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Before I get into the pre-race and actual race report I want folks to know I dedicated this race to the Kontoyianis Family. I grew up with them as a kid and used to hang out at their home during several of my hockey years as a young teen and into my late teens. Their husband and Dad Socrates passed away on August 28th 2009.
A photo of him and his wife Dorothy attached. Their son John and I were born on the same day in 1960 on Feb 5th. Mr. K drove us to many a hockey practice and game and the entire family opened their home up to me growing up and I will be forever grateful for their love and support to me as a teen when as you all know is not the easiest time to deal with us kids....Anyway I know him and the late Bill Belcher are having one heckuva Cribbage match in heaven right now. Much love and prayers to all of the Kontoyianis Family from all of the Browns..This was a very special week and weekend for 2 reasons. One that my brother Rich flew out and was with us to share the experience which was awesome. He was a great IronSherpa for Keith and I and he was a very calming influence on both of us as he being a marathoner understands the mindset a racer goes through before the day arrives. The second was our friends from Germany hung out with us for several days before and after the race Swen Sundberg and his bike mechanic Bodo. We had allot of fun together enjoying Louisville and preparing for the race. There is an brotherhood that forms just from being in the "Ironman" Family and that was the case with all of us together. I also have to say that Swen is the most humble and giving Pro I have ever met. Like we told them, Swen, Bodo and Swen's wife Verena are family now and that lasts a lifetime to me whether we see eachother allot or a little. It just is...
As far as Bodo not only did he support Swen for his Stork he shared Bodo with us for the week and he fine tuned our bikes and I am happy to say that I had my fastest ever Bike Split at 6:40 which is 17 minutes faster than all previous Ironmans I have done. Keith had a flat on his bike split not due to Bodo but due to someone trying to sabotage the riders by dropping Nail Tacks in the road. I know that is not cool but it happens sometimes.....
Here is the race report for me.....
Swim.....Dirty water in that Ohio River......strange start as we jumped off two docks 4 at a time. My understanding is it took 40 minutes to get everyone into the water...oh and did I mention NO WETSUITS were allowed cause the water was 81 degrees. I have never swam 2.4 miles without a wetsuit in open water and it was tough but we both got it done. The other interesting part of this swim for me was I get the crap kicked out of me all during the race. Normally the beating stops after 5-15 minutes tops but this went on for almost the entire swim....I think Keith felt the same
Bike......Awesome day for me as I had my fastest Bike Split and averaged a solid 17.8 mph for the last 55 miles so I am very pleased....As I came into transition I heard the announcer state that Swen Sundberg had just crossed the finish line in 4th place with a time of 8:43:36 which qualified him for a slot for Kona! That pumped me up and I was psyched for him! There is no other Pro Triathlete that deserves it more than him. Earlier in the year Swen was going to compete in Malaysia for his slot but got very ill and was on an IV and in the hospital for 7 weeks and he came back and took a 4th Place finish less than 4 months! He is amazing and Nutz!
Run....started great but by the time I hit 10 miles I could feel the energy leaving my entire body and by mile 16 I was in a meltdown and had to walk the rest of the course and struggled just to get the last 2 miles in and to be honest the last mile I was wondering if I was going to make it. Thanks to John Nelson whom I met at mile 16 and he walked with me and I with him to encourage eachother along the way. It was his first and he was a great support and a really nice guy. He's from Springfield Illinois and his wife will be doing a Biathlon in a few weeks. You get to meet cool people along the journey and he was one of them.
The next day I was invited to the Ironman VIP Awards with Swen to sit with the Pros and watch him get his just due as one of the Top 5 to get into Hawaii. All of these folks are unbelievable athletes and are the most dedicated people I have met. It was an honor to sit with them and share a meal and some conversation. Keith & I are planning to go to Hawaii to cheer on our coach for this journey Joe Turcotte and now we can add Swen, Faris and Raynard to that list.
Thanks for reading and know that in two weeks the last one of our 6 Ironman Journey for 6 Charities will be upon us on Sept 13th 2009 in Madison Wisconsin....
Thanks to to my IM Partner in this venture Keith. He is my brother in this amazing crazy Nutz out of our mind adventure and we have supported eachother well along the way. We are pretty sure this all 6 WTC Ironmans on North America in one year has never been done so one more to go and we will have created a tiny piece of history ......oh and Keith added IM Canada too so in reality this was his 6th and in 2 weeks will be #7 for him!
Thanks for all your support
Kevin :)
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