Warning: this has been posted elsewhere, but without the pictures. It's here now just to have it "in my files". Enjoy. On a related note, out of the blue I told the family some time back that I wanted to register for IMLP for next year. They said, "okay" without missing a beat. On another related note, I never did find out who that "Caroline" was. Hallucination?
Peace.
IRONMAN LAKE PLACID - Sunday July 22, 2007.
Sunday morning - up before the alarm at 4:30. Spent at least an hour and a half the night before "organizing" my stuff, to the point where my wife yelled at me to "just sit down and stop obsessing". Out the door at 4:45 a.m.
We stayed right in town so I had decided to walk down to transition in the morning. Our hotel was about 100 ft down the street from Placid Planet, where I saw the first shuttle bus stop I walked past. Walked about 3 more minutes before I realized it was too cold in bike shorts and a longsleeve shirt to walk the whole way, so....I put on my wetsuit. No more cold problems after that.
Stopped in on Main St. for a coffee and a bagel, then bodymarking, then just lollygagged around transition for another 45 minutes or so.
Watched the pro women start, and before you knew it, it was time to go...
Swim ("the battle royale")
Time: 1.15:34
My only objective in the water was to get out alive. The beatings started as soon as the cannon went off. I took a couple of smacks, but nothing too serious and eventually gave up on trying to sight "the line" or buoys. I was sighting off the 20-25 people between me and the line of buoys, and that worked. Took another couple of good whacks going around the corners, but made it out alive. In my (brief) experience open-water swimming, anytime you're in "open water", you're off-course. I had to check a couple of times but I more or less managed to hold something of a line.
According to both results on the website and the results book I came out of the water in 1115th place - about half-way, which is about where I always come out of the water, regardless of distance.
Lesson #1: bring shoes or flipflops or something throwaway (if your cheering section is still in bed) - it's really cold in Lake Placid downtown and on the beach in the morning.
Lesson #2: put on sunscreen after the swim, not before. My neck looks like a cross between an alligator purse and a rattlesnake shedding its skin.
T1 - 7:16 (hey, it's a loooong run from the beach)
Bike - 6.12:01
As soon as you roll out of town, the climbing starts, but I was feeling pretty good so the first climb (pre-Keene) actually felt pretty good. About a half-hour out I thought it was time to have something to eat, so I proceeded to get one bite out of my energy bar, before I dropped it. Much cursing followed, but I snagged a banana and gel at the aid station. The 9km descent into Keene is awesome!!! I broke 76 km/h on the downhill, and I couldn't wait to get back there again.
The scenery on the course is just amazing. We were told at the athlete's meeting to make sure to take the time to look up while on the course, and it really is unbelievable. That, and the costumed monkeys in Black Brook.
The first bike lap finished under three hours - the second, not so much. The wind picked up throughout the morning, and according to the paper the next day the temperature changed 40 degrees F (~22 degrees C) through the day), so the second lap was hotter and windier. The second lap climb, from Wilmington back into Lake Placid (this is where I saw the "Go Cliff Tam #280" sign twice) was not nearly as much fun as the first.
The results book had me at #685 after the bike, which means I had to pass almost 500 people (!) on the bike. I didn't notice it - maybe they were all in the transition tent
Lesson #3: don't follow the breakaway. When someone wants to gun past you on the bike, let him/her go. Don't follow the breakaway. It's long day (don't follow the breakaway) with a long way to go. Did I mention not to follow the breakaway??
Side note: holy pelotons, Batman. I know this is a non-drafting sport, but were they ever out there.
T2 - 5:51 (with sunscreen !!)
Run - 4.28:43 (still faster than Oprah)
Not much excitement here. I caught myself thinking, out of T2, that I was around 7:40, and if I could hold together a 4:20 marathon I could break 12 hours. I managed to hold the pace for the first lap, and part of the second (saw Skee twice here - coming in while I was going out, and coming back in while I was going out for lap #2), but the food at the rest stops just got too good to pass up. I walked a few hills (okay, all the hills) on the second lap. The run course is actually broken up nicely, so that if you know where the turnarounds are (would have been really helpful to drive/ride the course) then you can trick yourself into thinking it's all just a bunch of shorter races. The two killer hills on the way back in, at 9/22 miles (over the bridge) and 11/24 miles (into town) are just nasty.
Overall: 12.09:23
616th overall, 143/415 M35-39
I have no idea where this time came from. My only goals were to finish vertical, and hopefully before dark. Will I do this again? Absolutely. The hook is in, pretty deep. I actually found myself thinking about "the next race" while on the run, and my wife actually asked me "so, where are we going next?" on Monday.
Like the academy, I have some people to thank.
Two people, Jane #2485 from Windsor and Caroline, #2166. Caroline, I ran a few miles with on the second lap. Jane, I leapfrogged all day long on the bike and through most of the run, until I passed her for good around mile 23.
Cliff (ckct) and Darren (skeezix) for the swim and strategy Friday a.m. I think I only needed to be told about sixteen more times to "go easy on the first lap".
