This Week...

A relatively easy week due to recovery from KC Triathlon last Sunday.

Swim: 2,800 yards / 48:28
Bike: 97.25 / 5:54
Run: 15.42 / 2:03
Weights: 1:10

Total: 114.26 miles / 9:56

Yesterday I took off for my 25 mile bike ride (followed by 30 minutes running).  I realized after a little bit that I left my flat repair kit at home.  I decided to chance it.  I just knew I was jinxing myself.

On my way into Parkville, there is a nice downhill section on Highway 9.  I was moving about 35 miles per hour and the car in front of me slowed to turn into a cafe.  I slowed down and then noticed that another car going the other direction was making the turn in as well.  This was about 40 feet in front of me and I was still moving around 20 miles per hour.  I gripped my brakes.

I still had my carbon fiber deep dish rims on (this was my first ride on my TT bike since KC Tri and I have another race on Wednesday).  With these rims, braking is more difficult because the carbon fiber rims flex under braking pressure.

I yelled "HEEEEEEEEY!" as loud as I could and the driver stopped which gave me JUST enough time/space to swerve in front of his bumper and around in the rough patch on the side of the road.  Wheels locked, knuckles white, adrenaline rushing.  The driver did say "Sorry, partner" as I managed to regain purchase on life as I continued by.

Whew!

The adrenaline stayed with me for the next 20 minutes as I flew down Highway FF/River Road.

Don't think my flat repair kit would have saved me there.

I continued for another 20 miles and returned back to that block of Parkville.  I was now faced with going up that hill that I was previously flying down.  As I was starting to gear down and head up the hill, I heard my chain get cranky and then really cranky.  I looked down and it had snapped.  Luckily I was able to unclip in time to save myself from falling in front of an old lady and her Yappy-McYaperson dog.

There's your problem!

Flat repair kit wouldn't have saved me here.  Fortunately, my phone did.  TKB soon came to my rescue.

I dropped the bike off at the Local Bike Shop (LBS) to have them install a new chain.  I'd be willing to do it myself, but this week I have a ...

Time Trial Race!
I'm returning to Kansas Speedway on Wednesday to do two laps (3 miles) in the Corporate Challenge Bike Race.

I want the LBS to make sure it is installed OK because I didn't want to have chain issues at high torque during the race

I did this race last year and it was a blast.  Now that I am a bit more experienced with Time Trials (I did two so far this year organized by Coach Ken), I think I'll do better.  I will also be using my race wheels, which should help.  Again, the concern is the weather.  The forecast is scattered thunderstorms but very little wind!  Last year it was crazy windy.  I hope that this all adds up to a sub-7 minute three miles.

2014 Kansas City Triathlon Race Report

The weather outlook was looking fabulous, compared to last year.  No thunderstorms on the radar.  The only minor concern was hopping into the car with the thermometer reading 39 degrees.

We arrived at the race site around 5:30.  I purchased the VIP pass this year, so there was no need to arrive this early for the purpose good parking.  The purpose was to get the $200 worth of credit to Ultramax and Elite Cycling.  The post-race grub and other swag was nice for the VIP people tho. Speaking of swag, this race gives you a ton of it VIP or not with 2 race shirts, headphones, hand towel, water bottle, trainer bike blanket, and probably more.  I'd be just fine if they would cut down on the swag to make the race cheaper.  Anyway...

I had my transition area mostly setup by 6:15 after chatting with tons of friends from work, twitter, MTC, and all over.  Quite different than when I did this the first time and really knew no one racing that day.

Transition area.  Getting smaller and less congested.  I promise.

At 6:30 I started to put on my wetsuit.  The temps were chilly but as soon as I did that, I never noticed any chill until after the race.

Once transition closed at 7:00, it was time to head over to the beach.

Erik, the blind, Kevin waiting for the race to start amongst the superhero convention. (Joke credit: TKB)

My wave was set to leave around 7:36.  Since I elected to not warm up in the water, I wasn't exactly sure what was waiting for me.  I swam Wednesday night at the lake, so I knew it was going to be a bit on the cold side but manageable.

Swim - 1,500 meters
I was lined up about 4 rows back.  I felt my swimming had improved enough to earn the right to stand with the bigger boys (but maybe not the BIG boys).  Once the horn blew, the rush to the water began.  I ran until I got about mid-thigh and dove in.  Taking a cue from something I read, I made sure to blow out as my face entered the water to lessen the cold shock to the face and it worked.  I got into a groove pretty quickly and didn't have to fight too much.

