Ironman USA Race Report
I have a bone to pick with the National Weather Service. For several days leading up to Ironman Lake Placid, the forecast for the Lake Placid area was for highs in the low 70s and “scattered showers.” As the day drew nearer, the forecast changed a bit, but basically indicated scattered showers and periods of light rain. That’s not exactly what happened.
IM Lake Placid has been on my list for a while. In 2003 I went to support some teammates and signed up to race in 2004. For various reasons, I dropped out in ’04 and did not make the trip. In 2006 I went back as a coach, and spent much of the evening supporting out on the run course. It was a beatuful day and I enjoyed being out on the course so much, I decided that I would sign up. I was planning on taking 2007 off from Ironman, so 2008 was the year.
I had previously completed 5 Ironman races with finish times from 14:28 to 16:22. Lake Placid is a “slower” course than the others I’d completed, and based on that, and my relative fitness, I was guessing I’d do about 1:30 on the swim, 7:45 on the bike, and 6:30 on the run. Throw in 20 minutes for transitions, and I was guessing an even 16:00. The day could easily go 30 minutes in either direction, so I told my family to expect 15:30 to 16:30.
The few days leading up to an Ironman are very busy. Ann, Bindu, Shanti, Dan, Karen, Nick, Steve, and I left San Jose at 6:20 AM on Thursday and arrived in Lake Placid around 8PM after two flights, a ferry ride, and a drive on a country road. I slept in a bit on Friday morning, and missed a rainstorm that came and went pretty quickly. We gathered around 9:30 to register, shop, and pickup our bikes. Other than the lines for registration, this all went smoothly.
Around 2:00 we headed to the lake for a quick swim. It was hot and muggy as we pulled on our wetsuits. Sweating, while putting on a wetsuit is not very pleasant, so I was happy to jump in the cool water and start swimming. The course was set, and we planned to swim the first three buoys, across, and back… probably 500-600 yards.
Lake swimming is generally not like pool swimming. There are no lane-lines, and no black line on the bottom of the pool. You have to practice “sighting” on the buoys, or other landmaks to make sure you swim straight. At Lake Placid, there is a cable on the buoy line. It sits about 4-5 feet below the water and is like having that line on the pool bottom. If you can see the cable, you’re swimming straight. So I practiced looking for the cable, I moved around inside and outside the buoy line to get a sense of how far I could get and still see it.
At the first buoy I noticed it was sprinkling. No problem. I was already wet. By the second buoy, it was raining pretty hard, but I felt good and kept swimming. When I reached the third buoy, I stopped to look around. I could not really see the shore. The surface of the water was “alive” with droplets bouncing up and down all around. It was pretty fun to watch. We regrouped and headed across and back to shore. On the way back, it seemed the rain was even harder. Each breath I would feel the stinging rain on my cheek as I breathed. That struck me as odd, so I stopped and stuck my hand out. I watched as the little ice pellets bounced off my hand. It was hailing!
Back at the shore, most people had fled for cover. There was a river flowing from the drainage pipe into the lake. We rushed back to the car across the flooded streets. Towels were not useful. We soaked the car seats as we rode back towards the hotel. As the storm continued we saw folks waking the streets in their wetsuits!
Saturday was more to do. Pack the bags, check in the bike, TNT luncheon, and then rest. After dinner in the hotel, I tried to sleep as much as possible before my 4:00 AM wakeup.
I slept pretty well. I wasn’t too nervous. I knew it would be a long day, but I had enough training to finish, and should be not too close to any cutoffs. At 4:00 AM I ate a quick breakfast, packed up my special needs bags, and my food for the day and met my parents in the lobby.
The transition layout is different than other races I’ve done. There were a lot of steps, probably done in a better order than I did them but I… Put my food in my transition bags, put my food on my bike, pumped up my tires, stood in the porta-potty line, went out to get bodymarked, went back in to check my transition bags, walked the 1/4 mile to drop off my special needs bags, walked 1/4 mile back, chatted with Larry, Alex, and Renee, saw my parents, walked back into transition, put on my wetsuit to the waist, put my dry clothes bag on the rack, and walked out to the lake. Phew! I knew there was a reason I get to transition at 5:00 for a 7:00 start!
Around 6:30 it started to rain. It wasn’t very hard at first, just a sprinkle. I chatted with Larry and Alex. About 6:45, Hez and I decided to get in the water. We swam across to the far side of the lake. We could stand while we waited, and would be out of the fray when the start happened.
Around 6:55, a local school teacher, sang the national anthem for the 10th time (this was the 10th annual race). She missed the high note, also probably for the 10th time), and before we knew it the race was about to begin. I gave Hez a quick hug, wished her luck, and headed towards the start line. I treaded water for a few seconds and BOOM, the cannon went off.
I started about 50 yards out to the side of the buoy line, and I aimed for the 3rd buoy which was about 300 yards away. By my 7th –grade math, this meant I was swimming about 5 extra yards. A very good tradeoff for smooth water over a 4200 yard swim course. As Ironman swim starts go, this was pretty tame (I heard it was not so tame over at the buoy line). I was able to keep a pretty good rhythm, passing some folks, being passed by others. As we neared the magic cable, it got a bit more crowded, but after joining the pack, I stayed wide of the cable.
After the turn I was able to sneak closer to the cable. I came upon a Team in Training wetsuit, and realized that I was swimming next to Bindu. I stuck my hand in front of his face and waved hello. I found it was easier to swim on the inside of the buoy line. This is allowed as long as you go outside of the last buoy. As I approached the shore on the first lap, I noticed it was raining hard. The thousands of fans must have been getting soaked. I heard the crowd cheering, my hand hit the bottom, and I stood up. I crossed the mat and looked at the clock. It read 54 minutes! I couldn’t be swimming that slowly. As I jumped back in the water I realized (hopefully) that the clock was showing the time for the professional race (which started 10 minutes earlier). If that was true, I was right on schedule. If not, it was going to be the longest swim of my life.
The second loop was pretty uneventful. I could feel my general lack of swimming, so my shoulder started to get a bit tired. About 500 yards before the finish I got kicked square in the jaw. It didn’t hurt too much. But I think that was adrenaline, because a few minutes later, my jaw was getting sore. I counted down the buoys and started to think about the ride. I hit ground, stood up, and saw 1:30 on the clock – they had reset the clock to the main race time, and I was right on schedule.
