was told for my first Ironman I should write a race report… So here we go!
Day Before the Race:
I love the day before the race. It means pancakes!!! We started the day off with my homemade buttermilk pancakes and real maple syrup. We thought making breakfast at the condo was a great idea until we realized there was no spatula. Thank god Matt’s talented with a frying pan too and flipped them in the air. Even with the commotion in town, the race hadn’t really hit me yet. It wasn’t until we packed everything up to bring our bikes and gear down to transition that it hit me. Seeing transition full of bikes the previous year was nothing like being in the middle of it dropping off my own bike! YIKES!
Race Morning:
I woke up and it wasn’t raining!! I couldn’t have been happier, especially considering I had been up since 1:30 AM because I was too excited to sleep. But it was too good to be true… I was sitting at the table eating my bagel and peanut butter, watching the radar, and I knew that green blob was going to hit us when we were in the water. It wasn’t so much the rain that I was worried about, but the red and yellow blobs!! When does it ever thunder in the morning!? Well apparently in Lake Placid it storms in the morning. We had spent the last few days wondering what happens if it storms and talking about how it never storms in the morning, so we would be fine. Elena, Matt, Mike and I left the condo and began the walk down to transition. I am so used to setting up my little transition spot, so it was a little nerve wrecking to have to put bags in one place and have my bike be somewhere else! I figured before leaving transition, I’d use the port-a-potty one last time. Good lord. I thought I had been in some pretty foul port-a-potties from other races, a relay, and ones that had just been baking in the sun. This was by far the worst. Note to self… Next Ironman…never use the port-a-potty in transition. Yikes!!
The Swim:
The swim was what I was the most excited about. Until about a year and a half ago, my idea of swimming was breaststroke, without getting my hair wet so I could get to my float! Swimming was the hardest sport for me to pick up. It took forever to get me across one length of the pool without stopping or freaking out that I was going to drown. I give a lot of credit to coach Matt and my swimming friends, who believed in me, but also dealt with numerous freak outs! 
So considering where I had been with swimming, I was pumped knowing I not only was going to be able to finish the swim, but I wasn’t going to be at the complete back of the pack!! I lined up around 1:25. I was so happy to see Lisa Totz lined up near me. The familiar face calmed the nerves! I loved hearing the cannons go off! Then of course, the song that starts playing just as I start moving under the swim start was Call Me Maybe. Just the song I needed to have stuck in my head for the entire swim! We started filing into the water, and I was so grateful for the number of times I had already done the 2.4 mile swim in Mirror Lake. One of my favorite places to swim. I had planned on being about 10 feet off of the cable…but after getting jostled around a bit, I found a clearer spot outside of the pack. I’d much rather lose a little time than deal with getting kicked or swam over. I’m almost done with the first loop, I start to get out of the water and it is down pouring!! I couldn’t help but laugh. How many times had we said in training, “what if it rains in Placid?!” Well it was raining in Placid. Back into the water I went. I didn’t think I’d like having to get out of the water just to get back in, but it was great! I loved hearing the music and seeing the crowd!
I’ve made the last turn in the swim and I’m about half way to the finish when someone starts swimming in the complete wrong direction!? All I could think was “what the %$&# are you doing!? You’re going the wrong way!!!” Keep swimming… That person must have been freaking out or something. Then I start hearing whistling. I figured someone got mad at the guy going the wrong way and a fight broke out in the water. Haha ok probably not the most reasonable explanation for the whistles but that was what made sense at the time. Then the whistles didn’t stop. Something must be going on. The lifeguards are screaming at us to swim to shore and whistles are going like crazy. It wasn’t until a lifeguard yelled that lightening had hit the beach that I realized I needed to move…and quick. I was pretty happy for all of those sprint workouts I had in the pool. I swam to shore and ended up in someone’s back yard by the boathouse. It was chaotic and confusing. I realized that half of the people who had gotten out were just standing there. I figured either way, I had to get out of this guy’s backyard. I started jogging down Mirror Lake Drive, despite the storm; I couldn’t help but smile and think this is going to be a race to remember! As I started moving to transition I started realizing just how many of us were going to hit transition and the bike course at once… Amongst the chaos I saw Steve R., Bill Lodi, and Joe G. It was nice to see familiar faces in the crowd not knowing what on earth was going on.