The sun was in my face and I struggled a little to site the buoys until the first turn.  I kept people on the left and right, so felt I was OK to stay in my current line.  I was concerned more about my goggles.  They were new but I did about 4 swims with them prior.  They would always leak at some point until I adjusted them into the sweet spot.  I ended up not having any issues at all, so that was comforting.

I focused on my form as we've been learning in masters swim class lately and kept pulling myself through the water.  I felt like I was passing a lot of people in my wave, then wave #2, and then the first wave.

In the final 1/3 of the swim I started thinking through my transition... and then my bike.  I remembered something that I had forgotten.  My bento box.... which had my bike nutrition.  For as well as I plan my packing, I couldn't believe I'd miss something this simple.  In my over preparation, I remember putting Gu and a cliff bar in my transition bag, which is right next to the bike.  I would just grab that on my way out of transition.

Soon my fingertips scrapped the sand and I stood up and started running to the shore (next time I may swim a little further though before getting up).

I'm actually taking off my watch right here.  It's just easier to get the suit off and plenty of time to do so.

Looks like walking, feels like walking. #XterraTrampStamp

Time: 25:55 / 1:44 per 100 meters pace
Age Group: 11 out of 68

I missed my goal by 55 seconds but I'm still happy with that pace.  My form felt great throughout.

Transition - Swim to Bike
This turned out to be way too long for what I would want it to be.  The wetsuit added to it, sure, but dealing with my shoes is not something I want to be doing in the transition area.  The buckles are too complicated to deal with on the bike.  New bike shoes will be in my future... someday.

I need a photo blanket of all my "Poop" race faces.

On Thursday Coach Ken gave tips on mounting your bike out of T1.  He said to practice "driving" your bike from the seat.  Guess I need to heed that advice and didn't realize it...

I elected not to put on the arm warmers that I had laid out.  Turns out to be a smart move.

Time: 3:36

Bike - 40k
Two loops that included some good hills and six 180 degree turns total.  Knowing that, I still hoped for a 22.5 mph average. I saw Coach Ken on the first 180 degree turn.  He gave a little encouragement as in "this is a race, get moving!".  Maybe he didn't appreciated me posing for this photo:

As JoeVI said, the most metal on that bike was my left hand...

I found myself pushing to pass people, which there were a lot of them.  I did get passed by a few people who were absolutely rolling.  With the uphills, I took advantage of the flats as much as possible. In the longest stretch, I hit nearly a 25 mph average over a 5 mile split.  The other splits weren't so fast but kept me close to my goal.

There were a couple scary points where someone wiped out in front of me on the bike near a rough patch around the bridge following a HUGE downhill.  I didn't see him fall, but was just far out enough to avoid him.  Be safe people.

I came into the finish with a flying dismount right at the line.

Time: 1:06:07 / 22.5 mph
Age Group: 5 out of 68

Nailed the goal and happy with the placement within the age group.  I guess my cycling is doing better than I thought it would, at least compared to others in my age group.

Transition - Bike to Run
As I was running my bike to my rack, I heard the dismount line monitor yelling to the race official.  I thought maybe I had gotten a little too close and incurred a penalty!  Eek!

Again, this needs to be faster. I had some issues with my right shoe putting it on.  Probably added an extra 5 - 10 seconds.  Argh.

Time: 1:33

Run - 10k
Let's do this.  This is where I was hoping to shine.  I knew my legs wanted to run but how bad did I beat them up during the bike?

Starting the first or second lap.  #PoopFace

I felt like a sloth coming out of T2 but my watch was registering sub-7 pace going up the hill out of the transition.  One thing I noticed was the temp was starting to rise.  I was not cold at all on the bike, so very happy with my decision to leave the arm sleeves on the ground during T1.

The first loop was relatively quiet in terms of athletes on the course.  A few people passed me and I overtook quite a few.  Couldn't remember the exact number.  On lap two it was full of people, mostly from the sprint race.  It was great because it provided a steady stream of fish to hook and pass.

My pace was feeling good and almost always under 7.  I remember back in 2011 during the Jackson County Triathlon at the same location hoping to hit my last mile as 7 minute pace.  I was hitting all of these under 7. My run fitness has come a long way.