Swim: 1:31:14
I ran down the carpet in the pouring rain, pulled my wetsuit to my waist, and found a pair of wetsuit strippers. They pointed to the ground, I hit the ground, and RIIIP, my suit was off. They pulled me up, handed me the suit, and I was on my way, running down the carpet in the pouring rain.
The transition tent was unlike any Ironman I’ve ever done. It was dark., the floor was a mud-pit, and chairs were few and far-between. I found a chair and dug through my bag. My feet were muddy, but I pulled on my socks, bike shorts, and jersey. I headed out into the rain.
T1: 12:26 (Total Time 1:43:40)
The bike starts with a downhill out of the school, and a quick right hand turn. The road was a river of water and my brakes were not working so well. Down the hill, and around the corner, I saw my parents. They were wearing plastic rain ponchos that we bought at the corner store the day before “just in case” and they had an umbrella, so at least they were sorta dry. I felt sorry for making them stand in the rain, but I figured it would stop soon…. They always say, “If you don’t like the Adirondak weather, wait 10 minutes.”
Just about everybody knows that Lake Placid’s bike course has a couple of “screaming downhills.” We can argue about where they are on the course, but they are definitely there. After a few miles of rollers, I started to see the signs for the hill. In a large bike race like the Ironman, big downhills are interesting. There are some who fly down, getting in their aerobars and approaching 50 mph! Others are a bit more cautious, riding their brakes and hanging on the side. I tend to fall in the middle somewhere. But with my brakes not working so well due to the wet rims, I was probably going to go a bit faster than normal.
All along the hill, there was water flowing on the road. Usually left to right, but sometimes straight downhill. Riders were going all speeds, passing on the left, kicking up a big spray behind them, one rider seemed like she was more or less stopped on the side. She was moving, but I have no idea how she moved so slowly. The biggest problem was that with so much rain and spray, my glasses were wet and foggy and I didn’t see her until I was right up behind her. I made a quick move to the left and avoided the collision!
Once I reached Keene, I was pretty happy. My hands were sore from “trying” to brake, but I knew that the scary part was done. There were lots of rollers and some climbs to come, but nothing too bad. And certainly by the next loop, the rain would stop. I would LOVE to go down those hills on dry roads!
Given that we’re already 4 pages in, and only about 20 miles into the bike course, I’ll skip ahead a little bit…. Here’s a summary….
Wet… Eat… Drink… Uphill… Downhill… Wet… Rain… Eat… Drink…. It’s Still Raining???… Slow Grind… Upper Jay… Wet… Rain… Wet… Rain… Lather… Rinse… Repeat.
I reached the out-and-back section. This was where I’d get to see everybody, and how they were doing. It was a madhouse. It’s a small country road, has a few twists and turns, ups and downs, and was currently covered with about 1500 riders on a 6-mile stretch. Volunteers on the side warned that we should not ride through the puddles. Turns out that some of them were actually potholes and might be a bit deeper than they looked!
I never saw Nick on the bike. That’s not surprising, given that he was probably already done with the first loop by now! I never saw Dan or Steve either, but I am sure I just missed them when I was trying not to ride into a hole. Ann looked to be moving fast when I saw the flames ride by. Then I saw Bindu. I checked my watch, when I reached the turnaround. Bindu was probably 4-5 minutes ahead of me. He left transition a bit before I did, so we were riding very similar pace. That was probably a good sign. A couple minutes after the turnaround I saw Hez, and knew she was doing well. Finally, as I reached the end of the out-and-back, I heard my name… looked up, there was Jenn Sussman! Yay! Another friendly face out in the rain!
Eat… Drink… Eat… Drink… Wet… Wet… Wet.
Anybody who has ever been coached by me has heard me say “Nothing new on race day” and honestly, I thought I was following that. They have also heard how pacing on an Ironman bike ride is one of the most important parts of the race, and how I have my pace dialed in, and always pace myself on heart-rate.
So… first of all, I have a new bike computer… now by “new” I mean it is over a month old. The odometer read over 400 miles on race morning. I also have race-wheels, which I have used for 5 years. But the “new” combination of the two just did not work. The sensor would not reach the magnet. I realized this on Friday before the race. I decided that rather than try to rig something up at the last minute, I would just deal with it. I ride with a Garmin GPS watch, and that would give me my current speed. Now, anybody who has used Garmins knows that they have battery-life issues. They will only run for 9-10 hours. This is long enough for about 99.3% of the country, but not long enough for an Ironman (at least not for me). I have enough friends who do this stuff that I can just borrow a second one…So I did. One for the bike, one for the run. So, imagine my surprise, when my borrowed Garmin works like a charm… except for the heartrate. Oops, guess I should have tried that combination too! So I’m down to pacing myself on “perceived exertion.” We’ll see how this goes!
The downside of “screaming downhills” is that all the elevation you lose, you need to make up. This means climbing. At Lake Placid, the climbs are not steep – really not at all – but they are long. So I hit the long gradual grind back up to the transition area. It was really not bad. Except for the rain. Oh yeah… still raining.
Spin… Eat… Drink… Spin… Rain… Stand…. Sit… Chat… Eat… Drink… Wet…The last hill on the course is a quick steep ride, and it’s lined with people. I’ve heard this referred to as the “Tour de France” moment. You ride through a pack of cheering fans, and it’s very tempting to stand up and sprint up the hill. The downside is that once you do that, you need to go ride another 56 miles on the bike. So I decided that I would take it easy, spin up in an easy gear and save my legs for loop number two.
A few more short rollers and I was at the “special needs” stop. Here I got a bag that I had packed earlier. I picked up my 2 bottles of Carbo-Pro, a bag of gummy bears I put in my pocket, and my turkey sandwich. I took a second to fix my breaks (they were rubbing for the last mile or so), shoved the sandwich in my mouth and headed back into town. The loop ends with a quick ride up the street by the Olympic center with all the flags. Lots of cheering fans, including Alex and Larry! I crossed the mat in 3:52:30. Almost exactly 50% of my estimate of 3:45 for the ride. That sounds great, except my estimate was based on be being about 15 minutes slower on the 2nd loop. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes. Maybe the rain will stop this time.
