Ironman Louisville: Part 2 - My 8 miles and the Fourth Street Live Incident

Cliff swam under this bridge. The finish line was just beyond it.

I had to get an 8-mile run done on Ironman Sunday as part of my half-marathon training...so I decided to head out before sun up to get ahead of the heat and humidity. I planned it so that I would complete my run at the very spot that Cliff would come out of the water...the swim finish. The plan worked pretty good too. I finished with 15 minutes to spare.  My run that day was awesome. I also had the same ZipFizz energy drink as Cliff, but my experience was much different. For me, it did what it claimed to do. I had lots of energy and felt so good after my run I felt like I could have ran the half-marathon that day. Not only did I run 8 miles, but I spent a good portion of the day walking the streets of Louisville going from the swim and bike transition areas back to the hotel, to lunch, back to the hotel, back to the bike finish, to the medic tent, back to the hotel, to dinner and back to the bike transition to retrieve Cliff's stuff.

 

The next day was low key, mostly a rest day for Cliff. For me, it was a cross training day. I rode a stationary bike in the gym for 11 miles. Cliff was feeling better so we decided to get out and see some of the sights. I wanted to drive the bike route because I already knew from last year how pretty it was. So, we did. And it was just as pretty as I remember.

 

A couple of the sights along the bike route......

 

 

 

Other things to mention are that we celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary and his 58th birthday (which is on the same day), while in Louisville. We had our anniversary dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Cliff was carbing up.

Ri Ra's Irish Pub - Fourth Street Live

Oh wait, listen to this. Monday night, we were having dinner outside at Ri Ra's Irish Pub in the Fourth Street Live section when a man whom we figured was homeless approached Cliff and asked him if he would buy him a burger. Cliff told him yes and asked the waiter to let the man order something to eat. The waiter brought the man a menu, but the man waved him off and just told the waiter what he wanted to order. Okay, a red flag went up for me. He apparently knew the menu, which means he's probably done this before. About that time, the man went inside the restaurant. I was kind of concerned and told Cliff that maybe he should tell the waiter not to let the man order any alcohol.  But before he could, the waiter brought us the check. We looked and the homeless man didn't order a burger......NOPE, he ordered a $22 steak. Now I don't mind helping people, but clearly, that man took advantage of us. Lord knows it's a shame that you have to be so suspicious of people these days. It's just a shame!

I guess you just take the bad with the good. And there was plenty of good! Kentucky is one of the prettiest states I've visited. It is green and lush and has rolling hills that you can see for miles. Every person we met, was pleasant and kind. And even though we were approached a few times by the homeless wanting money or food, we did not fear them for they were kind as well.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's conclusion of Ironman Louisville,

 

Laurie