My right foot was bugging me a bit but it was related to the issues I was having with my shoe in transition.  It wasn't bugging me enough to slow me down though.

I turned the corner and was happy to take the route into the finish line this time.  I heard cheers from TKB and pushed it to the end!

Heading towards the finish!  #PoopFace #ChickenWings

Time: 41:41 / 6:44 pace
Age Group: 8 out of 68

Nice!  Beat my goal pace by 1 second per mile pace!

Overall

Love this photo.

For one, no #PoopFace by default.
Second, my stride does not indicate my right foot flailing off to the side.

Time: 2:18:49
Age Group: 6 out of 68
Overall: 32 out of 298

I hit my top 10 finish but also top 10%!  This is also a 21 minute PR!

After talking with MTC Team members for a bit, TKB noticed Kristen was coming down the finish chute!  She was completed her first triathlon today and did an amazing job!  Sounds like she might have caught the bug!  Not too much longer and Erik crossed the finish finishing his first triathlon!  Erik is doing Chicago Triathlon with us.  I suggested he considering doing a local one first before that massive triathlon and within 30 minutes he had registered for KC Tri.  Glad he had a great time out there!

Kevin from work completed his first Olympic distance triathlon today in preparation for Chicago Triathlon.  He had a strong finish today as well!  Looks like we've got a great team for Chicago!

Congrats to all the MTC'ers out there!  I never realized how many of them were out there until I dawned the team jersey too.

A couple notes.

• I did not get a penalty at the dismount line but the fact that they actually had USAT officials on the race course was pretty awesome.  
• I did take a couple Gu gels with me on the bike but apparently when taking one I dropped my second one.  I don't think it hurt me in the end but I would have taken the second one near the end of my bike.  I made sure to drink some extra calories tho.
• My stomach bothered me a little on the run but apparently not enough to remember how bad.
• Post-race had water, oranges, bananas and near-beer.  There was probably an electrolyte drink as well but it was likely in 5 gallon jugs.  Consider the price, they could have had some more options.  We did partake in the Zarda BBQ as part of the VIP "experience" which also had some bagels.
• I better go ahead and post this now so I can go to bed.... GOOD NIGHT!  Thanks for reading!

Proof

Race Prep.  Bento box is by the bike shoes... *sigh*

Just a few of the MTC'ers out there.

You know, hanging out with a World Triathlon Champion Kelly Dippold on my right.  Her son is racing on my Corporate Challenge Triathlon team. #FamilyNameDropped

Hanging out with Erik pre-race.

Hanging out with Erik and Kristen post-race.

Please don't look at Kristen's bib.  I said DON'T look at her bib. 

Chatting with a  bunch of Tri-peeps.

Love Erik's smile!

Does he ever stop smiling?  Not when he is levitating....

Kristen in the red cap on the left stripping for all to see....

KC Triathlon Race Preview

I'm finally returning to the site of my first triathlon... again.  Last year it was cancelled just before the swim start due to storms.  Can't say I was that disappointed because it was snowing a few weeks earlier.  I know, I know... stop complaining about the weather.  I did my ironman with temps starting in the mid-30s.

So my goals?  Top 10 age group for sure.  Top 10% age group even better (assuming less than 100 participants in my age group).  Considering my recent marathon focus, my focus on cycling training hasn't been the priority over the previous four months and I have a feeling it will show compared to the others in my age group.  I'm still going to try to crush it nonetheless.  My run should shine and my swimming should see some major gains this year.  On Sunday I did an Open Water Swim (OWS) with Kevin and Kristen.  While the water was very turbulent, I felt like my stroke was keeping form.  Even at Wednesday's supported OWS (put on by Coach Ken and Midwest Triathlon Coaching), my form felt pretty spot on compared to a pool.  It helped that the water was extremely calm.

Swim: 1:40 / 100 meters : 25 minutes
Bike: 22.5 mph : 1 hour, 7 minutes
Run: 6:45 pace : 42 minutes
Transitions: 3 minutes

Total: 2 hours, 16 minutes

Looking at that, it would put me in a top 5 age group place based on the last time this course was completed (2012).  In 2012, this was one of the first races in the WTC 5150 series, so the competition was much higher.  It's no longer part of that series.  The bike goal may be rather lofty considering my comments above.

While many are complaining about the weather, I'm taking it as a good thing to keep me from overheating.

