Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday, Sept 14th
One last thing. Here is the totals for the 30 weeks.
Swim - 85.7 miles, 48 hrs, 55 minutes, & 35 seconds
Bike - 2708.3 miles, 156 hrs, 34 minutes, & 53 seconds
Run - 462.9 miles, 80 hrs, 29 minutes, & 49 seconds
For a total of 3256.9 miles, 286 hrs, 0 minutes, & 17 seconds.
But it was worth every mile & every second!!!!
Swim - 85.7 miles, 48 hrs, 55 minutes, & 35 seconds
Bike - 2708.3 miles, 156 hrs, 34 minutes, & 53 seconds
Run - 462.9 miles, 80 hrs, 29 minutes, & 49 seconds
For a total of 3256.9 miles, 286 hrs, 0 minutes, & 17 seconds.
But it was worth every mile & every second!!!!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Thursday, Sept 11th
Its a week & half later. Everything is back to normal. I was able to go for a run on Saturday & it hurt. Went for a bike ride Monday & felt great. Tuesday I went for a run & everything is back to feeling good. Blisters are healing just fine.
Now that I'm still in really good shape, I think I will try to run a marathon this fall.
Now that I'm still in really good shape, I think I will try to run a marathon this fall.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thursday, Sept 4th
My body has recovered very well. Feel good enough to go for a run, but not sure if the recovering blisters on the bottom of each foot will let me. Tuesday was the worst day, I was pretty sore & tired.
First picture is from my brother at the finish line. The time is different from my time because they start the clock when the first person went in the water.
Second picture is also from my brother at the start.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Wednesday, Sept 1st
Well, its been a couple of days. I've just taken it easy. Seem to be hungry every 2 hours now.
Here is my official race report. It is very long, but I wrote out everything I was thinking during the day.
Thanks again to my wife for all her support over the last year to get to this point. Thanks to my family & friends who showed up on race day to cheer me on, it really helped a lot!
2008 Ironman Louisville Race Report
My race day started at 4am even though my alarm was set for 4:10am. Got my shower, got dressed,had a banana nut muffin water. I then packed my swim items, water bottle,Gatorade bottles. Met Liz, Talmadge,Spencer in the hotel lobby at 5am. Steve Sunbury also met us & walked down to transition with us. It was about a 15 minute walk. We were greeted by a black man playing a harmonica about 2 blocks from our hotel & he followed us for about a block or 2. After he left (gave up), Steve said it wasn’t the Rocky theme song but that was all he could afford! At transition, I checked the tire pressure & put my bottles on my bike. After that, I met up with Cathy & Stephanie & then walked down to the swim start, which was about 1 mile away. Sure seemed like a lot longer walk. Once at the swim start, I got my body markings (race number) put on each arm, and then went to get in line for the start. It was a single file start & was first-come, first-go. Once in line, I found out that it was not the end of the line. So farther back I went, about another ½ mile back! By now it is about 6:20am & I’m in line, but it will be at least another hour before I get to start. So we just sit & wait, visit with the people around me. I think it was about 6:45am when I saw Gene & Josh. They came back to see where I was in line & they couldn’t believe how long the line was. The race officially started at 7am & I heard the gun go off but could not see the start. As the line started to move up, I decided for one more pit stop in the porta-pot. Got to see my family once again as I headed down to the river. Right before I jumped in, I looked at the time clock, which was at 36 or 37 minutes. That meant the first person in the water was 36 minutes ahead of me. But that didn’t matter because each person has their own timing chip which doesn’t start until you do. Now I’m in the river & swimming upstream. We are actually in a channel & I don’t fill a current. It took about 20 minutes to swim thru the channel & out into the river. At this point, I think I can fill a current against me. At the turn buoy, I checked my watch & I was at 33 minutes. All down stream from here. I heard that the more towards the middle of the river you were, the better the current was. I guess I was about a 1/3rd of the way out in the river, but again did not feel any help. Most swimmers were closer to shore than I was, but a few were a little farther out. I felt fine, no nerves being out there. And actually, it was the best I had felt in an open water swim. Started sighting on the old bridge just east of the I-65 Bridge. It didn’t seem very far away, but felt like it took forever to get there. Checked my watch again once I got to that bridge, 1 hour 2 minutes. Next was the I-65 Bridge, 1 hour 11 minutes. Then I was watching the 2nd Street Bridge, but then I remembered that if I got to the 2nd Street Bridge I went too far. So I started looking for the last buoy & starting getting closer to shore. Yes, I got to the finish. Swim time was 1 hour 26 minutes & 14 seconds. I was hoping for 1 hour 20 minutes, oh well. Now I was off to the changing tent to get ready for the bike. 5 minutes 37 seconds & I was out on the bike. Got to see the family again as I got my bike.
