NewTOM & SisterK to the Coast

After watching Timberman, I felt quite inspired to jump into another race before the season ended. So the West Kennebunk Fire Sprint Triathlon beckoned me to the Seacoast. The atmosphere was fairly relaxed, the field quite a bit smaller than Timberman (400 including duathlon) and the location was beautiful. SisterK joined me as did some friends from Maine. We had a steamy morning which made the chilly ocean water all the more refreshing. There were some big waves heading out and coming back into the beach, full of dark colored seaweed. Great fun to dive into them on the way out and try to surf them on the way in. Sadly, the swim was over before I knew it and we were charging into the transition area. SisterK killed me on the transition – I need a little work there. Despite arriving just ahead of her, she beat me out and was off. She paced a fantastic ride, gunning it most of the way and I worked to keep up. After trading places several times with some guy, we passed him going up a little hill and he said, “jeez, again!” I said, “don’t take it personally, we live on a big hill,” and before racing away, SisterK chimed in, “and a little sibling rivalry is not helping you either”. Came in together on the bike and then out for a quick run. I had an easier time transitioning into running legs and just kept trucking through the run. The whole thing flew by and before we knew it, we had come in one and two in our age group and I was third female overall, with SisterK right behind as sixth female overall. Race was followed by a delicious blueberry pancake breakfast provided by the race and more swimming in the waves. Good stuff.

A Fun Day at Timberman 70.3

This was the first Timberman 70.3, in which my role was limited to spectating and volunteering.

Kasia and I arrived at the “Timberman (Gunstock) Headquarters” just in time to celebrate MajorTOM’s second place finish in the sprint race. After meeting his family and friends we spent the next couple of hours visiting vendor booths at the expo and meeting our teammates who were getting ready to race the 70.3 distance the following day. We stopped at Dick and Rick Hoyt’s booth to chat a little with these amazing athletes and to get their autographed book “It is Only a Mountain.” Needless to say, we both look forward to reading it.

Kasia, TOMasz, Rick & Dick Hoyt

Sunday morning started very early. At 6AM we were getting briefed on the kayak duties and shortly thereafter I was paddling my kayak against a strong wind to the second turn-about marker. Despite an uneasy lake conditions athletes largely stayed on course (I only had one “hang-on”). It took almost two hours for the last swimmer to be out of the water. It was nice to see that he was greeted by a sizable crowed chanting his name as he exited the swim course.

There are still more athletes out there

After shedding off the wet clothes it was time to enjoy the festivities, chat with other teammates who turned out to cheer our TOMs, and watch the professional athletes who delivered an exciting race.

The Two Amigas (D. Ficker & K. Major)

The Three Amigos (B. Andersson, S. Lessing, M. Lovato, & the forth "tenor")

We were afforded the opportunity to admire TOMahawk’s new artwork and assumed “strategic” positions to watch our teammates.

Kasia waiting at the finish line

Can you guess whose legs those are?

A strategy session

For a few, it was their first Ironman 70.3. TOMboy, TOMmomma, and Mrs. TOM-a-Lot had great races and with a smile on their faces crossed the finish line. TOMb came very close (I think) to his personal best despite some less than perfect weather conditions. And, of course, MajorTOM had a spectacular sprint race the day before, when he took a second place in the M24-29 age group and was 24th, overall. Congratulations to all. It was really fun watching you.

TOMboy and only 50 more yards to go

TOMb checking on his stellar performance

TOMMomma and TOMboy - finished, at last

By 3:30PM Kasia and I were on our way back to the Upper Valley. Another race was a history.

