WorkoutLog :: Reach Your Finish Line

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 Graham
  Community PROFILE LOG PHOTOS BLOG

Ironman Experience... broken down
Sunday, August 31, 2008
 

Ladies & Gents, what a day!!

It was hot, humid, a bit windy during the bike and overall, a great day to do an Ironman.

 

Swim:

The swim for Ironman Louisville takes place in the Ohio river and unlike other Ironman events, it is not a mass water start.  Basically there's a long line of people and everyone jumps in single file; the channel between the mainland and a small island that the swim is started in is narrow so the idea is that people won't get bunched up too much.

I took the swim out easy on purpose and didn't exert myself a whole lot throughout it as I wanted to get a good rhythm going to start what I knew was going to be a long day.  I got out of the water in 1:21:36 and felt great!

 

Bike:

The Louisville bike course is definitely best described as "rolling".  On Sunday, aside from the rolling hills, the heat and wind made things challenging - with temp's getting into the 33 degree celsius range and feeling more like 38, the wind was more like a fan blowing heat off of a fire and onto everyone throughout the 180km (112 mile) bike course.  

I made a conscious decision to take it a bit easier on the first half of the bike course and try to pick things up in the second half; this worked out well and I felt strong throughout the entire ride averaging 28.92 km's /hr.  Total bike time:  6:13:54

 

Run:

The run course is relatively flat but the heat was once again relentless.  The wind we had on the bike was no where to be found as a sign of relief on the run; heat came from everywhere... my feet especially felt it on the black asphalt.

Every mile there was a marker telling you how far you've gone (on the run); I remember thinking to myself jokingly at the 1 mile mark... "hmm, only 25.2 miles to go!".  Total run time:  4:55:23

 

Overall:  It was not an easy day and I wouldn't have it any other way; crossing the finish line of an Ironman is an incredible feeling!!  I was 97 out of 260 in my age group and 585 out of 1975 athletes for a total time of 12:51:15.

 

For now, it's time to rest / heal up!!

- Graham - 

 
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