Tri Adventures of Louisville Ironman Race Day: Blue Skies Smiling Inside 205's Mind

Everyday as I walk down my steps to head out the door I tap a quote written on the wall, "Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams". Many dreams change just as we change and the world around us changes. Some dreams are more consistent...peace, happiness, love...and those dreams have the potential to be lived internally at any given moment no matter whats going on externally. Those dreams should be lived in all moments. Living out those simple dreams can unlock other undiscovered potential and dreams one didn't know even existed. So, as I walked out the door on August 26th, I high-fived my wall and set out confidently in the direction of one of those ideas I had back in April. The 'idea' to do Louisville Ironman in under 12 hours.

Friday: Athlete check-in, dinner and briefing with other Cincinnati peeps.

Saturday: Sleeping in and skipping the swim to avoid chance of catching some virus from the river right before the race. Watching others swim and being happy that I was on a bridge above the water. Riding bike to Race Day Wheels to replace my wheels with Zipps. Organizing gear and special needs bags. Meeting an inspirational hero from TriSoldier Project. Easy spin out ride with TriSoldier and  Gabby. Microwavable rice, bailey and lentils mix and dandelion leaf salad with berries for lunch. Trip to the Ironman Village. Meeting and getting a tip from Michellie Jones...'live your dreams':) Walking bike and gear/needs bags to transition area for check in. Being in transition area. Visualizing transitions. Walking back to hotel to meet mom and dad for pre-race dinner at Proof on Main. Salmon, quinoa, avocado and rye oh my. Back to room, compression socks and night splint on. Discussing spectator tips with the parents. Opening pre-race good luck cards. Rhythmic breathing and positive thoughts of appreciation and care as I drift off into sleep.

 

SUNDAY: Wake up 4:30am. Warm up shower and stretch. Oatmeal, chia seeds, coffee, Rise and Shine Vitamin Water. Final prep of morning gear bag. Trisuit, compression socks, jacket and extra pair of running shoes on. Dad and I walk about 10 min to transition area. Can't get pump to work on the new tires...start to get worried...locate and place last minute items in gear bags...load bike with nutrition. Meanwhile, Gabby figures out a trick to the tire pump situation. Crazy thankful for that win. Dad gets the pumps and we all walk to swim start area. Then we wait. While waiting I make sure to drink lots of a water with a pre-workout  mix. Oh, and I also tried a salt tab for the first time. We wait from about 6am till 8:45 until we run over the start line and jump off the pier to begin our day of fun! Together we sit and stretch and laugh and wait. Once we cross the start line and jump in the water we're on our own and free to just go. Free to keep keep moving. Free from distractions. Free to be in the moment. Free to smile under the blue skies.

SWIM: First of all...I was pretty excited to be wearing a PINK Ironman swim cap. Matched my pink goggles and nail polish perfectly. The goggles stayed on as I jumped in the water. The water was warm. I breathed every 3-5 strokes and constantly peaked up before me. Lots of kicking going on in that water. The goal during the swim is survival and navigating through the mass of people without being kicked in an organ or hit on the head. Flutter kick splashes I see coming, it's those breast strokers that really surprise kick me. I managed to not get knocked out though. Luckily sighting straight ahead was easy. Stay between the island and the mainland going upstream. Swim towards the big red roof while going downstream. Going downstream was a lot less congested of people than going upstream was. There was a little choppiness in the main part of the river; however nothing bad. As I turned my head to breath I could see the sun rising behind me. The closer I got to the swim finish, the harder I kicked to get the blood flow back into my lower extremities. I'm sure I swallowed OH River water during the swim. Water was trapped in my right goggle lens so every time I turned my head, I got a little eye rinse which started to sting after a while. It's been almost a week and I'm Aok. There were volunteers helping us pop out of the water.
1:06:23 (about 3 min faster than FLIM, 2010)

T1: 7:01 (about 8 min faster the time spent during T1 at FLIM)

BIKE:  I kept the computer on cadence and didn't touch it the entire race. I found my 'feel good' position and was able to keep the legs loose and spinning rather than 'mashing'. Monitored my cadence, HR and replaced fluids at each stop. Dumped water in the aero bottle and PowerBar on the frame. I consumed about 300 cal an hour between PowerBar fluids and bars. I stopped once to chug a V8 out of my special needs bag, but I kept one foot clipped in and stayed on the saddle. Gotta get those veggies. I knew the course pretty well, was straight out happy to be moving along fast on the roads and those thoughts of being limitless were flowing. I felt good spinning into T2 and wanted to check my mph...but refrained.
5:48:45 (19.27mph/about 50 min faster than FLIM)

T2: 7:59 (about 3 min faster than T2 at FLIM)

RUN:  I was nervous about the run, considering the longest long run I had was only 15 miles, run workouts were minimal and my right foot was still constantly in some pain. I was also nervous about running the full marathon in my Kinvaras, since I was advised by several people to only wear those for shorter runs. They feel good and they look good...so I figured I'd take the chance and wear them. I also figured that I would be in pain regardless of what shoes I had on. I made the right decision on that. I also couldn't decide if I should wear the compression socks during the run as I did in FL. I made the decision not to wear them. I did have pain in my right foot, but I ran with the pain. The most intense pain was from the blisters on the lateral sides of my baby toes. That's what happens when you run through sprinklers and squeeze wet sponges all over you...wet socks and shoes for 26.2 miles. Not sure how to fix that. Unless I find some good tri-shoes. I took in Perpeptuum, water and PowerBar drink for the first half (about 150 cal/hour). I started to feel a little sick...like some of that might come back up. So I switched to water, ice chips and chicken broth for the sodium. I also had gum. I felt better and had a HoneyStinger shot around mile 22. Crossed the finish line.
4:30:39 (about 14 min faster than FLIM)

OVERALL:  11:40:47 (1 hour 17 min faster than FLIM, 2010)
I was focused on the details...the preparation, the nutrition, hydration, heart felt thoughts, heart rate...all were part of the 'present moment' during different moments. I followed through with the idea I had in April for a sub-12 hour Ironman...which also means that I now get to follow through with the idea of participating in the USAT Long Course National Championships in Myrtle Beach this October. Thanks to Veritas Endurance Coaching (Bob and Cody) for my awesome workouts. Thanks to Mom and Dad Spike for being the best Ironman Support Crew a girl could ask for. I also was able to follow through with the idea to raise funds and awareness for TriSoldier Project...and this idea will continue being part of the adventure. Thanks to the TriSoldiers and other Veterans for being my inpirational heroes. Recover week was over as of Friday. Training for MB 70.3 started yesterday. Riding under an old fighter plane near the airport and dodging lit firecrackers thrown out of vehicle windows on my fav country route. The adventures never stop. New tri-adventure performance specific ideas to be determined...

Mission 205 Complete