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?
