since I updated my blog. No real answer as to why other than I have been busy training in preparation for this thing called Ironman.
Since Ironman has been the biggest thing that has gone on since my last post I think I am best served to give the details of that above all else for right now. Obvious to most is that the Ironman I competed in was Ironman Louisville. Louisville is a beautiful place and I really enjoyed my time there. It was so refreshing to be in an area that no matter where you turned everyone was sincerely polite and helpful. I guess southern hospitality does exist.
So, on to the race. As anyone who has done an Ironman would tell you, hardly ever does everything work out perfectly and my race was no exception. Starting with the swim, as I was getting ready I started to pull on my speedsuit and all of a sudden I heard a pop. That pop was in fact the zipper on my speedsuit shredding. So scrap the speedsuit and time to swim in just my tri suit. Now alot of people make a big deal out of how bad the Ohio River is to swim in and yes, it is absolutely not the cleanest water I have ever been in but I didn't find it to be as bad as people made it out to be. So I figured going into this thing that I could go out and swim what I felt I was capable of but having never swam that far I didn't want to get into a situation where I over did it in the swim and put myself in trouble that early. That in mind, I decided that I would more or less put it in cruise control for the swim and then try and hammer the other two events. End result swim wise was that it ended up being the easiest part of my day but also way slower than what was possible for me.
Next was the bike and this is where the problems started. Leading up to the race I had been having some pretty serious neck problems. So much so that I still have times with little feeling at the base of my neck. Anyway, I was fully prepared to hammer the bike as everything in my training lead me to believe I could do. I got out of transition and hit the first mile at about 21mph and then problems. At almost exactly the 1 mile mark into the bike my neck all of a sudden had a really bad burning sensation and then went numb. The end result of which made it so I could not ride in my aero position and I ended up having to ride 111 miles in my base bar. This in turn not only made it so I was catching all the wind head on but I also was putting more strain on my legs than needed. By the time I got off the bike my legs were pretty much shot.
By the time I started the run I could barely hold 9 minute mile pace for the first couple of miles and I knew it was going to be a pretty miserable marathon. By the time I had reached about mile 10 my stride had changed so much that I developed large blisters on the balls of both of my feet. All put together I ended up having to walk most of the marathon which was pretty upsetting.
Its a funny thing, I constantly see footage of people crossing the finish line at Ironman and they are very emotional. I have to say, I didn't have that same feeling. I was really upset that everything went so wrong for me. People have been constantly telling me to be proud of the fact that I finished, and believe me I am. However, my answer always is "I didn't train just to finish". Now don't get me wrong, I whole heartily believe that it is a great and commendable thing for people just to want to finish. I personally just happen to have large goals for myself and when I put the kind of time in that I did and to not only not hit that goal but to have a pretty miserable race, well that it pretty disappointing to me.
All in all the experience of Ironman itself was terrific and I would 100% recommend Louisville to anyone considering an Ironman. I would also like to thank the many friends and family who gave me their undying support throughout this entire process. I would especially like to thank my Ironwife Angela who not only was a spectator for 15 hours that day but has also been very understanding when it came to all the time away for training I had to do. Also, to my super Cousin Sarah, who flew in from Phoenix to cheer me on, it meant more to me than you know. Guess what? You're next Sarah!
Finally, just wanted to give a quick note regarding the mileage challenge that I had going on. I have decided to cancel it for the remainder of the year as many people have fallen by the wayside as the year has gone one. For those of you that took part I just wanted to say thank you and I hope you have a great remainder of the year training.
Since Ironman has been the biggest thing that has gone on since my last post I think I am best served to give the details of that above all else for right now. Obvious to most is that the Ironman I competed in was Ironman Louisville. Louisville is a beautiful place and I really enjoyed my time there. It was so refreshing to be in an area that no matter where you turned everyone was sincerely polite and helpful. I guess southern hospitality does exist.
So, on to the race. As anyone who has done an Ironman would tell you, hardly ever does everything work out perfectly and my race was no exception. Starting with the swim, as I was getting ready I started to pull on my speedsuit and all of a sudden I heard a pop. That pop was in fact the zipper on my speedsuit shredding. So scrap the speedsuit and time to swim in just my tri suit. Now alot of people make a big deal out of how bad the Ohio River is to swim in and yes, it is absolutely not the cleanest water I have ever been in but I didn't find it to be as bad as people made it out to be. So I figured going into this thing that I could go out and swim what I felt I was capable of but having never swam that far I didn't want to get into a situation where I over did it in the swim and put myself in trouble that early. That in mind, I decided that I would more or less put it in cruise control for the swim and then try and hammer the other two events. End result swim wise was that it ended up being the easiest part of my day but also way slower than what was possible for me.
Next was the bike and this is where the problems started. Leading up to the race I had been having some pretty serious neck problems. So much so that I still have times with little feeling at the base of my neck. Anyway, I was fully prepared to hammer the bike as everything in my training lead me to believe I could do. I got out of transition and hit the first mile at about 21mph and then problems. At almost exactly the 1 mile mark into the bike my neck all of a sudden had a really bad burning sensation and then went numb. The end result of which made it so I could not ride in my aero position and I ended up having to ride 111 miles in my base bar. This in turn not only made it so I was catching all the wind head on but I also was putting more strain on my legs than needed. By the time I got off the bike my legs were pretty much shot.
By the time I started the run I could barely hold 9 minute mile pace for the first couple of miles and I knew it was going to be a pretty miserable marathon. By the time I had reached about mile 10 my stride had changed so much that I developed large blisters on the balls of both of my feet. All put together I ended up having to walk most of the marathon which was pretty upsetting.
Its a funny thing, I constantly see footage of people crossing the finish line at Ironman and they are very emotional. I have to say, I didn't have that same feeling. I was really upset that everything went so wrong for me. People have been constantly telling me to be proud of the fact that I finished, and believe me I am. However, my answer always is "I didn't train just to finish". Now don't get me wrong, I whole heartily believe that it is a great and commendable thing for people just to want to finish. I personally just happen to have large goals for myself and when I put the kind of time in that I did and to not only not hit that goal but to have a pretty miserable race, well that it pretty disappointing to me.
All in all the experience of Ironman itself was terrific and I would 100% recommend Louisville to anyone considering an Ironman. I would also like to thank the many friends and family who gave me their undying support throughout this entire process. I would especially like to thank my Ironwife Angela who not only was a spectator for 15 hours that day but has also been very understanding when it came to all the time away for training I had to do. Also, to my super Cousin Sarah, who flew in from Phoenix to cheer me on, it meant more to me than you know. Guess what? You're next Sarah!
Finally, just wanted to give a quick note regarding the mileage challenge that I had going on. I have decided to cancel it for the remainder of the year as many people have fallen by the wayside as the year has gone one. For those of you that took part I just wanted to say thank you and I hope you have a great remainder of the year training.
