Brian Smith's 2017 IM Louisville: Race Report

So below is my long-winded overview the week of, and of the race, added as much detail as I could remember.

THANK YOU ALL, for all the support during this process, the EN family is truly special!

Being that I have only done one sprint tri, one team competition (where I biked the Olympic leg), and never running a ½ or full marathon, this was unchartered water for me.  All my training in the past was wrong, I took the standard approach and usually got injured, so joining EN calmed me down and changed my thinking on how I “needed” to train, which is what I think was the turning point for me in this journey.  I joined EN in January of this year, and at that time could not swim more than 50 meters without being winded, had a slight knee flame up in the first few weeks (two past knee surgeries and a hernia surgery), but overall was ready to learn the right way.  At that time, I was 198lbs, not heavy, but not fit either.  As I trained, I asked the team and Patrick a ton of, what I am sure were softball questions, and everyone was very helpful, but not critical, I learned a lot from all of them, and also learned a lot about myself. 

I travel a lot for work (about 100,000 miles per year national and international), and have 2 young ones at home, so almost all of my training was at night after 8:30pm, with the additional of lunch time treadmill runs at the office gym.  The day of the race I was down to 179lbs and very cardio fit, just through the EN training and not changing my diet.  Important to note, I did a VO2 max test at the gym on a treadmill, mask and all, towards the end of my IM training plan, and was able to get very targeted heart rates at that time, which were helpful. Three weeks before the race I was summoned to Germany for work for a week, where I was unable to train, which made me crazy nervous about the race, but in the end, the week off actually helped my mind and body recover I think, and it was a good thing.

Race Week

Race week was pretty relaxed, other than normal work stuff and kids not wanting me to leave (3 and 7).  On Monday night, I did a swim in the pool of 2,175 meters in about 49 minutes or so, keeping relaxed and working on stroke and stopping when I was supposed to, as per the EN plan.  Tuesday during lunch I did 3 miles on the treadmill in about 31 minutes, just working on stride and keeping loose.  Tuesday night I opted out of the evening ride on the trainer, as I spent time with the kids and helped my daughter with homework.  Wednesday was a busy day with work and I ended up working longer than planned and not working out at all this day.  Thursday, I got up in the am, walked my daughter to the bus, got my son ready for pre-school, and after he left I was heading out the door to drive the 6 hours to Louisville.  I loaded the car and bike with everything the night before, so I would not have any stress in forgetting anything.  Stuck pretty much to my race plan for the week.

Arrived Thursday late day, could not check in the hotel as they did not have any rooms ready yet, so I left my car out front of the hotel and walked to the expo and packet pick-up, picked up my swag and official race items, then walked around down by the river trying to calm myself.  Friday met with team members, etc., did the bike course drive with team members, that got me very anxious because the hills were not “rolling” in my book, I asked a lot of questions, etc.  After that I left for the airport to pick up my wife, had a dinner with her on 4th street, packed transition bags and prepped bike for the Saturday drop off and was all good to go.

Saturday, had a team breakfast, great company, good food, learned a lot and it was great to experience talking with the team members who have done many IM’s, as well as talking for a while with @billeckert after breakfast about how we were both a bit nervous.  I think we calmed each other down and agreed to see if we can start the swim together the next day, since we swam about the same times in our training.  Dropped bike and bags off, walked around a bit with my wife then back to the room to watch the Kona race, and chill, ate an early dinner and was in bed at 7:30pm, didn’t fall asleep until about 11pm, was just anxious at that point.  Was also eating and hydrating throughout the days and making sure I was following what I planned originally.

