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Ran a 10k - Official Thread (12 Viewers)
- Thread starter Ned
- Start date
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Do well, racers!
(Shady's trail race uses the same trail where I PR'ed my HM a few years ago. It's flat and fast ...a great course.)
Alex, looking forward to your race next week!
(Shady's trail race uses the same trail where I PR'ed my HM a few years ago. It's flat and fast ...a great course.)
Alex, looking forward to your race next week!
worrierking
Footballguy
I'm in Little Rock this weekend for football. Ran 14 from the hotel this morning. Pretty hilly here for a sea-level boy.
I actually ended up at a 10k that was being held at a park/golf course nearby. I ran a good bit of the course and used the port-o-pots and was given some water at a water stop. It was one of those "Country" races that are going around. Course lined with tractors and hay bales.
Game tonight.
Good Luck racers.
I actually ended up at a 10k that was being held at a park/golf course nearby. I ran a good bit of the course and used the port-o-pots and was given some water at a water stop. It was one of those "Country" races that are going around. Course lined with tractors and hay bales.
Game tonight.
Good Luck racers.
Last edited by a moderator:
tri-man 47
Footballguy
New trend? Gruecd and his fiancee just got a new puppy as well.We adopted a sheagle (we think) this morning. Good long legs like a Shepard, face like a beagle, seems awesome already at 12-16 weeks old.looking forward to seeing if he can run.
--
Back to training mode for me, at long last. Piriformis is mostly OK; bottom of my feet are still somewhat sore, particularly at the end of long runs. 32 miles for the week.
M: 6 miles
T: 10 miles
Th: 7 miles, with 5 x 1 mile repeats on the track ..~7:00/mile
Sun: 9 miles, with last 3 on the track @ 7:50/mile
Hang 10
Footballguy
Crawlin Crab Half Marathon
Going into the marathon training I marked this race on my calendar as my 1B goal race. Reason being, if I had any shot at a BQ I'd needed to improve upon my half marathon time. I also set a goal time of 87 minutes flat but I didn't tell anyone.
As marathon training wore on, this goal seemed entirely out of reach. Glad I didn't say it out loud. I remember a conversation with my wife a few weeks ago, where I complained that I've basically doubled my running mileage and I'm not sure if I've gotten any faster at any distance. I guess that's marathon training though. Lots of ups and downs.
Fast forward to last week. The weather improved. I finally kicked my sinus infection and my confidence returned. Training went well that week. Forecast for the race was mid 40's. I just got a feeling like my PR was going down. I was really hoping for a 1:28:30. As I said last week, I wanted to add 30 seconds to whatever pace I ran in this race and that would be my marathon goal pace. A 3:10 marathon would seem more attainable. I also make a decision to ditch the heart rate monitor for this race and run by feel. I only see it being a hindrance for this race. Fubar's article made me think a little more old school.
I starting getting nervous for this race on Friday and I'm thinking that I'll be an absolute mess by Sunday. Funny thing was, I had a couple glasses of wine on Saturday night to chill out and slept great (only got 5 1/2 hours though). Hit the pillow went right to sleep and didn't wake until my wife's alarm went off. I wake up and I have a weird calm over me. Take care of the normal business ( x 3) and actually have an appetite.
My wife and I end up riding with a friend out to Hampton, VA, which is typically about an hour drive from Virginia Beach. No traffic Sunday morning though and we cruise right into the parking lot with about 75 minutes to spare. Okay, now I'm nervous. I try to find some friendly faces but there's not a huge crowd here today. Apparently since this race was canceled earlier this month, many people deferred and skipped the rescheduled race. What's interesting is that because this race was rescheduled for yesterday, it was conflicting with another new half marathon about 20 minutes down the road. Because of volunteers and city services, they decided to combine the races. I thought this would guarantee a much bigger field...it didn't. Sucks because I was hoping for some more company among the folks looking to go sub 90. Also, hoping for some drafting partners on the windier sections of the course (wind was steady 12-15). Whatever, it wasn't going to happen. I knew if I was going to run the race I wanted, I'd need to do it alone.
Start my warm-up 30 minutes prior to the start. Run a couple miles and add in some quick pick-ups in every now and then. Definitely colder day that I've been used to but that's a good thing. Legs feel ok...nothing spectacular but I'll take it. I jump in the shoot and ditch my walmart throwaway sweat suit. Just rocking the singlet and shorts. It's go time.
Race starts out and I find myself running with a very small pack at the front...glance down at my watch and I see 5:50 pace...okay, idiot...slow the #### down. But this was good sign. My legs felt good. I slow a bit but still see the lead pack. First split was 6:34. I settle in nicely and find myself running with a 3 other runners. Maybe I won't be doing this a lone after all. Second split is 6:30. This is the point in the race that I went from thinking PRing was a possibility to a near certainty. The only question was how big. I was running by feel and I felt great. Passed the 5K mark at 20:18.
The pack starts to fall a part a bit but I chat it up with this younger guy, who can talk his ### off for running 6:30's. Eventually, I tell him hey buddy, it's been real and all but I'm going to need to keep the chatter to a minimum here and if I'm going to sustain this pace.
I'm still knocking out splits in 6:30's. Some faster. I hit the 10K mark at 40:44. I'm not a mathematician but I'd say that I'm on pace for a 85ish minutes 
.
This is also the part in the race when things start to get tough. The pack is nonexistent and we hit a long stretch along the water with the wind in our faces. There's no one to draft with and I start to feel my pace slipping. I'm trying to make sure my splits stay in the 6:30s but it's becoming increasingly difficult. My legs are wearing down. 85 minutes is out of the question but 86 isn't! Just keep working.
Mile 10 is where #### gets real. I'm tired and the wind is starting to take it's toll. I catch a guy at mile 10 1/2 and I think sweet, I'll draft off this guy for a few minutes but as is the case most often, if you catch someone to draft on, that means they are fading and fading hard. Ditch him and it's back on my own. Have my worst split of the race with a 6:52. Still feeling like a have something left in the tank for a strong finish but 86 minutes is slipping away if I don't start pushing.
The last 2 miles is the ugliest stretch of the course. Right into the wind, up and down highway over passes. Pick up the pace slightly and run a 6:47 for mile 12. Mile 13 and I can start to taste it. Gotta leave it all out there to get under 87 minutes. Pedal to the medal now. 6:37 The end of the race you come off one last over pass and then turn out of the wind. I take the downhill momentum and run the last bit of the course with everything. I see the clock and I still see 1:26...close the last .1 with a 5:43 pace. And slip right under 87 minutes with a 1:26:51. (PR'd by over 2 1/2 minutes) One nice dry heave and I collect my medal. Today was a good day. Finished 3/91 in my age group and 13/1160 overall. My first half marathon podium.
I guess it just goes to show, that if your training is consistent, that break out races can happen. Had several friend give me a "WTF where did that come from?" when they saw me finish. Really proud of this one. Gives me a lot of confidence going into next month.
My wife also shaved one second off her half PR with a 1:51:10! Good day all around!
Going into the marathon training I marked this race on my calendar as my 1B goal race. Reason being, if I had any shot at a BQ I'd needed to improve upon my half marathon time. I also set a goal time of 87 minutes flat but I didn't tell anyone.
