Ironman Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman

This was my first ironman, so I was definitely nervous about the mass swim start, especially because Lake Placid has a notoriously crowded swim. My coach had recommended that I position myself in the thick of things - about 7 to 10 rows back - if I was OK with getting knocked around a bit, and that's what I did. It worked great. The swim start was definitely chaotic, but I just worked on staying focused and trying to keep a smooth, even stroke and not let the adrenaline rush overtake common sense. I had a problem with panic attacks in the open water in my first few races, and that actually wound up helping me, because I was able to use the strategies I developed to get over those to stay really calm and focused.

About five minutes into the swim I found the yellow line (Mirror Lake has a line under the water tracing the swim route - no siting necessary if you find it) and was super psyched. I followed it to the turnaround, and caught it again on the other side. I thought I saw my boyfriend pass me at the turnaround of the first loop and was kinda bummed because I *really* wanted to beat him in the swim, but I just stuck to my swim - swimming hard but not going faster than I could maintain form. The second loop was more of the same. I don't wear a watch so I had no idea what my time was until I got out of the second loop, and when I saw 1:18 on the clock I was PSYCHED. I had never done less than a 40 minute swim in a half ironman, so this was a really good time for me. And it turned out that I beat my boyfriend by over 10 minutes. (He made it up on the bike, but still - I was pretty happy).

I think next time I'd seed myself further up in the swim. Not in the very front, but maybe 3 or 4 rows back. You don't get knocked around any more, and you get that much more draft to work with.

I really wanted to have efficient transitions, so I packed my transition bags carefully - there was nothing extra in them. The run to transition from the swim exit is very long - at leat a quarter mile - and the women's tent is on the far end of transition, so that slowed me down a bit. The faster runners have a big advantage in transition time. But getting into my bike gear and getting my bike went about as smoothly as it could have. I dropped my salt stick container and a very kind fellow racer pointed it out to me - he was a lifesaver.

I didn't get through the wetsuit stripping as smoothly as I would have liked. I need to be more pushy next time.

The first 5/6 of my bike were awesome. I was just having so much FUN. I took it easy on the hills out of town, letting the kamikaze bikers pass me. I ate a half a bar about 10 minutes out of transition and took in a bunch of electrolyte drink, which was my plan. It was a really hot day, however, and all of the calories/sugar made me a little queasy. I didn't realize it, but I was just a little under hydrated and needed water. It wasn't much of a problem, though, because I was feeling well enough to bomb the long downhill, and I got water at the next aid station, which immediately made me feel better. From then on, I took in about 50% more water than I normally would have. I wound up taking in about 200-300 calories less on the bike than I wanted to, but it was fine. My body was telling me what it needed, and my nutrition was spot on for the rest of the day.

I focused on keeping my RPMS at about 85-90 for the whole bike, and didn't feel like I was pushing too hard on the first loop at all. I was pleasantly surprised when the climb back up to town on the first loop felt great. I was basically in teh zone and feeling good until I got to the 1-mile Hazelton out-and-back on the second loop, and then I had a really low moment. The next 10 miles were just awful, with tons of people passing me. But I picked it up again on the cherries and the bears, and then just cruised into town.

I think having a power meter would have helped me keep a more even effort level, but mostly I think it was a really good ride. I followed my plan, and approached any difficulty that arose calmly, so I could think through what I needed to do to overcome it. When I started training, I didn't think there was any way that I could do the bike in under 7 hours, so I was pretty pleased overall.

To be honest, T2 is kind of a blur. I know I was very glad to be off the bike and out of the sun. I had a fantastic volunteer who put my shoes and socks on for me while I took off my helmet and gloves and emptied my pockets of anything I didn't need. She also did an amazing sunscreen application. The sunscreen spray took a bit of extra time, but it was very worth it, as I burn really easily and the run is very exposed.

Once I handed off my bike, I would run through transition a bit faster.

Everyone I knew who had run an ironman before told me that when you get off the bike and start running, you're so happy to be off the bike that you can't help but going faster than your goal pace. They are ALL liars. I got off the bike and started running and thought "hm, I don't really feel like going fast. In fact, my legs feel like crap." I saw my coach at mile 1, however, and told him how I was feeling and he advised me to relax and let my legs work themselves out, which they'd probably do when I hit the flatter section of the course, and in the meantime I should just think happy thoughts about my swim. It was just what I needed to hear, and I took it easy for the next four miles or so. This was my first marathon ever, and I was really worried that my legs would die after mile 18, so I took the rest of the run very conservatively. I walked all the aid stations until about mile 22, when it started to hurt more to walk than it did to just keep running. I felt amazing from mile 12 through mile 16, and really good until about mile 20, when I had another low point. But by then I knew that I just had to keep moving, and I'd get back to town and be fine. I saw another of my coaches at mile 24, and he said I had a chance to break 13:30, but it wasn't to be. The out part of the last out-and-back before the turn to the finish line seemed endless, and I got through it by promising myself coke at the aid station just before the turnaround, but I think the time I took to get it cost me the extra 2 minutes. Once I turned for home, though, it was great. It's a downhill run to the finish line and I pushed it as much as I could.

I would push the run harder throughout, and not walk every aid station. I think I could have been at leat 10 or 15 minutes faster if not more. But I'm glad I took it conservatively this time, because I just didn't know, and this way I was able to run it home.

I think next time (if it was as hot and sunny) I would also bring more salt with me. I had four tabs, but it wasn't enough.

The "catchers" at the finish line helped me find my boyfriend, and he made sure I took a finisher's photo. I found my parents and ate a slice of pizza and went back to the condo we rented. A friend who was spectating had already gotten our bikes and transition bags, so all we had to do was go back. The post race shower was awesome. We were staying with several other racers, so we all met back at the condo to have some real food and talk about the race. It was good times.


Inexperience. Also, I think I undertrained for the run, in part because I had ITB problems for most of May and into June.


This was a great ironman for a first-time racer. The bike and run courses have defineable sections that help you mentally break the race into conceivable parts, and the crowd support is absolutely incredible. Plus, the swim is in a totally flat lake (it's not called Mirror Lake by accident) with a line under the water to keep you on course.

The thing I'm most happy about regarding my race personally is that I kept a good attitude throughout and really let myself have fun. Even better, I raced as hard as I could, and that's what made it fun. One of my coaches advised me a day or two before the race to avoid letting bad moments or issues from having more of an effect on my day than they had to by thinking of them as problems to be solved, and then focusing on finding solutions, and that was really helpful advice to me.