Back around the school, down the hill, into town, and down past the hotel. My folks were there on the road, along with Karen, Katie, and Shanti… Maybe more, I could not tell. At least they were close to home and could go inside for the next 3-4 hours while I rode the next loop.
The second loop was much like the first. The rain continued to pour. The downhills were still scary, but not as much as the first time. There were fewer riders, and I think I was just more comfortable with it. Early in the second loop I caught back up with Bindu. We rode together for a while and talked about how we and everybody else were doing. This was fun… I swam with Bindu, and biked with Bindu. I was very sure this would end, as he is a much faster runner than I am! Apparently he descends faster too, at least today he did. Once we hit the big downhill, he dropped me, and I didn’t see him again until the out-and-back.
Spin… Eat… Drink… Rain… Wet… Downhill… Cold… Spin… Wet… Climb… Warm up a bit… Eat… Drink… Out and Back… Potholes… Rivers looking like they will overflow…. There’s Dan, wearing his IMAZ jacket…. Bindu 5 minutes ahead… Hez 5 minutes behind…. Everybody looks good…. There’s Jenn again, cheering in the rain with her dog!… Spin… Eat… Drink… Rain… Big Long Slow Hill…
I truly find it entertaining to see how many people near the back of the pack with me were wearing aero helmets. It’s just silly. I mean, here we are trudging up a hill at 6 mph and they’ve got a wing on their head. Definitely something to pass the time. Around 4pm, the rain stopped. The old saying is true “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes” because it started raining again in less than that!
Finally, I reached the last climb. The crowd had thinned a bit, and I stood up just for the fun of it… Up over the top and down into town. Time to run. My last 2 Ironman races, I had foot problems which made the first few miles of the run extremely painful and slow. This time the feet felt good. Now we’d see what I could do. My second loop was 4:06:29. 14 minutes slower than loop 1. At least I got that one right! Just under 8 hours for the bike.
Bike: 7:58:59 (Total Time 9:42:39)
A volunteer took my bike. I grabbed my transition bag and immediately stepped in a big mud puddle. Most of the ground under the tent was a mud puddle. The volunteers pointed me to a section of the tent which had some chairs up on concrete. So instead of mud, they sat in a puddle. A volunteer said “it’s drier over there” so I headed to the edge of the tent. Of course there were no chairs over there, so I came back and sat down. I saw Bindu leaving T2. I yelled “go Bindu” but I don’t think he heard me.
I pulled off my cycling shorts and changed into my singlet. I joked with another guy about the folly of putting on dry socks for the run. But I did it anyway. I was afraid that running a marathon in wet socks would lead to blisters. I figured even if they were dry for just a few minutes, maybe it would make a difference. I saw a guy putting on a plastic bag. I asked if they were giving them out, but he brought is own. Oh well.
I walked out of the tent and straight into a puddle. So much for dry socks. I looked up at the clock, and it read 10:01. So 7 hours for the marathon. No problem. I would make the cutoff.
T2: 9:17 (Total Time 9:51:56)
You may notice that the time on that clock does not match my running total time. More on that later!
As I left the transition area, and on to the run course, there was a bit of sensory overload. I could hear the really fast folks finishing behind me. I could see lots of runners starting their second loop. I heard my name called, saw my parents, and some of the other TNT fans, and lots of general mayhem. The roads were lined with umbrellas, people in parkas, plastic bags, or whatever they could do to keep warm. I was a bit worried about being cold, but it wasn’t too bad.
Each run loop starts with a big downhill. It’s pretty nice because you get to run it. The downside is that you have to climb it on the way back. But that’s 11 miles ahead. For now, see how the legs feel. They actually felt pretty good. I was running more than I was walking, and other than the fact that it was still raining, had a pretty good outlook on running a marathon this evening.
I saw Rich, running like a man possessed. I saw Nick near the end of his first loop. As expected, he tore up the bike course. He said everybody was looking good, but he was having a long run. Back through town, past our hotel… oh so close… down past the ski jumps, and over the bridge. The legs felt good, it was time to get with the program.
From my time supporting the race a few years ago, I knew the run course pretty well. Once we made the turn after the bridge it was pretty flat. There were a few rollers, but basically, a nice flat course. I had trained all year using a 4:1 run/walk. Run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. I carried a flask with several GUs in it, so I could take a little sip whenever I wanted. So to keep the energy up, I would take a small hit of GU on each of my 1 minute walks.
Run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Run 4, walk 1. Repeat. As I ran, I would occasionally look at my Garmin watch. I was running 10:15 mile pace when I was running, and 15-16 min mile pace while walking. My overall mile splits were in the 11-12 minute range. At this pace I would have no trouble making the cutoff. I just had to keep eating to keep the energy level up.
Around mile 4, I ran in to Steve coming the other way. He was grazing at a waterstop and wearing a plastic bag. We chatted for a few seconds. He told me Dan and Ann were just a bit behind him, and that Bindu was a little bit ahead of me and looking great. I knew there was no chance I’d catch Bindu, even with my feeling great. He’s just too fast a runner.
The run course out there is really beautiful. At least it is on a clear day. Bright green fields, a big red barn, the sun shining off the pond. I have pictures from 2006 if you’re interested. Today, everything was grey… oh yeah… still raining.
Still feeling good, I kept up my 4:1. I would modify as road conditions changed. I felt no need to run up hills. But I would also not waste a downhill by walking. I saw Ann and Dan. Both looked pretty good. Nobody looks great during the marathon of the Ironman… especially on a day like this. Then I saw Bindu. I think I saw his smile about a 1/2 mile away. He really did look great. Nothing was going to stop him, and he was gonna finish this thing. We high-fived as I headed out and he headed back.
Away from town it was much quieter. You could hear the swollen rivers flowing, the sound of rain through the trees, and the constant “squish, squish” of wet shoes on the pavement. Every mile or so the noise level would pickup. The aid stations were full of supporters standing out in the rain for hours on end. They wore parkas, plastic bags, or whatever, but they were wet. Just like us. The difference was they did not have exercise keeping them warm. Volunteers make races like this possible, and they put in a huge effort that day.
Around the turnaround I slowed to a walk, making sure my chip was read by the timing mat. BEEP… ok, back to run/walk. 4 minutes run, 1 minute walk… run… walk… oh, look, there’s Hez! Go Hez! Run… walk… eat… drink… still raining.. wait… it stopped. About 6:30 PM, it actually stopped raining. There were little cheers along the run course as we realized it might be done.