As marathon training wore on, this goal seemed entirely out of reach. Glad I didn't say it out loud. I remember a conversation with my wife a few weeks ago, where I complained that I've basically doubled my running mileage and I'm not sure if I've gotten any faster at any distance. I guess that's marathon training though. Lots of ups and downs.Fast forward to last week. The weather improved. I finally kicked my sinus infection and my confidence returned. Training went well that week. Forecast for the race was mid 40's. I just got a feeling like my PR was going down. I was really hoping for a 1:28:30. As I said last week, I wanted to add 30 seconds to whatever pace I ran in this race and that would be my marathon goal pace. A 3:10 marathon would seem more attainable. I also make a decision to ditch the heart rate monitor for this race and run by feel. I only see it being a hindrance for this race. Fubar's article made me think a little more old school.
I starting getting nervous for this race on Friday and I'm thinking that I'll be an absolute mess by Sunday. Funny thing was, I had a couple glasses of wine on Saturday night to chill out and slept great (only got 5 1/2 hours though). Hit the pillow went right to sleep and didn't wake until my wife's alarm went off. I wake up and I have a weird calm over me. Take care of the normal business ( x 3) and actually have an appetite.
My wife and I end up riding with a friend out to Hampton, VA, which is typically about an hour drive from Virginia Beach. No traffic Sunday morning though and we cruise right into the parking lot with about 75 minutes to spare. Okay, now I'm nervous. I try to find some friendly faces but there's not a huge crowd here today. Apparently since this race was canceled earlier this month, many people deferred and skipped the rescheduled race. What's interesting is that because this race was rescheduled for yesterday, it was conflicting with another new half marathon about 20 minutes down the road. Because of volunteers and city services, they decided to combine the races. I thought this would guarantee a much bigger field...it didn't. Sucks because I was hoping for some more company among the folks looking to go sub 90. Also, hoping for some drafting partners on the windier sections of the course (wind was steady 12-15). Whatever, it wasn't going to happen. I knew if I was going to run the race I wanted, I'd need to do it alone.
Start my warm-up 30 minutes prior to the start. Run a couple miles and add in some quick pick-ups in every now and then. Definitely colder day that I've been used to but that's a good thing. Legs feel ok...nothing spectacular but I'll take it. I jump in the shoot and ditch my walmart throwaway sweat suit. Just rocking the singlet and shorts. It's go time.
Race starts out and I find myself running with a very small pack at the front...glance down at my watch and I see 5:50 pace...okay, idiot...slow the #### down. But this was good sign. My legs felt good. I slow a bit but still see the lead pack. First split was 6:34. I settle in nicely and find myself running with a 3 other runners. Maybe I won't be doing this a lone after all. Second split is 6:30. This is the point in the race that I went from thinking PRing was a possibility to a near certainty. The only question was how big. I was running by feel and I felt great. Passed the 5K mark at 20:18.
The pack starts to fall a part a bit but I chat it up with this younger guy, who can talk his ### off for running 6:30's. Eventually, I tell him hey buddy, it's been real and all but I'm going to need to keep the chatter to a minimum here and if I'm going to sustain this pace.
I'm still knocking out splits in 6:30's. Some faster. I hit the 10K mark at 40:44. I'm not a mathematician but I'd say that I'm on pace for a 85ish minutes .This is also the part in the race when things start to get tough. The pack is nonexistent and we hit a long stretch along the water with the wind in our faces. There's no one to draft with and I start to feel my pace slipping. I'm trying to make sure my splits stay in the 6:30s but it's becoming increasingly difficult. My legs are wearing down. 85 minutes is out of the question but 86 isn't! Just keep working.
Mile 10 is where #### gets real. I'm tired and the wind is starting to take it's toll. I catch a guy at mile 10 1/2 and I think sweet, I'll draft off this guy for a few minutes but as is the case most often, if you catch someone to draft on, that means they are fading and fading hard. Ditch him and it's back on my own. Have my worst split of the race with a 6:52. Still feeling like a have something left in the tank for a strong finish but 86 minutes is slipping away if I don't start pushing.
The last 2 miles is the ugliest stretch of the course. Right into the wind, up and down highway over passes. Pick up the pace slightly and run a 6:47 for mile 12. Mile 13 and I can start to taste it. Gotta leave it all out there to get under 87 minutes. Pedal to the medal now. 6:37 The end of the race you come off one last over pass and then turn out of the wind. I take the downhill momentum and run the last bit of the course with everything. I see the clock and I still see 1:26...close the last .1 with a 5:43 pace. And slip right under 87 minutes with a 1:26:51. (PR'd by over 2 1/2 minutes) One nice dry heave and I collect my medal. Today was a good day. Finished 3/91 in my age group and 13/1160 overall. My first half marathon podium.
I guess it just goes to show, that if your training is consistent, that break out races can happen. Had several friend give me a "WTF where did that come from?" when they saw me finish. Really proud of this one. Gives me a lot of confidence going into next month.
My wife also shaved one second off her half PR with a 1:51:10! Good day all around!
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pbm107
Footballguy
Awesome race Hang10, I am not surprised at all with your result. You have been really consistent with your training since April.
Big training week for me, two more weeks until the taper.
Mon: 6.2 @ 8:36 129. It was supposed to be a double but I didn't feel like running the afternoon run.
Tue: 12 miles with 6 X 1000s. 3:37, 3:39, 3:39, 3:38, 3:36, and 3:32. It was too dark to see the watch so ran these by feel.
Wed: 6 @ 8:03/144 and 4 @ 8:07/137 Both of these were too fast but it was a busy stressful day, this was supposed to be 15 miler that I did on Thursday.
Thu: 15 @ 7:57/139
Fri: 12 @ 8:14/133.
Sat: 7 @ 8:26/133.
Sun: 20 with 14 at Marathon pace. Marathon pace miles avg 6:41/158. I started out wanting to stay under 6:50 pace and after the first 3 miles my HR was in the mid 150s and I think my ideal Marathon Pace HR is 163. I then tried to keep all the miles under 6:45 and I did that for a while and my HR stayed under 160. I was still feeling strong with 4 miles to go so I picked it up a bit with 3 miles under 6:40 and the final mile under 6:30. Feel really good about this workout and I am now 4/4 on my marathon pace workouts. I also set a half marathon PR during this run.
82.7 miles for the week.
Big training week for me, two more weeks until the taper.
Mon: 6.2 @ 8:36 129. It was supposed to be a double but I didn't feel like running the afternoon run.
Tue: 12 miles with 6 X 1000s. 3:37, 3:39, 3:39, 3:38, 3:36, and 3:32. It was too dark to see the watch so ran these by feel.
Wed: 6 @ 8:03/144 and 4 @ 8:07/137 Both of these were too fast but it was a busy stressful day, this was supposed to be 15 miler that I did on Thursday.
Thu: 15 @ 7:57/139
Fri: 12 @ 8:14/133.
Sat: 7 @ 8:26/133.
Sun: 20 with 14 at Marathon pace. Marathon pace miles avg 6:41/158. I started out wanting to stay under 6:50 pace and after the first 3 miles my HR was in the mid 150s and I think my ideal Marathon Pace HR is 163. I then tried to keep all the miles under 6:45 and I did that for a while and my HR stayed under 160. I was still feeling strong with 4 miles to go so I picked it up a bit with 3 miles under 6:40 and the final mile under 6:30. Feel really good about this workout and I am now 4/4 on my marathon pace workouts. I also set a half marathon PR during this run.
