Ironman Lake Placid - Triathlon

If you're not afraid of getting kicked and jostled around try to get close to the buoys to see the yellow line below. I started off WAY off to the left of the crowd, then moved closer as the crowds thinned out. I'm super slow so it didn't take long. When I got close to the buoys I just concentrated on my breathing and didn't let the underwater bumper car bodies bother me. Got kicked really hard in the chest which took my breath away, but I recovered quickly with a few breast strokes. The key here was not to panic.

In training I would've gotten a few swim lessons on technique a lot sooner in the year. I got 2 lessons from a pro-athlete about 4 weeks from the race and it made a tremendous difference in my form. I could've worked on speed if I had my form down better earlier on. Despite that - I felt very comfortable doing the distance and I didn't have to stop short or resort to back/breast stroke at any time (except when I got kicked).

I had my bike shorts/top on underneath my wetsuit. And I had my heart rate monitor/watch on during the swim. Use the wetsuit strippers when you get out of the water. They're a godsend!
Gear in my T1 bag: sunscreen, helmet, shoes (no socks), sunglasses, gloves.
The volunteers are awesome!!! She sprayed me down with sunscreen and helped me on with my shoes. I took my time in T1 to get calm and move out with my wits about me.

Move a little quicker when I got out of the water and let the strippers to do their thing. I didn't realize they actually have you sit down and they rip the suit off you. They had to explain what was going on. And I would've moved faster to get to the changing tent if I had known where I was going - I relied on the volunteers to point me in the right direction.

This course is absolutely breathtaking. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a race and not get caught up in the scenery. Getting out of town is a little hazardous - there are sharp turns and you have to be very aware of what the other bikers around you are doing. Although local traffic is minimized, there are still cars on the road and you have to be alert. Also, the road conditions to Keene stink. There are a lot of bumps, potholes and rivets you have to be on the lookout for. It's not horrible, but you can't stay in aero all the time.The "screaming descent" into Keene is just as frightening as I heard and imagined. I'm an inexperienced biker though - I definitely was cautious and feathered my brakes the whole way down. The fastest I went was 38 mph. I'm certain there were others going 50+ mph downhill.
The long, slow hills are deceiving. We drove the course on Friday and I thought the last 11 miles to town seemed pretty flat....until I rode them. It's a very gradual hill and I just kept reminding myself to keep my pace steady.
I only had my aero bar water holder on my bike and that was plenty. I grabbed a Perform (20oz) or water bottle at every rest station which was plenty. I also didn't carry any nutrition except electrolyte and salt tablets. There were plenty of GU,GU chomps, breaker bars, bananas and pretzels at every station (every 10 miles). I trained with all those foods so I was used to it and it worked for me.

I did all of my training in Austin and the rides I did were very hilly. I thought I did enough hill training during my long distance/weekends, but I clearly did not. I would incorporate more hills and HIIT/high intensity interval training in my weekly workouts. I would also work on quad/glute strength in the off season.
I would work on bike handling technique too - esp. on hills (down), cornering, wet conditions, and avoiding obstacles at high speeds. Thankfully I didn't have any technical issues/flats, but I'm going to learn how to change my tires faster and how to tune/fix my bike. The support trucks didn't come by that often. You could get really stuck out there for a while if you don't know what you're doing.

Again, I'd speed things up. I took my time and didn't really need to.

I started out miles 1 - 13 on my 10 min pace and I felt great. I fell apart at mile 14 though. Everything hurt - feet, hips, lower back. It was starting to get cold too and I'm glad I packed a long sleeve shirt in my special needs bag because it started raining//blowing cold wind on the 2nd loop. The run was definitely the hardest and it became a mental game of winning over the desire to rest. I made a plan to run 2 minutes and walk 1 minute, repeat -- from miles 14 - 26.2. It worked - I got through it and drank lots of chicken broth and coke. The crowds definitely floated me through the final 2 miles.

I would get my knee cartilage fixed/get injections 6-8 months prior to the race. I limited my weekly running and only did the weekend/long distance runs during training due to my knee pain. I ran on dirt trails and this race was all on tar roads. I don't think my joints were used to the impact and I should've practiced on tar roads, plus ran more often to get the level of training in needed for this distance.

I kept walking around/moving and drank a ton of water.


I did the bare minimum training for this race (due to the business of life) and I ddn't have a coach. I was on a very strict budget so I followed a free plan that I found online and read the beginnertriathlete forums. My husband's co-worker did 4 Ironmans and I asked her advice a lot too. Ideallyl, to do you your first IM it would be good to get a coach and make sure your life's schedule is fairly predictable so you get all your training in. My life was very unstable - we moved across the country, I got laid off -- twice -- and got a new job in a new city. It was just logistically tough to get all my weekly training in and I got sick a few times -- mainly due to stress. I'm doing another IM next year and I finally have a predictable schedule. If you've got a super crazy and busy lifestyle it is possible to do an IM - you just have to lower your expectations on your speed and performance. I reached my goal though and I had an amazing time! It is the best feeling in the world to hear your name shouted and crossing the finish line "You are an IRONMAN!"


The volunteers and crowds, plus the breath-taking scenery really made this a spectacular event. Everything was very well organized. I recommend booking your hotel the same day you sign up for the race. If you're like me and hate swarms of people try looking in Wilmington. My husband and I stayed at Wilkommen Hof (11 miles from town) - it's right on the bike race course and there are good restaurants nearby.