Ironman USA Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman

Swim went well. When the cannon went off, I felt a sense of elation that we were finally starting. I found myself literally smiling and laughing out loud when I thought of all the fans that were out there cheering and watching this amazing moment.

I went wide, but not overly wide. I was bumped quite a bit, but just minor bumping...nothing serious or scary. I got into a rhythm several times, but never for more than about 10-15 minutes at a time. For some reason, I couldn't see a thing of where I was going. I just hoped that everyone around me was going the right way! I did have two freaky moments when I was swimming along in clear water and suddenly heard and felt a loud 'kerplunk' RIGHT beside my head from someone kicking hard. That could have been ugly.

After first loop was pretty dizzy and got a bit worried about what I would feel like after the whole swim was done. It turned out okay, though. I also swalloed water a few times, and peee twice in my wetsuit (that's still hard to do for some reason!). Also after the first loop, felt like my ankle strap with my timing chip was falling off...after a quick check, i stopped panicking.

Exited the swim feeling pretty good and ready to take on the rest of the day!

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There was a longish run to transition from the water and it was down hill...i could not stop myself! I felt like I got changed and on the road relatively smoothly. Much better than last year at CDA, and that was the goal.

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This is a spectacular bike course. I was so impressed with the breathtaking scenery, the challenges, and the variety on the course. I used to think that doing a flat course like IMFL would be the best, but now I can't imagine a course without some hills to add interest to the long ride and to change up riding positions. And the fans on some of those climbs...are you kidding me? Amazing.

I flew through the first loop (3:13) and was feeling incredible. I was climbing smoothly, felt strong in aero, descending confidently, I mean really great stuff. Reached 45mph on a descent without touching the breaks and in aero position. Felt so good to be able to do that on nice smooth roads and wide sweeping turns. Between pappa bear and leaving town for the second loop, I was euphoric. The fans were incredible.

The second loop was a bit tougher mentally and physically. Everyone and their dog passed me on the bike, especially on the flats. I really had to struggle mentally to keep focused and not chase people. "see you on the run" became my personal monologue everytime I got passed. "remember people, this is a TRIathlon" was another thought that was on my mind much of the second loop. Also, i was having some saddle discomfort as I forgot to use bodyglide in my bike shorts :( Once I reached the three bears, though, I was back in the game and felt good again. Ready for transition and to get off the bike!

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Nothing special, just tried to keep it simple. Again, much quicker than CDA, which was the plan. I kept saying to myself, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast"

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I was looking forward to the run as it is my relative strength. Legs felt good right off the bike, which was amazing. I had not done many bricks in training and was worried about that, but the moment I dismounted, I knew I would be okay. I started off and my first two miles were 9:30's. This seemd fast, but I decided not to slow down as I did in CDA. In fact, I just thought, "stay comfortable until you're not comfortable anymore". My first 6 miles wer under an hour and I felt strong still, so I kept it going. I don't have a strict nutrition plan, more of a variety of things so that I can choose whatever feels right at the time. As long as I keep tabs on how my stomach feels and act accordingly, i am usually okay. This day was no exception, thankfully.

So I knew that I was doing better than CDA, but I refused to do the math in my head to see just HOW well I could do. I was worried it would make me go to hard and bonk. I promised myself that I would do the math once I hit mile 20. I would check how quickly i did each mile, but I held off the urge to calculate a possible finishing time until mile 20. I was running at about 10:45-11:00 minute miles at this point including walking all the aid stations. At mile 20 my time was 11:57. 1 hour 3 minutes to break 13....decision time. My first thought was that it was too fast and too early. But then I realized that if I kept the same pace, I would finish around 13:05. This is where I lost sight of my original goal which was to finsh feeling strong and happy, and decided to go for the sub 13hour mark... a dangerous decision with over an hour of racing left... I dug in and picked up the pace to about a 9:30 pace. Amazingly, I held this pace all the way to the finish line. I charged up the hill into town and flew around the out and back and felt...well, I was struggling mentally to keep myself going! At one point in the last mile I saw a guy walking, running and clearly hurting and I told him to keep it up, that we were definitely going to break 13 and not to give up.

Running on to that oval was really magical. I was so freaking pumped and proud and amazed. I let out a big yell as I crossed the finish line, just to see some idiot in a full sprint pass me with a half meter to go. WTF?? Hey buddy, I hate to break it to you but we are nowhere near a KONA slot! not that he was even in my age group. When I looked at him, it was the same guy that I encouraged at mile 25!!! Unbelievable. Anyways, I tried not to let him ruin my moment nonetheless. i let the double hamstring cramp at the finishline ruin my moment instead!

My iron fans were unbelievable! Bringing me such energy everytime I passed them. Especially my three ladies; my mom, my sister, and my lovely wife who did ironman cda with me but decided to give this one a pass.



Nothing at all...maybe trip the guy at the line...no, not even that.

massage and blankets and pizza


I don't know. I think that I performed at my best.


I was very proud of my day and so pleased with my fans! I am having trouble deciding whether to continue with this IM addiction...time will tell.