Ironman Louisville race report

The conditions were tough, much tougher than last year. My placing was higher than that time would have gotten last year. It was hot, but not nearly as hot as Mobile has been!

For the swim I wanted to go about 60-65 minutes, and I went 1:01:something. So I can't complain about that.

I took the bike cautiously, because my training indicated that I have had difficulty running off of tough rides. Plus, my top end on the bike is not what it was last fall. I kept a 20 mph average for most of the ride and figured that the "fast" final 20 miles to give me around a 5:30. However, the final 20 miles were slow today due to a strong headwind. Finished 5:39 something. At one point during the ride, someone asked me how I felt. I responded, "not good, but not bad". As a sign that I wasn't going too hard, on the bike I was able to take in and keep down 2,600 calories and 50 salt pills.

Honestly, I've been scared of this marathon ALL YEAR! Mainly due to the setback of my running injury. For the year, I have probably had more bad runs than good runs. I figured that I would do between 4 and 4:30. For the 1st 10 miles of the run, I felt the same as the bike "not good, but not bad". After that, my legs started feeling more and more fatigued. I barely held on for the slow end of my expected range with a 4:28. Other than aid stations, I didn't walk. I just tried to be as tough as I could and at least shuffle along.


Total time was an 11:17. All things considered, I am satisfied with my effort. Considering how my running has gone this year, I probably went as fast as I deserved to go?!?!

There was a LOT OF CARNAGE out there today!

August Training Totals

Here are the training totals:

August started out with a BIG week (35 hour training week) and finished with a BIG day(Ironman Louisville)!

I was able to finally get to the point that my run mileage was approaching a decent range. For the month, I averaged 38.9 miles per week and this included backing off a little in the 2nd half of the month. Hopefully, this is a sign that my body is past the injury that plagued me earlier this year and that I am ready to transition into a run emphasis for the fall and winter.

Here are the training totals (includes IM Louisville totals):

Swim-- 15h 31m 56,718 yards
Bike-- 45h 18m 867.1 miles
Run-- 26h 20m 172.3 miles
Total: 87h 08m (2.8 hours of training per day// 19.7 hours training per week)

7 days of 5 or more hours of training.
5 days with 0 hours of training.

July Training

July was a solid month of training. Running totals are still lower than I would like, but I have had to proceed cautiously all year coming back from injury. I had some really good days and also some days that I was really tired, but I guess that is normal. Overall, the big picture looks good...

Here are the training totals:

Swim-- 18h 55m 69,311 yards
Bike-- 60h 09m 1,163.2 miles
Run-- 19h 08m 126.1 miles
Total: 98h 58m (3.2 hours of training per day// 22.3 hours training per week)

7 days of 5 or more hours of training.
2 days with 0 hours of training.

June Training

Overall, June was a disappointing month. It was tough to get in a rhythm in all of the heat. Combined with the fact that I do not have running base yet, it was tough to recover from workouts and I never got into a rhythm...

Here are the training totals:

Swim-- 21h 26m 69,748.1 yards (Several swims were in a meter pool, the conversion to yards is why that it is listed to the fraction of a yard...)
Bike-- 26h 27m 494.6 miles
Run-- 12h 07m 77.9 miles
Total: 60h 00m (2 hours of training per day// 14 hours training per week)

4 days of 5 or more hours of training.
8 days with 0 hours of training.

I have been a little disappointed that my training has been down. It has me wondering what will be in store for me at my big race. I am scared that I will end up with a sufferfest.

However, I am hopeful that I can be in the kind of running shape that I finished Ironman Florida with. My run training was abyssmal all year until the last 5 weeks or so before Ironman Florida. At this point, I have 8.5 weeks. From my logs, I know the key running benchmarks that I need to hit in the last month. For July, I need to set the stage and build up some running durability, so that I will be phyically able to hit those key runs.

I have a picture of my Garmin showing my Ironman Florida race data, I have placed it as the background of both my phone and laptop to provide motivation. In fact here is the picture that I am using for inspiration:

May Training Totals

May saw a BIG INCREASE in my running volume. I had only run 80 miles for the YEAR prior to the beginning of May, then 140 for May! Fortunately, my injury from earlier this year has not been an issue recently. Here is how the training looked overall:

Swim-- 28h 41m 91,650.6 yards (Several swims were in a meter pool, the conversion to yards is why that it is listed to the fraction of a yard...)
Bike-- 38h 23m 757.9 miles
Run-- 21h 11m 140.6 miles// Massive increase in training volume!
Crosstraining-- 1h 55m
Total: 90h 11m (2.9 hours of training per day// 20.4 hours training per week)

6 days of 5 or more hours of training.
2 days with 0 hours of training.

