Ironman USA Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman

Placed myself near the beach directly behind the start line. Was not phased at all by the call to make wetsuits "optional", I was there with 1 main goal, Finish. Stayed calm for the traffic jam immediately after the cannon, mainly trying to stay out of the way of others.
Being the lake where I do most of my open water swimming and almost all of my swimming during the summer, the course was very familiar. I just imagined it like any other practice swim (plus the other 2000+ athletes).
The way out on the first lap was as I expected... very packed, I don't think I got in a single "good" stroke in the entire way out. At the same time, the entire first lap went by incredible quick (or at least it seemed to).
The way back on the first lap was a little thinner, but not much. Hit the beach on the first lap with something like 56' on the clock. Started wondering if that was the pro clock (10' sooner) or if I was really that slow.
Quickly ran back in for the second lap. A little too quick because I started swimming in pretty shallow water and decided it would be faster if I just got up and ran a little more before I started to swim again. The second lap was less congested. Unfortunately, every time I seems to get in a good rhythm, I hit feet in front of me. Looked up and saw a solid line of 4-5 people wide in front of me. This seemed to happen countless number of times on the second lap. Took to turn buoy to tight and had another "heads up" traffic jam to get around the corner.
The second lap seemed to take forever. Felt like I was going much slower than the first and would be getting a lot closer to the 2hr20min cutoff. Was actually near the line on the way back (don't think that was a really good thing). A little surprised to see 1hr34 on the clock given the first what I saw on the first lap. Still very slow, but just about what I've been swimming in practice.
Glad to not have any major incidents in the swim.

Need to spend a lot more time swimming... just too slow. Start position and route could have been better. I probably should have started and continued to stay wider for less congestion. I saw the underwater cable way too much, and was too close to the turn buoy for my swim ability.

Had my first experience being "stripped" of my wetsuit. Way faster than doing it myself :)
Jogged back to transition and was feeling good. Didn't rush much putting on my shoes and helmet and walked quickly to pick up my bike from the rack.

Could have put on gear, ran to grab my bike a lot faster.

Had no real time / speed goal for the bike, but I was basing my effort on wattage. In fact, I purposefully did not bring anything with me on the bike that would show the time (perhaps the little yellow powertap computer can show the current time, not sure how to get there.) Just wanted to focus on keeping a nice consistent power output based on the training rides I had done.
Carefully kept a close eye on power output on the first hill out of town since everyone has a tendency to try to kill this hill. Was pleasantly surprised that I expected worse congestion on the first descent into Keene. I knew I would be starting from the near back after the swim and my average cycling ability would bring me up a bit, I imagined hitting a brick wall of people on the descent. Luckily, it was very clean. Maybe I hadn't caught up to any significant pack.
In the next 10 to 20 miles after Keene I had my first doubts about finishing. I know a long day still lay ahead and expected to be stronger at this point. This feeling stayed with me for a while until a bathroom break before the climbing started. I felt strong after that on the whole climb back into town. I was still spinning and being conservative, but the hills felt "easy".
I felt confident most of the second lap. I had two minor technical issues on the 2nd lap. First, I noticed my left cleat was giving too much side to side give. When I stopped at one of the aid stations the front-most screw was gone. Quickly tightened the remaining two screws to eliminate any play and hoped for the best. Second, by Whiteface I dropped my chain to the inside and it got stuck. As I was pulling at it to free the chain, one of the support motorcycles stopped to assist. The hills coming back were definitely tougher this time, but still not exhausting.
Saw Ben Hoffman about 1 mile from the finish of his run when I was coming in off the bike. I figured my bike time to be around 6:30 based on that, around what I expected.

Judging from the power file, I could have been more even with power output. I was definitely putting a little too much effort going up and coasting on the way down on the second lap. Just need to focus more on execution. I believe I could have went harder on the bike based on my average HR and Power compared to training.

Changed my shorts to more comfortable running shorts. Changed socks as well. Had trouble tying my shoes as my hands had become a little weak from the road vibration (while wearing gloves) - need to spend more time in aero. Obviously disappointed with this transition time.

Try one of the speed laces systems ahead of time or even asked for help tying my shoes.

Walked the initial stretch before the downhill out of transition trying to get settled. Was expecting around 9 min/mi pacing based on training and tried to hold to that for the first few miles. Started to get upset to the stomach, so I slowed considerably to try to get thing under control. Began a walk uphills and aid stations strategy that would last me until the end.
Found I felt better each time after eating banana pieces. Had many more moments throughout the marathon where I questioned whether I would finish. I really did not want to leave town for the second lap. I have plenty of pictures that clearly show that. Didn't start feeling confident again until the out and back on river road. I put in my most solid effort there on the second lap. My boss Mike was there to cheer me on and force me to keep running up the hill on the return to town. Did not stop running for the last 2 miles or so and pushed it around the oval and into the finish line.

Need some more practice/training with nutrition leading into the run. Hydration was great on the bike, but I probably should have had more of the solid gels early on in the bike and leave the concentrated gu electrolyte brew more towards the end.
Oh, and after reading some other people's run reports, definitely should have HTFU. Other people pushed a lot harder through more pain.

Felt ok after the line, started picking up my gear after a snack and met my wife outside the oval to go home. Was very happy that I didn't have any medical incident the entire day.
Had a cold/ice bath later that evening and a flush massage the next day. My legs were surprisingly strong. They had been in much worse shape after other marathons. Thus, I know I could have pushed harder on the run.


Being cautious with pacing and not pushing through some of the stomach pain on the run. Nutrition on the bike forcing stomach issues.


Absolutely amazing support. Nothing beats coming back into town on the bike or run with the amount of people cheering everybody on. Made me feel like a pro without having any of the skill to be one. Also the Tour de France -esque crowd on the final climb is amazing, you can't help smile while gritting it out.