Ironman Louisville-race recap!

Ok, so obviously, I have been horrible about the blog this season, since I havn't updated it since like my first race or something. But, Ironman Louisville is worth the post.

So I arrived in Louisville the Thursday before the race, and decided to register and check in early, to beat the crowds. with the administrative stuff out of the way, I spent a couple days trolling the expo for fun new triathlon gadgets that I really don't need. Another fun activity was eaves-dropping on all the conversations around me and trying to piece together exactly how painful the bike course was going to be. I had heard everything from "constant rollers" to "brutal hills" but either way it sounded bad.

I went for a run on thursday and friday to check out the transition area and the swim start area, which was about a mile away from swim finish. After walking the distance, I had the usual panic attack where I thought " there is NO WAY i can swim all this. this is just impossible. this is wrong, what am i DOING?".

After calming myself down on Saturday, I took my bike and gear to the gear drop off in transition. A nice volunteer walked me around and talked me through how things would go on race day. Now, this wasn't my first rodeo, but the chat was helpful, since all ironmans seem to be set up a little differently. My race number was 160, so I was a low number, right next to the professionals. Easy to find my bike in transition. solid.

So Saturday night involved some whole wheat pasta, and a House marathon with Morgan in the hotel, and falling asleep as early as possible. Obviously, nerves got a hold of me and I kept waking up and remembering things I hadn't done, or checking for equipment that I may have forgotten to include in the gear bags, or really, just tossing and turning and waiting for my first wake up time.

Yes, my first wake up time. I set my first alarm for 3 am so I could get in a few hundred calories in and let them settle in before it was time to wake up and do it again. I woke up at 3, and had one of my Erin Bakers all natural breakfast cookies. This packs in just under 300 calories, no butter or eggs and has the equivalent protein of a bowl of oatmeal. Its a delicious way to get in the much needed calories for the day. I think I had my double chocolate one at 3 am. now, back to bed for an hour or so.

Ok so I only slept like 45 minutes, then woke up, started making coffee ( which i managed to mess up in my early morning haze) and had another breakfast cookie. I started to get dressed for the race and was ready to head to transition by a little before 5.

Morgan and I walked over in what seemed to be a mass exodus from the Galt house hotel. I get into transition, get some air into my tires ( which I hope will hold out with no flats for the whole ride) and go get some nutrition out of my gear bags and put it into my bike bento box. Coach reccomended getting in about 250 calories per hour on the bike, so I had about 100 calories of gu and gummies per hour in my bento box, and relied on a super concentrated bottle of Cran Razz Cliff electrolyte drink for the rest.

After you check you transition gear and get everything into place, you have to walk about a mile over to swim start. unlike other ironmans I have done, this isnt a loop swim. Its somewhat of a modified point to point. You start from a pier, swim right, go around this little island and then swim in a straight line, with the current, to swim finish. Another difference between this race and other Ironmans is that it is a time trial start instead of a mass start. This means we jump in a couple people at a time until everyone is in the water.

the downside to this method is that your position in the start line is first come firs serve. I had sent Morgan ahead of me to get me a spot in line ( she is an awesome ironman helper). So I make the 1 mile walk over to the swim start and try to find morgan in line. As I round a corner, I see the start of the swim line and realize that the line has already gotten really long, full of racers and trusty family members holding spots. the people at the beggining of the line had gotten there at 1 am ( insane) and had been sleeping on an air matress *(also stupid) .

I ended up getting a spot about 15 minutes into the start line. Totally perfect. So now, we sit and wait until the line starts to move. This was a bizarre experience. Unlike most race starts, I couldnt see the start, couldnt hear the announcer, and really had no idea what was going on until the volunteers started screaming down the line that the professions were going of at the first cannon - at 6:50. That was only 15 minutes away. The jitters started but I was ready to go. The first cannon goes off, and you hear the screams of the crowd and its almost time.

7 am. the line starts moving fast. As people get in the water, the line moves faster, and all of a sudden you are running into the pier and down into the shoot taking you to the water and SPLASH, you jump in the water off the pier line a penguin jumping off a floatin iceberg. The first half of the swim was against the current though I didn't feel much of anything. I felt really good- unlike other times, the swim start didnt involve people thrashing around and hitting each other, so it was much easier to breathe and get into a rhythm.

The swim up to the turnaround seemed like it took forever, but finally, I had turned the buoy and was heading around to the other side of Towhead Island. I was still feeling good, and working on my breathing and taking long strokes. But all of a sudden, I realized that I wasnt taking the straightest line to the next bouy. I had gotten distracted by spotting off the person in front of me, who was not swimming straight, and this led me to add some distance to the swim. Great, just what I needed. A longer swim

But there it was, in front of me, the ladder and hundred of volunteers ready to help us out of the water. One of my favorite parts of a triathlon has always been the moment you get out of the water, rip your goggles and swim cap off and run to transition. The energy was amazing. Tons of spectators and volunteers there to encourage you.