82.7 miles for the week.
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Hang 10
Footballguy
Phenomenal run yesterday! You are in amazing shape. You almost ran a better half on your 20 mile run than I did yesterday!
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The_Man
Footballguy
Great Race, Hang10!
My son ran the Baltimore Half Marathon this weekend, ended up 2nd in the 15-19 age group with a 1:27:43. 52nd out of 7,410 overall.
Happy for him. His cross country team isn't very competitive this year and despite a great summer of training, he hasn't really had a breakout 5K race. We've known all along he's more of a distance guy and the 5K is not ever going to be a great race for him.
So when the coach gave runners on the team the option of being part of a marathon relay team or of doing the Half Marathon, he picked the Half. He did one 11-mile run this fall and did a couple of 10-milers late in the summer, so I was impressed to see he ran the last 2.3 miles at a 6:13 pace (the splits they gave were a little funky, as I think they had the timing mats set up for the Marathon, not the Half). Now he's starting to think about training for a Full Marathon - maybe next year when he's 18. I'll be interested to see what he can do with some more serious distance training.
I know running a Half now with the Conference Championship just around the corner on Nov. 4 might screw him up a little, but he was never going to crush that 5K anyway, so I'm glad he got to bust out a race he feels really good about in his senior year.
My son ran the Baltimore Half Marathon this weekend, ended up 2nd in the 15-19 age group with a 1:27:43. 52nd out of 7,410 overall.
Happy for him. His cross country team isn't very competitive this year and despite a great summer of training, he hasn't really had a breakout 5K race. We've known all along he's more of a distance guy and the 5K is not ever going to be a great race for him.
So when the coach gave runners on the team the option of being part of a marathon relay team or of doing the Half Marathon, he picked the Half. He did one 11-mile run this fall and did a couple of 10-milers late in the summer, so I was impressed to see he ran the last 2.3 miles at a 6:13 pace (the splits they gave were a little funky, as I think they had the timing mats set up for the Marathon, not the Half). Now he's starting to think about training for a Full Marathon - maybe next year when he's 18. I'll be interested to see what he can do with some more serious distance training.
I know running a Half now with the Conference Championship just around the corner on Nov. 4 might screw him up a little, but he was never going to crush that 5K anyway, so I'm glad he got to bust out a race he feels really good about in his senior year.
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gruecd
Footballguy
Whoa, great race! And congrats to your wife, too!!I see the clock and I still see 1:26...close the last .1 with a 5:43 pace. And slip right under 87 minutes with a 1:26:51. (PR'd by over 2 1/2 minutes) One nice dry heave and I collect my medal. Today was a good day. Finished 3/91 in my age group and 13/1160 overall. My first half marathon podium.
I guess it just goes to show, that if your training is consistent, that break out races can happen. Had several friend give me a "WTF where did that come from?" when they saw me finish. Really proud of this one. Gives me a lot of confidence going into next month.
My wife also shaved one second off her half PR with a 1:51:10! Good day all around!
worrierking
Footballguy
Great Job Hang! Sometimes the best half training is actually marathon training. The extra work you have been putting in really paid off. Congrats.
PBM, Wow. Monster week. Congrats.
PBM, Wow. Monster week. Congrats.
gruecd
Footballguy
Decent training week for me. 41+ miles including a 10-miler on Tuesday and a solid 15-miler on Saturday. Averaged 7:47/mile with LMF (Last Mile Fastest) at 7:17.
Fall 50 coming up this weekend, which we're hoping to win. And I'm going to sign up today for that trail 10-miler on the 8th.
And yeah, like tri-man said, we got a new puppy on Saturday, so I'm tired.
Fall 50 coming up this weekend, which we're hoping to win. And I'm going to sign up today for that trail 10-miler on the 8th.
And yeah, like tri-man said, we got a new puppy on Saturday, so I'm tired.
Brony
Footballguy
Great Job H10!!Crawlin Crab Half Marathon
Today was a good day. Finished 3/91 in my age group and 13/1160 overall. My first half marathon podium. !
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
Congrats Hang 10! As you mention, you've had an up and down training cycle with lots of changes so it's nice to see it pay off! Coming off a good half is such a great confidence builder for a full. I probably thought about my September half on about a dozen runs when I felt like I needed a boost.
pbm - You've been killing it! I feel more confident about you than I did about myself. You're probably in about 2:55 shape right now.
pbm - You've been killing it! I feel more confident about you than I did about myself. You're probably in about 2:55 shape right now.
Hang 10
Footballguy
Yeah, obviously that marathon endurance work really pays off at the end of a half marathon. I was telling myself when I was getting tired, that this what the training has all been about. You can't be tired yet, this is only half the distance of the real race!
Yeah, I feel like mentally going forward it will be a lot easier to dismiss a bad run/workout knowing that I have this race under my belt. To me that's huge. I've got one more big week starting tomorrow and then it's taper town!
pbm107
Footballguy
Thanks I am cautiously optimistic at this point. That being said this was my best workout ever, and it was nothing compared to what you were doing during your cycle. I am really looking forward to my tuneup 10k in two weeks.
Nigel
Footballguy
After an afib episode scratched my run on Monday I got out there 6 days to put together a 41M week, with a long of 10 on Saturday where the legs were tired but it went well over all. I had three hard, hilly runs at lunch around my office, much tougher than my usual morning route. Should pay dividends on the flat HM course next Sunday.
Plan this week is an off day today, 6 with some 400 intervals tomorrow, and a couple of shorter easy runs Wed and Thurs. Will most likely take Fri and Sat off. I like to err on the side of fresh legs over concern about rustiness.
Plan this week is an off day today, 6 with some 400 intervals tomorrow, and a couple of shorter easy runs Wed and Thurs. Will most likely take Fri and Sat off. I like to err on the side of fresh legs over concern about rustiness.
shady inc
Footballguy
I've never written a race report before, so here goes nothing:
Des Plaines River Trail Marathon
I left work at noon on Friday, picked up the significant other, and began the long drive to Des Plaines (it ended up being close to an 8 hour trip including gas/restroom stops). She had to do homework in the car, so I drove the whole way. After we got on the road, I still hadn't figured out what to do for dinner. SFBayDuck gave me some good ideas I'll use for next time, specifically: taking my own leftover salmon (post #5585), but for this race, I had to figure it out on the fly. We found a restaurant in a city we'd be passing through around 6PM. I called ahead and ordered the salmon to go so we could pick it up on the fly. We hopped off the interstate, grabbed the salmon, and were back on the road.
As we got closer to Des Plaines, the Google Maps on my phone said to get off the interstate, take a bunch of side roads, and then get back on the interstate about 15 miles later. I couldn't figure out why it wanted me to get off the interstate, but then we came around a corner and saw the line of traffic ahead. I had ignored Google and passed the off-ramp it told me to take. To prove it's point, Google changed my ETA from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. I couldn't wait that long, so I (along with a few other risk-takers), drove down the ON-ramp to get off the interstate (since we had missed the actual off-ramp) and take the route Google had originally suggested. It really did save us close to 90 minutes. Lesson learned.