Of course, if you don’t like the weather in the Adirondaks, wait 10 minutes. It started raining again. It continued on and off for another couple hours, but this was the weather we were expecting. Scattered showers. No torrential downpours. On and off. So maybe the weather people were right. If only 12 hours late.
Run, walk, eat, drink, run, walk, eat, drink. I started taking pretzels at the water stops. I was still feeling good. As I approached our hotel, I saw my parents. They asked how I was feeling, and I said that I felt surprisingly good. I hoped to keep it up. I gave them a high-five and kept moving. Looking at my time, I realized I was on a pace to beat my marathon PR. I didn’t think it would actually happen, but it would be pretty amazing given that I did not run as much in training as I would have liked, and was racing about 8 lbs heavier than when I set that record (not including the 2 lbs of water that I was carrying in my socks and shoes). My 12 minute miles had slipped to 13s, but I was still making good time.
I got to the big hill and walked up. Made the turn into town and kept walking. Turned right up to the short out-and-back section and kept walking. I figured I would let my run muscles rest. So I walked about a mile to the turn around. Even with all that walking I kept a 16 minute pace. Just keep moving. It will all be over in 14 miles. I jogged down this hill and over the half-way timing mat. My first half marathon was 2:52. My PR is around 5:51, so I was just under PR pace. I knew it was not going to happen, but it was fun to think about.
Back down the big hill, I saw Katie and Shanti. Over by the hotel, I saw my parents. Down the hill, over the bridge… run… walk… run… walk… walk… walk… run… walk. My walk breaks were getting longer, my runs were getting shorter. I was not worried about cutoffs, and I didn’t really have a time “goal” just the estimate of 15:30-16:30. I knew I was in there. So I let myself slow down. I walked more than I ran, and just “walked with a purpose.”
Loop two is much quieter. The sun was going down, there were fewer runners, and there’s a lot more time alone with your thoughts. Walk with a purpose… run to that tree… eat… drink… keep moving forward… I knew I would make it. The only question was when.
Around mile 21 (which is 17 on the way out), they have the “Ford Inspiration Station.” They play loud music and cheer you on over a loudspeaker. You run over a timing mat and it puts your name on a big screen with a message. I guess you can leave personal messages for the athletes. Mine said “M Wasserman, you are doing great” which I am guessing was probably a random choice. They had a race clock there, and around mile 17 it was reading around 13:50. Doing some math in my head I figured I would come in around 11pm, or 16 hours. Sounded good to me.
It was pretty dark, I put on my long-sleeved IronTeam shirt that I picked up in special needs. It wasn’t too cold, but I was walking more than running, and was glad to have it. Out in the dark you’d see glow sticks bouncing up and down. Then about every mile there would be big bright lights and loud music at an aid station. Each station had a theme. I don’t remember all of them, but the 3:16 station blasted Christian rock and a supporter said he was praying for the safe completion of my race. I’ll take it.
Around the turn-around, I headed back, I started to drink Coke at the waterstops. Coke provides a quick burst of energy with simple sugar and caffeine. But as quickly as it comes, it goes away. So you have to keep drinking it. Every mile I’d hit a waterstop… .”Water, Gatorade??” the volunteers would ask… “COKE!” and they’d point me to whichever volunteer was handing it out.
I started to pick it up. I wasn’t quite at a 4:1, but I would pick up landmarks and run to them. I noticed at some point I was actually running a 10 minute pace. Wow, that Coke stuff really works.
At mile 21, I see the clock at the Ford thing. I have 5.2 miles to go. I Check my watch, and look at my pace. At this point it looks like a 6:05-6:10 marathon for me. Since I started at 5 PM (10 hours), that puts me in at 16:05-16:10. My stopwatch and the clock all verify this. I’m perfectly happy with that time.
My friend Laura offered to send me some good vibes on race day. I asked that they be sent at 10PM Eastern Time, since that was when I would need a little push. She said she would imagine me by the big red barn. Sure enough, when my watch said 5 hours running I was by the big red barn. Right on schedule. About 4 miles to go.
Back through town, I kept moving. I had no time pressure, and alternated between speeding up to just be done with it, and slowing down because I was tired, and saw no need to rush. I ran into Nick and Renee who were walking back to the hotel and I gave them my fuel belt. Good to get rid of that thing. Into town, spectators were saying “You’ll make it… good job… congratulations… almost there.” “Almost there” is almost always the wrong thing to say when cheering for an Ironman. But in this case, I think it was close enough.
I make the turn up the last out-and-back, doing a run-walk, not in any particular hurry. No time pressure, the nearest “hour mark” will be past, and I’ll finish around 16:10. Almost done. Walk, run, walk, run. Round the last turn and it’s basically all downhill. No more walking. I cruise down the hill enjoying the cheers of the crowds.
On the right, just before entering the oval, I see Larry. He says “if you pick it up, you can break 16.” What??? Wasn’t it like 16:08 already? Well, apparently not. Turns out that the transition clock and the clock on the course all had the “pro” time. The pros got a 10 minute head start. Would have been nice to know. But it didn’t matter. I heard the announcer say 16 hours, and I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time. Oh well. No big deal.
Down the hill and onto the speedskating oval. The last 1/8 mile or so is along the track. It makes sense that a track designed to be covered with ice would not drain so well. So as you might imagine it was wet. Who cares. I’m done. I saw my folks cheer as I head around the turn, into the finish chute. I slap hands. I see a flames jacket or two… Not sure who they were, but I keep going. I raise my arms, hit the tape, smile for the camera, and hear “Mike Wasserman… you are an Ironman!”
Done. Unfortunately the photographer was out to lunch, so this is my finish picture.
Run: 6:10:15 (Total Time 16:02:11)
Behind the finish line, I got my hat, medal, and t-shirt. Headed back to the athlete area and saw Dan, Ann, and Steve who had grabbed me some pizza. I took a quick picture with my parents, saw Jenn Sussman and took a pic with her. Ate some more pizza. We called Alex to see where Hez was. She was about 15 minutes out, running with Rich. So we all gathered behind the finish line to watch her cross.
All in all we had 10 athletes racing. All 10 finished. In retrospect the rain was a good thing. Sure it was miserable, but it kept the temperature down. Cool weather makes everything easier.
