Ironman Lake Placid In a nut shell.

Now that I finally have time to really reflect on my Race and finally accept what the outcome was, I can begin to write this blog.

The morning of I was feeling pumped and energized. I didn't have any doubts going into the race as to whether I would finish or not. I knew I would. I had time goals in mind, and kept ones I would be ecstatic with and ones I would be ok with to myself.

PRe race meal: 3 hours prior: 2 bananas, 2tbsp Almond butter, 2 Scoops Whey protein, 2 cups applesauce all mixed together in a blender with 1 scoop turmeric, 2 scoops Beetelite. (has always worked for me, didn't change it!) 2 hours prior: Fuelforfire Cocoa banana pouch I got from the Core Diet tent! (Yes I know, Don't try anything new. It really wasn't new. Its all real food!)
Continued to drink Infinit run blend up to showtime, 30 min before swim: 1 GU packet.

I did a pre race swim to shake out the nerves, said good luck to many Tri friends that were up here racing with me and off I went to line up in the 1:15-1:20 pace group.

Swim: I really wish I would've lined up in the wave ahead of me. It got crowded fast and I was getting hit and slapped like no tomorrow. I wanted to find some feet to hang onto but Felt there was no one going my speed around me. I started to get anxious and nervous as people were hitting me and my legs just kept sinking! The turn around to get out of the water and onto the second loop was a washing machine of Feet and hands. I was happy to be out but felt exhausted trying to find good swimming water. The second loop was a little worse than the first. I kept thinking lets just get this shit over with and get onto the bike. Totally over the swim. Went I exited the water, I was so freaking happy!

Time: 1:19:52

Bike: The bike course is no joke. It is a gradual incline, followed by a good decent, rollers than more climbing towards the back side. Do that twice and your legs are fried. I tried to keep focus on spinning, keeping a good cadence, and Hydrating well. The first loop went off without a hitch. When I got to the Bike special needs station, I was down a bottle of hydration. I knew I was in trouble if I didn't start picking up the drinking. I stopped to pee at the next port a potty and continued on. I tried so hard to pee on my bike, but couldn't! The second loop got very hot and all I could think about was how hot I was feeling. Every aid station I grabbed water and tossed it on me and drank a sip and tossed it. Going back into town was just mind crumbling. Going 10 mph for most of the ride wasn't fun. I felt like there wasn't much energy left. I hit the town and my energy came back. The crowd was great and I was ready to rock the run!
Nutrition: 5.5 bottles of Infinit nutrition, 2 Carmel Macchiato Gus for different flavor, Water on the last loop when needed.
Time:6:25:28 Ave pace 17.43 mph

Run: As I went through transition, I just stopped and sat in the chair for a minute as I was feeling so hot. I was so glad to be off the bike and onto the run!! I changed socks and shoes, put my hat and sunglasses on, Fuel belt and was ready to tackle the run! On the way out of transition, I waited to get sunblock on which took more time than I wanted it to as I had to wait!! ugh. It was only a few minutes I know, but time is everything in Ironman!! :-p  I kept thinking about how hot I was. I tried to focus On positives, worry about nutrition, Ice in my bra, anything to keep my mind from going negative. I forgot about my mantras and just kept focusing on getting to aid station after aid station. River road is a lonely place and I saw so many people struggling to run, I didn't want to be that person struggling but found myself getting to that point fairly early on. At the Run special needs, I saw the first place persons body shut down and she was almost incoherent. I took a step back and thought, I am not winning this race, I will give it what I've got from this point on. I did what I could. I ran 5min, walked 1 min until I got my feet again in the last mile. When I came into the oval, I was so happy I was finishing my dream race and that my Honey would be at the finish line to greet me!

Little did I know, He had my medal waiting for me!!! Thanks to my friends at Ironman who made that happen!