The Bottled Sweet Taste of Success

This was my third stab at the Timberman short course race and my most successful and most enjoyable. But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Like all races, mine began the Friday before when I arrived at the Gunstock ski area with my wife and parents. As has been tradition, we set up camp. My dad, who has become the guru of Gunstock, picked two campsites closest to the bathrooms and showers, which was very convenient. With tents pitched and air mattresses inflated, my younger brother and I set off for Elacoya for a final workout. Having done absolutely no open water swimming over the previous year, and knowing that this is an area where I struggle I wanted to get in 10-15 minutes in the water, followed by a few miles on the bike course. This was also my first time in full TOM regalia, and what a treat. The shorts were comfortable immediately, and performed well both in the water and in the saddle. I managed to swim my way right into a father-son team a couple of times during my practice which only further contributed to the race-like experience.

Timberman (Sprint) headquarters at Gunstock

The rest of Friday night was spent with the usual - picking up my race packet and eating a lot of pasta. I turned in around 9, though really didn't fall asleep for at least an hour or so. With the alarm set for 4:45, I was ready for the morning. Unlike previous races where I would just get up, eat a peanut butter and jelly, and drive over, this year I tried to give myself time to really wake up and have a decent shower. I also abandoned the fibrous PB&J on whole wheat and opted for a yogurt smoothie and far more refined croissant. I think that was a smart move.

My plan was to get to Elacoya early enough for a real warmup - a swim around the swim course, a quick ride on the bike, and a run. My poor sense of time, the long lines at the bathroom, and the cold temperatures and whipping winds put that plan to rest. The water conditions were absolutely horrid. White caps were breaking all over the place and, being wetsuitless, I felt it would be improper to drench myself and then spend the next hour freezing in place. Instead, after setting up my transition area, I did about 15 minutes on the run course. Whereas in previous years I did very, very light, and very minimal, pre-race warmups, here I pushed a tempo pace and even did a few pick-ups. Besides getting my body ready to do some race-quality work, it also got my good and toasty. By the time I came back in and stretched a bit, it was nearly time for me to head out to the swim start (being in Wave #2 and all). I think by keeping busy in the hour or so leading up to the race and by having a substantive warm-up I got the extra benefit of keeping the pre-race jitters under control.

As in last year, the really shallow water along the swim course pushed the start out away from transition and so I joined a throng of athletes heading out along the beach to the start. Now, here I should say that not only did the TOM uniform fit well (I decided to swim in the top as well), but it was certainly distinctive, particularly when put up against all those black wet suits. After a final swim cap clarification from the race director ("if you're in the blue caps, but not the light blue caps, the dark, navy blue caps...") and a brief delay as the swim buoys had to be put back into place after being blown into shore by the wind and waves, we were ready to go.

Heading out to sea

This year, as I headed out to lake, I also adopted the "get out in front" strategy. Not because I felt particularly fast, but mostly because I'm just sick of fighting through mobs to find some open water. Given the cue to go, I plunged in and started out at a hard pace to try and keep people off of my legs. Immediately, I realized that the water was still only three feet deep, so I stood up again, ran a bit, then dove back in. Immediately, I began to struggle. We were swimming right into the waves, which made it really hard to breathe without getting a nice healthy taste of lake water. I was swimming head-out-of-water most of the time, and just couldn't find a rhythm. I really had to slow up, nearly coming to a stop. What saved me was switching to just breathing on one side. This allowed me to get my head down, but also to come up for air more frequently. As I rounded the first buoy, it also meant that I could breathe away from the incoming waves. With the waves making it hard to see, I had no idea where I was in the pack. I passed a few people from the first wave clinging to buoys and getting rescued by kayaks, so obviously a lot of people were struggling. Having settled into my 1-2-breathe strategy I was able to pick up the pace without problem. I was also happy to realize that I was swimming in a straight line, and relatively free from the crowds. Of course, I thought this meant that I was way far behind. For the first time I did not run headlong into a kayak and, rounding the final buoy, headed towards shore. I exited in 9:30. About a minute slower than I had hoped for, but apparently the poor conditions had held a lot of people back because it was one of the faster swim times.