Big thanks to my parents for hanging around in the pouring rain all day. Thanks to all my friends and teammates for your support. And a special thanks to all those who donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We raised over $10,000 to cure cancer!
IM Lake Placid has been on my list for a while. In 2003 I went to support some teammates and signed up to race in 2004. For various reasons, I dropped out in ’04 and did not make the trip. In 2006 I went back as a coach, and spent much of the evening supporting out on the run course. It was a beatuful day and I enjoyed being out on the course so much, I decided that I would sign up. I was planning on taking 2007 off from Ironman, so 2008 was the year.
I had previously completed 5 Ironman races with finish times from 14:28 to 16:22. Lake Placid is a “slower” course than the others I’d completed, and based on that, and my relative fitness, I was guessing I’d do about 1:30 on the swim, 7:45 on the bike, and 6:30 on the run. Throw in 20 minutes for transitions, and I was guessing an even 16:00. The day could easily go 30 minutes in either direction, so I told my family to expect 15:30 to 16:30.
The few days leading up to an Ironman are very busy. Ann, Bindu, Shanti, Dan, Karen, Nick, Steve, and I left San Jose at 6:20 AM on Thursday and arrived in Lake Placid around 8PM after two flights, a ferry ride, and a drive on a country road. I slept in a bit on Friday morning, and missed a rainstorm that came and went pretty quickly. We gathered around 9:30 to register, shop, and pickup our bikes. Other than the lines for registration, this all went smoothly.
Around 2:00 we headed to the lake for a quick swim. It was hot and muggy as we pulled on our wetsuits. Sweating, while putting on a wetsuit is not very pleasant, so I was happy to jump in the cool water and start swimming. The course was set, and we planned to swim the first three buoys, across, and back… probably 500-600 yards.
Lake swimming is generally not like pool swimming. There are no lane-lines, and no black line on the bottom of the pool. You have to practice “sighting” on the buoys, or other landmaks to make sure you swim straight. At Lake Placid, there is a cable on the buoy line. It sits about 4-5 feet below the water and is like having that line on the pool bottom. If you can see the cable, you’re swimming straight. So I practiced looking for the cable, I moved around inside and outside the buoy line to get a sense of how far I could get and still see it.
At the first buoy I noticed it was sprinkling. No problem. I was already wet. By the second buoy, it was raining pretty hard, but I felt good and kept swimming. When I reached the third buoy, I stopped to look around. I could not really see the shore. The surface of the water was “alive” with droplets bouncing up and down all around. It was pretty fun to watch. We regrouped and headed across and back to shore. On the way back, it seemed the rain was even harder. Each breath I would feel the stinging rain on my cheek as I breathed. That struck me as odd, so I stopped and stuck my hand out. I watched as the little ice pellets bounced off my hand. It was hailing!
Back at the shore, most people had fled for cover. There was a river flowing from the drainage pipe into the lake. We rushed back to the car across the flooded streets. Towels were not useful. We soaked the car seats as we rode back towards the hotel. As the storm continued we saw folks waking the streets in their wetsuits!
Saturday was more to do. Pack the bags, check in the bike, TNT luncheon, and then rest. After dinner in the hotel, I tried to sleep as much as possible before my 4:00 AM wakeup.
I slept pretty well. I wasn’t too nervous. I knew it would be a long day, but I had enough training to finish, and should be not too close to any cutoffs. At 4:00 AM I ate a quick breakfast, packed up my special needs bags, and my food for the day and met my parents in the lobby.
The transition layout is different than other races I’ve done. There were a lot of steps, probably done in a better order than I did them but I… Put my food in my transition bags, put my food on my bike, pumped up my tires, stood in the porta-potty line, went out to get bodymarked, went back in to check my transition bags, walked the 1/4 mile to drop off my special needs bags, walked 1/4 mile back, chatted with Larry, Alex, and Renee, saw my parents, walked back into transition, put on my wetsuit to the waist, put my dry clothes bag on the rack, and walked out to the lake. Phew! I knew there was a reason I get to transition at 5:00 for a 7:00 start!
Around 6:30 it started to rain. It wasn’t very hard at first, just a sprinkle. I chatted with Larry and Alex. About 6:45, Hez and I decided to get in the water. We swam across to the far side of the lake. We could stand while we waited, and would be out of the fray when the start happened.
Around 6:55, a local school teacher, sang the national anthem for the 10th time (this was the 10th annual race). She missed the high note, also probably for the 10th time), and before we knew it the race was about to begin. I gave Hez a quick hug, wished her luck, and headed towards the start line. I treaded water for a few seconds and BOOM, the cannon went off.
I started about 50 yards out to the side of the buoy line, and I aimed for the 3rd buoy which was about 300 yards away. By my 7th –grade math, this meant I was swimming about 5 extra yards. A very good tradeoff for smooth water over a 4200 yard swim course. As Ironman swim starts go, this was pretty tame (I heard it was not so tame over at the buoy line). I was able to keep a pretty good rhythm, passing some folks, being passed by others. As we neared the magic cable, it got a bit more crowded, but after joining the pack, I stayed wide of the cable.
After the turn I was able to sneak closer to the cable. I came upon a Team in Training wetsuit, and realized that I was swimming next to Bindu. I stuck my hand in front of his face and waved hello. I found it was easier to swim on the inside of the buoy line. This is allowed as long as you go outside of the last buoy. As I approached the shore on the first lap, I noticed it was raining hard. The thousands of fans must have been getting soaked. I heard the crowd cheering, my hand hit the bottom, and I stood up. I crossed the mat and looked at the clock. It read 54 minutes! I couldn’t be swimming that slowly. As I jumped back in the water I realized (hopefully) that the clock was showing the time for the professional race (which started 10 minutes earlier). If that was true, I was right on schedule. If not, it was going to be the longest swim of my life.
The second loop was pretty uneventful. I could feel my general lack of swimming, so my shoulder started to get a bit tired. About 500 yards before the finish I got kicked square in the jaw. It didn’t hurt too much. But I think that was adrenaline, because a few minutes later, my jaw was getting sore. I counted down the buoys and started to think about the ride. I hit ground, stood up, and saw 1:30 on the clock – they had reset the clock to the main race time, and I was right on schedule.
