this is my coaches race report from IMKY. No cool music.
I am just sharing my "Ironman" experience with you guys and gals that are "positively interested." If you are not positive or in favor, please refrain from attacking, dicing, or ripping this thing up.
this dude did an incredible thing, and i am abou to attempt it.
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Race Recap - (((Bad Results - Good Race)))
Finisher- a word with meaning for those who dare to start.
Race morning comes @4:30. you wake up, shave, etc take in your nutrition and head towards the transition area to fill your bike tires and make last minute preparations before heading to the swim start. Of course as you approach the area your heart starts racing and you question your preparedness and even if the day has really started. I pumped up my bike tires and problem #1 my front tire wouldn’t hold air. Panic gets you going and soon enough the problem was fixed, but you wonder if it’s an omen or if you got your problems out of the way. My Dad & Sister had come to the race to cheer me on, be my inspiration and source of strength for the day. So as we walked the mile down the river to the boat ramp to start the 2.4 mile swim they assured me that I was ready.
The swim start was unusual , with a time trial start , athletes jumped off the dock one by one and started the long journey to the finish line like lemmings jumping off a cliff. As the national anthem played and the bugler from Churchill Downs started us off I noticed the sunrise. A deep rich red that only forebode of the heat the day was about to lash out with. The Ohio river has a distinct texture to it. It is not a clean waterway and local apologize profusely for it. It has a silt base with a hint of corpse and after taste of diesel fuel. I jumped in and started around the course. I felt fast. My swim time wound up being awesome and I came out 15th in my age group of 360 athletes. I cut through swimmers and actually laughed as I swam. I would up having to stop and clear my goggles of river water 3 times due to the lovely burning sensation of diesel fuel in my eyes. As I exited the swim, I felt as though I hadn’t even started yet. I wasn’t tired or fatigued at all. Off onto the bike.
The bike 112miles- My bike started out @22mph down River road. The only flat part on the course. Scenic and cool, maintaining speed wasn’t an issue. I just kept reminding myself to hydrate now , because if you feel thirsty , it’s too late.. you’ll lose it. After 10 miles of flat the hills started. Like a mythical beast for a flatlander from Florida , they started stealing my strength from my legs as I fought between performing and surviving. The wind was up and in my face the entire way out to a small town called LaGrange. By the time I reached this town 33 miles from the start I was greeted by a Tour De France style ride through town with spectators screaming and shouting VERY COOL. Then….. It was wind, heat, and hills for the next 60 miles. I saw at least 15 athletes on the side of the road getting IV’s that were hanging from trees, bushes, stop signs, etc, The ambulances whirled by all day. I actually crested a climb on my first lap with the Men’s Pro leader Chris MacDonald and we just looked at each other as competitors who realize the fight isn’t with each other, but against this day. At 11:30 it was 90 degrees. The second loop went better than the first because I had resigned myself to saving my energy. This helped, but to understand the consequences you have to be a rider. Between gears, I rode the last 25 miles between a gear the felt like too much work and a gear that was annoying my legs because it was too easy. The rolling terrain finally ended with a flat run into Downtown that brought encouragement back into my vocabulary. I got off the bike in 6:13:00. Six hours is a long time to do anything ((I overheard one spectator before the race comment “it takes them 11 hours. I can’t even sleep for 11 hours”))). I was still competing at this point and all was going according to plan..
The Run- All I can say is you train hard and prepare. You save as much strength as you can for the moment you step out onto the 26.2 mile marathon course you get hit by reality like a ton of bricks. The heat, the climb out onto the bridge and the weight of what you’ve already put your body through plays games with your head. I couldn’t run anymore than a mile at a time without my heart rate rocketing to 170pbm. The temperature reached 94 degrees in someone’s shade not mine. Having to walk/run isn’t fun. It tears at your soul that you didn’t prepare and don’t belong. As I looked down the road and saw more walking than running I knew it wasn’t just me. that this day, this course was winning the battle and that only the strong would survive the day. A few leg cramps, a few good moments and a few bad moments, finding motivation wasn’t hard. Making myself believe that I would get the job done was. The heat finally subsided half way through the marathon, but by then the damage had been done, I was cooked, French Fried, whatever. I made the final turn with 6 miles to go and found strength in the fact that the finish line and all it’s rewards ((beer)) would be there soon enough. Muscling through that last part it seemed like it would never end, but the Buildings of downtown Louisville got closer, close enough to read the Building Names and see sunlight dance on their glass facades and realizing that I would be finishing my first Ironman in daylight. Not my best time, but a victory that means something to an old Age Grouper like me. I headed up Fourth Street into the Fourth Street Live area. It’s a lot like Ybor & Channelside with a lot of neon and rowdy spectators.
I headed up the .2 mile chute to the finish line and broke out to a semi sprint (where were those legs all day long, I thought?) but I high fived spectators, pumped up the crowd and enjoyed my moment that only cost me thousand of dollars, countless hours of training, sacrifice and 12:48:32 of my life …all for the t-shirt I wear today, a lead medal and an ICE COLD BOTTLE OF WATER.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
he is my hero at thi very moment in time.
Sweat Daily!
