Ironman USA Lake Placid - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Lake Placid, New York
United States
Ironman North America
Overcast
Total Time = 13h 30m
Overall Rank = 1315/2300
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 261/397
Pre-race routine:

Fortunately we had a last minute change in plans and my wife and daughter were able to come with me for the race. I can't tell you how much their support and presence meant. We left after work on Thursday and arrived late in the evening. I wish we had been able to leave a little earlier but sometimes you have to roll with what life gives you. Anyone first timers that want to PM me about family logistics before during and after the race, please feel free. We learned a ton that would have helped make a great experiance even better.
Event warmup:

On Friday morning I swam one lap of the course and registered. Being a first time Ironman participant the whole process was overwhelming. The volunteers and race staff were great. Saturday I took my daughter on a kayak ride and then rested. (as much as you can while trying to keep an 8 year old occupied).

Sunday morning, woke up at 4:00 to eat a good breakfast. My wife took me to the shuttle and went to set up along Mirror Lake Dr. After checking my bike and double checking the transition bags we went down to the beach. It was a very organized and quiet morning. This really helped me keep my nerves in check.
Swim
  • 1h 44m 21s
  • 4224 yards
  • 02m 28s / 100 yards
Comments:

Overall I was very happy with my swim. I didn't learn how to swim freestyle until a couple of years ago and have had an OWS phobia for a quite a while. I've only ever competed in 3 sprint tri's doing the breast stroke about 10 years ago and one Oly this summer. At the start I was standing at the far right back on the beach and from there swam a tangent for the far red turn bouy instead of trying to swim over to the line on the first leg. Doing this may have caused me to swim a few extra meters but I totally stayed out of trouble and never was touched by another swimmer. The return leg of the first lap and the whole second lap I was able to swim on the cable and basically never had to look up. My goal was to finish. The swim went remarkably well. I swam a 50 minute first lap and a 54 second lap. I kept a comfortable pace and concentrated on controlling my breathing.
What would you do differently?:

1. taken swim lessons
2. ate a gel right before swimming and at the turn around

I never did a swim/bike work out and I think being in the water for almost two hours caused a caloric deficit that I could never dig my way out of. It caught up to me on the run
Transition 1
  • 08m 4s
Comments:

Doing and Ironman is great. My 3 wetsuit stripper did their job with gusto. One almost pushed me over while one caught me and sat me down while the other pulled off my wesuit and then the one that caught me stood me back up again. I had no idea what hit me and next thing I new I was running to the transition tent. Finding my bike was easy since there where not very many left by the time I got there. I was 2,200 out of the water. The volunteer inside the tent was wonderful helping me get by bag emty, organized and helping me on my way.
What would you do differently?:

Actually nothing it went great. I really wasn't in a big hurry but I just kept going.
Bike
  • 5h 53m
  • 112 miles
  • 19.04 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike went well. IMLP was a great test. I was consuming 400 calories and hour so I thought I was going to be OK. On the out and back of the second loop I could tell I was starting to get tired and made the mistake of starting to drink gatorage (which I hadn't trained with) and I started to get an upset stomach. The upset stomach was manable but I didn't/couldn't eat for the rest of the bike ride. The last climb up whiteface was cruel as we had a block headwind to boot.
What would you do differently?:

I'd stick to my nutrition plan. I also would bring a selection of wheelsets. Both decents down to Keene did more damage to my legs than the climbs. The first time down Keene the road was wet (as it had rained hard during the swim) and I was so tense and stressed it was exhausting. I rode extremely deep section aero wheels. The second time down the decent the wind had really picked up and was blowing me around pretty good. This caused extreme stress again. I'm not sure if the aero benefits where worth the extra speed on the flat in that wind. If there where no wind I would ride a disk. Any wind and I would think twice.
Transition 2
  • 04m 37s
Comments:

Nothing special. The tent volunteer that helped me was great.
Run
  • 5h 53m
  • 26.2 miles
  • 13m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

This is where things went horribly wrong. I have to admit that I didn't respect the totality of this event and what the accumulation of all three components would cause. The run started out fine. I was going well through 7 miles at 10:00/mile. Then the lights just started to go out. By mile 10 I couldn't do anything but walk. I walked the next 8 miles. I slowly tried to take in nutrition and drank lots of water. The ice, cola and chicken broth were godsends. My wife, daughter and all the spectators were great encouragement. At the athlete's meeting the race director said something that stuck with me, "the only thing you can control is your attitude", so I decided to make the best of a bad situation. I can't tell you how much fun I had giving high fives to the little ones and talking to other racers. Somewhere around mile 16 I started to feel much better and around the mid way point of mile 17, Elizabeth from Canada came by and inspired me to shuffle in with her to break 14 hours. We made our way around the last 8 mile averaging 12:00 miles. Thanks Elizabeth. I owe you. The finish was more than words can express. Hearing my wife and daughter cheering, crossing the finish line, being done.
What would you do differently?:

I had a goal and I didn't adjust to the situation, instead I kept to my "plan" and paid for it. the first half of the run I should have done much more walking and been happy with 12:00-13:00 minute miles the entire race.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

I allowed myself to get too dehydrated and nutritionally bonked. Once I was able to let my body recover, I really felt pretty good. I'm writing this two days after and I don't feel that bad. My muscles hurt but not as bad as when I have run marathons. I pretty much followed the BT Beginner Triathlete Plan but I should have done a better job of training. I didn't respect the enormity of the race.

Event comments:

This is a spectacular "must do" race. Lake Placid is beautiful, The organization is wonderful and the volunteers are above and beyond. I do want to take the time to thanks each and every volunteer that made this a "must do" event. My daughter has been mad at me ever since Saturday morning when I didn't sign up for 2010. She had so much fun, she wants to come back. I think we will come back and volunteer as a family and give back to those people that gave so much to me. Thanks




Last updated: 2009-01-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:44:21 | 4224 yards | 02m 28s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/397
Overall: 0/2300
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 08:04
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
05:53:00 | 112 miles | 19.04 mile/hr
Age Group: 82/397
Overall: 399/2300
Performance: Average
Wind: Headwind
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 04:37
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
05:53:00 | 26.2 miles | 13m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/397
Overall: 0/2300
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5