Race Day

Woke up at 3:30 as per my plan, ate a mini bagel plain, an apple, a 24oz bottle of GE and had a black coffee.  Had all my stuff packed up the night before and all that I was to wear ready to go.  Showered, got dressed, etc., could not go to the restroom which made me nervous, but I wanted to follow my plan so I left at about 5am to go to the transition area.  Walked from the Galt with my wife to transition, dropped off my bags, checked my bike, all good, walked out, got body marked, walked to swim line up eating a powerbar and a gel, drinking a GE.  Lined up with my wife and some friends showed up to wish me well, they drove in from Indy.  Got in line for the toilet, not too long thinking just maybe, but nope.  Back in line, talking trying to relax, saw @billechert and his friend, who ended up lining up with us. Saw @francispicard, wished him a good day and we waited.  About 15 minutes before we were to hear the “official” start I put my wetsuit on to my waist, as I was getting a bit cold.  Tucked a gel into the front as well as my goggles and cap.  Decided to try to run to the restroom again, was in line with @billechert and the group in front of us started to walk towards the swim start, we were both saying “oh Sh$t”, no time to try to go, but jumped in there anyway to at least pee.  Then it happened, sloooow mooootion, just like out of a movie, my gel flies through the air and falls into the urinal, and for a slit second I looked at it and considered it….ha, I think it was a good calming point to laugh.  Left it in there hurried back to the line putting wetsuit sleeves on and started walking, talking trying to focus, said a little prayer, danced a bit to warm up, anything to calm my nerves.

Swim: Goal: under 1:30 (pool swim time)

Taking with @billechkart and his friend were an asset, if you can line up with someone you know I would highly recommend it, especially if you were an IM newbie like me.  We walked down the area, we got in the right-side line goggles on when I was to the final dock area, @billeckart jumped in and then I followed.  Water was cold at first, I breast stroked out a bit, and I know they say there is little current, but for me it felt like Niagara Falls ahead of me.  Then the panic and anxiety set in, I could not swim the way I wanted, people were swimming over me, etc., so I tried to stop let people go by, but more came.  Then I just started to swim, counting strokes didn’t help, as I could not catch my breath.  I ended up doing what I said I was not going to do and was breathing every stroke.  Breathing to the right got me a bit dizzy so I started breathing to the left, was not as dizzy.  Kept that up and felt progress, still swimmers all over me and each other, some I swam up on, some up on me.  At bout 700 meters in I was kicked in the face and lost my goggles, caught them before then sank, put them back on and progressed.   Got up to the last buoy at 1,300 meters before the turn and the water went ice cold, I guess we were now in an open area and I remember thinking why the hell are we so far ahead of the island!  My plan was to turn left and swim straight out into the river farther out to maybe take advantage of the current.  As I looked up it appeared that most all were doing that so I kept close to the buoys on my left.  As I hit the area of “diesel water” I thought to myself, wait a second, I am 33% done with the swim and then found my stroke, breathing every three, which was my plan, wait was I finally in my box I thought? Swam up on people altered my path, people swam up on me, but all good, not that many people by me now.  Then about ½ way down the island my legs were hit by a kayak helping a guy behind me that was struggling.  It startled me and I got a cramp in my left calf.  Used upper body and tried to get the calf cramp out as I swam, then other calf cramped, so I said to hell with it, I will drag my legs for a while, toes pointed down trying to get the cramp out.  Swam under the first bridge and looked up, I was almost there, the rest of the swim was uneventful, 3 stroke-breath, 3 stroke-breath, etc.  got to the swim exit couldn’t find the step, the great volunteers helped me up, pulled my zipper down and I smiled from ear to ear, or at least I did in my head.  Tried to jog over to the wetsuit strippers, but I was a bit woozy, so I walked, they helped me down out of the wetsuit, helped me up then I walked towards transition which was my plan, to walk, saw @billeckert, we said “we did it”, or something like that, I was just stoked I finished the swim.

