Ponder competes in Ironman Published Sept. 17, 2009 By April McDonald Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- In his "list of things to do when I turn 50," Danny Ponder had a unique entry: participate in an Ironman distance event. After the Ironman Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 29, Ponder can put a checkmark beside that "to do." Though he's participated in half Ironman events and triathlons in the past, they weren't the same as the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run he faced in Louisville. However, participating in the Tinker Triathlon and a long bike ride in early August gave him the confidence he needed for the Ironman event. "I set a personal best at the Tinker Triathlon which boosted my confidence on how my training was going," Ponder said. "I did do a 100-mile bike ride a few weeks before the event and it gave me the confidence that I could complete the 112-mile bike portion." Ponder's day at Ironman Louisville started with the 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River. The swim portion at Louisville is unique to all other Ironmans, he said, because it's a time trial start. Every two seconds, four swimmers start the race. "They started us about 7 a.m. and got all the swimmers in by 7:45 a.m.," he said. "This makes it nice that everyone is spread out all over the river and you don't have the congestion of a mass start." For nearly three-quarters of a mile, racers have to swim against the Ohio River current. "I struggled with sighting, lifting my head out of the water on every stroke, but I could tell when we started swimming with the current," said Ponder, who finished the swim portion in just under 2 hours, which was 20 minutes off his projected time. Ponder said he spent most of his time training on cycling, which is probably why he felt the bike portion of Ironman Louisville was his best of the three events. "The bike course was scenic and really took my mind off what I was doing," he said of the 112-mile ride that took him from Louisville to La Grange. "The first 10 miles is flat," he said. "There is an out and back that you do once, which is very steep, but shaded and very scenic. After that, you make a couple of 28- to 30-mile loops around the town of La Grange. There are a lot of people cheering you on." Ponder completed the bike portion in 6 hours, 31 minutes and then started what is typically his strongest event, the 26.2-mile marathon. He finished the run in 4 minutes, 17 seconds. Ponder said he's already registered for his next Ironman competition, Ironman Wisconsin next year. "I have until Sept. 12, 2010, to get ready for it," he said. "But only five days to recover before doing the Air Force Marathon next year." This year, he had almost three weeks to recover between the Ironman and the Air Force Marathon, which he will be running Saturday.