Epilogue

It's now been two weeks since the race. There has been much rehashing in many blogs regarding race day. One said that the DNF rate was 14%, twice as high as in 2011.of the Kansas City folks that I knew, about half did not finish the race: Todd had severe cramping, that started during the swim and forced him out early on the bike course. Julie stopped at 106 on the bike course. Amy ended her race eight miles into the run. Brad had two flats, one being due to sabotage, which ended his Kona attempt. Casey, while he still finished ended up walking about half of the marathon, which is something he's never done in three previous Ironman races.

There were also discussions about the heat and the headwinds on the bike segment. I personally thought the heat was not bad. We had trained in such intense heat this summer that while it was still in the 90's, it felt manageable. However, the heat did play a factor in my nutrition issues. I didn't notice the headwind, either. Maybe if I had been feeling a little better, it more mundane things would have bothered me more. LOL.

There is also speculation that the swim course was a little long. Most athletes said their times were 3-4 minutes slower than typical and/or last year's race. If that was the case, perhaps after I subtract my "dock time" and my "canoe time," my swim might have broken 1:40! Awesome!

Lastly, rumor has it that there is a feud between the residents and a local bike club, which led to course sabotage. The bike club members allegedly rides in big groups that completely block the lanes and would urinate and throw trash in the residents' yards. Therefore, this year and in past years, there is section of the bike course where tacks were thrown in the road. I luckily, did not flat, but I did see a lot of other changing tires. How unfortunate! I can understand why the townsfolks would be angry, if that was really the case, but throwing tacks out on race day seems to be punishing the wrong people. That race brings in a lot of revenue to Louisville for three days.  I would guess that the majority of the people racing are from out of town and blameless in those offenses.

Regardless, of the chatter, my day was unsuccessful because I didn't execute my nutrition well. The End. I can't blame anything or anyone else. Will I do another Ironman? Right now, that is TBD. In spite of my DNF on this race, it somehow does not diminish the work I did. Even though I didn't cover those last 12 miles, I still experienced 2/3 and a half of an Ironman. :-) It has been an incredible and valuable a journey that I do not regret taking. Do I still feel the strong urge to BE an Ironman? Not so much.

But, I probably will try again...sometime. :-)