I would like to recap my adventure in preparation and execution of the 2010 Ironman Louisville - my first Ironman competition.
I had trained for Ironman for nearly one year before the event took place on August 29, 2010. Along the way I had logged over 1100 miles of running, 6000 miles of biking, and numerous laps around the Kershaw swim course. I had experienced a great spring training season that was interspersed with a partial tear of my Achilles Tendon, an over-the-bars crash after hitting a dog on the bike, and a few other tendon issues. Otherwise, my training program was going extremely well and I had enjoyed new levels of fitness and endurance.
Due to the Achilles injury earlier in the year, my bike volume was higher than I had planned, and it was a blast to enjoy some fast times and high-placing finishes at local triathlons and time trials.
As we made final preparations to travel to Louisville for Ironman, I also enjoyed the rest that the taper period had afforded me. I did have a hard time sitting around with no training to do, but I managed to actually lose a few pounds despite the reduced workload.
We rented a car to take to Louisville since my wife's Volvo is quite small. We were loaded to the gills with a bike, triathlon supplies and nutrition. We dropped our Black Lab puppy "Watts" off at a sitters and we were set to go. After nine hours of driving, we were in Louisville!
I had never been around so many fit-looking people in all of my life! The streets were crowded with men and women with single-digit body fat percentages, and the air was filled with nervous energy as countless run groups and bikers lined the streets trying to ease their nerves by cramming in some last-minute training. We checked into our hotel and made our way to the expo to check out the wares. Against my better judgment, I purchased an Ironman Louisville bike jersey. Take that, superstition!
The journey had taken us to Louisville...now it was time to execute!
Next installment: the swim!
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