We made it to the hotel, and got to sleep pretty quickly. The hotel was nice, and only about a mile from the start of the race. The morning of the race was COLD and windy. All of my training in Missouri was in shorts, a t-shirt, and 60 degree weather at a minimum, but most of the time in the 70's. Race morning temps in Des Plaines were 34 degrees, "feels like" 27. The people that organize the race had 4 or 5 campfires going that everyone huddled around to try and stay warm while waiting for the start. I knew ahead of time it would be cold, so I packed accordingly. I wore my running pants, long sleeve underarmor, short-sleeved t-shirt, and cubs baseball cap. I wore my running jacket, too, but took it off right before the race started.
We went off at 8:00 AM sharp. I turned on the Audible Live (the podcast I always start my long runs with) and hit the trail. I ran with my phone and shotblocks in one hand and a water bottle in the other. The course had numerous aid stations (probably 7 or 8 each way), but I had trained with a water bottle, so I wanted to race just like I trained. I also had a fanny-pack that I carried 4 GU gels in - 2 with caffeine, 2 without (side note - breakfast was a pack of sport beans (no caffeine) and a gluten-free granola bar). I ate 1 shot block at each mile marker starting at mile 3, so they were gone at mile 8.
I don't run with a heart-rate monitor or keep track of my splits except from memory, but my first mile was 8:10. The first 7 miles all felt good. Then around mile 8 my left quad started to get tight and it felt like it was either going to be a pulled muscle or it was going to cramp. That feeling only worsened over the course of the race, but it never got to the point where I couldn't run through it. I think it was some combination of the small hills on the course (I trained mostly on flat ground) or not being used to the cold weather.
Due to the set-up of the course, the turnaround point was at 14.4 miles. I reached this point at 1:59:51. So I had to go just under 12 miles in 1 hour 43 minutes to make my goal. Easier said than done. My leg muscles were very tired, and my feet were really hurting. I tried to keep about an 8:30 pace per mile using my watch and the mile markers, but I was getting a little slower each mile. My legs were dead tired. I always tell myself, mind over matter, but the little voice in the back of my head that says "why are you pushing yourself so hard, just walk a while" kept getting louder and louder. I finally got to the last aid station which was 3 miles from the finish. I started walking. I didn't think there was any way I would beat my goal at this point. I looked down at my watch and saw 3:19:43 (will never forget that moment). I realized I had just over 23 minutes to get through the last 3 miles. I turned on my favorite playlist on spotify, said "let's do this", and hit the gas.
I ran as hard as I possibly could those last 3 miles. My legs were screaming "stop!", but I was as determined as ever. I crossed the finish line at 3:41:51.6. I beat my goal by 1 minute and 9 seconds. I was toast, I laid on the ground for a while, sipped some gatorade and ate some fritos. I was relieved it was over, and so happy at how it ended. My legs were extremely sore, and still are today - I feel like I need a walker to get around. I had some really bad chaffing i didn't realize until I got in the shower and felt the burn!! Other than that I came out in one piece. It was a very exciting, stressful, painful, enjoyable, memorable experience. Maybe I could train a little more and shoot for 3:30 on a flat road course? Hmmm.....
On a side note, the race was really well put together, lots of volunteers, beautiful scenery with the leaves changing colors, highly recommended.
TL;DR - beat goal by 1 minute
Des Plaines River Trail Marathon
I left work at noon on Friday, picked up the significant other, and began the long drive to Des Plaines (it ended up being close to an 8 hour trip including gas/restroom stops). She had to do homework in the car, so I drove the whole way. After we got on the road, I still hadn't figured out what to do for dinner. SFBayDuck gave me some good ideas I'll use for next time, specifically: taking my own leftover salmon (post #5585), but for this race, I had to figure it out on the fly. We found a restaurant in a city we'd be passing through around 6PM. I called ahead and ordered the salmon to go so we could pick it up on the fly. We hopped off the interstate, grabbed the salmon, and were back on the road.
As we got closer to Des Plaines, the Google Maps on my phone said to get off the interstate, take a bunch of side roads, and then get back on the interstate about 15 miles later. I couldn't figure out why it wanted me to get off the interstate, but then we came around a corner and saw the line of traffic ahead. I had ignored Google and passed the off-ramp it told me to take. To prove it's point, Google changed my ETA from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. I couldn't wait that long, so I (along with a few other risk-takers), drove down the ON-ramp to get off the interstate (since we had missed the actual off-ramp) and take the route Google had originally suggested. It really did save us close to 90 minutes. Lesson learned.
We made it to the hotel, and got to sleep pretty quickly. The hotel was nice, and only about a mile from the start of the race. The morning of the race was COLD and windy. All of my training in Missouri was in shorts, a t-shirt, and 60 degree weather at a minimum, but most of the time in the 70's. Race morning temps in Des Plaines were 34 degrees, "feels like" 27. The people that organize the race had 4 or 5 campfires going that everyone huddled around to try and stay warm while waiting for the start. I knew ahead of time it would be cold, so I packed accordingly. I wore my running pants, long sleeve underarmor, short-sleeved t-shirt, and cubs baseball cap. I wore my running jacket, too, but took it off right before the race started.
We went off at 8:00 AM sharp. I turned on the Audible Live (the podcast I always start my long runs with) and hit the trail. I ran with my phone and shotblocks in one hand and a water bottle in the other. The course had numerous aid stations (probably 7 or 8 each way), but I had trained with a water bottle, so I wanted to race just like I trained. I also had a fanny-pack that I carried 4 GU gels in - 2 with caffeine, 2 without (side note - breakfast was a pack of sport beans (no caffeine) and a gluten-free granola bar). I ate 1 shot block at each mile marker starting at mile 3, so they were gone at mile 8.
I don't run with a heart-rate monitor or keep track of my splits except from memory, but my first mile was 8:10. The first 7 miles all felt good. Then around mile 8 my left quad started to get tight and it felt like it was either going to be a pulled muscle or it was going to cramp. That feeling only worsened over the course of the race, but it never got to the point where I couldn't run through it. I think it was some combination of the small hills on the course (I trained mostly on flat ground) or not being used to the cold weather.
Due to the set-up of the course, the turnaround point was at 14.4 miles. I reached this point at 1:59:51. So I had to go just under 12 miles in 1 hour 43 minutes to make my goal. Easier said than done. My leg muscles were very tired, and my feet were really hurting. I tried to keep about an 8:30 pace per mile using my watch and the mile markers, but I was getting a little slower each mile. My legs were dead tired. I always tell myself, mind over matter, but the little voice in the back of my head that says "why are you pushing yourself so hard, just walk a while" kept getting louder and louder. I finally got to the last aid station which was 3 miles from the finish. I started walking. I didn't think there was any way I would beat my goal at this point. I looked down at my watch and saw 3:19:43 (will never forget that moment). I realized I had just over 23 minutes to get through the last 3 miles. I turned on my favorite playlist on spotify, said "let's do this", and hit the gas.
I ran as hard as I possibly could those last 3 miles. My legs were screaming "stop!", but I was as determined as ever. I crossed the finish line at 3:41:51.6. I beat my goal by 1 minute and 9 seconds. I was toast, I laid on the ground for a while, sipped some gatorade and ate some fritos. I was relieved it was over, and so happy at how it ended. My legs were extremely sore, and still are today - I feel like I need a walker to get around. I had some really bad chaffing i didn't realize until I got in the shower and felt the burn!! Other than that I came out in one piece. It was a very exciting, stressful, painful, enjoyable, memorable experience. Maybe I could train a little more and shoot for 3:30 on a flat road course? Hmmm.....