T1:
I start running into transition. Grab my bag and into the changing tent I went. There were no chairs left. The volunteers were trying so hard to help everyone they could. I started getting out of my wetsuit standing in a corner in an inch of water. All I had was my trisuit and arm warmers. I put on the helmet, grabbed the sunglasses… mainly because I was trying to tell Mother Nature I wasn’t afraid of her… and off I went. They hand me my bike and off to the course I went. Leaving the transition area was a mess. It was clogged up. My bike had been shifted by accident and I couldn’t kick my pedal back so that I could clip in. Ugh… off I go…
The Bike:
I start leaving the hairpin turns in town. It is a complete down pour. I didn’t know what the heck was going on except that I was soaked and that the lightening and thunder was cracking what seemed like feet away from me. What the hell am I doing riding in this storm?! I start heading up the hill out of town. Even though I’m working, I started getting cold. I pushed my heart rate a little higher. I had wanted to keep it around 135 on the bike, but I was getting cold. Up to 150 bpm. I’m still cold. One of the race officials drives by. I hope to god they aren’t even thinking about drafting penalties because there is no option for the ridiculous crowd I was stuck in. I start my decent. I realize my brakes are pretty much useless. There were three types of cyclists on the decent. The ones bombing it. The ones using their brakes like crazy. The ones walking their bikes down. Yes walking. I do all I can to control my speed, my bike, and to not crash. I had already seen a handful of crashes on the way out of town. As I continued going down the hill, I got colder and colder. My hands were frozen sold. I could barely shift or brake. I was shivering so hard my teeth were literally chattering. I couldn’t grab for my water bottle. I couldn’t open my food because my hands were so cold… And then the attitude went out the door. I kept trying to pull myself out of the funk I had gotten in. I kept saying to myself one way or another I was going to be an Ironman! It wasn’t working. Nothing I had practiced in training about changing my attitude made any sort of difference. The cold got worse. I started thinking about hypothermia. I make the turn in Keene. I started looking for places to stop. I wasn’t going to be able to continue. I had worked so hard all year to get here and it was going to be a god damn thunderstorm that defeated me. When we were in transition, they told us that if the storm got bad, we could find shelter at any of the fire stations along the course. Thank god the weather finally changed. By the time I got to my first out and back the sun was starting to peak out from the clouds and the rain had slowed down. Good thing I had grabbed those sunglasses! I couldn’t have been happier. I had gotten behind on my nutrition, so as soon as my hands had thawed out, I started getting back on track.
The out and back was great. The sun had come out and I had a chance to see some other Cyclonauts. I saw Lisa was around the same spot as me and I really enjoyed knowing I had some company! Finally I get to the Bears and at the top of Papa Bear are Brant and Patti! I couldn’t have been happier to see them! I was almost back to town! I grabbed my PB & Jelly from my special needs bag when I got into town and was on my way. Smack in the middle of town was all of my family. Probably about 20 of them! This is the first race my parents have ever been to and I’ll admit I got choked up. I loved riding through town. I kept thinking this is what the Tour de France must feel like. Riding past the Econolodge was incredible. It was exactly the boost I needed after having a rough first half of the first loop. I started up the hills again feeling like a million bucks. I saw another Cyclonaut by the Cascades and I was pretty sure it was Bill Romito. Not sure many people introduce themselves during a race, but hey I was curious and he was great to talk to! The only other thing I remember from the bike was wishing I had thought of sun screen, but who thinks of that when it is down pouring?! I think it down poured on me about 4-5 more times. At least these ones were short and it wasn’t as cold! I was so excited to make it to the bears again and know I was almost into town. My family was at the bike dismount and I loved seeing them jumping up and down screaming. 