All that being said, this race will set me up for my "A" race in August, the Chicago Triathlon.  It will be my baseline to improve upon over the next 3 months.  A 2:16 finish would be over a 20 minute PR at this distance.  I'm stoked about the challenge!

KC Corporate Challenge 5k 2014

No rest for the race-y.

We've entered the KC Corporate Challenge "olympics".  While it officially kicked off over a week ago, my first event was on Saturday with the 5k.  This marks my 3rd year participating in the event with my previous results of 22:41 (2012), and 20:28 (2013).  In 2013 the race as moved from Shawnee Mission Park to Ward Parkway.  Ward Parkway may lack the quantity of hills but it makes up in quality.  It has a nice long, extended hill over the first 1.5 miles.

I was on my own for this race (no TKB), so I took off around 6am to arrive around 6:30am to hangout with Bryan (the 5k and half marathon coordinator, as well as a big trail nerd) before the race.

We were trying to get a good group photo but it seemed like every time someone showed up, someone else would leave.  Finally about 7:10am we took one with whoever was there at the time.

Stolen from Bryan's Facebook Page

I wanted to spend a good 15 minutes warming up before getting in the starting corral.  I did some easy running and then strides before officially making my way into the start corral.

I lined up about 5 feet into the start corral of the 1st wave where I found Damien, who I worked for a few years ago.  I worked for him when I started picking up this running thing back in 2011.

This year was the first year they did corrals and they moved the first corral up about 100 feet before releasing us but, once they did, it was on!

1st Mile
I lost Damien in the mass of people in front of me pretty quickly.  He's always been faster than me and I didn't want to get swept up with his pace.  While I didn't have a goal for this race (not even set a PR), I figured I'd see how close I could get to 19:00, which required a 6:06 pace.  My first mile was 6:09, so a bit off.  The hill started to really pick up near the end, unfortunately, my pace did  not.

2nd Mile
I could see another DST'er in front of me, Scott (good name).  Once again, another guy who is faster than me but I decided to stay not too far from him.  Around 1.5 miles we turned around and started enjoying the downhill portion of that stupid hill.  Damage was done though: 6:26.  Sub-19 is out of hand unless I really kick it down this hill.  Unfortunately, I was breathing so loud I couldn't think.

3rd Mile
Thunk, thunk, thunk... go the feet.  Long strides, Scott, long strides!  It really didn't matter that we were going down hill, everything hurt.  Pretty soon I felt someone passing me and it was another company runner, Jeremy.  I would definitely consider him the fastest of everyone from my company, so was feeling somewhat good that he had just now passed me!  He's one of our track stars and has an amazing kick to bring him to the finish.  My kick isn't as amazing but I did go under 6 minutes for this mile, 5:59 (just barely, but I did!).

.1 miles
Please... let this be over!

Finish!
19:20 --- new 5k Personal Record (by 1 second)!!

Jeremy (18:59) and Scott (19:02) did fabulous.  Jeremy must have snuck in at the last moment.  I actually came in before Damien (19:59) but he's been fighting an Achilles injury for a few months.  He would have blown me out of the water normally, even with my 68 second improvement over last year.  Of course everyone did amazing on Saturday with our 25+ participants!

Overall: 60
Age Group/Division: 6th... nabbed a few extra points for the team!

The Proof

More Team DST peeps.  Scott is in the middle (blue shirt) and Jeremy is on the other guy in a blue shirt.
Bryan is in the blue stocking cap.

I stole this off of Scott's FB page.  I must have been warming up at this point.

Weekly Training Update

Training is back into full swing after the marathon.  This means triathlon training!

Swim: 5,808 yards / 3 hours

Bike: 90 miles / 5 hours, 30 minutes

Run: 22 miles / 2 hours, 43 minutes

Strength: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Total: 116 miles / 12 hours, 44 minutes

Cycling miles are way up and that is awesome!  While 30+ miles were on the trainer, I was able to enjoy some beautiful weather outside.  I finally got back to my Masters Swim class this week (I had been away for about 2 months due to work obligations and then tapering for Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon).

I'm also spending more time in the weight room... finally!