Swim: 1:31:14
I ran down the carpet in the pouring rain, pulled my wetsuit to my waist, and found a pair of wetsuit strippers. They pointed to the ground, I hit the ground, and RIIIP, my suit was off. They pulled me up, handed me the suit, and I was on my way, running down the carpet in the pouring rain.
The transition tent was unlike any Ironman I’ve ever done. It was dark., the floor was a mud-pit, and chairs were few and far-between. I found a chair and dug through my bag. My feet were muddy, but I pulled on my socks, bike shorts, and jersey. I headed out into the rain.
T1: 12:26 (Total Time 1:43:40)
The bike starts with a downhill out of the school, and a quick right hand turn. The road was a river of water and my brakes were not working so well. Down the hill, and around the corner, I saw my parents. They were wearing plastic rain ponchos that we bought at the corner store the day before “just in case” and they had an umbrella, so at least they were sorta dry. I felt sorry for making them stand in the rain, but I figured it would stop soon…. They always say, “If you don’t like the Adirondak weather, wait 10 minutes.”
Just about everybody knows that Lake Placid’s bike course has a couple of “screaming downhills.” We can argue about where they are on the course, but they are definitely there. After a few miles of rollers, I started to see the signs for the hill. In a large bike race like the Ironman, big downhills are interesting. There are some who fly down, getting in their aerobars and approaching 50 mph! Others are a bit more cautious, riding their brakes and hanging on the side. I tend to fall in the middle somewhere. But with my brakes not working so well due to the wet rims, I was probably going to go a bit faster than normal.
All along the hill, there was water flowing on the road. Usually left to right, but sometimes straight downhill. Riders were going all speeds, passing on the left, kicking up a big spray behind them, one rider seemed like she was more or less stopped on the side. She was moving, but I have no idea how she moved so slowly. The biggest problem was that with so much rain and spray, my glasses were wet and foggy and I didn’t see her until I was right up behind her. I made a quick move to the left and avoided the collision!
Once I reached Keene, I was pretty happy. My hands were sore from “trying” to brake, but I knew that the scary part was done. There were lots of rollers and some climbs to come, but nothing too bad. And certainly by the next loop, the rain would stop. I would LOVE to go down those hills on dry roads!
Given that we’re already 4 pages in, and only about 20 miles into the bike course, I’ll skip ahead a little bit…. Here’s a summary….
Wet… Eat… Drink… Uphill… Downhill… Wet… Rain… Eat… Drink…. It’s Still Raining???… Slow Grind… Upper Jay… Wet… Rain… Wet… Rain… Lather… Rinse… Repeat.
I reached the out-and-back section. This was where I’d get to see everybody, and how they were doing. It was a madhouse. It’s a small country road, has a few twists and turns, ups and downs, and was currently covered with about 1500 riders on a 6-mile stretch. Volunteers on the side warned that we should not ride through the puddles. Turns out that some of them were actually potholes and might be a bit deeper than they looked!
I never saw Nick on the bike. That’s not surprising, given that he was probably already done with the first loop by now! I never saw Dan or Steve either, but I am sure I just missed them when I was trying not to ride into a hole. Ann looked to be moving fast when I saw the flames ride by. Then I saw Bindu. I checked my watch, when I reached the turnaround. Bindu was probably 4-5 minutes ahead of me. He left transition a bit before I did, so we were riding very similar pace. That was probably a good sign. A couple minutes after the turnaround I saw Hez, and knew she was doing well. Finally, as I reached the end of the out-and-back, I heard my name… looked up, there was Jenn Sussman! Yay! Another friendly face out in the rain!
Eat… Drink… Eat… Drink… Wet… Wet… Wet.
Anybody who has ever been coached by me has heard me say “Nothing new on race day” and honestly, I thought I was following that. They have also heard how pacing on an Ironman bike ride is one of the most important parts of the race, and how I have my pace dialed in, and always pace myself on heart-rate.
So… first of all, I have a new bike computer… now by “new” I mean it is over a month old. The odometer read over 400 miles on race morning. I also have race-wheels, which I have used for 5 years. But the “new” combination of the two just did not work. The sensor would not reach the magnet. I realized this on Friday before the race. I decided that rather than try to rig something up at the last minute, I would just deal with it. I ride with a Garmin GPS watch, and that would give me my current speed. Now, anybody who has used Garmins knows that they have battery-life issues. They will only run for 9-10 hours. This is long enough for about 99.3% of the country, but not long enough for an Ironman (at least not for me). I have enough friends who do this stuff that I can just borrow a second one…So I did. One for the bike, one for the run. So, imagine my surprise, when my borrowed Garmin works like a charm… except for the heartrate. Oops, guess I should have tried that combination too! So I’m down to pacing myself on “perceived exertion.” We’ll see how this goes!
The downside of “screaming downhills” is that all the elevation you lose, you need to make up. This means climbing. At Lake Placid, the climbs are not steep – really not at all – but they are long. So I hit the long gradual grind back up to the transition area. It was really not bad. Except for the rain. Oh yeah… still raining.
Spin… Eat… Drink… Spin… Rain… Stand…. Sit… Chat… Eat… Drink… Wet…The last hill on the course is a quick steep ride, and it’s lined with people. I’ve heard this referred to as the “Tour de France” moment. You ride through a pack of cheering fans, and it’s very tempting to stand up and sprint up the hill. The downside is that once you do that, you need to go ride another 56 miles on the bike. So I decided that I would take it easy, spin up in an easy gear and save my legs for loop number two.
A few more short rollers and I was at the “special needs” stop. Here I got a bag that I had packed earlier. I picked up my 2 bottles of Carbo-Pro, a bag of gummy bears I put in my pocket, and my turkey sandwich. I took a second to fix my breaks (they were rubbing for the last mile or so), shoved the sandwich in my mouth and headed back into town. The loop ends with a quick ride up the street by the Olympic center with all the flags. Lots of cheering fans, including Alex and Larry! I crossed the mat in 3:52:30. Almost exactly 50% of my estimate of 3:45 for the ride. That sounds great, except my estimate was based on be being about 15 minutes slower on the 2nd loop. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes. Maybe the rain will stop this time.
Back around the school, down the hill, into town, and down past the hotel. My folks were there on the road, along with Karen, Katie, and Shanti… Maybe more, I could not tell. At least they were close to home and could go inside for the next 3-4 hours while I rode the next loop.
