Louisville. This city has so many memories for me.
It’s an easy 2.5 hour drive from Dayton. It’s where I took Brittney for her birthday getaway weekend. It’s where I worked the Finish Line of Ironman 2015 and caught my brother in law as he became an Ironman. I got to meet amazing athletes as they had just earned the title Ironman. I had a car turn in front of me in an intersection causing me to crash into them on my bike leading to a concussion and 5 staples in the back of my head (yes, I was wearing a helmet). 5 weeks after the crash, I lined up for my first Ironman. I swam 2.4 miles in the Ohio River. Biked the 112 miles and then ran a marathon to get to the coveted finish line and hear my name called as an Ironman. What was once only a dream with little belief in myself, became a goal and then a success. Louisville always will have a special place in my heart!
I met an athlete named Daniel in spring of 2023 who said he had heard rumors of a 70.3 coming to Louisville. Then in late summer of 2023, the official announcement came, Ironman was bringing a 70.3 back to Louisville. I asked no questions. I was in. Had to do it. Then I saw mid August race date. Yuck! Going to be hot and humid, no doubt. That’s ok, I gotta do it. Wouldn’t miss it. Down river swim! Hell yeah! Fun bike course! It’s only 1 loop of roads I know, perfect. Only gotta cross my crash intersection once, no problem. Run ends at 4th St Live! Super exciting!! Let’s do this!!
Coming off an amazing experience in Oregon 70.3, I was prepared to tackle Louisville. Charlie and I kept our consistent training up and had a nice 5 day taper to be ready. Way too much talk on the Facebook about algae blooms in the river possibly canceling the swim. Not in my control, can’t stress about it. Water temp was in 80s, wetsuit not going to get used. Booo! Weather was looking warm, but not overly hot, YAY!! I had over 20 people in the tracker app that I knew were racing. I love friendly faces in the races I’m in!! Knowing that my training partner Charlie and arch nemesis Marie were racing were also big factors in keeping me motivated!
Race day arrives. Charlie and I stayed at a hotel half a mile away from transition. We met at 5am outside the hotel and walked it to transition. We set up our transitions and got the shuttle up to swim start. Some shuttles before races are eerily quiet. This shuttle was loud! It’s 6am and people are chatty! Fun feeling that energy! So we hit the porta potty one last time and then we line up. I move up to the front more than Charlie does for the simple fact I know the sooner I start, the sooner I finish. The heat and humidity builds throughout the day so the early I finish, the better. Waiting on the ramp to start the swim, I watch a bunch of fish jumping around in the river. The wind was blowing opposite direction of the way we were swimming. The water looked as if the current was going against us. I tried to believe it was an optical illusion. Can’t control it, can’t stress over it. The Kentucky Derby bugler started off the morning with My Old Kentucky Home and the call to start the race. We also had a moment of silence to respect fallen troops. The National Anthem played, the cannon sounded and swimmers jumped into the 82 degree river. About 7:05, I jumped into the Ohio and immediately got water all up in my goggles. Not great. Thought they were tight enough. Oh well, swim big boy, swim! Stay calm, focus on the yellow and orange buoys, just keep swimming. River is wide so there wasn’t much contact between me and other swimmers. Swimming is weakest discipline in triathlon and man did it show in a river with no current and no wetsuit! Had a turtle make fun of me as it flew past me. Buoy to buoy, bridge to bridge, just kept swimming. I was almost getting tired when I finally saw the red turn buoy! That made me smile! I knew I was almost done when I made it there! I swam all the way up to the stairs and started getting out when I realized there was a railing under my left leg. I hit the inside shin of left leg on the railing. Ouch! There’s still a small bruise from that hit today. Volunteer helped me out of river and off I went. Peeled my swim skin off and got into my bike shoes as fast as I could. I had no idea how far ahead of Charlie and Marie I had started, but I didn’t want them to even see me in transition. We were all racked close together. I got out of there as quick as possible and was not thrilled with the distance Ironman made us run our bikes to. It was way long. Finally get to the street and mount up! Start pedaling and make my way down River Rd. Wind is blowing us right down the road. Feeling good. About 6-7 miles in, I’m noticing my shoulders and arms are sore. I’m readjusting, stretching and trying to get more blood flowing through my arms. That swim was challenging! Took more out of me then I had figured. Keep pressing those pedals Matt. Now we make up time. Charlie and I had ridden the course 3 weeks prior. We knew the hills and the roads. We knew there was no reason to brake on the downhills. No sharp turns. Bike did an amazing job of handling the up hills and flying down hill. I was very happy to average 21 mph on the course with good elevation gains on it. The headwind on the way back was not helpful, but I didn’t fight it. No reason to burn a match for a few miles. Make it to dismount line and have to run even farther than before with the bike. We could have ridden the bikes down the path, but that’s not what Ironman planned for. Finally make it back to transition and get the trusty steed racked. Helmet off, bike shoes off. Decide to switch socks. Race belt on. Off we go. People are lined up on both sides seeing runners starting their run. I see Brittney and say hello. Then I see the Rogue crew on the left and give high fives all the way down the line. Time to get this run done! Then a left hand turn down River Rd and “Whoa! It’s warm!” There is few clouds hiding the warm sunshine. My legs are good, but a little tired from the ride. The decision between try and run fast or become “Steady Eddie “ is easily made. Just stay consistent and steady, don’t overcook the heart rate. Let’s get to that finish line! I see Shane Karr just ahead of me. I’m thinking we’re in same age group and I had just beat him in Oregon..by like 3-4 minutes. 