Ironman Louisville Race Recap: The Swim

Sunrise race morning taken by my friend, Deanne

 Race morning actually started before my 4am wake up call. I woke up about midnight and could not fall back asleep. I was thinking about random things: remember to get the sunscreen for my sherpa, Emily, pack a blanket, if I lay here real still maybe I will not be so tired, etc. Finally, a little before 4am I got up and started my race morning ritual. I took a shower to wake up since I do not drink coffee, braided my hair, ate my bagel with peanut butter, and drank some water. It was comforting to have these race day rituals so I can just be on autopilot and think about the rest of day. I was more calm and excited than I expected at this point. And even snapped a silly picture to commemorate the beginning of a crazy day that I sent to my friends bright and early.

getting ready to put the ole wetsuit on

I gathered my nutrition (honey stingers: waffles and chews, boiled potatoes, and rice cakes (that my mom and Emily finished making for me on Saturday) and my hydration/electrolytes that Ryan helped put together since I needed some concentrate to dilute later on in the race. We headed to the car with the fuel and my morning bag with all my swim gear.

Sunscreen girls! My friends at T1 waiting for me.

We arrived at the transition area about 5:10am. There was already a decent line, but once 5:15 hit, the line moved quickly. I had very little to do in the transition area besides drop off the food and bottles for the bike and run. Since the weather was cooler, I was not worried about tires popping so I did not need to air them up. Once I finished in transition, Ryan and I walked the 15-20 minutes to the start line of the swim. First, I got body marked on my arms and calf and then ended up walking down to the end of the line which at the time was just at the building with the big paddles attached to it. So we settled in, covered myself in a blanket to stay warm and cozy. At about 6:30, I walked down to the port-a-pot line to wait in line again. By the time I met back with Ryan it was time to start getting my wetsuit on. And sometime during this time, my friends texted Ryan with a picture of them at the sunscreen station telling me they we're cheering and waiting for me. That was so fun to see and even got me more excited to start the race! Around 7:15am, one of my neighbors and her two kids found her way to me and we got to chat and see their signs they made for me. The waiting period actually went faster than I had expected. I also ate two rice cakes and drank about 10 oz to fill my tank up.  We heard the horn blow and knew it was time to start.

 

Ready to go

I'm the pink cap right in front of the guy jumping in

The line moved fast. I was on the dock by 7:38am to jump in. (I heard it took about 45 minutes to get the 2500+ athletes in the water! ) I remembering thinking about how to keep my goggles on while I jumped off the previous week, but that thought never crossed my mind as I walked towards the dock. The next thing I knew I was in the water trying to free style. I was expecting the water to feel cold and take my breath away. Thinking I would need about 10 minutes or so before I would be able to get into a rhythm. However, with the air so cold, the water felt great! It took just a couple of strokes before I was able to swim comfortable which was so much faster than I expected. Sighting was pretty easy except it was hard to see people since the wetsuits blended in with the water. I could tell by the way the water was moving under the water if I was getting close to others. I stayed to the right mostly- didn't get to bumped and swam over too many times near the Towhead Island. Swimming up current was not as bad as I expected.  Every time I sighted, I was surprising myself that I could tell I was making progress.

 Once we got past Towhead Island I almost got sandwiched by two other swimmers. It got a bit more congested as everyone was heading to the turn around buoy. I glanced at my watch seeing it was about 30 minutes. I was thinking that it would take me about 1/3 of the time to get to this point. If that was the case, I knew I was ahead of schedule. I did a quick body check to make sure I did not feel like I was exerting myself too much.  Once heading downstream, I was in autopilot. Random thoughts floated through my head and disbelief that I was swimming in an IRONMAN! A friend who had completed the race last year as her first, recently sent me an e-mail with her best advice and tips. One was to glance up at the pedestrian bridge as you swim underneath it. A view that not alot of people get to experience, so I remembered somehow! I could see the finish in a distance - Joe Crab's Shack roof.  It was getting closer every time I sighted. Soon I realized I was way right so I started heading to the left just in time to exit. I told Ryan I was going to take my cap off as soon as I got to the exit stairs to spot me since we all look alike in black wetsuits and pink swim caps. I glanced at my watch - 1 hour 29 minutes which was 2 minutes faster than my fastest time I had predicted which was based off my half ironman swim! Ryan had even (jokingly) warned me not to go faster than those times because he probably wouldn't see me. In this case, my three race sherpas (Ryan, Emily, and brother) did not see me get out! Once out, I had a great wetsuit stripper, so I was on my way in no time. I did not feel out-of breath or dizzy and even jogged to the transition.

I was still feeling surreal with everything. Soaking in the crowd at the swim exit, thinking how I just swam free style the whole time in a wetsuit for the first time that distance, and exciting to start part 2 of the race.

T1 and Bike coming up soon!