Transition One: Goal: Walk take my time, follow EN rules

My bag was not where it was supposed to be, it was in the wrong lane so the volunteers were frantically looking and found it, I then walked into the tent sat by @billechkert, put on all gear needed, handed an envelope with $10 in it to a volunteer, with my bag, said see you at the finish to Bill and walked out, grabbing a water off the table.  Found my bike and walked it to the start line, which was my plan, to walk it to make sure I was ready and relaxed, saw my wife and friends, made me smile and off to the start line.  Realized on the walk that I never started my watch on the swim, ughhhh, so I think I started it at that time so I would have the data for the bike and run, that annoyed me, but whatever I said to myself, lesson learned.

Bike: Goal: 6 hours or less (not reached)

Got on the bike and began to roll, started my Garmin 520 and it was not picking up my heart rate, which I needed to see, as I do not have a power meter, I ride by heart rate.  I restarted it, changed parameters, etc. all while riding and it finally started after about 4 or so miles, of which people were zooming by me, as I was going from 14.5 - 18 mph in that process.  When it started working I noticed my heart rate was in the high 140’s and above, and I said to myself get it down, get it down, no higher than 135 or so, but it would not go down, even when I slowed up on pedaling and gears.  My goal as per the EN plan was to ride the first 30 miles easy then turn it on a bit, but if I could not get my heart rate down I was going to be in trouble I thought. 

I started drinking and eating powerbars and gels as per my plan at that time as well.  Hit the first long uphill and took it well, although my heart rate was climbing again, even as I slow pedaled.  I remember thinking just worry about nutrition and pressure on pedals at that point and your heart rate will go down. Tons of people passed me on the first hill, but I tried to stay patient, it was hard but I did.  More and more hills rolling or otherwise I kept with the EN way of biking and it was working.  I was passed on the uphill and I sped past on the down, etc.  Then it dawned on me, my heart rate is still too high, but it seems there was nothing I could do about it, so I just kept going.  On many of the up hills, even as I slow pedaled in a small gear I was going past others that were already gassed, and even saw some walking bikes up hill in the first few hours, which surprised me, and I thought I was going too hard, so I tried to dial it back a bit, crested the hills large and small and bombed the downhills, at one point hitting 45mph, which was fun.  Hit every aid station and grabbed 2 bottles of GE or 1 GE and 1 Water (had my own nutrition with me).  Learned to pee on the bike for the first time, and ended up doing that about 6-7 times, hydrated, ate, etc. as per the EN way.

Stopped at special needs, ate a half of a Snickers bar, gave the rest to a volunteer, got my nutrition for the rest of the bike and was off.  It started to drop in temp at that point and I started to get a real headache from the temp, not from lack of nutrition, it happens sometimes with me when the temps go up or down sharply, so I thought ok this is a normal thing.  I had two Tylenol with me so I took them and the headache went away about 20 minutes later, but winds and rain had started, also ran into more and more car traffic, especially on the up-hills which posed a problem, as we were all trying to get past the cars on the right so it was one line and slower at points than I would have liked.

On two downhills, I had two mechanicals where I dropped my chain due to my own stupidity shifting both front and back, one of them it wrapped around my crank, I coasted on the downhill until I was about to stop each time and fixed it, maybe lost about 5 minutes with the two stops.  The wind and rain (off and on) picked up and it always seemed that we had a side wind or a headwind at that point and the temp dropped, which made the last 30 miles not so fun.  I started to pass more and more people at that point on the bike, most of which were up on their bars because of the wind pushing on the side.  The roads were wet at that point and had branches and leaves all over the place, saw a few people walking their bikes up hills again, a couple of crashes and flats also, even those $12k Custom Diamond Bikes flat out, ha.  I kept my head down and started to hammer with what I had left.  I kept saying “just don’t get a flat” to myself, like I could have controlled that anyways…. Towards the end of the bike there were some people that all of the sudden got a second or third wind and zipped by me, but at that point with about a mile or so left I was slowing it down and trying to think of next steps anyway and assess my body.  Pulled up to the line, got off my bike and again I started walking, I was shocked that my legs, back and shoulders did not ache, maybe due to the nutrition, maybe the excitement of being off the bike now, wither way I was happy about that, but I sure had a chill, I walked down handed off my bike and walked to transition to get my bag.