T2:
I got to transition and was psyched! I had finished the bike ride! The one that almost got the best of me in the beginning. This transition was a 100 times less chaotic than T1. The volunteers were great. I tried to dry my poor feet off, but after being in wet cycling shoes for 7.5 hours, they resembled raisins.
The Run:
I was so excited coming out of the run. My pace was probably a little fast because I was so happy to have made it this far. My family had made it from the end of the bike to the beginning of the run. It was great to see them! They had traveled from as far as Indiana and Virginia to watch the race! I stopped to give out sweaty gross hugs. I didn’t want to touch me, I’m not sure why they wanted to. Maybe they figured the sweat and pee had washed off in the rain. I ran past the Econolodge/camp ground and was excited to see everyone again! I started seeing some other Cyclonaut’s on their way in. I loved getting to see everyone doing so well! After a few miles into the run, I started having trouble with my feet. Apparently they don’t like being water logged for that long. My running shoes and socks were dry, but it didn’t take long for the blisters to start. I ran as long as I could and then started run/walking. While more experienced triathletes would probably cringe, I was so excited about the variety at the aid stations!! It was like a buffet! Lemon GU?! Sure why not! Don’t worry, I didn’t get fat and happy, but I was pretty impressed with what they had out. I knew the run was going to be the hardest part for me. Running off the bike in the two 70.3 races I did had been a challenge. I knew I was going to probably be taking the longest walk of my life.
I headed back out for my second loop, which I walked 95% of. I finally turned on to River Rd. everything just hurt and walking seemed to hurt less than running. I was trying to keep walking at a brisk pace, but it was starting to get tough. About half way down River Rd. I found someone to walk with. It was his second 140.6. He had done NYC for his first. We made it to the turn around and it started to get dark. The temperature was starting to drop. We were handed our glow sticks and I took one of the foil blankets. I wrapped it around me like a cape and was as happy as could be again, even though I knew I looked ridiculous. We’re about a mile from the ski jumps and we see a guy with a 12 pack of beers. He gave one to the guy I was walking with! The idea of a beer made my stomach turn. So we walked, and my new friend drank. I was kind of in disbelief, but it made me forget a little bit about how every part of me was screaming to stop walking. Who on earth drinks beer in an Ironman!? I passed the Econolodge again. Seeing everyone lifted my spirits. I was almost into town! And they were still outside waiting and cheering for me! I hope they thought my cape was stylish! There were so many people still out in town cheering! I turned on to Mirror Lake Drive! It was hard heading away from the finish knowing my body was screaming for me to stop. I made it to the turn around and thought, I just need to make it into town and have enough energy to run into the finish. Even if I hadn’t been able to run the second loop, I had to run into the finish. I headed into the finish and there was my family. I couldn’t believe they had stayed for the whole day! There were Matt & Elena too!! I didn’t realize I had sped up! I slowed down a bit because I didn’t want to have to start walking, but then I saw the finish. I couldn’t have been happier! I heard more Cyclonaut’s cheering for me near the finish line. I was so happy to have crossed!! I was an Ironman!!!
I had two goals for this race. First, to finish. It didn’t matter was my time was, I just wanted to cross that finish line. Second, to keep smiling. I love triathlon because of the fun I have doing it. For me, a good race isn’t measured by time; it is gauged by whether or not I was smiling while I was out there. I am so happy to be able to say I achieved both of my goals. I can’t believe how far I have come the past few years. From barely being able to swim and thinking a 5k was a long run!
I don’t think I can even begin to show the appreciation and thanks I have for everyone. It has been quite the journey and there are so many of you I couldn’t have done it without. Thank you to all of the Cyclonaut’s that were out there cheering us on. Whether it was on the Bears, in town, walking with me, bribing me with gifts I’d only receive if I finished, or at the Econolodge, you all kept me smiling. Thank you so much to all of my training friends. You’ve kept me going on tough days, listened to my whining, melt downs and silly questions, and have made sure we were always having a good time. Thank you to Coach Matt too. I still don’t know how he managed to turn me into a swimmer when I was pretty convinced I would drown. I wouldn’t have made it across the finish line if it weren’t for his help over the past years.