Wow! Can’t believe it’s already been five years since I achieved one of my greatest lifetime goals to hear six words: TAMI KRAUS, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! On October 9, 2016 I swam, biked and ran for over 15 consecutive hours to accomplish my goal. To become an Ironman. To celebrate the five year anniversary of one of my most cherished accomplishments I put together this post to share the day that I spent over years training for. To become an official Ironman.
I spent well over a year training for the Ironman. Hours and hours were spent swimming, biking and running to prepare myself. I entered every race and triathlon I could just to get my mind and body prepared for the grueling distances required to complete the race of my life. An Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile mike and 26.2 (marathon) run back to back to back and be able to complete the legs all within a specific time frame!
24 Hours Before the Ironman
On October 8, 2016 (day before race) I went to The Great Lawn at Waterfront Park (downtown Louisville) to set up my bike, drop off all my race gear and attend a pre-race meeting. The weather forecast looked like it was going to have perfect conditions for the Ironman race the following day. The nerves have kicked in!
Race Day: October 9, 2016
The day started with my alarm going off at 3:45 AM. I remember being relieved the weather was perfect for race day. Partly sunny with a high of 72 and a low of 63 with 3.7 mph wind and 38% humidity. This was the first sign it was going to be a good day!
Race Day: 2.4 MILE SWIM
My mom, sister (who had flown up from TX to support me) and Jenna sat with me in the swim corral waiting for the race to begin super early in the morning. Rick and the rest of the kids were around (just not in the start area). It was a chilly morning but nerves kept me warm. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 AM with a 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River. I believe we were in line by 6AM and at 7:15 the line started moving and the day was about to “officially” begin!
Swim Time: 1:28:11
Race Day: 112 MILE BIKE
I was the most nervous for the bike portion of the Ironman. I was not fast on the bike at all (average 15mph). I knew I had the stamina to go the distance but I didn’t know if I would have the speed. The Louisville Ironman bike course was full of rolling hills that I knew would slow my time. From my calculations it was going to VERY close for me to bike my normal time and finish under the cutoffs. This did not factor in if I had any mechanical bike issues along the way. Thankfully zero bike issues and this leg of the race went according to my race plan which was critical for my emotional state (Ironman is equal parts stamina, mental toughness, preparedness and luck!) Thankfully, I hit all the cutoffs early, kept myself hydrated and ate according to my race plan and got through the 112 miles without a hiccup! Whew!
Bike Time: 7:16:46
Race Day: 26.2 MILE RUN
Getting through the bike was HUGE! The bike took me 7 hours 16 minutes and I came into T2 (Transition 2) on a big high with (a little) time to spare! The run portion of the race was my most confident as long as I had enough gas in the tank. Knowing that I needed “gas” I was regimented on the bike all day to eat and drink on schedule. However, I had a small issue that my shoulder seized after I got off the bike so I spent way too long in T2 getting worked on by a trainer. I wasn’t too worried physically since I didn’t “need” my shoulder to run and my legs felt pretty good BUT the clock was ticking and I still had cutoffs to make on the run.
Run Time: 6:23:03
Race Day: THE FINISH
The ONLY thing I cared about during race day was to FINISH. Which meant to hit all the cutoffs during the individual legs and to complete the entire race under the Ironman Official time frame (16 hours). By mile 8 of 26.2 I had calculated that I would finish in time by walking the rest of the run portion so from mile 8-23 I planned to do that until the end BUT Rick told me I needed to GO at mile 23 to ensure a finish in time so I sucked it up and WENT. Ultimately, turning the corner to 4th Street Live, hitting that red carpet and hearing those six words I had dreamed about hearing for so long. TAMI KRAUS, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN. I did it (and even had 15 minutes to spare)!
Final Race Finish Time: 15:45:16