3-4 minutes can be easily made up with right motivation in a 70 mile race. I really didn’t want to pass him early on. I had no idea where he started in the swim but if he had it in mind to beat me today…I didn’t want to motivate that early in the run. I was just a touch faster running at that time. I went shoulder to shoulder with him. Asked how he was feeling. He said good but his run has been a “dumpster fire” this year. When I hear athletes say things like that, it usually means they are about to light it up and show good results (Charlie and Marie!). I tell Shane I hope he has a good run and I pull ahead. I’m praying he doesn’t pass me later. Then we hit Cherokee Park. Brittney and I had reconned Cherokee Park the day before. I had a good idea of what awaited us runners. But I still underestimated the hills of Cherokee Park. The hills were steep at times. The hills went up, turned and then went up again. Finally we hit a down hill. I thought we were going down the park now. The hard part was over! One minute later….NOPE!! More hills! Going back up! Wrapping around the elevator shaft that brought the locals to the top of the mountain! (That may be an exaggeration). It was tough. 64 miles into the race and climbing hills, challenging!! There was shade , that helped the temps. But this run course was difficult. I was not the only athlete walking up some of this mess. I did get right back to my running as soon as I could. Cherokee Park is beautiful and gorgeous homes to gawk at, but I was happy to leave it! Back to the road towards downtown and full sunshine again. Long stretch! Lots of ice used in hat, down suit and in my bottle. Just stay cool and hydrated! Mile marker after mile marker down. Just keep running. Make a turn to see Sean Walsh jabbering away on his cellphone. I point at him and say, “that’s alright Sean, I’ve been racing for 6 hours to finally see you and you just talk on the phone!” He’s got that look like “aw man, I gotta get off this phone call”. There’s a quick turn around and Sean tells me I’m almost there. It’s always good seeing Sean’s smile. Then I’m running up 3rd street. I know I’ve got 2 right turns to get to red carpet and my favorite Finish Line ever! I can hear the noise of the crowd. I can feel the energy! I zip up my shirt and take off my hat. I motion to the crowd to get loud! I ask them to get loud! I’m getting high fives! I’m scanning the crowd for friends and family! The smile on my face can’t be beat! Loving those vibes! Then I see my dad waving his arms on my left! My mom and dad drove down just to see me finish. Brittney was with them. I stopped for a second or 2 to high five them and then finished the job! Brittney had another wife of an athlete who said, “well he certainly is fun!” I live for that rock star feeling! I believe the crowd loves it when they have someone to cheer for who shows the appreciation for their effort! I get my medal and finishers hat. I try to calm down as Brittney, mom, and dad find me on the railing. I ask how Charlie is doing. Brittney tells me Charlie and Marie were both kicking ass and closing on me quickly. Charlie finishes almost right behind me. Marie finishes right after Charlie. (Yes, they both had faster times than me, I only finished first because I started the swim earlier). Charlie and I briefly talk with both our families before exiting out into the crowd.
After racing 23 70.3 races (I’m still shocked I’ve done that many) I’ve learned a lot. One main thing is that every 70.3 finish is a good finish. 70 miles by water, wheels and foot is a long way. Throw in the obstacles of warm water, no current help, hills on bike and run courses and Louisville became quite the challenge! Tough course!! My official time of 5:58 made me very proud that I was under 6 hours on such a tough course. I was also proud of all the people I knew who crushed it that day. It’s a wild life to train and prepare for these events. It’s a wild day to finish the event. But it’s so much FUN!!!
I can’t thank Brittney enough for being the Sherpa that she has embraced. It was funny (probably looked bad) checking into hotel with me rolling my bike in and Britt toting 2 suitcases , a small cooler and a book bag. I offered to take something but Britt said she had it. She then knows my day before race needs of bike checking in and staying out of the sun. Early dinner and early to bed. She takes care of hotel check out and helps get gear back to car after the race. Sherpas are saints! I’m lucky my wife helps and supports me!
That’s my report. If I left something out or you have any questions let me know.
September 15th…IRONDAD takes the family to Frankfort, Michigan for one last 70.3 of 2024!
