Thursday, December 28, 2017

2017 Year in Review




2017 Year in Review

The members of our Louisville, KY Moms Run This Town/She Runs This Town would like to share our 2017 Year in Review video with you! Click below to see a glimpse of the fun we had this year.  It was amazing to watch so many ladies crush their running and fitness goals this year. 



If this year is any indication, 2018 should be EPIC.


Are you ready to be supported and motivated in your running journey?  Whether you are new to running or a seasoned runner, we are here to support you in your goals.  

Join the largest running group for women in Louisville - it is FREE! Start now by clicking here and answering a few short questions. The rest is herstory.

Friday, December 1, 2017

Louisville Ironman - Race Report by Abbi A.

Some of the worst decisions make the best stories.
My Ironman day recap.

Thanks to everyone who helped me get this far, my family, colleagues at work, training partners, Facebook friends, my Ironman go–to buddies (Jennifer & Jessica), and especially to Glenn and my boys, who gave up their time to help me.

I had calculated my “best” and “worst” possibilities for a finish many times, taking into consideration the bike accident and loss of the past 5 weeks of training. I knew, prior to the accident, I could do a 1:20-1:30 swim. I knew I was going to be close to the bike cutoff, I’m just not a strong biker. I was determined to make the run a breeze!

Murray and I walked down to the swim start together. He had been staying with me and was amazingly helpful keeping my nerves in check. Saying good luck to him and see you later, I set myself in the 1:20-1:30 swim group, hoping for the best with my torn up shoulder. There wasn’t much time to be nervous they had us run to the end of the dock and jump, no waiting. I had a little pain at first, but then got into a good swim stride and only noticed issues occasionally. At the turn around, I felt I was in a good position to get my time, so I took some time to reflect while swimming under the bridges. I figured how often am I going to be swimming out here? Only for Ironman. I’m glad I took some time and didn’t miss out on my swim experience. I really enjoyed the swim, but not the choppy water. I ended up with a 1:31 on my swim. I came in to have my wetsuit stripped by Glenn. There were lots of volunteers cheering for me also. Glenn spent a few moments checking how I was feeling, then sent me off to the bike course.



My transition went well, changing out of my swimsuit and getting everything on for the long ride ahead. I had a great volunteer who had to help me. I made a list of all the things I needed to make sure I didn’t forget anything. She patiently read the list twice for me. My kids wrote me little notes to encourage me (awe). I carried them with me in my jersey pocket. Once I was all done and loaded up, I went to grab Dusty. She was the only bike left in my whole row in transition that was just sad.

We went out the first 10 miles strong, but not too hard. The wind was to my back and we flew. I wanted to make up some mph early with the bonus wind, since when I came back I knew it was going to get ugly if it didn’t calm down. I kept in mind this was the beginning of the longest ride I’ve ever done, so didn’t push too hard.



We hit the loop at about mile 20. Up until now, we were doing great and keeping about an 18-20 mph average. The hills are steep the first 8-10 miles of the loop. I really like them though because you can get a lot of speed going down. I was passed a bunch on the first loop by some of the fast riders who were on their second loop. When we made the turn toward LaGrange, I had lots of mixed emotions. I was getting ready to see the spot I was hit for the first time since that day.  However, once we hit LaGrange, the crowds were so loud, I didn’t even see the intersection where it happened.

We rode around the loop, up and down and up and down... repeat 800 million times. Then we turned onto 42, which took us back to the start of the loop (miles 44-55), and the wind hit head on. Ron tells me there were 45 mph gusts and I would have to agree. It started to rain a bit, but just lightly and not for long. I was thrilled when a fast dude passed me and said, “This wind is brutal!” I knew then it wasn’t my lack of experience that made riding in the wind awful, but it was truly awful for everyone.



When we got to the bike special needs stop, mile 60, I had a little break down. I was happy to see Glenn, but knew I couldn’t spend much time with him. The first thing I said was “I HATE THIS!” and “Don’t every let me do this again!” I saw Alicia too, who gave me some salt and a hug. As I was leaving, I ran into Shay. He jinxed me and commented that it’s lucky we only got a little bit of rain, it could have been worse. Oh Shay...

I took off feeling a little refreshed and determined to get this done under the cut off. We’re given 10:20:00 to finish the swim and bike. My first loop I slowed to a crawl of about 12.5 mph, dumb wind. The wind didn’t calm for the second loop. When I got back to hwy 42 (at mile79), I had the best surprise, one of the “moms run this town” who lives out there, made me a sign and was out cheering me on. I saw and took a minute and said, gee that’s my name! I was so pumped after that, it was the best!

My elation didn’t last long, soon after the clouds opened up and my own version of hell began. It poured, the temps dropped and the wind was relentless. I think the worst of it lasted about 10 miles. The whole time all that went through my mind was... Why? Did I not have enough challenges in training, now this?? It was bad enough that the cars passing had to use their wipers on med-high, not intermittent. Dusty was a trooper. She plowed through the wet streets with no problem. I knew we didn’t have time to waste, so I gave her all she had with little regard to the wet ground. I did remember what Ron said, no riding on the painted lines and prime your brakes to help the tires dry before trying to stop.

Somehow we made it to river road, the last 8-mile stretch. Everyone around me was super encouraging. We were all freezing, soaked to the bones and exhausted. The volunteer took Dusty from me when we got back I was so excited I told him I could kiss him (I didn’t, I was quite nasty by this point)! When we got to transition, I was so cold my hands shook too hard to even dress myself. The wonderful volunteer took my wet stuff off, put my dry stuff out and patiently, again, read the to-do list. I got another note, this time from Xander and practically cried!

I had always said, get me to the run and I’ll prance, dance and fly to the finish! Well, that’s fine in my head, but in reality, not so much. I spent the first mile eating and walking. I was hungry like never before. My target I set for myself was about a 5-hour marathon. The run course is also two loops. On my first loop I got to see Kristen, Laura & Haley, Tony and a bunch of the Landsharks. Tamarri, Cynthia & Todd, and Ron & Shawn also came out to cheer me on. Then at the half point, Tracy joined me to run me over to the special needs area. There seemed to be quite a few “moms run this town” moms too. With everyone coming out, I felt like a rock star!

I was on target at the half for my 5-hour marathon when Tracy told me that I would get in to the finish about 11:30. I thought then, this is my only IM; I should really enjoy myself more. I slowed down, took more walk breaks and chatted with some other runners. I wanted to soak in the atmosphere and make this memorable. I knew I could get in by the 12:30 cutoff. I felt great, not dehydrated, not tired, but super sore and hungry.

As I approached the finish, I remembered what Jennifer told me; take your time in the shoot, high five everyone and soak it all in. I did just that. Glenn met me at the finish and put my medal on. Coming across the finish was definitely the best part of the whole day, but having Glenn and everyone else out there cheering for me was incredible.