Transition 2: Goal: Walk take my time, follow EN rules

After handing off my bike, I got my bag, walked into the tent, changed socks, put on running shoes, put on visor, added more Vaseline, grabbed my nutrition, handed the bag and $10 to a volunteer and walked out of the tent, grabbed a water and ate a gel as I walked up towards the line.  Saw my wife, gave he a kiss and hit the run.

Run: Goal: Do not walk, 5 hours (optimistically)

Hit the Garmin as I started the run and told myself I will NOT get my heart rate over 130, don’t care if I have to slow down or whatever.  I then reminded myself of the plan to walk every aid station, that would be important for me as I have never run this far.  Lastly, no matter what DO NOT WALK! 

Started the run, fairly uneventful, my legs were fine, overall, I felt ok, kept my gate within check and my heart rate within check, was talking to a few others as we ran together.  One took off and one slowed down after about mile 3.  First aid station I walked and I took in GE. water and a gel.  Running at my own pace with my heart rate in the low to mid 120’s, so I was happy, next few aid stations I took in GE, water and a gel and stopped to use the restroom quickly.  I started to see some EN team mates on the run loop, we either smiled and acknowledged each other, gave a high five or encouraged each other to keep going, that was priceless to me, helped me push, and made me feel how special it was to be part of the EN family.  It was also great to see the people on the run watching and cheering you on by name, and not just the volunteers, helped motivate me as well.  This went on for the first 13 miles or so, doing the aid station thing, restroom, etc.

Decided to stop at special needs, grabbed a quick gel, stepped into the restroom, more cream, then off I went.  Started to get colder about mile 16 and my hands were very cold, as were my legs, could not take any more gels or GE so I started a regiment of either water and coke or chicken broth and water per aid station, also popped two Tylenol again, as my head was hurting badly, 20 minutes later it was ok.  Mile 18 came and went with no issues other than my stomach growling, so I grabbed some grapes in each of the next 3 aid stations.  Mile 20 came and I assessed my running and decided to keep at the current pace and heart rate. I think about mile 22ish, my stomach was hurting and I had to stop in the restroom, was there for about 3-5 minutes, when I stepped out of the restroom my left glute all the way down my left leg was cramped, as well as my right hamstring and right calf, so I started to run very slowly to get the legs going.

Mile 23-24 is where I had to dig deep and get past the aching and cramps in my legs, keep thinking of what motivated me and I was talking to myself at one point out loud for motivation.  Also, was slowly passing people on the run from about mile 14 on so that felt good as well, saw many walkers post mile 15, many of which passed me either on the bike or sprinted past me on the run early.  That was a motivator as well.  Going into mile 25-26 I had to pee again, and stopped in a random porta potty, I must have stopped about 6-8 times on the run course, so I was for sure hydrated.  Heading into the last ½ mile I was just cold, hands and legs were a bit numb, nose was cold, ears were cold, etc.  I tried to pick up the pace, but I could not so I kept it steady as I could, but was obviously slower with the cramps that have yet to go away.  Was on 3rd street (I think) right before the 90-degree left turn and I could hear the finish, there were about 6-8 people in front of me, so I thought to myself turn it on as I made the left turn, and then the right turn I saw in the distance the finish.  In my head, I was thinking “go go go”, I picked up the pace, or at least I thought I did, and past the remaining people, as I stepped on the carpet I heard nothing but white noise, but was giving people high fives as I past them, crossed the line and raised my arms in the air, it was a feeling that I have dreamed about and until this point I didn’t get it, I do now know what it feels like to be an Ironman.  My wife decided to pay for the medaling, so she was there at the finish when I crossed and medaled me, which was emotional as she and the family were on this journey with me for the past 9 months, and two volunteers came to me and put their arms around me to congratulate me, awesome.  At that point, I broke down and tears flowed, yep I said it, something I never do, but the emotions got the best of me.  So, my finisher pic is me all teary eyed and numb looking.