On a side note, the race was really well put together, lots of volunteers, beautiful scenery with the leaves changing colors, highly recommended.
TL;DR - beat goal by 1 minute
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
pbm107
Footballguy
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
Hang 10
Footballguy
Sub 6 minute pace for PBM. Giddy up!!!
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Great, gutty races - Hang 10 and shady. And great reports!
Ned
Footballguy
Hang10 - You may have doubted it, but I didn't. I'm not surprised at all!
shady - Great race!! I love the mind over matter mantra.
The_Man - So damn cool about Jr. Kid's got some natural ability!!
pbm - That was an unbelievable workout. Holy #### dude, what a break out!
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AAABatteries
Footballguy
I've fallen off the map after my vacation - work was piled up, new big project but I'm back to thread now. Sounds like a lot of good work being done. Congrats to all on the races.
I'm starting a new Olympic tri distance training plan for 20 weeks starting this week. I hate that the weather is turning colder - I know most everyone in here loves the cooler weather but I'm a #####.
I'm starting a new Olympic tri distance training plan for 20 weeks starting this week. I hate that the weather is turning colder - I know most everyone in here loves the cooler weather but I'm a #####.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Oh - and my FF team may be the worst in the history of FF (and I can't find the thread to ##### and moan) - with 16 teams there is nobody to pick up and I've had 4-6 players out at different points. Just fielding a lineup has been tricky because if I drop somebody that may score points eventually I'm having to pick up somebody who is crap.
gruecd
Footballguy
Here you go: https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=710885Oh - and my FF team may be the worst in the history of FF (and I can't find the thread to ##### and moan) - with 16 teams there is nobody to pick up and I've had 4-6 players out at different points. Just fielding a lineup has been tricky because if I drop somebody that may score points eventually I'm having to pick up somebody who is crap.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Suck Brony - hope they get your straightened out soon.Back to biomechanics doctor tomorrow.
Juxtatarot
Footballguy
I signed up for a Turkey Trot 5K today. My 68 year-old mom signed up for this race (her first ever) and is taking a class at her local running store to help with training. She's been doing fine (I think she's up to running for 6 minute intervals with walk breaks in between). She used to jog many years ago and has kept up with long walks so I'll think she'll be OK. I made sure to explain to her that the 65-69 female age group is ripe for medal mongering.
Anyways, I'm getting tired of not training for anything so I think I'm going to shoot for sub 18 for this race. Honestly I have no idea if this is overly ambitious with only a little over a month to train. My PR is 18:08 set last May but I think my marathon training may have zapped some of my higher end speed. We'll see.
Anyways, I'm getting tired of not training for anything so I think I'm going to shoot for sub 18 for this race. Honestly I have no idea if this is overly ambitious with only a little over a month to train. My PR is 18:08 set last May but I think my marathon training may have zapped some of my higher end speed. We'll see.
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Brony
Footballguy
thanks man. Still waiting to find out "because you have ______ (anatomical problem), the solution is _______" Still not there yet.Suck Brony - hope they get your straightened out soon.Back to biomechanics doctor tomorrow.
Hang 10
Footballguy
FUBAR
Footballguy
I want a new glove
"Equal to or substantially better than steroids … and it's not illegal."
the story starts, improbably, with a longstanding question about bears
"Equal to or substantially better than steroids … and it's not illegal."
the story starts, improbably, with a longstanding question about bears
ChiefD
Footballguy
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Sorry to interject with some fantasy football smack talk, but I just wanted to say that tri-man is (finally) going down like a cheap whore this week!
Did you see what a great week Juxt just had? And I didn't even break a sweat.
ThreeThousand
Footballguy
Ironman Louisville Race Report
This has been a strange build for me – I’ve had a couple injuries and a new addition to the family (born directly after Ironman Chattanooga in 2014). Strained my back pretty badly picking up the newborn a couple months ago and had to take some time off, and had an ingrown toenail that I had to get removed that also sidelined me for a week. Add in some difficulty sleeping, due to both the training and the newborn, and it’s been a rough go the past few months.
That said, I arrived in Louisville Friday early afternoon, after loading my 4 year old, 3 year old, and wife (1 year old stayed at home with the grandparents) into the car at 6:00am on Friday. We got out of Atlanta pretty quickly and on the road north, so were in Louisville at about 1:00ish on Friday. We had originally planned to come up Thursday to make sure we made athlete checkin (for those not familiar with Ironman races, they force all athletes to check in either 2 or 3 days before the race, you have the option of either day), but decided last minute to drive up early Friday for the Sunday race, in order to avoid an extra hotel room night. My buddies racing drove up Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and parents flew in Thursday afternoon. We stayed at the Hyatt on 4th Street, literally next door to the finish line, which was a fantastic location. I highly recommend staying here if you run this race – tons of food options across the street or around the corner, and you could see the finish line from our hotel room window.
After we got all checked in to the hotel, grabbed lunch, and got the wife and kids settled down for their afternoon nap, I walked over with the buddies to athlete check-in, expecting a long line. Turns out, apparently everyone else checked in on Thursday, because I breezed through the whole waiver process/bib pickup/swag bag acquisition. The longest line I stood in was in the merchandise tent as I wanted to pick up a IM Louisville mug to add to the collection. I also signed the 2 big kids up for the Ironkids race on Saturday morning. Strangely enough, for as bad of an economic deal as an IM is ($700, plus or minus, for a race), the Ironkids race was a pretty sweet deal - $15 per kid for the race, which includes a gear bag, tshirt or hat, finisher medel, Ironkids sticker, and some other random cr@p. Walked back to the hotel and laid around until dinner, which was at the Hard Rock Café at 4th Street Live, which was one of the few spots which would accommodate a party of 12. Early bedtime (9pm).
Saturday
Up when the kids woke up (about 6:00am), proceeded to grab breakfast and head over to the Ironkids race at 10:00am. The race was at transition, which was about a 1.25 mile walk. As you might imagine, herding a 4 year old, 3 year old, wife, and 2 grandparents that far was a bit of a miracle, but the kids loved the race and especially loved getting their medals. Walked back to the hotel afterwards and divvied up the gear into gear bags/Special Needs bags. Bike dropoff was 12-5pm Saturday, so the buddies and I rode down to transition to save the legs (walked back). Football at the hotel for the rest of the day.
Sunday – race day!
Up at 4:30 am to get ready. Showered, made some coffee, and had my usual race breakfast of a bagel with peanut butter. Met buddies in the lobby of the Hyatt, and one was having some serious GI issues from dinner yesterday. I blame the deviled eggs he ate J, but after his 4th or 5th trip to the bathroom he called the race before he even made it out of the hotel. The other, though, and I grabbed our gear, walked the 1.25 miles to transition, and finished loading up our bikes/airing up tires. Just a few minutes in transition and we walked off to join the ever-lengthening swim start line. Louisville is a time trial swim start, so the slow swimmers tend to get there super early to get a good spot in line. We, unfortunately, since we got there about 6:15ish, had a pretty crappy spot – maybe 80% or so of the way back. Another important note – at Chattanooga, they let you keep your morning clothes with you while you waited in line, and they had volunteers literally right by the entrance to the dock area to grab them from you as you began your swim, maybe 20-30 seconds before you jumped in the water. In Louisville, though, you had to drop your morning clothes bag before you got in line. So, I spent the entire 1.5 hours waiting in line shivering, as it was pretty cold race morning (40 degrees) and I was anticipating keeping my morning clothes, so I didn’t have anything other than a wetsuit to stay warm. Once the sun came up, though, it warmed up nicely, to the mid-70s. The gun went off at 7:30, and the line began moving pretty fast.
