I just got back from IronMan Louisville. The race was phenomenal: 2100 athletes trying to cover 140.6 miles of swimming, biking and running in one day. The city of Louisville came out to cheer us on, and there were literally thousands of spectators lining up almost the entire course.

My main goal was to cross the finish line after collapsing while attempting this distance at the end of 2005, at IronMan Florida. This time I paced myself better, and was able to turn out a pretty good marathon, but most importantly, I feel confident in my abilities to push the envelope at an IronMan now that I have conquered the distance.

Attached is a photo of the finish line. As I crossed, Mike Reilley, the Voice of IronMan, said on the P.A. : "Felipe Bastos, you are an IronMan" ( as he did to 2099 other people). In almost 12 years in this sport, there is no feeling like it. I have won races from sprint to Half Ironman distance, and none of them compare to the feeling of finishing the gruesome event that is an IronMan.


I crossed the line in 10 hours and 15 minutes ( 20th amongst the professionals), after having forgotten my socks in the transition area and running a marathon sockless. I have no feet to speak of right now, so most of my running this week will be in the pool. I am planning on racing Ironman Florida on the first weekend in November. Both my coach and I were pleased with how this event turned out, and even more so with how my promising future in the IronMan distance.

Ciao,

Felipe<br><br>Post edited by: admin, at: 2007/08/28 21:46