I got into transition, took in a bit of a gel, and headed out on the bike course. I think next time I would wait for the gel until I was riding a bit - too much to worry about in transition. As I was trying to clip in (a little less gracefully then I would have liked), some maniac was yelling at my from the sidelines. It was TOM-a-Lot, jumping around like a fool, but giving some much appreciated encouragement. With the spirit of the TOMs behind me, I headed out. Now, having biked this section yesterday, I knew that there was a climb right at the beginning, so I didn't push it. I kept the cadence fast and just motored up the hill. I knew that when it leveled off I could really pick up some speed - until a gust of wind punched me in the face. Not fun, but at least relatively brief. The wind kept up throughout the 15 mile ride and I was happy to see that I was not being persistently passed by other cyclists, as usually happens to me. One guy did pass me on a hill, but then immediately dropped his chain. I also made a much more conscious effort to take in fluids on this ride, and setting my watch on a repeating 5 minute timer to help me in this effort. This only got a little hairy on the return trip. At one point I had to thread between a stopped bus and an oncoming car, and, later, someone decided to pass me in their car, and then park themselves between me and the two guys in front of me that I was pursuing. After I gave them a couple of aggressive "get the hell out of the way" head shakes, they pulled over. I picked off another rider on some of the final hills before the decent back to transition, for a total ride of just over 45 minutes (though my computer said the ride was really 15.6 miles, and if you can't trust your bike computer, well who can you trust?).



Transition to bike

This year was also a first in that I managed to pull off the fancy triathlon dismount coming into T2. I was a little unfocused, however, taking off my sunglasses along with my helmet, realizing that I would just need to put them back on for the run. Oh well. I got my flats on and headed out for the run. I knew from previous races that the course was generally uphill to the turnaround, and I had a good feel for the terrain having run some of the course in the morning. I think because I avoided doing any pedal mashing during the bike course that my legs felt pretty good. I had forgotten, however, to pay attention to my watch coming out of transition, so I really had no idea how I was doing. At the turn around, I benefited from the downhill and picked up some speed. I got passed by a guy at about the 2 mile mark, but a quick left-calf check revealed that I really didn't need to push to keep up with him. As I came into the finish I could see on the clock that I could break the 1:16:00 mark, so I picked it up a bit and passed through at 1:15:55. Ultimately, I was really (and pleasantly) surprised by my run time: 17:43 - well over a minute faster than last year's time, and significantly faster than my pre-race expectations.




Running to finish

Overall, a very good race, both in terms of performance and enjoyment. Usually I'm mashing the pedals while getting frustrated with everyone passing me on the bike course, and then playing this "why am I doing this?" mind game during the run. But this year, except for getting forcefully hydrated by the waves during the swim, I really felt in control and comfortable during the whole race.

After it was over, I grabbed some food (ice cream first, of course), but my warm clothes back on, and met up with TOM-a-Lot to cheer on some people. By 10 a.m. or so they had begun to post unofficial results and I was very happy to see that I had (unofficially) placed 2nd in my age group and 24th overall. By 11 a.m. I got to go stand up on the podium and get my bottle of maple syrup (or, at least I assume it's maple syrup). Being my first time on the podium I did manage to shake the hand of the first place person, blowing off the race director and almost forgetting to get my award.


Podium ceremony (but who took off the numbers and what is with that pole in the middle?)

With that, the race day came to a close. TOMasz and Kasia met up with us at the campsite about an hour later, and joined us in a celebratory champagne (something that was leftover from an anniversary that my wife and I had failed to spend together, but this was a good use for it too). Later, we all went back to the expo to join the other TOMs who were staring down the barrel of the following day's 70.3.

Overall a great weekend, though next year I've already decided that it's time to move up to the half iron. Some things from this race experience I would hope to carry over to next year.

1) Race-effort training a few weeks before the actual race seemed to really help. It gave me a clear feeling of what I could really expect, rather than going into a race with high hopes that only get frustrated.

2) Maintaining race efforts in the week (and even days) leading up to the race seemed to really help. These short races just don't leave time for warming up at the beginning of the race. I think by keeping myself attuned to race speeds, I was more able to switch into that 'gear' when it counted.

