My 11th Ironman Lake Placid

Race Report

By Roger Hospedales, Team Running Free

Race:  Ironman Lake Placid

Date:  July 25, 2010.

Website: http://www.ironmanlakeplacid.com/

After 12 years of making my annual trek to Lake Placid to do the Ironman, this past Sunday marked the last time I will do so as an athlete.

I will truly miss doing this race because of the great atmosphere, rock star treatment, and the slick race organization, but I surely will not miss the punishment that the hilly course dishes out. It is time to move on but I will be back to cheer and work behind the scenes. At least I went out on a positive note though and had my most enjoyable experience at Lake Placid. Maybe taking time to soak up the atmosphere, the scenery, and to just simply enjoy being out there is the way to go. Having celebrated my 41^st birthday 2 days before the race, and with just a one week taper, I got my PB for the course and new Ironman marathon PB. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Sunday July 25, 2009: Ironman Triathlon – Swim 3.8 km, Bike 180 Km, Run 42.2 Km

Evening/Night Before Meal:

Mel’s Diner (4 pm) – 12 deep-fried mild wings with blue cheese, Angus burger with fries, and a Root beer float.

Subway Club Sub (9pm), washed down with a 5.5% wheat beverage.

Race Morning:

2 Bottles of Boost – Life Brand version (3:30am)

1 Bottle of Boost – Life Brand (5 am), 1 can of Starbucks Double shot coffee, sipping on water right until swim start.

Swim – 1:22:04

One word to describe this segment – Horrible! This was way slower than I am capable but with over 2600 people in the water I kept zigzagging to get around the slower swimmers (and this is coming from a non-swimmer) so I was way off swimming a more direct line. I got punched a few times, I dished out a few too (unintentional of course). I have gotten beaten up worse in the past so no big deal. Oh yeah, and my right shoulder popped out during the second lap (too many years of competitive tennis). Thank goodness for the full-sleeved wetsuit which helped pull it together to keep it functional. I am finally getting back some mobility today.

T1 – 10:47

Spent way too much time in what I call the stinky time pit (the zipper on my cycling shirt got stuck) . T1 and T2 at Lake Placid is like that, once you enter the tent you can lose a whole lot of time. Lots of free time to pick up here so get in and out quickly if every second matters to you. I wanted to be comfortable for the ride so I didn’t rush.

Bike – 6:46:47 (avg. HR 146, avg. watts 153, avg. cadence 86, 3602 calories burned, 3 pit stops)

This was my first bike ride on LP where my back didn’t hurt at all. The rain and wind made going down the Keene downhill a whole lot more interesting but nothing dangerous in itself. It was more the other timid athletes heading down at the same time. It seemed that everyone was on the brakes to be safe.

My goal was to keep the heart rate at an aerobic 150 bpm the whole way. The only time it spiked was upon return into town and that was more due to the excitement of the crowd cheering rather than an increased effort. I did slack off a bit and let it drop in the 130s for a little while but quickly realized and got back up to 150. I also dropped it into the 140s whenever I took on food in order to help with digestion.

Not a sparkling bike ride but very manageable, steady and within my aerobic capabilities. The key to riding well here (so that you can run afterwards) is to minimize the losses from lap 1 to lap 2 (I kept it within a 5-6 min. loss per quarterly measuring segment 30, 56, 86, and 112 miles), and to not go out too hard on lap 1. Because whatever you do during the first lap or even the second, will come back to haunt you later on the run. Once you get into double-digit losses it usually makes for a difficult day on the run. I made sure to get in my nutrition (2065 calories on my personalized Infinit formula washed down with 10 L of water), whenever I felt good or bored, I ate/drank.

T2 – 8:19

Did a complete gear change. I like feeling fresh and clean heading out on the marathon. When I look back I could have trimmed more time here and T1 for a better overall time – because lets face it 19 minutes of transition time is quite ridiculous. But I really was only focused on putting together a decent run, and not about going sub-13. This was all training for a month from today.

Run – 4:28:11 (average HR 152, 2854 calories burned)

Again, kept it totally in the 150-155 range. I didn’t not consider pace at all. Too many times in the past I went out trying to run a time that seemed achievable in theory, but was beyond realistic capabilities. I did just swim and bike for over 8 hours before starting this run so I took a smart approach of running a sensible aerobic pace (recall my Acura 10 Miler race where I ran easy and aerobic the whole way). What seems like an easy pace as a stand alone run, suddenly becomes challenging late into the Ironman run, and this is where many crumble – I’ve done this plenty of times and didn’t want to go out like that for my last time racing in LP.