Finally, my cheering section - my wife and two kids, who made and put up the signs (still have them in my garage) and posted messages on the "inspiration board". They let me go through all this, and never complained (okay, not very much) and actually sound like they want to do it all over again.
Thanks.
We stayed right in town so I had decided to walk down to transition in the morning. Our hotel was about 100 ft down the street from Placid Planet, where I saw the first shuttle bus stop I walked past. Walked about 3 more minutes before I realized it was too cold in bike shorts and a longsleeve shirt to walk the whole way, so....I put on my wetsuit. No more cold problems after that.
Stopped in on Main St. for a coffee and a bagel, then bodymarking, then just lollygagged around transition for another 45 minutes or so.
Watched the pro women start, and before you knew it, it was time to go...
Swim ("the battle royale")
Time: 1.15:34
My only objective in the water was to get out alive. The beatings started as soon as the cannon went off. I took a couple of smacks, but nothing too serious and eventually gave up on trying to sight "the line" or buoys. I was sighting off the 20-25 people between me and the line of buoys, and that worked. Took another couple of good whacks going around the corners, but made it out alive. In my (brief) experience open-water swimming, anytime you're in "open water", you're off-course. I had to check a couple of times but I more or less managed to hold something of a line.
According to both results on the website and the results book I came out of the water in 1115th place - about half-way, which is about where I always come out of the water, regardless of distance.
Lesson #1: bring shoes or flipflops or something throwaway (if your cheering section is still in bed) - it's really cold in Lake Placid downtown and on the beach in the morning.
Lesson #2: put on sunscreen after the swim, not before. My neck looks like a cross between an alligator purse and a rattlesnake shedding its skin.
T1 - 7:16 (hey, it's a loooong run from the beach)
Bike - 6.12:01
As soon as you roll out of town, the climbing starts, but I was feeling pretty good so the first climb (pre-Keene) actually felt pretty good. About a half-hour out I thought it was time to have something to eat, so I proceeded to get one bite out of my energy bar, before I dropped it. Much cursing followed, but I snagged a banana and gel at the aid station. The 9km descent into Keene is awesome!!! I broke 76 km/h on the downhill, and I couldn't wait to get back there again.
The scenery on the course is just amazing. We were told at the athlete's meeting to make sure to take the time to look up while on the course, and it really is unbelievable. That, and the costumed monkeys in Black Brook.
The first bike lap finished under three hours - the second, not so much. The wind picked up throughout the morning, and according to the paper the next day the temperature changed 40 degrees F (~22 degrees C) through the day), so the second lap was hotter and windier. The second lap climb, from Wilmington back into Lake Placid (this is where I saw the "Go Cliff Tam #280" sign twice) was not nearly as much fun as the first.
The results book had me at #685 after the bike, which means I had to pass almost 500 people (!) on the bike. I didn't notice it - maybe they were all in the transition tent
Lesson #3: don't follow the breakaway. When someone wants to gun past you on the bike, let him/her go. Don't follow the breakaway. It's long day (don't follow the breakaway) with a long way to go. Did I mention not to follow the breakaway??
Side note: holy pelotons, Batman. I know this is a non-drafting sport, but were they ever out there.
T2 - 5:51 (with sunscreen !!)
Run - 4.28:43 (still faster than Oprah)
Not much excitement here. I caught myself thinking, out of T2, that I was around 7:40, and if I could hold together a 4:20 marathon I could break 12 hours. I managed to hold the pace for the first lap, and part of the second (saw Skee twice here - coming in while I was going out, and coming back in while I was going out for lap #2), but the food at the rest stops just got too good to pass up. I walked a few hills (okay, all the hills) on the second lap. The run course is actually broken up nicely, so that if you know where the turnarounds are (would have been really helpful to drive/ride the course) then you can trick yourself into thinking it's all just a bunch of shorter races. The two killer hills on the way back in, at 9/22 miles (over the bridge) and 11/24 miles (into town) are just nasty.
Overall: 12.09:23
616th overall, 143/415 M35-39
I have no idea where this time came from. My only goals were to finish vertical, and hopefully before dark. Will I do this again? Absolutely. The hook is in, pretty deep. I actually found myself thinking about "the next race" while on the run, and my wife actually asked me "so, where are we going next?" on Monday.
Like the academy, I have some people to thank.
Two people, Jane #2485 from Windsor and Caroline, #2166. Caroline, I ran a few miles with on the second lap. Jane, I leapfrogged all day long on the bike and through most of the run, until I passed her for good around mile 23.
Cliff (ckct) and Darren (skeezix) for the swim and strategy Friday a.m. I think I only needed to be told about sixteen more times to "go easy on the first lap".
Finally, my cheering section - my wife and two kids, who made and put up the signs (still have them in my garage) and posted messages on the "inspiration board". They let me go through all this, and never complained (okay, not very much) and actually sound like they want to do it all over again.
Thanks.
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