forward to turning around past the island and swimming downstream! I know my father-in-law will laugh at this but I kept telling myself that I felt like a trout - swimming, swimming, swimming! Just before I got out of the water, someone kicked me and I reacted which cased me to have a horrible cramp in my calf - ugh! I had to turn on my back in the water - trying to work the cramp out. I realized at that moment that I forgot to eat my banana that morning! I made sure to get some bananas on the bike ride though - hoping this cramp would not come back to haunt me later in the day. (It didn't, I ended up being ok)
I transitioned from the swim to the run pretty well. Got dried off a bit (I wanted to make sure my feet were dry so that I didn't get any blisters). I took off on my bike for the LONG 112 mile ride. It wasn't a bad ride - a few rolling hills, some steep climbs, and some nice flat areas. I went through 9 bottles of fluid on my bike!! It was 92 degrees - so I needed to stay hydrated. I had water and an electrolyte mix from Skratch Labs. I drank something every 15 minutes and ate my nutrition every hour. I had granola bars, homemade waffles, peanut butter sandwiches, applesauce, and homemade trail mix. I also grabbed a few bananas at the aid stations. The focus of my nutrition was natural foods - I wanted to eat real food throughout my race and not rely on GU and gels. I had to wear a tri top and a biking jersey just to fit all my food for the ride, but overall it worked out great.
At mile 95 on the bike route - I really hit what I think was my toughest part of the entire race. My feet were numb and my mind was overwhelmed. I did not know HOW I was going to get through the rest of the bike AND THEN RUN A MARATHON!! This would be my 16th marathon and believe me..... I KNOW how difficult a marathon is to complete. For the next 5 miles, the only thing that got me through was counting ONE TWO ONE TWO ONE TWO ONE TWO as a peddled. I did that for about 5 miles on my bike. I kept asking myself "how am I going to get through this?" I hit mile 102 or so and I said to myself "make yourself proud ... make yourself proud.... make yourself proud" I had tears in my eyes for at least a mile as I tried to get through this tough spot. I knew at that point that I COULD do it and I WOULD do it! Toes or no toes! The last 10 miles of the bike course weren't so bad. I got some feeling back in my feet after loosening the straps on my shoes. I came back towards the transition area and got off my bike, grabbed my run bag and headed to the changing tent.
Got to the changing tent and realized that I didn't pack a towel to wipe off the sweat ---- so I grabbed a clean pair of underwear that were in my bag (gross, I know! but they were clean!) at that point, I didn't care! I was so sweaty, I needed something to wipe off with. My legs felt great! I had really worked this summer on my bike to run transition. I started out of the transition area and realized that I forgot sunscreen - after being in the sun for almost 8 hours, I knew I needed more sunscreen, so I doubled back to the sunscreen area where volunteers took lotion spread out on a table and put it on my face, neck, and ears. As I think about this now, it sounds pretty gross. The first 5 miles on the run, I felt really good..... then, I really started to slip. I reached into my fuel belt pouch to get my blueberries (my go-to fuel in marathons) and they were HOT from sitting in the sun all day - so hot they tasted like fresh out of the oven blueberry pie, did I mention that the berries were HOT! ugh! I was a bit concerned that I did not have fuel for the run... I was able to grab orange slices in the aid stations though. Along with my HOT blueberries - I had HOT water and HOT electrolyte drink in my fuel bottles - yuck! And HOT water was the last thing I wanted on the 92 degree day. I transitioned to running 8 minutes - walking 1 minute. I did that for about 3 more miles. But at that point, I started to see the mile markers for the 2nd loop of the run.... seeing mile marker 17 knowing I wasn't even close to that point was mentally TOUGH! I then transitioned to running 6 minutes, walking 2 or 3 minutes. I rounded the 2nd lap of the marathon around mile 13.5 and I felt so mentally overwhelmed - knowing I still had a half marathon to go. Around mile 16, I remember being so physically tired.... the kind of tired that comes from laboring all night.... the kind of tired that comes from staying up all night with a sleepless baby...... my legs were not tired at all.... my upper body was so heavy... my shoulders, my arms, and even my head was tired. I decided to sit down on a curb and regroup --- I remember telling medical personal "I do NOT need help - I'm just going to sit down and regroup". I sat down and put my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands and said "you CAN do this, you CAN do this". Then I laid my head back on the ground and looked up at the sky - the bright blue sky, the sun beating down. I closed my eyes, not sure how long, but I remember thinking to myself "if only I could just fall asleep now!" I also remember thinking "don't fall asleep!" I'm not sure how long I laid there, but I got up and started back on the road. I walked at least 2 miles - and it wasn't a fast walk either.... I remember feeling like my arms and shoulders were so heavy, I could barely move them. Again, my legs were fine! After about 2-3 miles, I decided that I needed to get back to my run/walk combo. At about mile 20, I decided I had a 6 mile run left..... I can do a 6 mile run in my sleep, so I envisioned my 6 mile route around Sturgis and switched to running 0.75 miles and walking 0.25 miles. Let me just say - those 0.75 miles of running were the LONGEST 0.75 miles EVER. I can remember looking down at my watch and thinking that I was almost to 0.75 and my watch read 0.34 miles - ugh! I realized about this time that I couldn't see --- I still had my sunglasses on but the sun was setting. :) From about mile 8 on the run, I was only able to take in water and an occasional orange slice. My stomach was a bit queasy - not upset, just queasy. I could not take in any electrolyte drink - but I knew I was still hydrated. I was determined to run the last MILE - and I did. Rounded the last corner and realized that I had done it!! The crowd was amazing - and I heard the announcer say SARA, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! I finished the race without a single blister on my feet and the only rubbing point was from my helmet on my forehead and a strange rubbing on my neck either from my bike jersey or swim cap. Not bad for 140.6 miles in 90 degree heat!
More pictures to come including the finisher photo! :)
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