3) Fluids and nutrition, even on the short race, is a big help. In previous years I did a "less is more" strategy feeling that, with such a short distance I was better off not futzing with food and drink. That was a mistake. This year, I took in some calories and drank and it really paid off in the run.


4) Racing under the TOM flag is a big help. The uniforms are great (and necessary in my case, since I did the brilliant move of leaving mine in Delaware), as are the cheering maniacs.

5) It's nice to know that if I decide to let myself go, there will always be a place for me on Team Angry.

Off to TIMBERMAN!!

Well, the countdown clocks have ticked away their last days and we're down to just hours until several Team IRONTOM-ers toe the line. If you're gonna be at the race or if you think you might want to check results as they become available, here are the bib numbers we'll be sporting...and watch for flashes of blazing red uniforms!:

70.3
TOMb: #321, Wave 4 (yes, we know he just did IMLP...he's insane)
TOMomma: #1252, Wave 8
TOMboy: #1287, Wave 8
Mrs. TOM-a-Lot-to-be is slated to wear # 726 - B, are you racing??

Sprint Tri
MajorTOM: #5173
KW, our resident ranked age grouper: #6027

On deck to cheer and make sure no TOM is left behind will be NewTOM, T2, TOMahawk, TOMasz, Kasia, TOM-a-Lot, Mr. TOMomma and Jr., and TOMb's awesome family. What a support crew!!! I say, MORE COWBELL!!!

The weather forecast so far is favorable - low humidity with highs in the 70s and lots of sun. Let's hope it stays that way!!!

Catch you on the flip side!!! Safe racing to all...

A Perfect Day for A Perfect Swim

With water temperature at about 72F on a sunny Sunday (8/12), the TOMs and UV Rays had a great swim workout in the Mascoma Lake.

TOMmy Reports From His Most Recent Races

On August 15th I raced the Stoaked Off Road Triathlon (1K/18K/8K) and improved my last year's result by over 30 minutes. My finish time this year was 2:27:46, 82nd out of 92 finishers.

On August 9th, I went to Manchester, NH to race a quick CIGNA-Elliot 3 miler. My finishing time was also quicker than last year - just over 24 min.

Second racer from the right.

BritTOM Reports From Across The "Big Pond"

Did I tell you what a good time we had with you in Lake Placid? I really did enjoy the IRONTOM experience. It left me reinvigoratedwith my IM racing. I think, I said I had intended to give triathlon a rest for a couple of years, but I came out of the Lake Placid race thinking about my next race (admittedly it took a little longer this time to change from "never, ever let me do this again" to "I can go faster") I'll probably seek out some 70.3s next year so I can scale down my training a little, but we have some good one's in Europe -Monaco, Antwerp, UK (but only if the sun shines).

In Lake Placid, like for many others, there were lessons learnt:

1. Go to races with a group, preferably the IRONTOM group.

2. Wear bright colours so your supporters can see you, preferably the IRONTOM kit.

3. Get your supporters to wave somethink distinctive and colourful so they stand out in the amazing crowd at the start, so you can see from the water!!!

And a serious one,

4. Race every mile of the marathon as if it's your first! Look at what you achieved in that mile and start on the next.

I'm off to France next week for a couple of weeks riding - we'll be in the area of the infamous Mt. Ventoux, which is a regular summer training venue for a few of us - website. Riding every day, but I think at least 25% of our time wil be spent hanging out in French roadside cafes.

It must have been about 5AM

Racer # 1567 - you are almost there

With Erica, the morning after

How Did I Join Team IRONTOM?

That's a story I tell to everyone - I got talking toTOMasz by chance after IM Nice last year in a street cafe and I mentioned how much I wanted to race in Lake Placid and how impossible it is from Europe to get a a place in the race - so he offered to queue for me - what a great twist of fate.