I did start to feel the legs at around 29 km but kept working the heart rate and getting in hydration and calories via ice, cola, water, sips of Power Perform, and 2-3 Powergels. I usually swig back some chicken broth too but didn’t feel like it. I got some extra sodium in with my back up salt tablets, and used a few tablets of Acid Zapper. The only time my heart rate spiked into the 160’s was on those climbs into town. I am glad to say I ran all those hills including the big one by the ski jumps (I usually wuss out since there are no crowds out there – not this time). Once I made the turnaround by the lake, I ran hard right to the line and savored the last time I would enter the Olympic Oval as an Ironman athlete. It was a great 12 years but now I get to enjoy it as a spectator, reporter and coach. What the heck are we going to do now Angus?

By the way, I tried used the SLS3 padded run socks for the run and they worked beautifully. Comfy and no blisters. Also, major thanks to Mizuno Canada for providing me with new pair of Nirvana 6’s for the race. I obviously loved them. A review is forthcoming.

Finish Time – 12:56:08 *best time at IMLP, and best IM marathon time.

Thank you’s and kudos: (I truly apologize if I missed anyone below)

1. BB and All the Family – Thanks for all the tremendous support. This whole ridiculous hobby cannot be done without you all. The picture my sister sent me of my 8-month nephew sticking his tongue out at me the day before the race was awesome. How can I not give a good effort what that taunting going on?

2. The Kim’s – I will miss our annual trek and being roommates at IMLP. Once the baby arrives we must seek out a new destination. Maybe something less punishing? Hangin’ was the best part of doing the race. And the all U can eat sushi celebration of course. Congrats on another finish and maybe consider training one day.

3. Miscellaneous Pals – You know who you are and I don’t want to out you. But your pre-race emails helped establish mantras in my head (“BTB”), which helped push me through the run and keep focus. It made me laugh too. Great to have that support even from afar. I will out two people though – thanks for the Facebook shout out John Salt, and way to tough out another finish Johnny P.

4. Markham Tri Crew – congrats on finishing your races, thanks for all allowing me to tag along for those long bike rides, and for following along race day. And for those who made the trip, thanks for volunteering and cheering your butts off. Enjoy next year.

5. Markham Masters Swim Crew – CA, KG, KT, MC – you guys rocked! You guys provided a huge lift at the start of the ride, when I finished the first loop of the ride, and to my surprise you were all there to greet me at the end of the bike. I felt I was back home in Markham. How cool was that? I’ll never forget it and it provided quite a boost of energy. I hope to return the favour next year when you all race and I get to watch.

6. Team Running Free – This was by far the great contingent of Team members I’ve seen participating and cheering at a race. The comradery was tremendous; this is what this team is all about. Congrats to Derek on an excellent Ironman debut, Syd and Ryan for plugging through to finish (thanks for the encouragement even when you guys were going through your rough patch, keep in inspiring), Rick Choy (I am looking for you to smash IMCAN brother), and couple of other TRF athletes who I never met before (Paul, Michael, Peter) but we cheered each other on nonetheless – congrats on your races, and thanks to Anthony, Esther, Greg, Scott, and Greg for cheering at various areas of the course. It really does help. Sorry if I missed anyone.

7. Jody Miller – You made me feel like I had my own personal race announcer out there. Thanks for a great boost of energy at just the right times on the run course.

8. Adam Johnston and Nigel Gray – While some coaches out on the course only cheer and encourage their own athletes, you two cheer everyone. Really cool, and more coaches need to follow your example. Thanks for the encouragement.

9. The ART Crew – Thanks for all the race week treatment. Especially, the DC from Hamilton that adjusted my foot (the one I rolled at Binbrook in June) and clicked everything back into place. I felt zero pain race day, and none afterwards. You are a miracle worker. And to my massage and ART crew at home – Brian and Angela.

10. Last but not least thanks to Ian at IMFIT.ca. We’ve worked together for over 4 years now and if you need a proper bike fit, to get reliable fitness testing, or to improve your cycling or overall fitness, Ian is the man!

I’ve already treated myself to a KFC treat, and other stuff I shouldn’t eat or drink. Now it’s time to ramp it up for the Iron 226 in Ottawa. All indicators look good but it is Ironman and you never know. A few more weeks of hard work to do.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading.