Ironman Lake Placid July 26th 2009
Race Report
It has been a long time since I have written anything resembling a race report but I figured that this race would be a good one to share with everyone because a lot went right, a lot went wrong and there was just as much that was out of my control. The Ironman motto is “anything is possible” and while I love the way it sounds I also know that “anything can happen”.
Race morning was uneventful. Things went smoothly and I enjoyed the energy that accompanies such a large race. The music was blaring, athletes were looking serious, spectators were in awe and the lines the porto-potty were 100’s deep. It was time to race! It started raining shortly before the start but that really did not matter because whatever the weather does I am still racing.
I lined up in the water and got kicked plenty before the race ever started. I was about 5 rows back which was too far back for me. Instead of being swum over, I was the one swimming on top of people, oh what fun. Hand to hand combat in the Ironman. It was crowded but I fought my way over to the buoy line and swam just inside the buoys on the first lap. I was putting in a good effort but really not overdoing it. After the first lap I came out of the water at 30:40 something which I was really pleased with. The next lap I swam outside the buoys and did not get as good a draft but it was still good enough to get me out of the water in about 1:03. I was really happy about that. I enjoyed my run down to transition and felt like a rock star as everyone was lining the streets and cheering.
I was in and out of transition pretty quickly and out onto the bike course. My legs felt great but I really tried to keep the effort on the easy side because there is nothing worse than going too fast on the first lap and paying for it on the second lap. I just wanted to survive this bike course without any random accidents. At mile 10 a nice guy passing me informs me that my rear tire is going flat. Unfortunately I already suspected this because I could feel it pumping along. I had to get off and check it out. It wasn’t totally flat so I just put some CO2 in it and took off again. No big deal. Then at mile 15 I started to hear a really strange noise. It wasn’t my wheel or my tire, but it was definitely me. At that point I touched my hand to my helmet and the plastic top was coming off my aero helmet. As soon as I touched it the entire top piece of my helmet came off on my hand! At this point I am laughing because this has to be some sort of bad joke. I know I am just being tested. I just hold onto the piece of my helmet on my aero bars and try to figure out what on earth I am going to do with it. Lucky for me Tiffany & Dave (great support crew) were waiting about another 5 miles up the road so I gave it to them. I know, I know, technically that is against the rules but I figured it was my best option. Back out on the road I try to get focused again. I am getting passed like crazy. I check my speed and cadence constantly. I am doing 20 mph and getting passed like I am back pedaling. I remind myself at least 1000 times during the bike ride to just ride my race and not worry about getting passed. At mile 40 I find myself on the side of the road yet again putting some more CO2 in my tire. I guess my valve stem is leaking. Of course it did not leak at all in the days before the race! I have no one to blame since I put it on myself with loving care. Finally I complete 1 lap - 56 miles in 3:08 which is fine with me. I set off on lap number 2 just as the wicked wind kicks up and starts howling. It is a variable head wind; meaning it seems like I have a head wind no matter which direction we are riding in. I watch lots of big guys pass me and wish I had the guts to draft, I just don’t because I never have and I am not going to start now. A guy who is 6’10” passes me. I asked him how tall he was because I have never seen a bike that big! I start heading back to town and the headwind is worse than ever. Thank goodness my speedometer stopped working because I think if I could have seen how slow I was going I might have been sad. I just wanted to get past mile 107 since it is around there that I got hit from behind by another cyclist a few years ago – which ended my race that year. As I get close to that mile marker I am very thankful to be out on the course and happy to be able to do something like Ironman. I remind myself of this and suddenly it gets easier. My legs are feeling good, probably because I did not ride hard enough. My stomach is revolting. I can’t keep anything down and I know that I am going to have to survive off Coke and pretzels on the run.
I finally get back to the transition area and run into the tent on my rubber legs.
I actually sit down and take a break. I feel kind of tired and hungry. I just want to sit in the transition tent, but I don’t. I take off running and to my surprise the legs still feel fine. Thank goodness something is going my way today! I hit the first few aid-stations and drink a sip of Coke with pretzels and then alternate water, chicken broth or maybe both. All of a sudden I am so thirsty I just want to guzzle everything. This is not really good but at this point I just have to do what I have to do to get through it. Despite my poor nutrition on the bike I am able to pass a lot of the people back who flew by me on the bike. My first lap was under 2 hours which I was thrilled with. It gave me hope that I was going to have a good run. Then all of a sudden all of the Coke, water and bland chicken soup start to come back up. The remainder of the marathon is spent heaving, running, drinking – repeat at least 6x until I realize at mile 25 if I really bust my rump I can still be under 12 hours. So I sprint (well, it felt like a sprint to me) and then have to really work my butt off coming around the oval to the finish to get in under 12 hours. Some people commented that I was really smiling when I crossed the finish line. Of course I was, I just finished an Ironman and that always makes me happy!
So, this event was my 16th Ironman and with that I proved to myself that no matter how many times you do it and no matter how well you train there are always lessons to be learned. I think that I enjoyed this race more than some of the others. Sure I wanted to be faster but as soon as I finished it did not matter anymore. At the end of the day Ironman is about being tough and crossing the finish line. It is about doing all the training just to get to the race; about the people you meet along the way, the people you train with, the people who support you and the fact that physically you have the ability to complete such a demanding event.