I kept saying to my wife I could not believe it and btw, did they say “Brian, you are an Ironman?  Did they?”, as I realized I did not hear anything in the finishing shoot, it was all white noise as I said above, even with all the screaming, music, announcements, etc.  I sat down covered in the foil, closed my eyes and smiled, I finally did it and I couldn’t believe it.  Someone from the Ironman crew came over and gave me another foil as I did not realize I was shivering.

 Overall the BEST individual experience of my life, this may be a long and more narrative report and not full of the data like others, but it is important to me that the experience of this accomplishment be shared, not just with teammates and my family, but with those who may join EN in the future for their first Ironman.  I now know how it feels, and I can’t say enough about it.  One person came to me as I sat there after the finish and said something I will never forget, he saw my 1st timer bracelet that they give out when you pick up your initial swag and said, “Hey Brian, congrats and welcome to the family, it doesn’t get any better than this”.  First, I thought how did he know my name, then I remembered it was on my number, ha.  He was right, it does not get any better than that, so I stood up (with help of course still being cramped) went back outside and watch about 40 minutes of finishing before I left to go warm up and get my gear.

Overall info: 13:28:26

• Division rank: 180 out of 289
• Gender rank: 1,018 out of 1,534
• Overall rank: 1,368 out of 2,273

• Swim: 1:22:16
• Average pace of 2:08
• 250th M45-49
• 1,377th by gender
• 1,990 overall
• Transition 1: 10:58
• Bike: 6:34:30
• 181st M45-49
• 1,000th by gender
• 1,274 overall
• 28.8 miles: 1:41:05, 17.11
• 63.9 miles: 3:50:06, 16.32
• 72 miles: 5:52:31, 16.64
• Finish: 6:34:30, 17.31
• Transition 2: 10:06
• Run: 5:10:39
• 180th M45-49
• 1,006 by Gender
• 1,397th overall
• Mile 1.3: 10:04 min./mile
• Mile 4: 11:39 min./mile
• Mile 7.4: 10:36 min./mile
• Mile 10.8: 11:18 min./mile
• Mile 13.9: 11:53 min./mile
• Mile 16.8: 11:22 min./mile
• Mile 20: 11:59 min./mile
• Mile 23.5: 13:12 min./mile
• Mile run/finish: 12:37 min./mile
• Overall: 11:45 min./mile

Lessons learned:

• In the future, I NEED to try to get to open water more somehow, I think it is the only way I will be able to limit the anxiety of the swim, I think that realistically cost me 10-15 minutes of stopping, breast stroking and not breathing every three.  Pool swimming is great and easy when you are only training late at night, but without the open water practice I am limited.  I will still take my swim as is, but I think it could be better.
• Technology is great and stinks all at the same time, be patient with it, let it work on its own, and it will sort itself out.  USE it to your advantage, if it doesn’t work have a plan B, but don’t stress.
• Make sure to at least drive the bike course and have a plan of action for the course, do not worry about “what if I do this”, just do what you need to do.
• Forget what “I think I can do” on the course and just “do what I can do” on the course.
• Walk through the beginning of each transition, i.e. out of the water and off of the bike, then jog the rest of it, will reduce transition time for sure.
• Hydration is key, over hydration makes you pee too much, try to figure out what level of hydration I need to be at my best and not have to stop so many times on the run, likely cost me over 10-15 minutes.
• Be confident in my fitness and push harder next time on the run, now that I know what to expect.
• Remember this is a family accomplishment as well as an individual one.
• Remember what the feeling is like to finish, and cherish every moment of it.
• Be proud of where I am in the race, and strive to be better, after all I am an Ironman now!

Thanks to @Coachpatrick and @MariahBridges and ALL my team-mates at the race for their support and guidance, truly special and I cannot thank you all enough!