Ironman USA Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman

Honestly, I may never have a swim this good again in my life. I started approx 1/3 the way back and 1/2 off the buoy line. When the canon went off it was total mahem. The first 200m or so I couldn't even do anything that resembled a decent swim stroke as there were bodies everywhere. Once I got past that initial clutter, there were still ppl everywhere, but that made it easy for drafting...so easy in fact it was hard not to draft. I still got bounced around quite a bit...the only really annoying part were those who didn't cut their finger nails...I kept felt myself getting scratched. I took one quick peak at my watch at the turnaround around of lap 1...it was 16min something....I was pleasantly surprised. Ended up doing a 32:27 lap and I was estatic...esp. since my 1.2mi swim at Eagleman was almost 37min (granted the conditions were night and day). Second loop was more of the same. I pretty much swam with the underwater bouy line either underneath me or a little to my left the whole time. Only time I really pushed myself was to avoid other swimmers that would start to annoy me. Ended up with a 34:14 2nd loop...considering the transition from loop 1 to 2 prob took 30-45s, I was fine with the split.

Not bad for a guy who swam his first real swim lap about 18 months ago.

PR on swim distance.

Maybe position myself a little bit closer to the front.

Did a full change. Took my time. Last thing I wanted to do was forget something before a 112mi bike ride. Normally I am solid with my transitions, but I wasn't about to push this one.

Hustle a bit more.

Loop 1:
I get about 2mi out of town and I think to myself..."those roads were kinda bumpy to start..better check to see if you still have your bottle of 6x concentrated gu2o". Well if I'm writing about it, you know what happened...it was gone. I had gu2o in my aero bottle, but that meant 5+ hrs of Gatorade on the bike. I wasn't too concerned as I use to train with Gatorade frequently. I'll return to that in a second. After leaving town in the mist, I warmed up quickly. I figured I was 2nd in our group out of the water, but I didn't think I'd see Craig soon. Turns out, I pass Heidi around mile 4 or 5 (she gets me later though)...I chat with her for a sec and find out I had was first out of the water but was 3rd on the bike with my slow T1. I guess I had missed Craig earlier. So I keep on climbing...pretty much using my lowest gear and spinning as much as possible. My cadence sensor musta got bumped while racked, as I didn't have that until mile 50 (adjusted it while on a pee break). Oh ya and my HR was registering either (unrelated). I assumed it timed-out stopped trying to pick up the signal since I didn't wear the chest strap in the swim...(I later find out I wasn't sweating enough and the sensors were too dry..common problem for me on the bike in cool conditions). My plan was to spin as much as possible on the uphills to save my legs, my heart rate and of course my pneumonia infested lung. I pretty fearless (or some might say foolish) when decending and figured I could get some time back there. I must have passed 20+ bikers on the decent into Keene...a lot of ppl were taking it easy as it was misty out and the roads were still wet. I make the turn at Keene, and pass mile marker 15 at ~43min. I was very happy with that. Rest of the first loop is pretty uneventful....I see Brad on the Haselton out and back right after I stopped for a pee break...at that point he is no more than 3min behind me. Then we start the climb back into LP. I continue to get passed often, but mentally I was focusing on a strong 2nd loop and wasn't worried about being passed on the first...climbing Papa Bear, the last of the named hills was awesome...fans lining the street giving you a 6-8ft wide chute...reminded me of Alp D'Huez...and then you are back into town and you get such an adrenaline rush.

Loop 2:
More of the same, but much slower....three bathroom breaks and while on the third (around mile 100) I am on the side of the road and I hear someone say "nice wiener" in a Beevus and/or Butthead voice...I turn and of course its brad. I get back on the bike and catch up in a cpl miles..turn to him and ask him if he wants to ride the last 10mi together. He was game. It made the last 10 miles so much better as I was struggling at this point. Did a lot of coasting on downhills on the second loop. Didn't think I would have such a bad split, but I did.

Finished the bike in 1014 place.

Comparing bike computer to chip time, looks like the 5 bathroom breaks cost me 5min.

gu ~30min starting 20min after the swim. Counted a cpl bananas as bonus calories. Had a total of 10gu, 1 pack teddy grahams and 4-5 banana halves. prob had 6x24oz of gatorade/gu2o and about 24-48oz of water. Nutrition was right on!

PR on bike distance.

Better pacing, although I didn't feel I was pushing it on loop 1. Really shoulda had some hrm gel for T1...then I would have had some hr data to work off of for loop 1.

Again took my time. Used the potty again, and slapped on some more sunscreen.

Good news...hrm surprised me and started working for mile 2. Bad news...it didn't really matter as mile 2 was the only one where I had a z1 hr (i'd guess mile 1 was z1 also). I wasn't about to push it. my left foot was hurting from the get-go and my right started to ache a few miles later. This was all too familiar...my body starts to break down (muscle fatigue, foot/joint pain) and I can't keep my hr up. This is something I need/want to work on, esp for shorter race, but I wasn't going to push it on this day for a cpl of reasons..first, its 26.2mi of running...no need to push too much too soon. Second, I had no idea how my body would react with the pneumonia. Third, I promised more than one doctor friend and family member that I would be smart and not push through the race on adrenaline. It was all about pace. Fourth...I can be a wimp when it comes to running longer distances...I get comfortable and settle in....

I pass our support group (mostly family members of my fellow racers), and its now about 5pm...they are all cheering for me (the were the best support group btw...totally awesome!) and I asked them about kristin and nate...Heard they both were already off the bike and it brought a big smile to my face...I knew were would go 6 for 6 now!

I saw Laura (gymnutt03) around mile 15 running with Brad, Craig and Ron (another race supporter of ours)...gave her a big kiss and then she ran/shuffled with me for a bit...well a long bit...a good 9miles. The company was awesome. (Technically its breaking the rules, but I don't think they worry about some pacing you at 14:00/mi that much). Got a big adrenaline rush finishing through town...shed some tears before entering the oval finished with a solid sprint...and there you have it...i am officially an Ironman:)

Was very happy that I only walked the aid stations...(~15s walking per mile). Prob took 6 or 7 bathroom breaks along the way.

gu every 30min w/ water. Gatorade and some calories (banana, cookies, chicken broth, pretzels, etc.) at all other aid stations.

PR on run distance.

actually run and not shuffle

Ate food and got massage.


(1) maybe pneumonia? Not sure if it cost me 0.5sec, 5sec, 5min, or 50min...guess the only way to find out is in CDA next year :)

(2) Need to brick my long rides. I pretty much skipped them for one reason or another during training.


I can't compare to any other Ironmans, but an IM race blows the crap out of all others with regards to organization, volunteers, and fan support. Truly a wonderful experience.