Latest Tests

This week I tested out two changes to my triathlon setup:

1. Going sockless on the run
2. Attaching shoes to the bike and putting my feet in them as I start my ride.

Both of which are known to improve transition times.  So far going sockless has been a success with my new Mizuno Sayonara shoes.  I put some baby powder in them to aid in comfort and smell, although starting my run smelling like a baby's butt isn't that appealing!  I have done two runs immediately after cycling to try them out and I also went san-socks at the Corporate Challenge 5k event (write-up coming tomorrow).  I've done miles of 2.1 miles, 3.1 miles (race), 4.1 miles (not sure what's up with the .1 consistency) and so far no issues.

The cycling change may not make it to races yet.  My cycling shoes have two velcro straps and a strap that sort of buckles in.  It seems to take too long to get my feet in them while riding at a few MPH.  So I may leave that change until I get true triathlon cycling shoes that have less straps.

Upcoming Week

Should be a good week.  I'm headed back to the Downtown Airport on Tuesday to participate in MTC's 3 lap time trial.  On Wednesday, I'm doing a triathlon/duathlon tryout for my KC Corporate Challenge Triathlon/Duathlon team!  I think it's going to be awesome!

Speaking of which... I better get my race wheels installed.... 

Something New

I'd like to formally welcome my wife to the blog-o-sphere (technically we had a blog many years ago, but it sort of went defunct once twitter/facebook grew and it stopped working... I wrote the software for it).  

Please visit Friday Pies and follow her journey to feed my triathlon training and racing... ha!

Final Thoughts on Qualifying for Boston

I'm still smiling!

I will admit that I'm being pretty nonchalant about stating I'm headed to Boston when, in fact, there is still a possibility that it isn't good enough.

As I mentioned in my Race Preview, Boston does a "rolling" registration.  The first day they allow people to register who qualified by more than 20 minutes.  The second day is open for people who qualified by more than 10 minutes.  The third day is open for people who qualified by more than 5 minutes.  Then they will open it up for everyone. For this round, they will take the fastest runners up to the people they fill the open slots. They may fill up the spots will people who are faster than me!

For the 2013 Boston marathon, I would have needed to run a 3:08:45 and for 2014, I would need to run a 3:08:21 to be accepted into the marathon. I beat both of those times but 3:08:13 isn't exactly a huge cushion.  Obviously, 2014 saw a huge uptick in registrations but they also accepted 9,000 more runners.  I don't anticipate that increased number of registration for 2015 but I don't expect them to keep those additional 9,000 slots.  Should I run another marathon to get a better time?  Maybe, but I'm sticking with it for now.

So given that disclaimer, I'm still going to say "I'm headed to Boston" but I'm not making hotel reservations or purchasing plane tickets until the end of September when the registration process is over.

Other Stuff
I appreciate all the "love" I've gotten since Saturday via Twitter, Facebook, Phone, Text, etc.  I even had a guy from work, who I might talk with a couple times a year, mention something to me.  Not even sure how he knew!

I got this text from my Sister-in-law Rebecca yesterday too:

Today's Rebecca's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Join the party!!

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon Race Report

Race Week

It was a short week for me at work as I took Wednesday and Thursday off (Friday was a holiday).  We were traveling out to Louisville mid-afternoon on Wednesday.  After taking TKB to work in the morning, I got in a short bike ride despite the super windy day.

I honored my travel destination race nutrition plan used for Beach2Battleship 140.6.  This race wasn't an ironman, but I kept with the plan of boiling a pot of rotini and shredding a smoked chicken from the store.  I also bought some carrots and snow peas for... well, keeping the bad eating habits away. I would eat a couple servings as a snack each day leading up to race day.  I also packed liters of bottled water and gatorade to drink that week, too.

Nom nom nom

We drove from KC to Louisville in one day and arrived at our hotel around 11:30pm.

Thursday we found a delicious place to eat breakfast, Wild Eggs, and then we drove the course.  A few sections of the course were on one way streets or closed to cars, so I couldn't evaluate those, but I was more concerned about big elevation changes than anything else.  We finally got to about mile 11 where the entrance to Iroquois Park waited.  That was the hill I referenced in my Race Preview.  I was happy to see that it wasn't as bad as I had thought.  I noted that at the top of the hill was a stop sign, so I knew that as soon as I hit that, I could enjoy some downhill.

Entering Iroquois Park.. this is the race course.

A view from Iroquois Park from our hotel.  It's that mountain looking thing in the distance!

There was another hill near the end that was going to be deceivingly tough as it was at mile 23.

