Ironman Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman

Overall pretty happy on the swim. Started on the left inside about 5 rows back and somehow got on the cable for the first stretch out. At first I was thinking "This isn't bad, definitely not a washing machine that everyone complained about". But that quickly changed, got goggles knocked off 3 times, and kicked/swam over multiple times. Considering how rough it was, happy with my swim.

Not much, I liked where I ended up starting despite people saying to start to the far right.

Long run to T1! Besides that, pretty average transition.

The bike started out great. I've biked around Lake Placid before but haven't done the exact course, so was expecting some big hills. The first 30 miles flew by, despite taking it easy and just getting comfortable. Then the next 26 coming back into Lake Placid and hitting the cherries and bears wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I think doing Harryman earlier in the season really helped keep put hills into perspective.
The first loop of the bike really felt great and I surprised myself when I wasn't feeling tired at all and came through the first 56 in 2:57.

However, after starting the next and after going down the Keene descent and coming back into Lake Placid, things started to not feel so great. At the 90 mile mark my stress fracture in my tibia started having shooting pains through it. I tried turning to the lightest gear possible and just spinning to finish the bike, but after going through a few more hills putting any pressure on that leg at all was excruciating.

I came into the race knowing that there was a distinct possibility that I wouldn't be able to finish. My doctor had given me an absolute no on running the race, but I wanted to at least give it a shot. I knew I couldn't not start and wonder what would have happened. So when I got to the aid station at the 106 mile mark, I stopped. With the amount of pain I was in, I didn't want to risk breaking it completely. Disappointed, but think in the end it was the right decision.

Not stress fracture my tibia before the race!

I think the race was awesomely set up, very organized, and the amount of volunteer support/cheering was amazing. I at least learned about what I'm capable at swimming and biking for this distance, and I also think that fitness-wise I was where I wanted to be. So I can now go into a full IM next year and know what 2/3 of the race is like.