Swim
The swim is in a protected channel in the lee of Towhead Island for about 1200 meters upriver to a turn buoy, then back downriver on the other side of the island for about 2600 meters. Oddly enough, I had less congestion on the front 1/3 vs the back 2/3. No noticeable current, and got kicked in the face once, but other than that, no big deal on the swim. Swim finish goes up some carpeted stairs at Joe’s Crab Shack. Finished in 1:10:04 (Chattanooga 2014 was 55:59, Florida 2012 was 1:23:45). Chattanooga last year was with a massive downstream current.
T1
Hit the wetsuit strippers right in front of the family so they could get some pictures. Long run from the swim exit to T1, and the changing tent was packed. Put the helmet on first, and tried to put on a wind vest before I gave up because I was too wet. Skipped the arm warmers (was still about 45 outside), hit the sunscreen gals outside, grabbed the bike and was off. T1 was 7:15.
Bike
Man, this was a hilly and tough bike course. I’d describe it as a lollipop with an out and back on the stem. The first portion, along River Road heading out of Louisville, was relatively flat and it was pretty easy, a great stretch to warm up for the first 12ish miles. Then, you make a right on the out and back, and there are a couple of monsters. This out and back has been described as the worst part of the course, as it’s on a very narrow 2-lane road, with tons of bike traffic both ways, and screaming downhills/monster uphills the other direction. The only good news is that it’s about 5 miles out/5 back, so at least it’s short. I was in the granny gear each way, going up the hills at 6mph (and still passing people). Once you get to the loops, it’s a virtual non-stop of up/down for the rest of the ride. Nutrition went great. In general, my plan is to start with one bottle of water in the aerobottle, a couple of “emergency” gels and one bonk breaker in my bento box, and to just live off the course. Grab one water/one Gatorade at the first aid station, and some gels, and basically just replenish at each aid station for the rest of the ride. Averaged 266 cals/hr. Stopped once at Special Needs to pee and to grab the Redbull in my SN bag.
The last 12 miles-ish was on the same flat road coming back in, so it was a nice chance to spin quickly and get my legs stretched out for the run. Final bike time was 5:54:03 (Chattanooga for 116 miles was 5:39:39, Florida 6:12:09).
T2
Nothing eventful – grabbed the gear bag, changed socks/shoes, rebodyglided everything, got the visor, hit the porta-potty, and was off. T2 time 8:08, and I have no idea how it took this long.
Run
Honestly, I think this was the most well-executed part of my race. One of my goals coming in was to run a sub-4:00 marathon. This is an out-and-back 13ish mile course that you do twice, and is super-flat. I think you go under a bridge right in front of the University of Louisville, but that’s the extent of the elevation gain, and it’s like 10 feet. Aid stations were well stocked and supported, although the crowds got a bit sparse outside of the first couple of miles. Finished in 3:58:29, for a total race time of 11:17 (Chattanooga was 10:55, Florida 12:23).
Post-race
As I mentioned earlier, my hotel was literally steps from the finish line, so I hooked up with the family that saw me finish, walked back to the hotel, and got in the shower. Enjoyed the traditional post-race chocolate milk while cleaning off, and then the family and I went in search of the rest of the crew and some food. The first was easy to find – we saw the buddies and their families in the lobby of the hotel. The latter, though, not so much – you’d think that the restaurant managers in the city of Louisville, having hosted this race for many years running, and knowing that there’s going to be 10,000 hungry people around the finish line, would have the foresight to keep their places open. But nope – the Chipotle closed at 8:00. Same for the Potbelly. Qdoba was a no-go. The Smashburger had a line out the door because they only had 3 employees working (one taking orders, one cooking food, one cleaning up tables/restocking/etc). Just a general nightmare. Eventually, though, we were able to get a seat at the Gordon Biersch in 4th Street Live for dinner. Enjoyed the burger (and the remnants of the food from both kid plates, as well as the wife’s, along with my parents’, etc). Packed up and drove home the next day, and am busy recovering/maintaining fitness for IM Florida on 11/7.
Overall results
Looking back, I’m pretty pleased with the overall results. The first number is gender place, the second division (M35-39), and the last is overall. I was 784/100/968 in Florida in 2012, 284/58/336 in Chattanooga in 2014, and was 240/61/279 in Louisville. Not bad, IMO. Maybe one day I’ll get lucky, have a good day, and snag a Kona rolldown
This has been a strange build for me – I’ve had a couple injuries and a new addition to the family (born directly after Ironman Chattanooga in 2014). Strained my back pretty badly picking up the newborn a couple months ago and had to take some time off, and had an ingrown toenail that I had to get removed that also sidelined me for a week. Add in some difficulty sleeping, due to both the training and the newborn, and it’s been a rough go the past few months.
That said, I arrived in Louisville Friday early afternoon, after loading my 4 year old, 3 year old, and wife (1 year old stayed at home with the grandparents) into the car at 6:00am on Friday. We got out of Atlanta pretty quickly and on the road north, so were in Louisville at about 1:00ish on Friday. We had originally planned to come up Thursday to make sure we made athlete checkin (for those not familiar with Ironman races, they force all athletes to check in either 2 or 3 days before the race, you have the option of either day), but decided last minute to drive up early Friday for the Sunday race, in order to avoid an extra hotel room night. My buddies racing drove up Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and parents flew in Thursday afternoon. We stayed at the Hyatt on 4th Street, literally next door to the finish line, which was a fantastic location. I highly recommend staying here if you run this race – tons of food options across the street or around the corner, and you could see the finish line from our hotel room window.
After we got all checked in to the hotel, grabbed lunch, and got the wife and kids settled down for their afternoon nap, I walked over with the buddies to athlete check-in, expecting a long line. Turns out, apparently everyone else checked in on Thursday, because I breezed through the whole waiver process/bib pickup/swag bag acquisition. The longest line I stood in was in the merchandise tent as I wanted to pick up a IM Louisville mug to add to the collection. I also signed the 2 big kids up for the Ironkids race on Saturday morning. Strangely enough, for as bad of an economic deal as an IM is ($700, plus or minus, for a race), the Ironkids race was a pretty sweet deal - $15 per kid for the race, which includes a gear bag, tshirt or hat, finisher medel, Ironkids sticker, and some other random cr@p. Walked back to the hotel and laid around until dinner, which was at the Hard Rock Café at 4th Street Live, which was one of the few spots which would accommodate a party of 12. Early bedtime (9pm).