I started triathlons about 10 years ago and have completed 5 Ironman distance events. I've been marathon running since 1990 and cycling most of my life. I have managed to get an annual trip to France for the past few years which has helped my bike riding (well, going up and down the French Alps anyway!). I'm not too fast but when I'm racing, I'm pleased if I can come in the top half of the field! What do I enjoy about Ironman? Getting the chance to visit the great countries they take place in, keeping the level of fitness required, but most of all the excitement- no other sport can beat the level of excitement at the start of an Ironman race! Erica and I live in England in the Lake District (If you're a film fan think Beatrix Potter!) and travel as widely as we can! So if any IronTOMs are coming to Europe to race, to ride, or just to visit, just let me know and we'll guide you in!

Ironman Lake Placid 2007- A First-Timer's Account

I will start this race report by saying that Ironman Lake Placid 2007 was an incredible day for me and was even bigger than I had imagined.

We arrived in Lake Placid on Friday around 11:00am and met with TOMb, who not surprisingly, was waiting for Mrs. Schulte to arrive at the Lodge. She left a note saying she would be right back, though.

Once we settled in we walked into town to Register and check out the scene. Friday night we had a cookout which was a lot of fun. Everyone got together and we had some laughs.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the pancake breakfast in town. We met up with the Team Irontom volunteers working the breakfast and Kasia gave me about 10 pancakes…so I didn’t leave hungry.

TOMasz and I went for a swim after breakfast-we did one loop of the course. In the afternoon I had the opportunity to meet the guys from Elite and they offered to tune up my bike which was nice of them.

We just made the deadline to rack our bikes and walked around the Expo and took some pictures.

Saturday night TOMb held a cookout-luckily for all of us he brought his grill, after dinner we started up a fire and made smores.

By this time I was getting anxious thinking about the big day coming up. This was my first Ironman so I really wasn’t sure what to expect and I just wanted to get the race started. I went to bed at 10:00pm and woke up at 2:00am. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I just laid there until the alarm went off at 4am. Got dressed ate something and then laid back down for awhile.

We were running a little late so Leslie was nice to get up and drive a bunch of us up to the race start. By this time I was getting pretty nervous – missed body marking, screwed up my special needs bags, and had trouble pumping up my tires. Lesson learned – read the athletes guide.

Thankfully, I found TOMb and we started walking up to the Swim start. He calmed me down a bit and we waited a little while before getting in the water. I think the air temperature was 49 degrees. TOMb and I swam a few times back and forth and then I looked around for him and he was gone…, so I was all alone with about 2,300 of my closest friends getting ready for the swim start. I picked a spot right in the middle of the pack and about 100 feet to the right of the buoy line.

The cannon boomed and it was pretty unbelievable-I don’t think that you can truly know what the Ironman swim start is like until you actually are in it and experience it. There is nothing you can do to train for it.

For you first timers next year - remember this. When the cannon goes off you are committed and no matter what happens keep your arms moving forward and you will be fine. I pretty much had a full escort of people on the whole first loop. On the second loop I chose a line about 20 ft from the cable and had open water until I hit the turn around. By that time I was just looking to get the heck out of the water and I didn’t care who was around me.

I made it into the transition area and changed up for the Bike. I took my time because I knew I was going to be spending some time on the bike and wanted to make sure I was comfortable.

The Bike course at LP is really nice. I was glad that we did a recon ride last fall so I knew what to expect.

At one point my bike speedometer registered 77 mph but I don’t think I was really going that fast. I think it accidentally converted to km. I tried to eat as much as I could on the bike. I felt really good on the first loop but on the second the wind picked up and sun started baking down, which began wearing me down. You really see some weird things out there on the bike course (ask TOM-A-Lot) but I think one of the funniest was some guy pulling over to the side of the road, getting caught in the sand, stopping, and falling down still clipped in. He had on one of those aero helmets and I just couldn’t help but to chuckle a little at his expense. The bike course has a way of taking your energy away, particularly that last 10 miles into town on each loop.