First 10 miles of the bike was flat & I just tried to get in a good rhythm. Felt pretty good. I started passing people once we got to the hills. I was afraid that I was going to hard, but I checked my pace & it was good. Once on the out & back section, we had to slow down almost to a stop on the downhill because of a wreck & an ambulance was in the middle of the road. On the uphill, there was a guy dressed as a devil. At some point in the first 25 miles, I did get sick & throw up once, don’t really reminder where I was at. At mile 35, we go through the town of Buckner & that was where my family was at, good to see them. Karsen had on her dino suit & was holding a sign. At mile 50, I got to see more people from Seymour. Really good to see people you know out on the course. Mile 65 I was at my family again as we did two loops around the LaGrange area. This time I stopped &high-fived Karsen! Went around the corner to the Special Needs Bag area & Josh & Gene were there with my bag. I tried to eat my PB&J but it didn’t taste good. So I still kept using my Power Gels, Gatorade, water, & Thermolytes (salt tablets). From this point to the finish, I got sick 3 more times. This is what has me all confused. I really don’t know why I was getting sick. The orange Gatorade endurance didn’t taste very good. I had trained with orange Gatorade & lemon-lime Gatorade endurance. With about 20 miles till the bike finish, my left thigh started to cramp & I had to stop & get off the bike. Here again, I was confused. I was riding slower than my goal, so I know I wasn’t pushing too hard. At this point, I was getting conserded because if I was unable to drink Gatorade I didn’t know how I would be able to finish. Saw Josh & Gene again with about ½ mile to go on the bike. I made it back to the changing tent. Bike time was 7 hours 2 minutes & 39 seconds (15.90mph). My bike computer showed 16.41 mph. Ironman does not stop the count when you stop, like my bike computer does. Here again, I was hoping to be done in 6 hours & 30 minutes. The bike was very tough today.
I spent 16 minutes & 53 seconds in T2, and then was out for the run. I took my time in T2, drank some water, changed clothes, socks, & shoes.
When I started the run, I actually felt decent. We went out & crossed over the 2nd Street Bridge. The uphill part of the bridge did not feel good. I walked up.Then at the aid station, I tried more Gatorade & right back up it came. Jogged again on the flat & downhill side of the bridge, but walked again on the way back on the uphill. And sick again. At this point, I was sure I was done. There were 2 race photographers on the bridge & when I saw the pictures, I looked done. When I got off the bridge, I saw all my family waited ahead. At this point, I’m thinking that my hotel is right here, why keep running/walking away from town for 6 miles & back 6 miles. I should just stop here & call it a day. But then I came up to Steve Sunbury. He asked how I was doing & I told him I was done. He said “No, just keep going that my pace & everything would come back to me.” He has done an Ironman, so I decided to keep on going. Went passed my family & Josh high-fived me & said “have fun”. Didn’t really know how much fun it was going to be, but I kept going. This was all at about 2 miles into the 26.2 mile marathon. Got to mile 4 & I started to feel blisters on the bottom of my feet. It was painful enough that I stopped running & was just walking by now. Also got sick 2 more times since the bridge. I was up to a total of 8 times for the day, not good. But I kept at it, just not very fast. Also went by a bank & its sign showed the temperature at 93. After the race, I heard that it got up as high as 97 & humidity was 65%. I say this now because it is at this point in the race that I notice a lot of racers walking. I was trying to calculate how fast I needed to go to finish by the cutoff time. It was hard to do, but I thought I was right on pace to finish just in time. So I keep trying to do a little running but the blisters are very painful. Finally made it to the turn around point & start headed back to town for the next 6 miles. About 2 miles from town I saw Stephanie. She talked to me for awhile. She said Cathy was getting nervous