Ironman Louisville Recap

Ironman Louisville was not only my first full Ironman and my first ever marathon, but also the first time I’ve been remarkably speechless. That’s quite unusual for me, as I’m required to weaves words together for a living.

(Anddd, there’s also the fact that I haven’t had the bandwidth to put anything down on digital paper. The fatigue is real.)

I was told this race would go by fast. I scoffed. Fast? It’s an entire day! No way…! But it did. It was here and gone. The highlight reel, however, has not stopped playing in my mind.

Louisville put my toughness to the test. The city itself is charming: friendly, alive, and quite beautiful. And the people are fantastic. But I’ve got to say…the weather is bonkers. Race day was all four seasons. It was 70 and humid. Then it was 50 and windy. I’m talking like gale force 40mph winds. What was supposed to be a nice downriver current felt more like fighting with the choppy Atlantic ocean. Hours and hours of dark gray skies and brutal winds on the bike were followed by an intense cold front and rain on the run.

BUT. I wouldn’t trade that battle for the world. It was a perfect first experience, dark moments and all, and my heart hasn’t stopped singing since I crossed that finish line. While I rarely saw the sun on this day, my soul was shining the entire time.

The highlights:

- I thought my dad had forgotten all about my race, having not reached out the days leading up to it, but he surprised me completely and flew down to see me. I spotted him as I was going out for the run. Tears ensued. (Thanks, Steph for helping him out)

- Biking in to transition with Sasha and commiserating about #allthatwind, and then throwing my bike at a volunteer…best feeling in the world.

- Peeing on the bike! That’s an accomplishment in and of itself, right?

- JEROME’s famous “encouragement” slaps and overall positive energy. You are the best best best.

- Seeing my ITL family - I love you guys

- ADAM giving it to me straight: “slow down, Michelle” …ok, chief.

- MOM and her cowbell

- Lea and her sarcasm

- Brett calming my nervous mess down before the race

- David and the banana

- Seeing Stacy, Carolyn, Kiel, Bill, Jud, Rachel, Eddie, Brett, and Phoenix on the run course

- All of the random people cheering for me and my new ATC friends - thank you !

- THAT CHICKEN BROTH

The lowlights:

There were dark moments when my smile was definitely forced, especially during those crazy crosswinds on the bike. But I just kept repeating, “NOT today, Satan!” And the biggest challenge — the multiple times when my stomach turned during the run and I had to stop and use the bathroom…rather than beat myself up for “wasting time” like I normally would, I let myself be okay with it…que sera sera. It’s all part of the experience…learning from it, what can I do differently next time.

A special thank you to everyone following me and supporting me. You all mean the world to me. <3

I couldn’t have gotten to the finish line, or even the start line, without the best support from quite literally all over the globe.

#Ironman #ironmanlouisville #ironmanblog #triathlon #endurance #swimbikerun #Louisville