FF
I am just sharing my "Ironman" experience with you guys and gals that are "positively interested." If you are not positive or in favor, please refrain from attacking, dicing, or ripping this thing up.
this dude did an incredible thing, and i am abou to attempt it.
""""""""""""""""""
Race Recap - (((Bad Results - Good Race)))
Finisher- a word with meaning for those who dare to start.
Race morning comes @4:30. you wake up, shave, etc take in your nutrition and head towards the transition area to fill your bike tires and make last minute preparations before heading to the swim start. Of course as you approach the area your heart starts racing and you question your preparedness and even if the day has really started. I pumped up my bike tires and problem #1 my front tire wouldn’t hold air. Panic gets you going and soon enough the problem was fixed, but you wonder if it’s an omen or if you got your problems out of the way. My Dad & Sister had come to the race to cheer me on, be my inspiration and source of strength for the day. So as we walked the mile down the river to the boat ramp to start the 2.4 mile swim they assured me that I was ready.
The swim start was unusual , with a time trial start , athletes jumped off the dock one by one and started the long journey to the finish line like lemmings jumping off a cliff. As the national anthem played and the bugler from Churchill Downs started us off I noticed the sunrise. A deep rich red that only forebode of the heat the day was about to lash out with. The Ohio river has a distinct texture to it. It is not a clean waterway and local apologize profusely for it. It has a silt base with a hint of corpse and after taste of diesel fuel. I jumped in and started around the course. I felt fast. My swim time wound up being awesome and I came out 15th in my age group of 360 athletes. I cut through swimmers and actually laughed as I swam. I would up having to stop and clear my goggles of river water 3 times due to the lovely burning sensation of diesel fuel in my eyes. As I exited the swim, I felt as though I hadn’t even started yet. I wasn’t tired or fatigued at all. Off onto the bike.
The bike 112miles- My bike started out @22mph down River road. The only flat part on the course. Scenic and cool, maintaining speed wasn’t an issue. I just kept reminding myself to hydrate now , because if you feel thirsty , it’s too late.. you’ll lose it. After 10 miles of flat the hills started. Like a mythical beast for a flatlander from Florida , they started stealing my strength from my legs as I fought between performing and surviving. The wind was up and in my face the entire way out to a small town called LaGrange. By the time I reached this town 33 miles from the start I was greeted by a Tour De France style ride through town with spectators screaming and shouting VERY COOL. Then….. It was wind, heat, and hills for the next 60 miles. I saw at least 15 athletes on the side of the road getting IV’s that were hanging from trees, bushes, stop signs, etc, The ambulances whirled by all day. I actually crested a climb on my first lap with the Men’s Pro leader Chris MacDonald and we just looked at each other as competitors who realize the fight isn’t with each other, but against this day. At 11:30 it was 90 degrees. The second loop went better than the first because I had resigned myself to saving my energy. This helped, but to understand the consequences you have to be a rider. Between gears, I rode the last 25 miles between a gear the felt like too much work and a gear that was annoying my legs because it was too easy. The rolling terrain finally ended with a flat run into Downtown that brought encouragement back into my vocabulary. I got off the bike in 6:13:00. Six hours is a long time to do anything ((I overheard one spectator before the race comment “it takes them 11 hours. I can’t even sleep for 11 hours”))). I was still competing at this point and all was going according to plan..
The Run- All I can say is you train hard and prepare. You save as much strength as you can for the moment you step out onto the 26.2 mile marathon course you get hit by reality like a ton of bricks. The heat, the climb out onto the bridge and the weight of what you’ve already put your body through plays games with your head. I couldn’t run anymore than a mile at a time without my heart rate rocketing to 170pbm. The temperature reached 94 degrees in someone’s shade not mine. Having to walk/run isn’t fun. It tears at your soul that you didn’t prepare and don’t belong. As I looked down the road and saw more walking than running I knew it wasn’t just me. that this day, this course was winning the battle and that only the strong would survive the day. A few leg cramps, a few good moments and a few bad moments, finding motivation wasn’t hard. Making myself believe that I would get the job done was. The heat finally subsided half way through the marathon, but by then the damage had been done, I was cooked, French Fried, whatever. I made the final turn with 6 miles to go and found strength in the fact that the finish line and all it’s rewards ((beer)) would be there soon enough. Muscling through that last part it seemed like it would never end, but the Buildings of downtown Louisville got closer, close enough to read the Building Names and see sunlight dance on their glass facades and realizing that I would be finishing my first Ironman in daylight. Not my best time, but a victory that means something to an old Age Grouper like me. I headed up Fourth Street into the Fourth Street Live area. It’s a lot like Ybor & Channelside with a lot of neon and rowdy spectators.
I headed up the .2 mile chute to the finish line and broke out to a semi sprint (where were those legs all day long, I thought?) but I high fived spectators, pumped up the crowd and enjoyed my moment that only cost me thousand of dollars, countless hours of training, sacrifice and 12:48:32 of my life …all for the t-shirt I wear today, a lead medal and an ICE COLD BOTTLE OF WATER.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
he is my hero at thi very moment in time.
Sweat Daily!
FF