Saturday
Up when the kids woke up (about 6:00am), proceeded to grab breakfast and head over to the Ironkids race at 10:00am. The race was at transition, which was about a 1.25 mile walk. As you might imagine, herding a 4 year old, 3 year old, wife, and 2 grandparents that far was a bit of a miracle, but the kids loved the race and especially loved getting their medals. Walked back to the hotel afterwards and divvied up the gear into gear bags/Special Needs bags. Bike dropoff was 12-5pm Saturday, so the buddies and I rode down to transition to save the legs (walked back). Football at the hotel for the rest of the day.
Sunday – race day!
Up at 4:30 am to get ready. Showered, made some coffee, and had my usual race breakfast of a bagel with peanut butter. Met buddies in the lobby of the Hyatt, and one was having some serious GI issues from dinner yesterday. I blame the deviled eggs he ate J, but after his 4th or 5th trip to the bathroom he called the race before he even made it out of the hotel. The other, though, and I grabbed our gear, walked the 1.25 miles to transition, and finished loading up our bikes/airing up tires. Just a few minutes in transition and we walked off to join the ever-lengthening swim start line. Louisville is a time trial swim start, so the slow swimmers tend to get there super early to get a good spot in line. We, unfortunately, since we got there about 6:15ish, had a pretty crappy spot – maybe 80% or so of the way back. Another important note – at Chattanooga, they let you keep your morning clothes with you while you waited in line, and they had volunteers literally right by the entrance to the dock area to grab them from you as you began your swim, maybe 20-30 seconds before you jumped in the water. In Louisville, though, you had to drop your morning clothes bag before you got in line. So, I spent the entire 1.5 hours waiting in line shivering, as it was pretty cold race morning (40 degrees) and I was anticipating keeping my morning clothes, so I didn’t have anything other than a wetsuit to stay warm. Once the sun came up, though, it warmed up nicely, to the mid-70s. The gun went off at 7:30, and the line began moving pretty fast.
Swim
The swim is in a protected channel in the lee of Towhead Island for about 1200 meters upriver to a turn buoy, then back downriver on the other side of the island for about 2600 meters. Oddly enough, I had less congestion on the front 1/3 vs the back 2/3. No noticeable current, and got kicked in the face once, but other than that, no big deal on the swim. Swim finish goes up some carpeted stairs at Joe’s Crab Shack. Finished in 1:10:04 (Chattanooga 2014 was 55:59, Florida 2012 was 1:23:45). Chattanooga last year was with a massive downstream current.
T1
Hit the wetsuit strippers right in front of the family so they could get some pictures. Long run from the swim exit to T1, and the changing tent was packed. Put the helmet on first, and tried to put on a wind vest before I gave up because I was too wet. Skipped the arm warmers (was still about 45 outside), hit the sunscreen gals outside, grabbed the bike and was off. T1 was 7:15.
Bike
Man, this was a hilly and tough bike course. I’d describe it as a lollipop with an out and back on the stem. The first portion, along River Road heading out of Louisville, was relatively flat and it was pretty easy, a great stretch to warm up for the first 12ish miles. Then, you make a right on the out and back, and there are a couple of monsters. This out and back has been described as the worst part of the course, as it’s on a very narrow 2-lane road, with tons of bike traffic both ways, and screaming downhills/monster uphills the other direction. The only good news is that it’s about 5 miles out/5 back, so at least it’s short. I was in the granny gear each way, going up the hills at 6mph (and still passing people). Once you get to the loops, it’s a virtual non-stop of up/down for the rest of the ride. Nutrition went great. In general, my plan is to start with one bottle of water in the aerobottle, a couple of “emergency” gels and one bonk breaker in my bento box, and to just live off the course. Grab one water/one Gatorade at the first aid station, and some gels, and basically just replenish at each aid station for the rest of the ride. Averaged 266 cals/hr. Stopped once at Special Needs to pee and to grab the Redbull in my SN bag.
The last 12 miles-ish was on the same flat road coming back in, so it was a nice chance to spin quickly and get my legs stretched out for the run. Final bike time was 5:54:03 (Chattanooga for 116 miles was 5:39:39, Florida 6:12:09).
T2
Nothing eventful – grabbed the gear bag, changed socks/shoes, rebodyglided everything, got the visor, hit the porta-potty, and was off. T2 time 8:08, and I have no idea how it took this long.
Run
Honestly, I think this was the most well-executed part of my race. One of my goals coming in was to run a sub-4:00 marathon. This is an out-and-back 13ish mile course that you do twice, and is super-flat. I think you go under a bridge right in front of the University of Louisville, but that’s the extent of the elevation gain, and it’s like 10 feet. Aid stations were well stocked and supported, although the crowds got a bit sparse outside of the first couple of miles. Finished in 3:58:29, for a total race time of 11:17 (Chattanooga was 10:55, Florida 12:23).
Post-race
As I mentioned earlier, my hotel was literally steps from the finish line, so I hooked up with the family that saw me finish, walked back to the hotel, and got in the shower. Enjoyed the traditional post-race chocolate milk while cleaning off, and then the family and I went in search of the rest of the crew and some food. The first was easy to find – we saw the buddies and their families in the lobby of the hotel. The latter, though, not so much – you’d think that the restaurant managers in the city of Louisville, having hosted this race for many years running, and knowing that there’s going to be 10,000 hungry people around the finish line, would have the foresight to keep their places open. But nope – the Chipotle closed at 8:00. Same for the Potbelly. Qdoba was a no-go. The Smashburger had a line out the door because they only had 3 employees working (one taking orders, one cooking food, one cleaning up tables/restocking/etc). Just a general nightmare. Eventually, though, we were able to get a seat at the Gordon Biersch in 4th Street Live for dinner. Enjoyed the burger (and the remnants of the food from both kid plates, as well as the wife’s, along with my parents’, etc). Packed up and drove home the next day, and am busy recovering/maintaining fitness for IM Florida on 11/7.
Overall results
Looking back, I’m pretty pleased with the overall results. The first number is gender place, the second division (M35-39), and the last is overall. I was 784/100/968 in Florida in 2012, 284/58/336 in Chattanooga in 2014, and was 240/61/279 in Louisville. Not bad, IMO. Maybe one day I’ll get lucky, have a good day, and snag a Kona rolldown
Congrats. Strong performance!!!Ironman Louisville Race Report
This has been a strange build for me – I’ve had a couple injuries and a new addition to the family (born directly after Ironman Chattanooga in 2014). Strained my back pretty badly picking up the newborn a couple months ago and had to take some time off, and had an ingrown toenail that I had to get removed that also sidelined me for a week. Add in some difficulty sleeping, due to both the training and the newborn, and it’s been a rough go the past few months.
That said, I arrived in Louisville Friday early afternoon, after loading my 4 year old, 3 year old, and wife (1 year old stayed at home with the grandparents) into the car at 6:00am on Friday. We got out of Atlanta pretty quickly and on the road north, so were in Louisville at about 1:00ish on Friday. We had originally planned to come up Thursday to make sure we made athlete checkin (for those not familiar with Ironman races, they force all athletes to check in either 2 or 3 days before the race, you have the option of either day), but decided last minute to drive up early Friday for the Sunday race, in order to avoid an extra hotel room night. My buddies racing drove up Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and parents flew in Thursday afternoon. We stayed at the Hyatt on 4th Street, literally next door to the finish line, which was a fantastic location. I highly recommend staying here if you run this race – tons of food options across the street or around the corner, and you could see the finish line from our hotel room window.