The second loop was much like the first. The rain continued to pour. The downhills were still scary, but not as much as the first time. There were fewer riders, and I think I was just more comfortable with it. Early in the second loop I caught back up with Bindu. We rode together for a while and talked about how we and everybody else were doing. This was fun… I swam with Bindu, and biked with Bindu. I was very sure this would end, as he is a much faster runner than I am! Apparently he descends faster too, at least today he did. Once we hit the big downhill, he dropped me, and I didn’t see him again until the out-and-back.
Spin… Eat… Drink… Rain… Wet… Downhill… Cold… Spin… Wet… Climb… Warm up a bit… Eat… Drink… Out and Back… Potholes… Rivers looking like they will overflow…. There’s Dan, wearing his IMAZ jacket…. Bindu 5 minutes ahead… Hez 5 minutes behind…. Everybody looks good…. There’s Jenn again, cheering in the rain with her dog!… Spin… Eat… Drink… Rain… Big Long Slow Hill…
I truly find it entertaining to see how many people near the back of the pack with me were wearing aero helmets. It’s just silly. I mean, here we are trudging up a hill at 6 mph and they’ve got a wing on their head. Definitely something to pass the time. Around 4pm, the rain stopped. The old saying is true “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes” because it started raining again in less than that!
Finally, I reached the last climb. The crowd had thinned a bit, and I stood up just for the fun of it… Up over the top and down into town. Time to run. My last 2 Ironman races, I had foot problems which made the first few miles of the run extremely painful and slow. This time the feet felt good. Now we’d see what I could do. My second loop was 4:06:29. 14 minutes slower than loop 1. At least I got that one right! Just under 8 hours for the bike.
Bike: 7:58:59 (Total Time 9:42:39)
A volunteer took my bike. I grabbed my transition bag and immediately stepped in a big mud puddle. Most of the ground under the tent was a mud puddle. The volunteers pointed me to a section of the tent which had some chairs up on concrete. So instead of mud, they sat in a puddle. A volunteer said “it’s drier over there” so I headed to the edge of the tent. Of course there were no chairs over there, so I came back and sat down. I saw Bindu leaving T2. I yelled “go Bindu” but I don’t think he heard me.
I pulled off my cycling shorts and changed into my singlet. I joked with another guy about the folly of putting on dry socks for the run. But I did it anyway. I was afraid that running a marathon in wet socks would lead to blisters. I figured even if they were dry for just a few minutes, maybe it would make a difference. I saw a guy putting on a plastic bag. I asked if they were giving them out, but he brought is own. Oh well.
I walked out of the tent and straight into a puddle. So much for dry socks. I looked up at the clock, and it read 10:01. So 7 hours for the marathon. No problem. I would make the cutoff.
T2: 9:17 (Total Time 9:51:56)
You may notice that the time on that clock does not match my running total time. More on that later!
As I left the transition area, and on to the run course, there was a bit of sensory overload. I could hear the really fast folks finishing behind me. I could see lots of runners starting their second loop. I heard my name called, saw my parents, and some of the other TNT fans, and lots of general mayhem. The roads were lined with umbrellas, people in parkas, plastic bags, or whatever they could do to keep warm. I was a bit worried about being cold, but it wasn’t too bad.
Each run loop starts with a big downhill. It’s pretty nice because you get to run it. The downside is that you have to climb it on the way back. But that’s 11 miles ahead. For now, see how the legs feel. They actually felt pretty good. I was running more than I was walking, and other than the fact that it was still raining, had a pretty good outlook on running a marathon this evening.
I saw Rich, running like a man possessed. I saw Nick near the end of his first loop. As expected, he tore up the bike course. He said everybody was looking good, but he was having a long run. Back through town, past our hotel… oh so close… down past the ski jumps, and over the bridge. The legs felt good, it was time to get with the program.
From my time supporting the race a few years ago, I knew the run course pretty well. Once we made the turn after the bridge it was pretty flat. There were a few rollers, but basically, a nice flat course. I had trained all year using a 4:1 run/walk. Run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. I carried a flask with several GUs in it, so I could take a little sip whenever I wanted. So to keep the energy up, I would take a small hit of GU on each of my 1 minute walks.
Run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Run 4, walk 1. Repeat. As I ran, I would occasionally look at my Garmin watch. I was running 10:15 mile pace when I was running, and 15-16 min mile pace while walking. My overall mile splits were in the 11-12 minute range. At this pace I would have no trouble making the cutoff. I just had to keep eating to keep the energy level up.
Around mile 4, I ran in to Steve coming the other way. He was grazing at a waterstop and wearing a plastic bag. We chatted for a few seconds. He told me Dan and Ann were just a bit behind him, and that Bindu was a little bit ahead of me and looking great. I knew there was no chance I’d catch Bindu, even with my feeling great. He’s just too fast a runner.
The run course out there is really beautiful. At least it is on a clear day. Bright green fields, a big red barn, the sun shining off the pond. I have pictures from 2006 if you’re interested. Today, everything was grey… oh yeah… still raining.
Still feeling good, I kept up my 4:1. I would modify as road conditions changed. I felt no need to run up hills. But I would also not waste a downhill by walking. I saw Ann and Dan. Both looked pretty good. Nobody looks great during the marathon of the Ironman… especially on a day like this. Then I saw Bindu. I think I saw his smile about a 1/2 mile away. He really did look great. Nothing was going to stop him, and he was gonna finish this thing. We high-fived as I headed out and he headed back.
Away from town it was much quieter. You could hear the swollen rivers flowing, the sound of rain through the trees, and the constant “squish, squish” of wet shoes on the pavement. Every mile or so the noise level would pickup. The aid stations were full of supporters standing out in the rain for hours on end. They wore parkas, plastic bags, or whatever, but they were wet. Just like us. The difference was they did not have exercise keeping them warm. Volunteers make races like this possible, and they put in a huge effort that day.
Around the turnaround I slowed to a walk, making sure my chip was read by the timing mat. BEEP… ok, back to run/walk. 4 minutes run, 1 minute walk… run… walk… oh, look, there’s Hez! Go Hez! Run… walk… eat… drink… still raining.. wait… it stopped. About 6:30 PM, it actually stopped raining. There were little cheers along the run course as we realized it might be done.