Race Report
It has been a long time since I have written anything resembling a race report but I figured that this race would be a good one to share with everyone because a lot went right, a lot went wrong and there was just as much that was out of my control. The Ironman motto is “anything is possible” and while I love the way it sounds I also know that “anything can happen”.
Race morning was uneventful. Things went smoothly and I enjoyed the energy that accompanies such a large race. The music was blaring, athletes were looking serious, spectators were in awe and the lines the porto-potty were 100’s deep. It was time to race! It started raining shortly before the start but that really did not matter because whatever the weather does I am still racing.
I lined up in the water and got kicked plenty before the race ever started. I was about 5 rows back which was too far back for me. Instead of being swum over, I was the one swimming on top of people, oh what fun. Hand to hand combat in the Ironman. It was crowded but I fought my way over to the buoy line and swam just inside the buoys on the first lap. I was putting in a good effort but really not overdoing it. After the first lap I came out of the water at 30:40 something which I was really pleased with. The next lap I swam outside the buoys and did not get as good a draft but it was still good enough to get me out of the water in about 1:03. I was really happy about that. I enjoyed my run down to transition and felt like a rock star as everyone was lining the streets and cheering.
I was in and out of transition pretty quickly and out onto the bike course. My legs felt great but I really tried to keep the effort on the easy side because there is nothing worse than going too fast on the first lap and paying for it on the second lap. I just wanted to survive this bike course without any random accidents. At mile 10 a nice guy passing me informs me that my rear tire is going flat. Unfortunately I already suspected this because I could feel it pumping along. I had to get off and check it out. It wasn’t totally flat so I just put some CO2 in it and took off again. No big deal. Then at mile 15 I started to hear a really strange noise. It wasn’t my wheel or my tire, but it was definitely me. At that point I touched my hand to my helmet and the plastic top was coming off my aero helmet. As soon as I touched it the entire top piece of my helmet came off on my hand! At this point I am laughing because this has to be some sort of bad joke. I know I am just being tested. I just hold onto the piece of my helmet on my aero bars and try to figure out what on earth I am going to do with it. Lucky for me Tiffany & Dave (great support crew) were waiting about another 5 miles up the road so I gave it to them. I know, I know, technically that is against the rules but I figured it was my best option. Back out on the road I try to get focused again. I am getting passed like crazy. I check my speed and cadence constantly. I am doing 20 mph and getting passed like I am back pedaling. I remind myself at least 1000 times during the bike ride to just ride my race and not worry about getting passed. At mile 40 I find myself on the side of the road yet again putting some more CO2 in my tire. I guess my valve stem is leaking. Of course it did not leak at all in the days before the race! I have no one to blame since I put it on myself with loving care. Finally I complete 1 lap - 56 miles in 3:08 which is fine with me. I set off on lap number 2 just as the wicked wind kicks up and starts howling. It is a variable head wind; meaning it seems like I have a head wind no matter which direction we are riding in. I watch lots of big guys pass me and wish I had the guts to draft, I just don’t because I never have and I am not going to start now. A guy who is 6’10” passes me. I asked him how tall he was because I have never seen a bike that big! I start heading back to town and the headwind is worse than ever. Thank goodness my speedometer stopped working because I think if I could have seen how slow I was going I might have been sad. I just wanted to get past mile 107 since it is around there that I got hit from behind by another cyclist a few years ago – which ended my race that year. As I get close to that mile marker I am very thankful to be out on the course and happy to be able to do something like Ironman. I remind myself of this and suddenly it gets easier. My legs are feeling good, probably because I did not ride hard enough. My stomach is revolting. I can’t keep anything down and I know that I am going to have to survive off Coke and pretzels on the run.
I finally get back to the transition area and run into the tent on my rubber legs.
I actually sit down and take a break. I feel kind of tired and hungry. I just want to sit in the transition tent, but I don’t. I take off running and to my surprise the legs still feel fine. Thank goodness something is going my way today! I hit the first few aid-stations and drink a sip of Coke with pretzels and then alternate water, chicken broth or maybe both. All of a sudden I am so thirsty I just want to guzzle everything. This is not really good but at this point I just have to do what I have to do to get through it. Despite my poor nutrition on the bike I am able to pass a lot of the people back who flew by me on the bike. My first lap was under 2 hours which I was thrilled with. It gave me hope that I was going to have a good run. Then all of a sudden all of the Coke, water and bland chicken soup start to come back up. The remainder of the marathon is spent heaving, running, drinking – repeat at least 6x until I realize at mile 25 if I really bust my rump I can still be under 12 hours. So I sprint (well, it felt like a sprint to me) and then have to really work my butt off coming around the oval to the finish to get in under 12 hours. Some people commented that I was really smiling when I crossed the finish line. Of course I was, I just finished an Ironman and that always makes me happy!
So, this event was my 16th Ironman and with that I proved to myself that no matter how many times you do it and no matter how well you train there are always lessons to be learned. I think that I enjoyed this race more than some of the others. Sure I wanted to be faster but as soon as I finished it did not matter anymore. At the end of the day Ironman is about being tough and crossing the finish line. It is about doing all the training just to get to the race; about the people you meet along the way, the people you train with, the people who support you and the fact that physically you have the ability to complete such a demanding event.
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