Ironman Louisville

Standing around before the start. I think we were almost in Indiana! From left to right - Peter Ramirez, Me, Brad Fraedrich, Peter (from Canada) & Colette.

My rabbit for the entire run. I never could catch him, but he was running scared!

Very happy to be running down to the finish!

Ironman Louisville August 30th 2009
Race Report

I have spent years chasing a goal, always thinking that I needed to train my body more, gain confidence from big miles when in reality the difference between this race and others was completely between my ears. This was not a perfect race by any means but it was perfectly focused and that is what made the difference.

I did not plan on racing in any Ironman races this year and as many of you have seen this was my second one in just 5 weeks. No matter what I tried to convince myself, I had unfinished business with Ironman. When I started doing Ironman in 2002 my goal was to qualify for Hawaii. I did that. Then I wanted to break 11 hours which seemed very realistic because I had been so close many times. As the races went by I would often have a great ride with a not so great run or vice-versa. I started to lose the belief that I could get there and I lost sight of the goal. This summer I thought it was time to enlist the help of a coach. Basically Coach Jim saved me from myself (most of the time). His approach to training was a little different than mine but I was at a point where I needed that. His encouragement and confidence building strategy worked wonders for me. I felt like I was making progress again. Ironman Louisville was my goal for the season.

This Ironman was going to be different than others for a few reasons. I had a group of friends/athletes who would be competing with me in this race. For some it was their first and for others they were going for a PR (Personal Record). The swim start was going to be a Time Trial, so this meant that we would all start 2 by 2 in the river. I also knew that Coach Jim would be out on the course, but I did not know where so I was going to have to work hard all the time because I certainly did not want him to catch me slacking!

Race morning started at 4 AM. I was up and eating (banana, bagel with peanut butter, yogurt). By 5 I was on my way to the transition area to drop off my bottles and nutrition for the bike ride (the bike and gear all had to be delivered there the day before). Then by 6 I was standing in line for the swim start. The line alone must have been about a mile long. I could not believe it! I thought that I was doing good getting there early. Once the line got moving it went very fast, about 200m before the swim start everyone started jogging, then we jogged down a maze of ramps to the river, crossed a timing mat, and jumped in.

The swim was in the Ohio River. It was so murky you could not see your hands in front of you, or other swimmers. The Time Trial start meant that there were a lot of slower swimmers out in front of me which made it interesting. I had to sight a lot more than normal. I also had to really keep myself calm because I hate murky water. The only thing I dislike more is shallow, murky water which is exactly what I passed through. I admit I got some water in my mouth at one point and started thinking about all the pollution and then I started gagging. I calmed myself down and thought about my old dog Yoda. He used to get in any body of water, he did not care, he just loved to swim. So thinking about him helped me calm down and focus. I swam wide around the island hoping to catch some current but all I got was wind and wake working against me. I could see the finish of the swim but it took an eternity to get there. When I exited the water I looked at my watch and saw 1:12 which is one of my worst swim times ever. As soon as I thought that I replaced that with the thought that when I used to swim slower, I would bike really fast to catch everyone. I let the swim time slip away and focused on the next task.

I ran into transition, picked up my bags and went into the changing tent. There Jan helped me get my shoes, helmet and sunglasses ready to go. Jan volunteered ALL day. Maybe she wasn’t racing but she made me proud! I thanked her and ran out of the tent, got my bike off the rack and took off.

The bike course started out on a very flat but bumpy road. I was cruising along at 20mph and it felt easy. I figured we must have a tail wind so I thought I would just enjoy it while I could. I was passing people like crazy which has not happened to me in years. Again Yoda came back to mind. That dog was fearless. I too, needed to be fearless today. What have I been afraid of? It was now or never. I was having fun and enjoying the little rolling hills. They seemed so easy compared to what I have at home. I had to change direction for a part of the course and I still felt my tail wind, my speed was still 20 mph at 20 miles into the race. Ironically I had given all my athletes a card before the race that said “May the wind always be at your back”. It is part of an Irish blessing. No matter what the wind did I told myself it was at my back pushing me ahead. It worked. At 50 miles into the race I was at 2:30 and feeling fine. I was having fun and I was riding reasonably but going fast. Coach Jim was standing in the middle of a few hills catching me doing something right! Soon I passed the 100 mile mark at 5:03. I worked all the way in to the finish line and ended up having a bike time of 5:39 for 112 miles. That is by far the fastest I have ever biked in an Ironman. I was so excited.

Coming into transition again my legs felt a little more used up than I would have liked, but it did not matter because I told myself “today is the day”. Jan was there to greet me again in transition and send me on my way. After a mile or so my running legs were back and I just focused on passing people. I started thinking about how good it was going to feel to finally break 11 hours. I started thinking about old Yoda and how many 20 mile runs that dog did with me, how he would have run himself into the ground to stay by my side. I was running way too fast for the first 3 miles and still all the way until 8 miles and then I had to slow down and start getting fuel in at the aid stations. I talked with a few girls as we ran together and cheered for friends while I could but then after mile 20 I just stared at the ground embraced the pain and willed myself through. I crossed the finish line in 10:51.

This was my 17th Ironman and I finally got it right. Perseverance pays off!

Interesting Statistics:
18th Amateur Woman Overall
8th Place in the 35-39 Age Group – only the top 3 get to go to Kona
30th – Overall Woman – this includes the pro women
241 out of about 2400 people to finish the race.