Ironman # 14 completed
This was Ironman number 14 for me and it ranks as the hardest yet most satisfying one I’ve done.
Why? I battled a migraine all day, swam my best time ever, biked slower than I wanted, but still had a chance for an overall PB so I went for it on the run. However, once a PB was out of reach and my Achilles started acting up, I shut it down. Plus, I had a blister the size of my baby toe on my right baby toe. I hate walking the marathon but after rupturing my left Achilles last year, I did not want to revisit that whole scenario once again. I gave it all I had and will live to fight the Ironman battle another day.
Every year more and more spectators show up to watch this race and the atmosphere was incredible once again. You feel like a rock star out there. There is nothing like it. However, I must admit that there is a little magic missing. There is still some excellent local support but not like the early 3-5 years. There are less “characters” out on the course, a few less extra special touches, a few of the popular aid stations are no longer there – Black Brook and the “Touch the Gold medal for luck” station by the ski jumps, but this is still a must do race. The local volunteers that are out there are still very passionate and appreciative of you being there, and we athletes definitely appreciate all of their efforts.
I still love coming down here, but after having completed my 10th Ironman Lake Placid, my annual trips down here might be coming to an end. It has come to a point where I don’t want to just show up here and participate. This is not my type of course and to do well here you must put in some serious training. I definitely love that challenge but and it may also be time to check out other summertime Ironman races (Germany, Switzerland, etc). Life is too short not to. That being said, I still registered for 2010. Maybe this experience will light a fire in my butt to do much better next year.
In a few weeks I plan to do the Bracebridge Half Iron (not sure about that right now though the way my body is feeling), the Toronto Island race (the strike is now over so that should be good to go), Cobourg, and I will give another Ironman a go at the Canadian 226 on September 5th. No Ironman is easy but I plan to go for a PB there by hammering the bike and see what I have left on the run. Below are some final thoughts.
The Good
1. Swam my best ever time without pushing it (1:16).
2. Biked the last 16 km well to put me in a position to go for a PB.
3. “Go hard or go home!” That phrase went through my head at the start of the run as I went for a PB. I knew that such an effort was going to hurt but I was glad I went for it.
4. Managed to race with a deep head splitting, nausea causing migraine. It arrived on the scene at 5pm the day before, I couldn’t sleep a wink, and finally left when I started walking.
5. A respectable return to Ironman racing after an Achilles tendon rupture.
Lessons Learned
1. I need to follow a structured training schedule and get in more long rides and runs. Since I was returning from injury, I didn’t want to do that this year. I wanted to ease back in to things. I did a lot of frequency but not a lot of volume. Prior to the injury, I performed well and was getting faster with a structured training program and with heart rate training zones that were determined by fitness testing. This will happen for 2010. Provided that my health status remains good.
2. I knew this before but recognized again that the Lake Placid course hurts. The nature of this course dictates that you cannot show up here on minimal training and hope to do well. There needs to be some specific hill and intensity work in your training. Even with all of that, it is still going to hurt.
3. I must keep swimming with the Markham Masters. I was 6 minutes faster than my previous best swim time (1999 – my first IM when I was worried about completing the swim) yet not pushing harder. Am I actually becoming a swimmer? Making it out of the water faster gets you out there with better riders to pace off of (not draft).
Thanks
To my lovely wife of course, my father in-law for coming down to watch, Angus – my Ironman partner in crime (completed his 11th Ironman at IMLP), his wife, and his in-laws for all their cheering support on race day. After watching on the sidelines last year, I don’t know what is tougher, watching or racing. We will both be back in 2010, and hopefully a lot lighter and faster.
You guys looked great from the sidelines. I was the loudmouth at Wilmington for the bike (saw at least three RF kits go by: Roger, Greg Collett and somebody else??) and at the big hill in LP for the run (only saw Angus and Greg Collett there).
Watching an IM for the first time gives me a new appreciation for endurance. Thank God I still can’t swim.
Congrats.
I thought it was you. That stretch of road from where I saw you is the beginning of a tough 16km stretch to the downtown area so it was great to get that cheer.
I can’t swim either so that is no excuse for not doing and IM.
It is all about that final run and you’ve got that covered.
Congrats Roger on a solid finish, it was a gruelling day out there for sure (I was the other RF’er out there representin’). I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’ve only done IM Canada last year but I’d have to agree that this was a tough course and hill/intensity training is definitely required for a good finish (wish I knew that 3 months ago 😉 ). Great atmosphere and volunteers.
Sorry to hear about the migraine… at least we got lucky with the weather (I thought we were doomed during the swim!).
Good luck with staying healthy and future races (I’m back to adv racing and off-road races for the season!).
Harper,
Major congratulations on your race. I was racking my tiny brain trying to figure out who that fast TRF guy was. It kept my mind occupied from the pain but only for so long. I was hoping for your run time but that obviously didn’t happen.
So which one did you like better IMCAN or IMLP? Which is harder and why?
I did love to know the perspectives of a fast guy.
Congrats again and best of luck with the rest of the season.
Hey Roger,
Ha – yeah, that was me… the primarily adv. racer/occasional poser-tri guy!
I ‘think’ USA was tougher/slower overall in almost every discipline but that could be because the suffering is still so recent! But I felt almost all 3 – the swim (2 tight loops=more turns=more aggressive in USA vs. 1 large (=more space, less turns) open loop in CAN), the bike (several bigger climbs and rollers in USA plus mandatory slowdowns in the town x 2 laps vs. 2 big climbs total in CAN) and the run (USA a bit harder I think… although with the huge crowd support twice at USA that might ‘almost’ make it even) – were tougher.
As far as which one I liked better, I’m still not sure about that one… A lot of my enjoyment comes out of how happy I am with my race so it might be biased. I had a better overall ‘race time’ last year at CAN but I was a much stronger biker than I am this year, and I felt like I had an awful run with some GI issues plagueing me for most of the marathon last year. This year, I knew my biking had fallen off, accepted it and really hoped for a good run (since I learned how much time you can lose on the run from last year’s race) and worked on longer runs off the bike for my training. All was going as planned at USA up until about 10K left when I was just cooked and my hopes of my time goal (under 11) was out the window and I was in ‘survival mode’. I’d have to say if you wanted to base it on scenery – CAN wins, race atmosphere – slight edge to USA (just because you have to go through the chutes twice on the bike and run), event tent – CAN (more vendors). If I ‘had’ to make a choice and had an unlimited budget (for transportation) I’d rather go back to Canada, but having the convinience of Lake Placid so close and the ability to drive make it a more practical race for us Ontarions.
For next year, I’m still not sure if I’ll do another or just stick with adventure racing/mountain bike racing… I told myself last year I’d do one IM just to say I did it and then found myself registered for another. It’s nice to have a guarenteed tough race on your schedule so far in advance to keep you motivated through our long winters! I’ve heard IM Wisconsin is an interesting race….
So there’s my long-winded thoughts… hope it wasn’t too over-analyzed!
See you out there soon!
Not long winded at all. Excellent info for anyone wanting to do this race.
I agree on all points. I love the IMCAN course better but IMUSA crowd support is phenomenal. And it only gets bigger every year. I’ve never seen so many tri clubs set up their spots days before on Mirror Lake Drive, so many barriers, having to park so far away on race morning (despite getting there earlier).
Congrats on the race. Not too bad for a poser.