My only moment of despair (really the whole day, other than wishing the helicopter had a rope on it so I could have pulled myself out of the swim start), was realizing at the end of the second loop that I still had to run a Marathon. I thought at that point that it would have been a good time to stop. But, needless to say, I quickly put that thought out of my mind and changed into my running stuff and got on the course as soon as possible.

For me I learned that Ironman is all about the run. At this point in the race I knew for sure that I was going to finish before dark. The aid stations, every mile or so, were fantastic and the support from Team IRONTOM Iron-maniacs was tremendous. It was a big lift when going by our support squad during the run.

The second loop was a lot harder than the first but I continued on and made it to the Finish. When I entered the oval I heard the announcer say that I had a chance to finish in less than 14 hrs if I started moving….., and then I heard him say that I am an Ironman!


It was an incredible day. While I finished the race on my own, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, teammates and friends. For that I thank you all. I didn’t realize that I had about 20 people back home tracking my progress, which was really cool.

I learned a new formula that day. Planning+Support+Training+Sacrifice+ Glory = Ironman, and when you reach the finish line you certainly earn the title of an Ironman.

Thanks for reading and as of right now I am looking forward to Ironman Florida in 2009.

TOMmy's Racing Updates

Getting ready for Sunday's Stoked Off Road Triathlon, Xterra Course, 1K swim, 17k bike, and 8k run. It will be held at the Storrs Pond Recreation Area in Hanover, NH.

I also raced the Cigna/Elliot 5K road race last night (August 9th). My finishing time was 23:41.

Countdown To Timberman Sprint & Ironman 70.3 Races

Only eleven days left until several Team IRONTOMs will plunge into Lake W. in Gilford, New Hampshire to compete in the Timberman races. Let's hope the weather will be cooperating this year.

Good luck MajorTOM (Sprint), TOMmomma, TOMboy, NewTOM, TOMb (70.3). Hope have not not missed anyone?

Our IRONTOM Celebrity

News travels fast. After finishing his first ever Ironman Triathlon, TOMahawk made the sports page of the Vermont Standard. Congratulations !!!

A Long Day At Ironman Lake Placid

I would not exaggerate to say that the entire Team IRONTOM (and its support team) had a great time at Ironman Lake Placid. There was excitement and drama throughout the day. We had a team member participating in an Ironman for the first time, others setting their personal records, and yet another, crushing on a descent at +/- 30 mph.

Personally, I consider every race to be a new experience, and sometimes, an opportunity to try something fresh. Thus, this year, I decided to start the swim in the first lane. After the initial “beating”, which fortunately did not last too long, I was able to settle down and swim with little interference from other athletes. Although, I did not have to “fight” my way through I must have veered somewhat off course as my swim time was clocked at 1:19.

The first leg of the bike course was quite chilly and I was looking for every opportunity to get out of the shade. The chill was particularly noticeable on the 5-mile descent to Keene where my speedometer showed traveling at 45 mph. TOMahawk beat all the records on that stretch. His speedometer recorded a 77 mph. I felt strong on the first loop but less so on the second. A flat tire and nutritional issues played a significant role in the slower bike split, which surpassed 6 hours.

The run started strong traveling the first three miles at about 7:30 minute/mile. That ended after visiting the Port-O-Let for the first of three times. By that time, I new I will not repeat my performance from 2005. Nevertheless, I continued hydrating at each station and was looking forward to the sign showing mile 26. Eventually, I got to that point, and after four and half hours of running I crossed the finish line in 13:01, happy at last.

At the end, no TOM was left behind. The following morning a few of us registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2008. Of course, there were some personal lessons learned and as many questions raised. Some of them included:

While burning a total of about 8,500 calories in an Ironman race, taking in 2,800 calories is definitely not enough. But, what do you do when you can’t hold down any of it?

Stick to the basics (hardly something new). Do not experiment too much. But, should you experiment at all?

My 2005 race finish time in Lake Placid would have me now packing for Ironman Hawaii. How long will I remember that?