As it turns out, I was using a course map from the website which was actually last years.  They had adjusted the course this year so that hill at the end was shortened and not as bad as I had seen driving.

After the drive, we went back to the hotel and napped for a bit.  Packet pickup opened at 4pm, so we went there next.  Once I got in line, I noticed that the person in the front was wearing a very familiar blue track jacket.  Sure enough, it was from last year's Hospital Hill Run!  We chatted a little bit before heading our different ways.

TKB's parents arrived while we were at Packet Pickup.  We met up with them, then took off for dinner at Guaca Mole -- also delicious!

Friday morning I got up and did a quick shake out run.  I ran about a mile on the course.  Though our hotel was about 4 miles from the start, the course ran within a few blocks of it.

We elected for a riverboat sightseeing tour as our first touristy endeavor for the day.  This was perfect as it allowed me to sit for a couple hours.    Our next stop was the Louisville Slugger factory, where we were able to see bats being made for major league baseball players.  It was very cool (and a short walking tour)!

Found something taller than me.

After the tour, we went back to the hotel where Karen, a friend that we have gotten to know through Heather and Shane, was arriving to cheer me on and hang out for the weekend.  For dinner, we hit up Cafe Lou Lou for some traditional pre-race pasta partaking.  I had a linguine carbonara and a Bourbon Barrel Stout (you know, to help with the nerves).

Taking a cue from Vicki, my ironman partner-in-crime, and enjoying a beer the night before a race.

I bought 12 of these to drink back in KC.  So good.

I was starting to drift into my own thoughts during dinner.  I still didn't have my pacing figured out for the first few miles.  I knew I wanted to go out slow but not too slow.  How long would I run before I start to race?

I decide to stay between 7:20 and 7:30 for the first few miles and then 7:05 - 7:10 until I caught the 3:10 pace group.  I would stay with the 3:10 pace group through Iroquois Park (to pace me through the hills) and then the race to Boston would be on!

I hit the bed once we got back while Karen and TKB went up to Mike and Susan's room to play games.

I normally take a melatonin to help me sleep because my heart was pumping inside my throat!  I knew what was at stake the next day.  It's been a long time that I've had a goal like this on the line.  Sure, I was nervous the night before my first half ironman and my ironman.  This was still different.  I was shooting for a specific time, not to just finish.  Chicago Marathon was close but I knew I didn't have the training down to truly qualify.  The pressure wasn't there.  So as my heart was pumping, I was concerned it was chewing through all my carb loading!  But, alas, I had forgotten to bring the melatonin sleep aid with me!  Eventually the wave of sleep overtook me and I slept... for about an hour.  1:30am... then 4am... then 4:30am... then finally 5:45am

Race Day
Shower, dress, then out the door at 6:30am.  I had one banana as soon as I woke up then a second before leaving.  My concern was eating too soon and then feeling starved immediately before or during the race.  That is truly an uncomfortable feeling, not just for the stomach but for the psyche.  It makes you think you've hit "the wall" before you even get started.  So I left my bagel and PB for the 4 mile drive to the start line.  We (Karen, TKB, me) stopped at Starbucks for my ceremonial and traditional, if not superstitious, frothy milk caffeinated hot beverage.

We had left the hotel room an hour before the race start.  I knew getting to the start line wasn't going to be that big of a deal but I didn't know about parking nor what the port-a-potty situation was going to be like.  Supposedly around 18,000 participants were there between the full and half marathon (i.e., miniMarathon).

Naturally, we got caught at a train crossing.  No big deal.  Once we got on the interstate, I saw a huge line of cars near the exit we needed, so I took an earlier exit and followed other cars to the start.  We ended up pulling over into a business drive a few blocks from the start line where I got out.

Off to the races!!

After saying our parting words, I started walking with a few ladies talking about the race and the beautiful weather when I realized I didn't have my sunglasses!  Fortunately, TKB wasn't far behind and I motioned to my glasses and she had my sunglasses ready for me as they drove by.  I love my support crew!

Walking around the start area of beautiful downtown Louisville.  Note the helicopter in the air.

Within a couple blocks I found the port-a-potties and a short line.

I'm not going to get into it, but I felt like I needed a second port-a-potty stop almost immediately so I snuck into a second one to make sure I was in good shape.

I started walking up stream to get to corral "B".  I found the very front of corral "B"... or was it corral "C"? I skipped into the next corral anyway.  After a few moments I heard Karen and TKB yell my name! They managed to park and find me in the corral.  We chatted for a bit but soon it was time to get ready for the countdown.

