Larry Brown’s 2011 Ironman Louisville Race Report

I was nervous about the swim a week ahead. I had never done a 2.4 mile open water swim ,I had never done an open water swim without a wetsuit and this was my first open water swim of the year (my bad). I did the practice open water swim Saturday and it reduced my anxiety. On Sunday morning I lined up and jumped in the water, after a quarter of a mile, no stress, got lost three times on the swim, I’m like Mr. Magoo without my glasses on (note to self for the thrid time get perscription swim gogogles). The support staff directed me in the right direction and after 2 hours I finally got out of the water. My matra for the water was “stay relaxed, as long as you a breathing everything is alright.” On to the bike, at mile 60 the bottom of my feet were hurting so bad I couldn’t push down on the padels, pulled up for a quater of a mile and was able to recover and continue at my blazing pace. My matra for the bike was, “Don’t chase the rabbit, don’t run from the dog, ride your own pace, race your own race.” After dazzeling the crowd with my 8 hours of cycling, I got off the bike in transition and my feet hurt so bad I couldn’t walk in my cycling shoes, took them off and walked on the sides of my feet to changing tent, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to run, but I was prepared to skip (as in hop from one foot to the other, like kids do) the marathon if I had to. Once I put on my running shoes I was able to run (oms-old man shuffle). I had to shorten my stride and not go up on the balls of my feet, slow and steady, “quiting was not an option.” In mile 16 the pain in my feet came to stay. Lucky I trained to suffer for 11 miles, so 10 miles and some change of suffering was doable. My matra for the run was one step at a time, do not stop moving forward, this pain in my feet is temporary, the pain of failure will last all year until I came back to finish what I started (you don’t fail until you stop trying). Mile 23 and I see some of the people around me just lying down in the street because they have nothing left (you fast guys never see this part of the race) I feel sorry for them because they have come so far and so close, but I don’t stop I keep moving forward (OMS). I am 6 tenths of a mile from the finish when someone tells me I have six minutes left to make it before the cut off. Its been a long day and I can’t do the math in my head, the only thing that popped in my head at that point was sprint. I had my perscription shades on (they are dark), because when I started the run the sun was shinning and it is now almost midnight. “I can’w see without them, and can’t see good with them,” I had to be careful not to trip or step in a hole, but when I turned the last corner and came out of the darkness into the light andI saw the finish gate, I found another gear and started running like I stole the sneakers I was running in. The street was lined with hundreds of cheering people as I sprinted through the first gate (I thought it was the finish line) I did a little premature celebration dance until it was pointed out to me that I had to go through the second gate, so I had to reload and sprint to the real finish line, crossing the line in the dark with my shades on at 16:57:44. The people were cheering like I won, and if you saw my face you would think I won. I can’t describe the feeling I had at hearing the words “Larry Brown you are a IRONMAN,” I felt like a rockstar. It seemed like a dream, but I have the pictures to prove that it really happen, and a medal and a t-shirt and a hat. Thank you to all the people that gave me pointers along the way, gave me encouragement, or just a friendly smile, it kept me coming back each year. Living the dream.