because she found out that I was getting sick. But at this point I think I was over that but still couldn’t drink any Gatorade. Now came the worse part of the whole day. Since it is a 2 loop run course, you have to come into town, then make a right turn & head back out of town. But you come within 2 blocks of the finish line & a lot of people were finishing already. But it may have been the best part of the day also. I decided that I needed to try a little harder the last 12 miles. So I jogged/walked the next 3 miles. Then I started to feel a little fired. So my next decision was to walk the next 3 miles to the turn around then see how much I could run back. By now it is very dark outside & they had given me a glow stick to wear. I it got pretty lonely at times. But now everyone was talking to each other as they went by. This really helped. At the turn around, I was off & running. Made it 2 complete miles without stopping & I actually ran through an aid-station & grabbed a water & kept on going. Now I needed a walk break. Again I tried to calculate what my time was. I think I was going to make it under 16 hours & that would be great since it wasn’t long ago that I was concerned about making it under 17 hours. I got it figured out that if I walked the next 3 miles & run the last mile, it would make it in under 16 hours. So I found a walking buddy & we chatting & kept at it. Once we got close to one mile to go, I told him what I was doing. He wished me luck & off I went. With about ½ mile to go, I saw Gene out on the course. He couldn’t believe that I was running. Now he was concerned that he wouldn’t make it back to see me finish. I think he did. I was running but not real fast. Now I thinking about my finish & the photo they take there. I didn’t want my hat in the picture, so I stuffed it down the back of my shirt. Next was the slow stick, didn’t want that either. So I thought if I saw Karsen, I would put it around her neck. Sure enough, I saw her & gave it to her. Then I saw Cathy & Stephanie holding a sign – “Congratulations Greg – Ironman August 31, 2008”. Wow, now it was all worth it. All I could here was the crowd cheering but I couldn’t hear a word anyone said. Crossed the finish line & thought I had made it under 16 hours but I wasn't sure. I had accidently stopped my watch for about 15 minutes on the bike. Josh looked at the picture he took at the start & at the finish & said it would be around 16 hours &10 minutes. So I got on my phone & checked the internet. YES! 15 hours, 58 minutes, & 41 seconds. I AM AN IRONMAN!!!
As I said, it was all worth it. It is an amazing experience. I still can’t believe that I was able to push through getting sick 8 times & having a bad bike time.
Here is my official race report. It is very long, but I wrote out everything I was thinking during the day.
Thanks again to my wife for all her support over the last year to get to this point. Thanks to my family & friends who showed up on race day to cheer me on, it really helped a lot!
2008 Ironman Louisville Race Report
My race day started at 4am even though my alarm was set for 4:10am. Got my shower, got dressed,had a banana nut muffin water. I then packed my swim items, water bottle,Gatorade bottles. Met Liz, Talmadge,Spencer in the hotel lobby at 5am. Steve Sunbury also met us & walked down to transition with us. It was about a 15 minute walk. We were greeted by a black man playing a harmonica about 2 blocks from our hotel & he followed us for about a block or 2. After he left (gave up), Steve said it wasn’t the Rocky theme song but that was all he could afford! At transition, I checked the tire pressure & put my bottles on my bike. After that, I met up with Cathy & Stephanie & then walked down to the swim start, which was about 1 mile away. Sure seemed like a lot longer walk. Once at the swim start, I got my body markings (race number) put on each arm, and then went to get in line for the start. It was a single file start & was first-come, first-go. Once in line, I found out that it was not the end of the line. So farther back I went, about another ½ mile back! By now it is about 6:20am & I’m in line, but it will be at least another hour before I get to start. So we just sit & wait, visit with the