Start
Once we got started, I made sure to keep track of my gun time start.  It took me 45 seconds to cross the start line.

Miles 1 - 3:

Love this photo as I started the race.  Thanks TKB!

It was pretty packed and I did feel like it was taking some energy to get an open lane.  I eventually made it to the sidewalk and ran there for a while behind some others.  Doing this isn't smart because you sometimes have to dodge spectators (which there weren't many at this point in the race) and the sidewalk may not be in as good shape.  Either way, it worked to get me in an opening without killing too much energy.

Mile 1: 7:44 - Slower than I wanted but at least it wasn't faster!  It's a long race.  I'm going to get that time back.

Mile 2: 7:10 - There were some turns here and I was cutting them whenever I could.  Seconds may matter so I'm taking them whenever I can.  This was faster than I planned but it's the pace I wanted to run for the first half.  I just caught up the time I lost in mile 1.  Let's not speed too much faster.

Mile 3: 7:06 - Alright.  Let's settle into a pace.  A couple more turns, a couple more corners cut.

All systems were in check.  I'm enjoying this day.

Miles 4 - 6:
My mile splits were clicking off after the mile markers.  This could be due to my excellent route running, inaccurate Garmin tracking, or poor mile marking.  I should have setup manual lap marking on my watch but was concerned I would miss a mile marker.

Mile 4: 7:05
Mile 5: 7:02
Mile 6: 7:07

Still feeling great.  I took in a gel around mile 4 to 5.  Course support was great during these stretches as we were going through residential and a few blocks from the University of Louisville.

Mile 7 - 10:
This section included Churchill Downs.  If I find the opportunity to hop on a race horse, I just might do that!

Mile 7: 6:58 - A bit too fast.

Mile 8: 7:10 - Churchill Downs is in sight and so is the 3:10 pace group!  I'm hitting my plan!

Mile 9: 7:02 - Running through Churchill Downs was pretty cool.  Unfortunately I didn't take it in as much as I could.  The first "hills" were here as you enter a tunnel under the track.  Nothing major.

I caught up with the pace group and tucked myself in behind the leader.  Being in a group, I have a tendency to be a bit chatty.  There was a guy chatting with the pace group leader nearly the entire time and I held back joining the conversation.  It's all about conserving energy.  Yes, I held back high five-ing every spectator too.

Mile 10: 7:15 - Slower, as this was the pace for the 3:10 group.  I was fine with that.

Mile 11 - Mile 14:
This is the Iroquois Park section of the course.

Mile 11: 7:03 - We hadn't quite entered the park and I was still with the 3:10 group.  I think this was faster because the mile 10 was slower than the pace group leader had planned.

Mile 12: 7:24 - We've gone up the hill and I've only lost 14 seconds on my pace.  The pace group leader said he was planning to go even splits through the park.  Apparently not because at this point I was actually in front of the pack.

Mile 13: 7:08 - I was working to get back those 14 seconds on the downhill sections.  The park was very pretty, even at this early point in the spring.  The guy that was being chatty with the pace group leader earlier was with me at this point (not chatting, but running).  Our paces were pretty much in sync.  We had pulled ahead of the 3:10 pace group.

Mile 14: 7:10 - Still pushing along through the smaller hills of the park but not that bad.

Mile 15 - 17:
We've exited the park at this point and heading back towards the city!

Mile 15: 7:08 - I saw Mike and Susan as I exited the park.  It was awesome recognizing people on the course and very energizing!

Mile 16: 6:54 Pace - it was at this point in the race that my watch was clocking off the mile splits about .15 miles after the race mile markers, so I hit the lap button manually when I crossed mile 16, which was 6:20 into the mile.  I was running a 6:54 pace.  This level-set it with the race markers.

Mile 17: 7:04 - Running through some familiar streets as this was where I did my shake-out run on Friday.

I kept switching places with that other gentleman through this section.  It was good motivation when he was pulling ahead.

Mile 18 - 20:
It was about this time that the legs were starting to get cranky.  But at this point in Chicago my legs had already given out on me.  In Chicago my calves were screaming at me and then I got a bad cramp in my hamstring.  Comparatively, the fact that I was just starting to get sore in this section was great!  Granted, I would prefer it to have started about 6 miles later!

