Tag: ironmanlouisville

Patient Aggression: Reflection on the Year of the Plow Horse

3

Little did I know a year ago, when I dubbed 2014 the “Year of the Plow Horse,” how much I would come to depend on the characteristics of the reliable ol’ plow horse to make it through some of the more challenging races I’ve done. The plow horse is a strong, sturdy animal. She has a lot of work to do, but she can’t rush through it and burn out. No! The plow horse must be patient as she pursues the goals for the day, the week, the month, the year. The plow horse has been uniquely bred with the intention to balance both speed and muscle, …

Last Chances and Lost Causes: 2014 Ironman Louisville

49

*Note: This is a race report about my experience with IMLou in 2014. If you are looking for a course overview of Ironman Louisville, please click here. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* In the 24 hours after I finished Ironman Coeur d’Alene, narrowly missing a Kona slot by 90 seconds, I hastily decided that I was swearing off Ironman for at least a year. I didn’t want to take the sting of another defeat if it didn’t work out. Again. Again. Again. Three near misses were starting to shake my confidence. And, sitting through three sets of slot allocations was pure torture, feeling like my heart was being torn …

Ironman Louisville Course Overview & Tips for Racing It

20

I raced Ironman Louisville in 2013 and 2014, when the race was held in August. What follows is my detailed overview of the course and conditions. Please note, however, that since the race date will be October for 2015, my notes about the heat may or may not be relevant. (If you would like to read the race reports about my experience racing IMLou, please click here for the 2013 IMLou report, or here for the 2014 IMLou report, when I qualified for Kona for the first time.) Overall: I like this race and the city a lot – plenty …

The Mission: Ironman Louisville Race Report

35

(Note: This Ironman Louisville race report is about my experience at the race. If you are looking for a course overview that discusses the logistics of the race, the swim course, the bike course and the run course, please click here.) *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” ~Muhammad Ali Ironman Louisville was a mission. I signed up for the race with the idea that my mission was to nab a Kona slot for 2013. It was my hail mary pass for the golden ticket to paradise. But, IMLou wound up …

What’s Next? The Hail Mary Pass, Of Course

20

So, what’s next? After my close call with a Kona qualifying slot at Ironman Lake Placid (race report here), I’ve asked myself this question quite a bit, as have my family and friends. I didn’t make any plans for races after Lake Placid. I poured every ounce of mental energy I had into that race, so when I came up short, I had no idea what the answer would be to this question. The day of the roll down at IMLP, our friend Eric texted John to find out if I nabbed a slot. When he got the news, he …