After we got all checked in to the hotel, grabbed lunch, and got the wife and kids settled down for their afternoon nap, I walked over with the buddies to athlete check-in, expecting a long line. Turns out, apparently everyone else checked in on Thursday, because I breezed through the whole waiver process/bib pickup/swag bag acquisition. The longest line I stood in was in the merchandise tent as I wanted to pick up a IM Louisville mug to add to the collection. I also signed the 2 big kids up for the Ironkids race on Saturday morning. Strangely enough, for as bad of an economic deal as an IM is ($700, plus or minus, for a race), the Ironkids race was a pretty sweet deal - $15 per kid for the race, which includes a gear bag, tshirt or hat, finisher medel, Ironkids sticker, and some other random cr@p. Walked back to the hotel and laid around until dinner, which was at the Hard Rock Café at 4th Street Live, which was one of the few spots which would accommodate a party of 12. Early bedtime (9pm).
Saturday
Up when the kids woke up (about 6:00am), proceeded to grab breakfast and head over to the Ironkids race at 10:00am. The race was at transition, which was about a 1.25 mile walk. As you might imagine, herding a 4 year old, 3 year old, wife, and 2 grandparents that far was a bit of a miracle, but the kids loved the race and especially loved getting their medals. Walked back to the hotel afterwards and divvied up the gear into gear bags/Special Needs bags. Bike dropoff was 12-5pm Saturday, so the buddies and I rode down to transition to save the legs (walked back). Football at the hotel for the rest of the day.
Sunday – race day!
Up at 4:30 am to get ready. Showered, made some coffee, and had my usual race breakfast of a bagel with peanut butter. Met buddies in the lobby of the Hyatt, and one was having some serious GI issues from dinner yesterday. I blame the deviled eggs he ate J, but after his 4th or 5th trip to the bathroom he called the race before he even made it out of the hotel. The other, though, and I grabbed our gear, walked the 1.25 miles to transition, and finished loading up our bikes/airing up tires. Just a few minutes in transition and we walked off to join the ever-lengthening swim start line. Louisville is a time trial swim start, so the slow swimmers tend to get there super early to get a good spot in line. We, unfortunately, since we got there about 6:15ish, had a pretty crappy spot – maybe 80% or so of the way back. Another important note – at Chattanooga, they let you keep your morning clothes with you while you waited in line, and they had volunteers literally right by the entrance to the dock area to grab them from you as you began your swim, maybe 20-30 seconds before you jumped in the water. In Louisville, though, you had to drop your morning clothes bag before you got in line. So, I spent the entire 1.5 hours waiting in line shivering, as it was pretty cold race morning (40 degrees) and I was anticipating keeping my morning clothes, so I didn’t have anything other than a wetsuit to stay warm. Once the sun came up, though, it warmed up nicely, to the mid-70s. The gun went off at 7:30, and the line began moving pretty fast.
Swim
The swim is in a protected channel in the lee of Towhead Island for about 1200 meters upriver to a turn buoy, then back downriver on the other side of the island for about 2600 meters. Oddly enough, I had less congestion on the front 1/3 vs the back 2/3. No noticeable current, and got kicked in the face once, but other than that, no big deal on the swim. Swim finish goes up some carpeted stairs at Joe’s Crab Shack. Finished in 1:10:04 (Chattanooga 2014 was 55:59, Florida 2012 was 1:23:45). Chattanooga last year was with a massive downstream current.
T1
Hit the wetsuit strippers right in front of the family so they could get some pictures. Long run from the swim exit to T1, and the changing tent was packed. Put the helmet on first, and tried to put on a wind vest before I gave up because I was too wet. Skipped the arm warmers (was still about 45 outside), hit the sunscreen gals outside, grabbed the bike and was off. T1 was 7:15.
Bike
Man, this was a hilly and tough bike course. I’d describe it as a lollipop with an out and back on the stem. The first portion, along River Road heading out of Louisville, was relatively flat and it was pretty easy, a great stretch to warm up for the first 12ish miles. Then, you make a right on the out and back, and there are a couple of monsters. This out and back has been described as the worst part of the course, as it’s on a very narrow 2-lane road, with tons of bike traffic both ways, and screaming downhills/monster uphills the other direction. The only good news is that it’s about 5 miles out/5 back, so at least it’s short. I was in the granny gear each way, going up the hills at 6mph (and still passing people). Once you get to the loops, it’s a virtual non-stop of up/down for the rest of the ride. Nutrition went great. In general, my plan is to start with one bottle of water in the aerobottle, a couple of “emergency” gels and one bonk breaker in my bento box, and to just live off the course. Grab one water/one Gatorade at the first aid station, and some gels, and basically just replenish at each aid station for the rest of the ride. Averaged 266 cals/hr. Stopped once at Special Needs to pee and to grab the Redbull in my SN bag.
The last 12 miles-ish was on the same flat road coming back in, so it was a nice chance to spin quickly and get my legs stretched out for the run. Final bike time was 5:54:03 (Chattanooga for 116 miles was 5:39:39, Florida 6:12:09).
T2
Nothing eventful – grabbed the gear bag, changed socks/shoes, rebodyglided everything, got the visor, hit the porta-potty, and was off. T2 time 8:08, and I have no idea how it took this long.
Run
Honestly, I think this was the most well-executed part of my race. One of my goals coming in was to run a sub-4:00 marathon. This is an out-and-back 13ish mile course that you do twice, and is super-flat. I think you go under a bridge right in front of the University of Louisville, but that’s the extent of the elevation gain, and it’s like 10 feet. Aid stations were well stocked and supported, although the crowds got a bit sparse outside of the first couple of miles. Finished in 3:58:29, for a total race time of 11:17 (Chattanooga was 10:55, Florida 12:23).
Post-race
As I mentioned earlier, my hotel was literally steps from the finish line, so I hooked up with the family that saw me finish, walked back to the hotel, and got in the shower. Enjoyed the traditional post-race chocolate milk while cleaning off, and then the family and I went in search of the rest of the crew and some food. The first was easy to find – we saw the buddies and their families in the lobby of the hotel. The latter, though, not so much – you’d think that the restaurant managers in the city of Louisville, having hosted this race for many years running, and knowing that there’s going to be 10,000 hungry people around the finish line, would have the foresight to keep their places open. But nope – the Chipotle closed at 8:00. Same for the Potbelly. Qdoba was a no-go. The Smashburger had a line out the door because they only had 3 employees working (one taking orders, one cooking food, one cleaning up tables/restocking/etc). Just a general nightmare. Eventually, though, we were able to get a seat at the Gordon Biersch in 4th Street Live for dinner. Enjoyed the burger (and the remnants of the food from both kid plates, as well as the wife’s, along with my parents’, etc). Packed up and drove home the next day, and am busy recovering/maintaining fitness for IM Florida on 11/7.
Overall results
Looking back, I’m pretty pleased with the overall results. The first number is gender place, the second division (M35-39), and the last is overall. I was 784/100/968 in Florida in 2012, 284/58/336 in Chattanooga in 2014, and was 240/61/279 in Louisville. Not bad, IMO. Maybe one day I’ll get lucky, have a good day, and snag a Kona rolldown
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Great stuff, ThreeThousand. I'm in awe!!!