Mile 18: 7:03 - The marathon route met back up the half marathoners here, and one of my biggest concerns was settled - they had barricades in between the full and half.  Thanks to folks on twitter for helping figure this out in advance too!  It was awesome hearing encouragement from the half participants.

Mile 19: 7:02 - Pace is still swift and I'm still mentally in charge.

Mile 20: 7:08 - Wall?  What freaking wall?!

The screen I had on my watch only contained "in the moment" information.  Meaning, I didn't have Total Time or Total Mileage on the screen.  It was current lap time, current lap pace, current lap distance, and previous lap time.  There were times when I couldn't remember if I was running mile 19 or mile 20.  I didn't care.  It was all about how I was doing right now and, right now, I'm doing great!

I elected not to have heart rate on my main screen but I did peek a couple times and it was always in check.

Mile 21 - 23:
The marathon route departed from the half marathoners at this point, and it suddenly got very quiet.  The other gentlemen and I are still swapping positions.  We are starting to hit the final hills.

Mile 21: 7:07 - Still on pace with 5 miles to go!  It was at this point that I started doing calculations in my head.  It was aided by having a race clock at the mile marker.  It was around 2:30, which meant that if I stayed under 7:30's the rest of the way, Boston was mine!

Mile 22: 7:15 - Pace is slowing with the hill but I'm still on target!

Mile 23: 7:30 - Legs are angry... very angry.

My legs were starting to loosen up, but not in a good way.  I had to focus on my feet landing each step. My ankles were feeling loose and I became concerned I would land poorly and screw up my race.  The calves were starting to get sore, too, but the calf sleeves kept them from flying off.  I simply kept picking people off ahead of me to defer concentration away from my legs.

Miles 24 - 26:

Mile 24: 7:14 - Happy to see my pace pick back up, but it was due to a downhill.  I'm still on target.  I did have a concern because the mile marker for mile 24 was off by a block.  Had I manually marked the miles on my watch, I would have been extremely disappointed with Mile 24.

Mile 25: 7:34 - The mile markers got back on track as it clicked off as I passed the mile 25 marker sign.  Now I'm back in the heart of the city!!

Mile 26: 7:46 - I didn't see this split on my watch.  I didn't care.  I was almost there!!!

Making the second to last turn allowed me to see the building near where the finish line waited.  I was kicking up the pace.

Mile 26.2: I was booking again.  I felt like I was sprinting with ease and it felt great.  I made the final turn, and running the last 100 yards I could see the time clock and it was showing just over 3:08.  I knew I had this!!!

Finish
It was over and I had made it!  I checked my watch and it read 3:08:13!  Boston... here I come!

I'm going with running a great route, not that the course was short!

Time: 3:08:13 / 7:10 Pace
Age Group: 8 out of 174
Overall: 54 out of 2,029

Post-Race
After grabbing a couple bananas, PowerAde, and a few bottles of chocolate milk, I met up with TKB and Karen.  Then the onslaught of text messages, Facebook posts, twitter tweets, and phone calls...  it was an awesome feeling to have all of that support!

We walked around the post-race area to find my official time.  One way to get it was to get your medal engraved, which I had planned to do anyway.  Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one with that idea, and it took about 30+ minutes to do it.  I just kept walking around and stretching while waiting.  I was actually keeping my eye out for that gentleman that I was running with for most of the second half of the race to thank him for helping me push through.  I had lost him in the final hills as he fell off the pace. Once the engraving was done, it confirmed my time at 3:08:13!

Afterward, we did some post-race celebrating by heading out to the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery!

Tiny cups, big taste

Overall
It was a perfect day for running.  The weather could not have been much better!  Race support was great.  Obviously I'm happy with my performance.  Could I have managed my race better and improved my time?  Probably, but I'm loving the 21 minute PR and a trip to Boston!

Louisville is a great town and this is a great course.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a destination race.

Thanks again to Karen, Mike, and Susan for coming out for the weekend!  Thanks to Coach Ken for training me up to this level!

Endless thanks to TKB for being the support person I need at my side at all times -- especially during the 26.2 miles.

Proof

These signs were all over, as you can imagine.

Found in the lobby of our hotel.  Maybe I'll be on the bike next year!

TKB giving me a hug post-race... but not my funk..

In the "Runner's Reunite" area.

Outside the Buffalo Trace Bourbon distillery.