people around me. I think it was about 6:45am when I saw Gene & Josh. They came back to see where I was in line & they couldn’t believe how long the line was. The race officially started at 7am & I heard the gun go off but could not see the start. As the line started to move up, I decided for one more pit stop in the porta-pot. Got to see my family once again as I headed down to the river. Right before I jumped in, I looked at the time clock, which was at 36 or 37 minutes. That meant the first person in the water was 36 minutes ahead of me. But that didn’t matter because each person has their own timing chip which doesn’t start until you do. Now I’m in the river & swimming upstream. We are actually in a channel & I don’t fill a current. It took about 20 minutes to swim thru the channel & out into the river. At this point, I think I can fill a current against me. At the turn buoy, I checked my watch & I was at 33 minutes. All down stream from here. I heard that the more towards the middle of the river you were, the better the current was. I guess I was about a 1/3rd of the way out in the river, but again did not feel any help. Most swimmers were closer to shore than I was, but a few were a little farther out. I felt fine, no nerves being out there. And actually, it was the best I had felt in an open water swim. Started sighting on the old bridge just east of the I-65 Bridge. It didn’t seem very far away, but felt like it took forever to get there. Checked my watch again once I got to that bridge, 1 hour 2 minutes. Next was the I-65 Bridge, 1 hour 11 minutes. Then I was watching the 2nd Street Bridge, but then I remembered that if I got to the 2nd Street Bridge I went too far. So I started looking for the last buoy & starting getting closer to shore. Yes, I got to the finish. Swim time was 1 hour 26 minutes & 14 seconds. I was hoping for 1 hour 20 minutes, oh well. Now I was off to the changing tent to get ready for the bike. 5 minutes 37 seconds & I was out on the bike. Got to see the family again as I got my bike.
First 10 miles of the bike was flat & I just tried to get in a good rhythm. Felt pretty good. I started passing people once we got to the hills. I was afraid that I was going to hard, but I checked my pace & it was good. Once on the out & back section, we had to slow down almost to a stop on the downhill because of a wreck & an ambulance was in the middle of the road. On the uphill, there was a guy dressed as a devil. At some point in the first 25 miles, I did get sick & throw up once, don’t really reminder where I was at. At mile 35, we go through the town of Buckner & that was where my family was at, good to see them. Karsen had on her dino suit & was holding a sign. At mile 50, I got to see more people from Seymour. Really good to see people you know out on the course. Mile 65 I was at my family again as we did two loops around the LaGrange area. This time I stopped &high-fived Karsen! Went around the corner to the Special Needs Bag area & Josh & Gene were there with my bag. I tried to eat my PB&J but it didn’t taste good. So I still kept using my Power Gels, Gatorade, water, & Thermolytes (salt tablets). From this point to the finish, I got sick 3 more times. This is what has me all confused. I really don’t know why I was getting sick. The orange Gatorade endurance didn’t taste very good. I had trained with orange Gatorade & lemon-lime Gatorade endurance. With about 20 miles till the bike finish, my left thigh started to cramp & I had to stop & get off the bike. Here again, I was confused. I was riding slower than my goal, so I know I wasn’t pushing too hard. At this point, I was getting conserded because if I was unable to drink Gatorade I didn’t know how I would be able to finish. Saw Josh & Gene again with about ½ mile to go on the bike. I made it back to the changing tent. Bike time was 7 hours 2 minutes & 39 seconds (15.90mph). My bike computer showed 16.41 mph. Ironman does not stop the count when you stop, like my bike computer does. Here again, I was hoping to be done in 6 hours & 30 minutes. The bike was very tough today.
I spent 16 minutes & 53 seconds in T2, and then was out for the run. I took my time in T2, drank some water, changed clothes, socks, & shoes.
