Ironman USA Lake Placid : Official Thread (Page 45)

Congratulations Jon! Way to go on the PR - Looks like your IM training is paying off at that distance too. Great work on your pace too. Man it must have felt good coming back going that fast with a tailwind! Sorry about the sunburn... hopefully you are treating yourself to a couple recovery days

Ryan

To me, there will be no bigger reward than the finish itself.  Depending on how it goes though, I might reward myself by signing up for another IM! haha

Ryan

I'm not sure...I'll probably justify a shopping trip before I start third year though with the fact that I finished an IM...I'm a bit liberal with rewarding myself sometimes though...so we will see. Haha. I'm not really big on the idea of getting a tattoo, just not my thing. I did get a really nice Tiffany necklace as a finisher's medal for the Nike Women's Marathon last October...so maybe I will do something along those lines...custom necklace or something...

it is thoroughly unoriginal advice, but I have always found it to help me get back on the horse after a big race to have already committed to my next one. I have Augusta 70.3 already lined up.

No tattoo for me.

gatjr33 I completely appreciate your point of view on this.  I should have worded my question differently in retrospect, maybe just sticking with the first line of what are you doing after you finish?  I'm not interested in an M-dot tattoo or junk food myself (can't eat it because of a medical condition anyway), I'm just interested in how people end this chapter of the "journey".  Finishing an IM is a major accomplishment for anyone and the journey to get there is part of that accomplishment.  So regardless of this journey being a one-and-done affair or their 13th IM I was wondering how people finish off the experience.

Examples: scrapbooking a month later, tattoo, meditating somewhere special, buy millions in finisher gear, cheer on others, sleep, dinner with friends, etc. 

Your second paragraph answered the question I meant to ask.  That's also my answer; once I (hopefully) finish I want to do 3 things: find my support crew and hug them, visit my Buffalo tri club friends that cheer athletes on the big hill on the run, then cheer everyone else I can across the finish line.  Those three things will make this chapter of the journey complete for me.

I could not agree more - finishing my first ironman in Coeur D'Alene last year was the most amazing experience and I think I was on a natural high for at least a week after!

I am not for the tattoo either, just some items from the finishers tent and a photo of me crossing the finish line. Then a week with the family as we explore Lake Placid and the surrounding area.

Once back home - it is all about golf games and mountain bike riding until I weaken again on another one.

The only reward will be for my wife for putting up with me and my training. 

Honestly, I view it as a totally self indulgent hobby just like golf or something and the race is just a big event.  I don't get to reward myself for participating in a self selected hobby..I'm already rewarding myself  

The race IS the reward, but I'll admit I'm still planning on a few physical rewards as well. Right now I'm thinking it will take form in a daytime bar crawl the following day.

Of course, by that point my tolerance will probably be absolutely zero, but I'll still be happy if I can manage a mimosa with breakfast :-)

the next day will inlcude 2 of the following 3 things:

1) LP Brew Pub, Beer, burger, french fries with buffalo/blue cheese topping

2) one loop of the bike course

3) Ben & Jerry's, big a$$ waffle cone

any guesses?

Hope everyone's training is coming along. Is anyone else amazed at the numbers we're putting up each long training weekend? I look at my weekly minutes, mileage and yards on Sunday night and have trouble believing that it was me who did that. I'm hoping that by race day I believe it!

Jon, wicked time in Texas. If everything keeps coming along it looks like you'll be able to finish and have time for dinner, a few cocktails at the pub and a nap before coming back to the oval to cheer the rest of us in. Good stuff! Your "injury" is the same name as a great weekend brunch place on the UWS in Manhattan; The Sunburnt Calf http://www.thesunburntcow.com/brunch.phpGreat Australian pub.

This weekend was my first time riding over the GW Bridge into New Jersey and North on 9W. What a great ride. Did the River Road which was unbelievable. Who would have thought you could ride on a car-free shaded road along the Hudson River passing 5 or 6 waterfalls just 1.5 miles out of NYC? I was lucky to get an early start because on my way back there were literally hundreds of bikers heading north on 9W. If the weather is nice this weekend I'll be heading that way again but even a little earlier. I'm smiling just thinking about riding that way again. It sure beats 10 loops of Central Park trying to avoid tourists, pedestrians and tickets from the Po-lice.

HAHAHA - That is awesome

hmm, that just kind of looks like my past couple of weekends 

there you go Bobby

I'm going to hammer a couple of local sprints and I have a marathon in the fall I'm doing with about 8 others including my wife who will be bouncing back from our second daughter in May...she's fast and can probably beat me.  It should be a crazy summer

Oh nice - Good luck to you both. My sister in law is starting running again after a new baby.

I signed up for Nation's Triathlon on September 11 which is right in my backyard so that will keep me moving. Also waiting to hear about the lottery for NYC Marathon and will probably start rowing again which is something I had to give up to focus solely on triathlon... Definitely don't want to fall for the post IM blues!

also, if you start in a later wave, the bike can get VERY crowded with all levels of riders doing all sorts of crazy things. Last time I did it I put a bell on my aerobars cause I got tired of yelling "on your left!" all the time.

Well I just pumped out a fairly ridiculous Tuesday...2 bikes (still inside...bah) and a 4500m swim. Now I'm going to bed. It's 8.

I feel like that IM video that circulated awhile back. "I have to go to bed. I have to wake up tomorrow for a bike ride at 4." People are telling me I am a crazy idiot. Haha. Anyone else at this point?

Night!