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Monday, August 12, 2013

IRONMAN....again!

Well I'll cut to the chase.....I made it through Ironman Lake Placid again, and felt some redemption after last years medical DNF.

Time 11:51:19...A PR by 1:12 seconds, hey better than getting slower.

The swim:  Ironman had a new start this year.  A rolling start like in a road running race.  I know some athletes did not like this, I could hear them at the athletes meeting saying so, but I liked it.  I don't really enjoy the swimming for over an hour and fifteen minutes, so I like not getting kicked or swam over in a mass start.  At the athlete meeting, the swim director promised everyone that if we self seeded honestly, the swim times would be faster.  Well, I was honest and went into the 1:15-1:20 section, and toward the back.   When my wave went into the water I had plenty of space, never contacted another person until the final turn at lap 1 and at the finish.  Came out of the water in 1:18:17, faster than last year but with less energy spent.  Perfect and under my goal of 1:20, I didn't even notice it was raining a little.


I'm on the right.


T1 is a long way from the swim exit.  After exiting the water I found a young looking guy to yank the wet suit off.  Getting into T1 is great.  You grab your bike gear bag and head into the tent to get changed.  In the tent the volunteer that helped me was awesome.  He got me everything I needed.  When I came out of the tent it was still raining, but the volunteer at the rack had my bike ready to go.

The bike starts off with a fast downhill, and with the rain I was going to take it super slow.  Plus my family would be at the bottom of Colden Ave and Mill Pond Drive right in front of the Ambulance Station.  Colden and Mill Pond is just before you make the right turn onto Route 73 and head out of town.  I had promised Cathy on Friday that I would take the first lap of the bike easy and enjoy the scenery.  
Heading out for Lap 2
Team support on the bike

I would sit up and take it all in during the bike and enjoy the 6 hours as best I could.  The beginning of the ride you roll up and out of town, then head down the descent where you can hit 45 mph with no problems.   The rain slowed me down here but that was OK.  The first 35 miles of the bike are not too bad, lots of great views and towns.  Miles 35-41 are tough, especially on the second loop at mile 91-97ish.  It is 6 miles of steady climbing.  No one hill is tough, but it just goes on and on.  You look at your odometer and you are only going 10-14 MPH, it is mentally challenging, especially on lap two.  The ride up the "Notch" before town I don't mind as much as this 6 mile section.  I hit my special needs bag for a little bottle of Mountain Dew and Milky Way bar..yummy.  That was a nice pick me up...I did restock my bike with drinks also.  Last year, I "crashed" with about 25 miles to go on the bike and really didn't remember the last 10 miles coming into town.  So I did not want a repeat of that.  I rode steady and calm, drank plenty of water and Gatorade, and ate when I was hungry.  The sun did finally come out for about 4 hours of the bike.  Had no issues with my bike mechanically or physically.  Bike time:  6:11:40


T2 was a little crazy and crowded.  It is a little tough standing upright after riding in areo position for so long, so everyone kind of looks like The Hunchback of Notre Dame when they first get off the bike.  I had another great volunteer who helped me out and made sure I had everything.  Last year I kind of passed out in the change tent so I was glad to be moving so well.  I made sure I  got to the sun-screeners this year before I left the T2 area.

The run:  The beginning of the run is awesome once you can stand straight.  You head out of the Olympic Oval and go downhill through town.  Its almost 2 miles of crowds going crazy.  I saw my crew right at the corner of Mill Pond Dr and Route 73, only .5 miles from the start of the marathon.  Once you get out passed the Horse Show Grounds, it starts to get a little lonely on the out and back of River Road since the only crowds are the aid stations.  Coming back into town and up the two big climbs around mile 12 the crowds are insane.  You really get a boost from it all.  Plus you can already here Mike Reilly announcing the really fast athletes.  The first loop I really stayed calm and paced easy.  I did it in 1:50 according to my Garmin.  

The second loop is tough.  It is a dog fight.  I felt like the 1988 Mike Tyson was hitting me, not the 2004 Mike Tyson.  When I saw Cathy, my parents, and kids again I got a nice boost, but still had almost 13 miles to go.  I made it mile 15 before I started to walk the aid stations.  Along River Road there were lots of walkers already, including me.  It seemed like the entire run I was around the same 20 people, some on the first loop and some on the second.  It was an alternation between walking the aid station, then run for as long as I could.  I hit mile 20 then went into the hurt locker.  I started the mental task of calculating how long it would be if I walked it in.  This is the tough part of Ironman, not giving in to the mental side.  My body felt ok, but my mind was playing tricks on me.  I would try and not listen, but its tough.  

Coming off River Road and up the hill I finally knew I was under 3 miles to go and was 3:30 into the marathon, give or take some time.  Going passed the Horse Show Grounds I was hurting and at mile 23.5.  The crowds really help you along this part.  I hit the aid station near Mill Pond Road and the lumber yard, lots of Philadelphia Triathlon Club members, that helped thanks to Jimmy Deom, who ran next to me for a few yards shouting encouragement.  The last two hills are long and steep.  I had to walk the first one, but got moving on the second.  Turning right onto Mirror Lake Drive I knew I was under 1.5 miles to go.  The crowds are awesome and I saw Matt Long crossing the street.  I made the final turnaround and knew I was close, but I was hurting.  For the last 10 miles I was slipping sponges into my race kit, ice down my back, cola, oranges, anything I could to stay hydrated and cool.  As you get close to the oval, you hear Mike Reilly calling everyone.  I started drifting over to the side of the street that says finish with a right turn arrow.  As you do that, the crowd really gets loud for you.  Making that right  towards the oval was awesome.  I entered the oval and was on cloud 9.  I almost forgot how bad I was hurting.  As I got close to the finish, I looked over and saw my family...that was great.  Crossing the line again was fantastic, 4:07:56!  I was healthy and happy to be done.  The volunteers at the finish really take car of you, making sure you are ok and have what you need.  I can't say enough about them.






I told Cathy after that next year I may only do 70.3 distances as well as local races.  Training for Ironman takes alot of time, and my kids are at the age where they have a lot of activities on the weekends, so we will see.  I did also say that 2015 I would do the new Boulder Ironman, since I want to visit that area anyway.