I get into transition, grab my gear bag, run to the womens change tent and get ready to head to the bike course, that I have been dreading since I registered for this race. I had heard that the first 20 miles or so were pretty easy, and then it just became a battle from there. Sure enough, around mile 25 not only was the heat starting to get oppressive, but I came to a HUGE down hill. Not only was this a little intense, but I knew what it meant. On the other end of every down hill is an uphill. I battle my way on this long steep climb, only to find that we had to turn around, and do it again. Bitches. this was only the beggining of the day.

At that point I made the decision to take my pace down a little. I would rather finish strong on my run, then totally bonk during the bike and resort to walking. i hate walking during a race. Its a triathlon. Its not a swim, bike and walkathon. That said obviously, walking is common, and sometimes necessary.

so I kept plugging along. I had some chain issues- it kepy dropping when I had to switchto my lowest gear for the steepest inclines. But I hopped off, fixed it, and with the crowds shouting "Its OK 160 GET BACK ON IT" I would hop back on the bike and continue on my way.

Every 10 miles we had an aid station, and I made sure to refil my top bottle with water. I kept good calories coming in and while the ride was just brutal, I knew that unlike some of the other people I saw on the course, I was NOT going to fall victim to dehydration or hyponatremia. I have never seen so many ambulances on a bike course in my life. It was disheartening to see so many strong looking athletes on the side of the road with their head in their hands.

I was coming up to the end of the bike and i was SO EXCITED to get running. 112 miles on the bike is a long time and the run is like one big party. its the best part of the day. I dropped off ym bike, ran back into transition and got ready for the run. I took a minute to sit and soak in what was going on around me. I had gotten to the last part of the day. Again, on my third ironman. I think sometimes I take for granted the entire thing, but its a big deal, and I am so excited to have been a part of it. So off I go.

My legs are tired, but they are moving. My tactic for this leg of the race is this: run from aid station to aid station, stopping for nutrition, ice sponges, and then running again. NO WALKING> I was committing to this plan and hoping that old IT band issues wouldnt rear their ugly head. The run was 2 loops, and this was one of the best spectator courses that I have seen. People were everywhere and it was SO encouraging. The first 13 miles FLEW by. Mile 14 brought me back to the beggining turnaround, where some people, mainly the grossly fast people were already finishing. But I had to bypass the finish shoot, and head for my secon loop. I could already tell that my second loop was going to be tougher, but I was still committed to the run.

Every tie i stopped at an aid station, I could feel my lungs getting heavy, like there was an anvil on my chest. I was tired. But, my legs felt pretty good... not my feet though. they were swollen and soar. Its only I kept going. Ice, Ice sponges, orange slices and coke got me through the run. Locals spraying runners with their hoses was just what I needed to cool down. the day had been HOT and it was not letting up. Keeping the core body temp down was my number one priority.

I decided to break the run down into sections. The first section was miles 1-10. I run 10 miles all the time, so no problem right? Then I broke it down to miles 10-15. that got me a little over half way there- which is another important mental hurdle. Then we had miles 15-20. Getting to mile 20 gets you to the notorious "wall" where your mental and physical energy seems likes it totally drained and all you want to do is stop.... then, I hit mile 20. those last 6 miles are brutal. I broke those down too.I said ok, just get to mile 22, because at mile 22 you are only 4 miles away. Then I got to mile 22 and said ok, just get to mile 24, because at mile 24, the Ford Team was there playing music, dancing, being loud and as you ran over a timing strip, your name popped up on a large screen telling you the end was near. Then i said "ok stephanie 2 more miles" and I was off. The crowds started getting heavier, and the cheering was really what kept me going. I heard random strangers cheering for number 160 ( which was me) and I could see the finish line in sight!!!

I always have to finish strong so I mustered up the last bit of strength i had to "sprint" into the finish. And thats in quotes because by no means was I actually sprinting - I was just going as fast as my little, swollen, blistered and tired feet could carry me.

Stephanie Melkonian from Chicago IL You are now an Ironman!! Third time Ive heard that, and its still just as awesome. I was clearly delerious after the race, and apparently I was babbling and looked completely confused for the 10 minutes after I finished. But I recovered in time to get a cookie and revel in the finish. I finished in about 12 hours 50 minutes which is definately a respectable time for this course. I honestly was expecting something much slower because of how tough the day was, So I am pleased, but I can definitely work on my biking in the hills.

Now I am soaking up the joy of another ironman and another triathlon season done. Next year, Ill focus on half ironmans mostly, and getting my short course alot faster. I need a year off ironman to give myself a mental break and hopefully to avoid injury. Ill keep everyone posted on my triathlon season schedule for next year, but Ill be back to ironman in 2012. Cozumel Anyone????