When I started the run, I actually felt decent. We went out & crossed over the 2nd Street Bridge. The uphill part of the bridge did not feel good. I walked up.Then at the aid station, I tried more Gatorade & right back up it came. Jogged again on the flat & downhill side of the bridge, but walked again on the way back on the uphill. And sick again. At this point, I was sure I was done. There were 2 race photographers on the bridge & when I saw the pictures, I looked done. When I got off the bridge, I saw all my family waited ahead. At this point, I’m thinking that my hotel is right here, why keep running/walking away from town for 6 miles & back 6 miles. I should just stop here & call it a day. But then I came up to Steve Sunbury. He asked how I was doing & I told him I was done. He said “No, just keep going that my pace & everything would come back to me.” He has done an Ironman, so I decided to keep on going. Went passed my family & Josh high-fived me & said “have fun”. Didn’t really know how much fun it was going to be, but I kept going. This was all at about 2 miles into the 26.2 mile marathon. Got to mile 4 & I started to feel blisters on the bottom of my feet. It was painful enough that I stopped running & was just walking by now. Also got sick 2 more times since the bridge. I was up to a total of 8 times for the day, not good. But I kept at it, just not very fast. Also went by a bank & its sign showed the temperature at 93. After the race, I heard that it got up as high as 97 & humidity was 65%. I say this now because it is at this point in the race that I notice a lot of racers walking. I was trying to calculate how fast I needed to go to finish by the cutoff time. It was hard to do, but I thought I was right on pace to finish just in time. So I keep trying to do a little running but the blisters are very painful. Finally made it to the turn around point & start headed back to town for the next 6 miles. About 2 miles from town I saw Stephanie. She talked to me for awhile. She said Cathy was getting nervous because she found out that I was getting sick. But at this point I think I was over that but still couldn’t drink any Gatorade. Now came the worse part of the whole day. Since it is a 2 loop run course, you have to come into town, then make a right turn & head back out of town. But you come within 2 blocks of the finish line & a lot of people were finishing already. But it may have been the best part of the day also. I decided that I needed to try a little harder the last 12 miles. So I jogged/walked the next 3 miles. Then I started to feel a little fired. So my next decision was to walk the next 3 miles to the turn around then see how much I could run back. By now it is very dark outside & they had given me a glow stick to wear. I it got pretty lonely at times. But now everyone was talking to each other as they went by. This really helped. At the turn around, I was off & running. Made it 2 complete miles without stopping & I actually ran through an aid-station & grabbed a water & kept on going. Now I needed a walk break. Again I tried to calculate what my time was. I think I was going to make it under 16 hours & that would be great since it wasn’t long ago that I was concerned about making it under 17 hours. I got it figured out that if I walked the next 3 miles & run the last mile, it would make it in under 16 hours. So I found a walking buddy & we chatting & kept at it. Once we got close to one mile to go, I told him what I was doing. He wished me luck & off I went. With about ½ mile to go, I saw Gene out on the course. He couldn’t believe that I was running. Now he was concerned that he wouldn’t make it back to see me finish. I think he did. I was running but not real fast. Now I thinking about my finish & the photo they take there. I didn’t want my hat in the picture, so I stuffed it down the back of my shirt. Next was the slow stick, didn’t want that either. So I thought if I saw Karsen, I would put it around her neck. Sure enough, I saw her & gave it to her. Then I saw Cathy & Stephanie holding a sign – “Congratulations Greg – Ironman August 31, 2008”. Wow, now it was all worth it. All I could here was the crowd cheering but I couldn’t hear a word anyone said. Crossed the finish line & thought I had made it under 16 hours but I wasn't sure. I had accidently stopped my watch for about 15 minutes on the bike. Josh looked at the picture he took at the start & at the finish & said it would be around 16 hours &10 minutes. So I got on my phone & checked the internet. YES! 15 hours, 58 minutes, & 41 seconds. I AM AN IRONMAN!!!
As I said, it was all worth it. It is an amazing experience. I still can’t believe that I was able to push through getting sick 8 times & having a bad bike time.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Sunday, August 31st
I DID IT! Wow! 15 hours, 58 minutes, 41 seconds is my official time.
A full race report will be coming up later this week.
Thanks to everyone for their support & encouragement!
A full race report will be coming up later this week.
Thanks to everyone for their support & encouragement!
Saturday, August 30th
Got down to the river today for the practice swim. I think it went very well. Didn't really feel the current when I was going upstream, but I didn't really feel the current going downstream either. After lunch, I got all my stuff ready to go & then took my bike & clothes down to the start as we had to have everything checked in by 5pm. Went to supper at 6pm with Liz & Spencer Sunbury. Decided it would be easier to go back to the Indiana side & eat at Olive Garden.
Sunday is race day & I'll be getting up at about 4am.
Sunday is race day & I'll be getting up at about 4am.
Friday, August 29th
Got to Louisville just before noon. We have to be signed in by 5pm today. They had a dinner for all the athletes this evening, lots of pasta & chicken.
Saturday morning is a practice swim in the river.
Saturday morning is a practice swim in the river.
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