Of course, if you don’t like the weather in the Adirondaks, wait 10 minutes. It started raining again. It continued on and off for another couple hours, but this was the weather we were expecting. Scattered showers. No torrential downpours. On and off. So maybe the weather people were right. If only 12 hours late.
Run, walk, eat, drink, run, walk, eat, drink. I started taking pretzels at the water stops. I was still feeling good. As I approached our hotel, I saw my parents. They asked how I was feeling, and I said that I felt surprisingly good. I hoped to keep it up. I gave them a high-five and kept moving. Looking at my time, I realized I was on a pace to beat my marathon PR. I didn’t think it would actually happen, but it would be pretty amazing given that I did not run as much in training as I would have liked, and was racing about 8 lbs heavier than when I set that record (not including the 2 lbs of water that I was carrying in my socks and shoes). My 12 minute miles had slipped to 13s, but I was still making good time.
I got to the big hill and walked up. Made the turn into town and kept walking. Turned right up to the short out-and-back section and kept walking. I figured I would let my run muscles rest. So I walked about a mile to the turn around. Even with all that walking I kept a 16 minute pace. Just keep moving. It will all be over in 14 miles. I jogged down this hill and over the half-way timing mat. My first half marathon was 2:52. My PR is around 5:51, so I was just under PR pace. I knew it was not going to happen, but it was fun to think about.
Back down the big hill, I saw Katie and Shanti. Over by the hotel, I saw my parents. Down the hill, over the bridge… run… walk… run… walk… walk… walk… run… walk. My walk breaks were getting longer, my runs were getting shorter. I was not worried about cutoffs, and I didn’t really have a time “goal” just the estimate of 15:30-16:30. I knew I was in there. So I let myself slow down. I walked more than I ran, and just “walked with a purpose.”
Loop two is much quieter. The sun was going down, there were fewer runners, and there’s a lot more time alone with your thoughts. Walk with a purpose… run to that tree… eat… drink… keep moving forward… I knew I would make it. The only question was when.
Around mile 21 (which is 17 on the way out), they have the “Ford Inspiration Station.” They play loud music and cheer you on over a loudspeaker. You run over a timing mat and it puts your name on a big screen with a message. I guess you can leave personal messages for the athletes. Mine said “M Wasserman, you are doing great” which I am guessing was probably a random choice. They had a race clock there, and around mile 17 it was reading around 13:50. Doing some math in my head I figured I would come in around 11pm, or 16 hours. Sounded good to me.
It was pretty dark, I put on my long-sleeved IronTeam shirt that I picked up in special needs. It wasn’t too cold, but I was walking more than running, and was glad to have it. Out in the dark you’d see glow sticks bouncing up and down. Then about every mile there would be big bright lights and loud music at an aid station. Each station had a theme. I don’t remember all of them, but the 3:16 station blasted Christian rock and a supporter said he was praying for the safe completion of my race. I’ll take it.
Around the turn-around, I headed back, I started to drink Coke at the waterstops. Coke provides a quick burst of energy with simple sugar and caffeine. But as quickly as it comes, it goes away. So you have to keep drinking it. Every mile I’d hit a waterstop… .”Water, Gatorade??” the volunteers would ask… “COKE!” and they’d point me to whichever volunteer was handing it out.
I started to pick it up. I wasn’t quite at a 4:1, but I would pick up landmarks and run to them. I noticed at some point I was actually running a 10 minute pace. Wow, that Coke stuff really works.
At mile 21, I see the clock at the Ford thing. I have 5.2 miles to go. I Check my watch, and look at my pace. At this point it looks like a 6:05-6:10 marathon for me. Since I started at 5 PM (10 hours), that puts me in at 16:05-16:10. My stopwatch and the clock all verify this. I’m perfectly happy with that time.
My friend Laura offered to send me some good vibes on race day. I asked that they be sent at 10PM Eastern Time, since that was when I would need a little push. She said she would imagine me by the big red barn. Sure enough, when my watch said 5 hours running I was by the big red barn. Right on schedule. About 4 miles to go.
Back through town, I kept moving. I had no time pressure, and alternated between speeding up to just be done with it, and slowing down because I was tired, and saw no need to rush. I ran into Nick and Renee who were walking back to the hotel and I gave them my fuel belt. Good to get rid of that thing. Into town, spectators were saying “You’ll make it… good job… congratulations… almost there.” “Almost there” is almost always the wrong thing to say when cheering for an Ironman. But in this case, I think it was close enough.
I make the turn up the last out-and-back, doing a run-walk, not in any particular hurry. No time pressure, the nearest “hour mark” will be past, and I’ll finish around 16:10. Almost done. Walk, run, walk, run. Round the last turn and it’s basically all downhill. No more walking. I cruise down the hill enjoying the cheers of the crowds.
On the right, just before entering the oval, I see Larry. He says “if you pick it up, you can break 16.” What??? Wasn’t it like 16:08 already? Well, apparently not. Turns out that the transition clock and the clock on the course all had the “pro” time. The pros got a 10 minute head start. Would have been nice to know. But it didn’t matter. I heard the announcer say 16 hours, and I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time. Oh well. No big deal.
Down the hill and onto the speedskating oval. The last 1/8 mile or so is along the track. It makes sense that a track designed to be covered with ice would not drain so well. So as you might imagine it was wet. Who cares. I’m done. I saw my folks cheer as I head around the turn, into the finish chute. I slap hands. I see a flames jacket or two… Not sure who they were, but I keep going. I raise my arms, hit the tape, smile for the camera, and hear “Mike Wasserman… you are an Ironman!”
Done. Unfortunately the photographer was out to lunch, so this is my finish picture.
Run: 6:10:15 (Total Time 16:02:11)
Behind the finish line, I got my hat, medal, and t-shirt. Headed back to the athlete area and saw Dan, Ann, and Steve who had grabbed me some pizza. I took a quick picture with my parents, saw Jenn Sussman and took a pic with her. Ate some more pizza. We called Alex to see where Hez was. She was about 15 minutes out, running with Rich. So we all gathered behind the finish line to watch her cross.
All in all we had 10 athletes racing. All 10 finished. In retrospect the rain was a good thing. Sure it was miserable, but it kept the temperature down. Cool weather makes everything easier.
Big thanks to my parents for hanging around in the pouring rain all day. Thanks to all my friends and teammates for your support. And a special thanks to all those who donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We raised over $10,000 to cure cancer!