Do not order an ala-carte pasta dinner at the “Pasta La Vista” restaurant. Ask T2, why?

From Our "Research Department"

Those who use NUUN hydration system may want to check out bikenashbar.com for the "today only" sale of NUUN.

This Is a MajorTOM

Extending welcome to our newst TOM.

MajorTOM is in his third season of racing short distance triathlons (Sprint and Olympic). This year he boasts the highest ratio of training time to racing time having only done race reporting in 2007 for the TOM's at Eagleman 70.3, and will be doing only one day of race racing on August 18 at the Timberman short-course in Gilford, NH. This will be MajorTOMs third go at the Timberman sprint distance and he hopes for a PR and, for the first time, to not run into a kayak during the swim. Succumbing to peer pressure and the jeers of TOM-a-Lot, MajorTOM will be setting his sights on some 70.3 racing next year (Eagleman and Timberman), with maybe a marathon thrown in for good measure.

No TOM Was Left Behind

Lake Placid and summer in the Adirondacks is beautiful. The air is warm during the days and cool at night. That is unless you traveled to Lake Placid New York for the 2007 Ironman competition. Friday July 20th was cool and cloudy with a slight breeze. Arriving with athlete, gear, food, family, and anything else that would fit in our 2000 Saab station wagon, TOMahawk landed at Schulte’s Lodge in Lake Placid for his first Ironman competition. Here it is important to note that the first of lessons learned was: if it doesn’t fit in the car, it isn’t coming!

This was the first race that our original 5 TOMs all competed and completed. Our support crew was at full strength and kicked off the gathering with a BBQ outside on the Schulte’s lawn. The weather did not cooperate but couldn’t “dampen” the spirits of our athletes and supporters. We commenced eating and passing out the first official support team uniform which we all donned on race day. It is amazing when traveling to different triathlons how many people you actually know. It was during our dinner gathering that we met up with some friends that are now new Team IRONTOM members. Chuck and Carla from Plainfield, NH and Phil and Erica from Manchester, England were inducted into our ever-growing group. Another lesson learned: now that we are International, do we need a team catalog?

The weekend dawned bright and warm for the bike drop-off. Important lesson learned at this stage: READ ALL OF THE OFFICIAL PAPERWORK! Which was followed up by another lesson: where are those special needs bags supposed to go anyway? After the several hours it took for the team to drop off their bikes and have them tuned up, we all met for another BBQ to welcome the TOMb Clan to Camp Schulte (the fire pit is for everyone, right?). Next, we posted our Team Banner proudly in front of the compound and learned this lesson: next time ask if we can plaster the banner over the motel sign first.

Sunday at 4am, Team IRONTOM and support crew started moving. TOMasz and Kasia went in first to plant the getaway vehicle on photo duty. The rest of the team along with Chuck and Carla squeezed into the Saab proving that yet again I caould fit an unusual amount in that little car. We drove to a drop off point with Rush blasting on the radio for some early morning encouragement.

The morning was clear and crisp Britta and I walked down to Mirror Lake while Kasia and the TOMb’s family spectated along the sands. TOMb was out of the water first followed closely by TOM-a-lot, TOMasz, T2, and TOMahawk. Everyone was smiling and on track as they made their way to the transition.

As our Ironmen took off on the bike course, the support team took up places outside Camp Schulte with bells, loud yelling and clapping, cameras, and a big pink blowup hand! The sun was getting hotter and the bikes getting faster. At that time, there were two additional lessons learned: don’t always believe what the speedometer says, even superman can’t ride 77 mph, and when you crash, make sure the bike is okay first.

We cheered on our men throughout the afternoon and evening and everyone met at the Olympic Speedskating Oval to watch all of our TOMs cross that line and hear those words we waited 15 hours to hear, “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” The end to a truly remarkable day when Team Irontom gathered after our last Tom crossed the finish and found their way back to the compound proving the team motto true and our last lesson learned: that there was No Tom Left Behind!


Where am I?