Overall, I am very pleased. The month was very steady volume in all 3 months and my weakest event, the run, improved tremendously.

Finally, over the last week, I have been looking back to some old training logs. I am looking back to my buildup prior to Ironman Arizona in Spring of 08 and my Florida 09 are the two main periods I am looking back to, since they are my two best Ironman races. Some of the past entries are a little intimidating, but looking at my past trends is a good way to make sure that my training is "on track".

April Training Totals

April was a tough month to keep a good training rhythm. Training totals are down from what they were. I can name lots of excuses for the decrease. Despite the fact that the totals are lower than I would have liked and lower than my last couple of months, they are still respectable numbers for being 4 months out from an Ironman (15.4 hours per week average). Here are the totals:

Swim-- 23h 33m 78,903.6 yards (Several swims were in a meter pool, the conversion to yards is why that it is listed to the fraction of a yard...)// My best sport of the month.
Bike-- 35h 28m 691.5 miles
Run-- 3h 58m 29.6 miles// Volume similar to last month, was probably a little too cautious due to soreness in the same area of my injury. I hope to improve upon this next month.
Deep water running/Resistance training/Walking-- 3h 01m
Total: 66h 00m (2.2 hours of training per day)

5 days of 5 or more hours of training.
6 days with 0 hours of training.

The distribution of the volume was not very symmetrical. 4 of the missed days of training took place in a 9 day period, this period also was high in stress and low in sleep. Bad combination all the way around. It had me feeling flat and out of shape. Fortunately, I was able to regain a rhythm towards the end of the month.

I am hoping that the unplanned reduction in training volume will actually work out in my favor in the big picture. Maybe the decreased volume will allow me to better absorb the incredibly high February/March training totals?!?! If that is the case, I hope that it will allow me to be fresher and fitter for this summers training and allow me to hit a higher peak fitness level in the racing season. I am choosing to be optimistic :-)

March Training Totals

March brought about another solid month of base building. Fortunately, March also represented my return to regular run training. Here are the totals:

Swim-- 38h 59m 125,080.7 yards (Several swims were in a meter pool, the conversion to yards is why that it is listed to the fraction of a yard...)
Bike-- 64h 29m 1,206.8 miles
Run-- 4h 13m 33 miles
Deep water running-- 9h 12m
Resistance training-- 8h 55m
Total: 124h 49m (4 hours of training per day, 28 hours per week)

14 days of 5 or more hours of training.
Zero days with 0 hours of training.

Swimming is going well for the most part. I swim masters several times per week and augment those workouts with LOTS of supplementary volume. The only negative to date related to swimming is that I strained a neck muscle while swimming butterfly mid-month. This little setback cost me some training time in all 3 sports. For now, butterfly is going on the backburner...

Due to the neck issue, my bike mileage for the month was *slightly* down. Still a solid amount of work. More so than in February I was able to integrate much more quality riding. Several solid days going hard in the hills, a couple of time trial workouts and an aggressive charity ride where we averaged 25mph for 21 miles. Also, I seem to be getting one really big Overdistance day per month. In February it was a 162 mile day, for March I got in a 182 mile effort! Finally, many of my rides are simply recovery rides on flat terrain in the small chain ring. These seemingly mundane efforts are really helping me get smoother pedal stroke, which is helping me ride hills better.

I am really excited to Start running again. I am proceeding cautiously with my mileage. So far, things are going well. I think that the swim and bike fitness I built while being injured is helping me transition into the running.

Most of my runs were only 2 miles long. Since my training mileage is so low, I have been making efforts at crosstraining with deep water running, which seems to be quite effective. I plan to continue it, even when I am doing normal running mileage.

I'm excited to continue the training into April. The running mileage will increase, but it will still be within a conservative range. There will be more quality days in all 3 sports.

February Training Totals

February saw a monstrous jump in training volume. Here are the details:

Swim-- 33h 44m 106,832 yards
Bike-- 77h 26m 1,369.7 miles// this includes some time on the trainer which throws off the time to distance ratio
Run-- No running in February due to injury and rehab...
Crosstraining-- 2h 40m// mix of deep water running and resistance training
Total: 113h 50m (4.1 hours of training per day, 28.7 hours per week)

12 days of 5 or more hours of training.
1 day with 0 hours of training.

