Ironman Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman

Overall, a great swim by me! As far as I know, I was the second age group female out of the water. Started at the very front because I wanted to get out of the mass craziness as much as possible. First 500-1000 meters was very crowded; second loop was very nice. As a swimmer by trade, I usually dislike wearing my wetsuit. I was worried I would overheat on race day too. I did start to get a little too warm on the second lap. Fastest open water swim I have had.

Nothing

First full IM distance; so the volunteers helped a TON. But, I do feel I got a little out of sink with everyone asking me what I needed. Probably would have gone quicker if I managed all of my stuff by myself.

Go faster.

I paced my two laps very well. On the climbs, I kept a very high cadence (90+) as much as I could. Physically, I performed fine. My problem was I began to have lower GI cramping as soon as I got on the bike. Because of this, I limited my fluid intake initially (very bad idea). Once my stomach cleared up around mile 50, I tried to get back into my normal eating/drinking pattern, but I was far behind. I only ate one solid food item on the entire bike; probably only drank 6-7 bottles, most of which were just water. My GI system was a little shaky, so I wasn't sure what to eat/drink because I didn't want to set it off too much. Second loop of the bike, I realized I had not urinated once and didn't feel the need to at all. Energy wise, felt okay at the end of the bike, but something didn't feel right.

DRINK AND EAT A TON MORE!!!

Again, a little thrown off by all of the assistance. Was feeling a little loopy here.

This is where it all fell apart. I began to run and did not feel well. I stopped by a porta potty around mile 1 to try to urinate. I couldn't urinate. The only thing that passed was brown mucous. I knew that was bad. Essentially, my kidneys were shutting down. I knew this was potentially race ending. I tried to run again, and my heart rate spiked really high. So, I began to walk to bring my heart rate down. I realized I needed to try to get in fluids as much as possible. The "run" was simply one of survival. I didn't want to push it too much and get taken off the course. So, I walked/run based on heart rate. Tried to drink as much as I could. I could not eat though, because my stomach was so bloated. What a death march. Run/walk/run/walk. But I finally made it. After the finish line, I was sent to the medical tent. I got 2 IVs. I finally peed again at 12 am that morning (over 14 hours since I had urinated)

DRINK AND EAT MORE EARLIER (on the BIKE)

Does the medical tent count as a warm down? Two IVs did a good job at warming me down.


NUTRITION WAS WAY OFF. I think had I managed this better, I could have had a MUCH better run (up to 45 minutes faster). Need to get these GI issues figured out too.


Ironman events may be pricey, but the organization/volunteers cannot be beat. Always reliable aide stations. This was my first full Ironman, and I would definitely do one again!! :)