Swimming masters several times per week has been great for my stroke mechanics. Over the last couple of years, I have done lots of swimming without any sort of feedback on what it looked like. As a result, my form suffered and became apparent by a regression in my swim splits in races. Coach Ann Marie has given me some good feedback and I am feeling MUCH smoother now!

I am happy that I was able to endure some of the coldest days of the year and get some decent bike miles in. At this point, getting on my bike and riding 100 miles (or more) is "no big deal". I think that this base of volume will be good as the weather warms up and the pace increases...

I am going to attempt to ease back into some run training again in March. I think that the physical therapy sessions have been helping out a lot. I do not notice any twinges of pain in swimming/biking or other daily activities. Prior to beginning physical therapy, I could feel small twinges from time to time with little things like getting in or out of a vehicle. At this point, I am "cautiously optimistic" that things will go smoothly as I begin to run again. I must show some restraint early on, since now the motor is probably in better shape than the chassis.

Jauary training totals

1st training month of the year in the books. Overall, January was a little disappointing...

Here are the details:

Swim-- 11h58m 37,100 yards
Bike-- 26h12m 470.1 miles// this includes some time on the trainer which throws off the time to distance ratio
Run-- 2h46m 17.6 miles
Crosstraining-- 8h30m// mix of walking, deep water running and resistance training
Total: 49h26m (1.6 hours per day training, 11.2 hours per week)

Unfortunately, I'm dealing with an injury lately. Since December, I have been dealing with a "Sports Hernia". At first I tried to simply rest it and then resume regular training. Unfortunately, my body wasn't ready for running and at this point, running is on the back burner while my body heals... I am now in Physical Therapy 2 times per week.

In addition to tracking my monthly training volume over the course of the season. I am also going to track two separate types of days. "0's", which are obviously days with no training. Unfortuantely, in January, I had 10 separate days with no training. This will be the only month of this year with that many days without training. The other variable that I am going to track are days with five or more hours of training. January saw 5 of those.

As I transition into February training, my number 1 priority is to get healthy enough to start run training again. The Physical Therapy is helping.

I am eager to start running, but until I can I am going to try and maintain as much fitness as I can mainly with swimming/cycling plus a little bit of crosstraining.

2009 Review

Overall, 2009 was a mix of highs and lows?!?!


New Orleans 70.3
Swim-- 35:00
Bike-- 2:29:09
Run-- 1:59:22
Total-- 5:09:27
Disappointed with the race. My bike split was not that bad but my swim and run were really disappointing...

Gulf Coast Half Ironman
Swim-- 32:57
Bike-- 2:24:48
Run-- 2:08:59
Total-- 5:10:55
My WORST half ironman run split ever!

Florida 70.3
Swim-- 34:51
Bike-- 2:28:36
Run-- 2:01:32
Total-- 5:09:35
At this point, I am showing that I am consistent. Consistently disappointing... After spending the last couple of years in the 4:47 to 4:56 range, it is disappointing to have spent the spring racing in the 5:10 range.


Ironman Louisville
Swim-- 1:08:10
Bike-- 5:25:14
Run--5:43:53
Total-- 12:24:48
I had a really good July/August of training and was eager to improve on my mediocre form of the spring. I was disappointed with my swim, felt good on the bike and then suffered through terrible calf cramping on the run. The cramps probably came from pushing the bike too hard in the hills...

Ironman Florida
Swim-- 1:04:18
Bike-- 5:01:59
Run-- 3:41:20
Total-- 9:56:05
I was able to get some great run training in September and October. I participated in a 200 mile running relay with my running group. This helped me get in good enough form to execute my first complete Ironman race ever!


Ironman Arizona
Swim-- 1:07:50
Bike-- 5:12:39
Run-- 4:15:24
Total-- 10:43:35
I had fun with this race. Doing this only 15 days after Ironman Florida was a unique challenge. I had a rough time early on the run, and was able to dig deep and actually get into a decent rhythm for a good section. Time aside, this was a very productive day on working on mental toughness.

For the season for each of the sports:

• I was very disappointed in ALL of my swim splits in my races this season. I swam consistently and maintained good training volume, but in 2010 I should probably focus on the content of my main set and makes sure that I am getting a good quality stimulus. I would like to get back to swimming how I swam in 2007 or maybe even faster.
• All of my bike splits were respectable to pretty good. I've got to be better prepared for the hills of Louisville if I want to have legs left for the run this August!
  
• I learned some good lessons this year about my run training and I hope to build on them for next season. I finally know what a half way decent run at the end of an Ironman feels like, if I'm smart I can do it again-- maybe even go a little bit faster...