Run:4:41:11- 10:53min.mi

Total Time:12:41:35

When It was all done, I was happy, then cried for about 5 min as my goal of 12 hours wasn't there. I tried my best! I went home, showered, ate and came back to watch Mike Reilly in the last hours bring home the Ironmen!!!

Kristin, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!! Woot!

I still have a goal. That goal is under 12 hours. I will try to Catch that goal at my next IM!!! Ironman Mont Tremblant 2016!!!!

Happy training!

Ironman Lake Placid Recap #1

I have been absent from Blogging for the last month because something had to give! Being a Busy mommy of 2, work demands and of course training for one of the biggest races was super time consuming.

I am back to document the journey to Ironman!

We arrived the Thursday night before the race. I wanted plenty of time to Get to the venue, scope it out and feel the energy from this small town. If you have never been to Lake Placid, NY, it is worth a trip.  Between the beautiful views of mountains, ample water and swimming, Hiking and biking, there is plenty to do there!

It was when I saw the Ironman Village that I got super excited to be there and enjoy the experience. Nothing gets you going than seeing those flags and arches in the Ironman village announcing that Ironman is in town!

 

Seeing all the people in town going to the village and all the excitement surrounding this area was infectious!

 

We then went to our cabin to get checked in. The cabin was a minimum of 5 night stay, but we figured we would stay for a week since my mother offered to watch the kids! We were in for an awakening when we saw this cabin. In no way would I say go cheap in Lake Placid unless you really do not care! The cabin was nestled by Mt Vanhovenberg and it was not what I pictured it/expected it to be. We made light of the situation as it was supposed to sleep 4. How, I do not know! It was tiny and our bags, bikes and us barely fit into this cabin! It was dusty and full of cob webs. I was ready to leave and go get a hotel near the venue, but I knew the rates would be higher, so we sucked it up and tried to deal with what we had. We knew we wouldn't be in the cabin for long. Or so we hoped.

No TV. The mister was mad he couldn't watch Tour De France

He likes his bike better than me..LOL!

The pictures here look very deceiving. It really wasn't all it was cracked up to be for the money we paid. No refunds either, of course!

We got to the cabin pretty late, so we decided to grab some groceries at the Local Price Chopper and then head back to the cabin and eat. I have some pretty serious intolerance's to food, so I have to be careful even with traveling! When we got to Price Chopper, I had to chuckle! No bananas and No Avocados!!! You knew athletes were in town! Ha ha!

The next day, We decided to make our way to the Athlete village and get checked in. Needless to say we had to walk through all the vendors and I did end up buying some new Newton Gravity 3s! Yes, I have a weakness for running shoes! We also decided to take a Dip in Mirror Lake. I was surprised at how warm it was! 70Degrees! The swim was uneventful and I was feeling confident going into Sundays swim. That sealed the deal. I knew I could Swim it and be fine!

We then watched the Opening Ceremony/band for a bit and met my training partner for Dinner at the Pub.  If you haven't eaten there while in Lake Placid, You should! Its a great atmosphere and good food!

We then went home to get my bags ready for the drop off the next day. This is no easy task to decide what you should put in each bag. Thankfully I had it all bagged away prior to our travel, so all I did was transfer it all to the bags. Made it so much easier than to think about it when I was there!

Saturday- We road the run course for a quick ride to get the legs moving, then I racked Norris, looked around the transition site as to the ins and outs, put my bike and run bags on the rack and was out of there! I didn't want to think about it and wanted to just relax and focus on hydration.
We went back to the cabin, took a nap and then decided to enjoy the town for a bit. We got into town and there were many Fire trucks heading into town! We looked up and saw smoke coming from Main street! We watched the Fire Fighters try to put this fire out for at least a hour. We decided to walk around Mirror lake to get a view of it and then head home. Nothing like watching a fire. Devastation and pure heroism all in one. Very moving.

Sunday- The day I have been training for since November was Finally here! All I worked for and all I sacrificed to get to that starting line was finally coming to fruitation on this day! I said goodbye to My honey and off I went to gather my thoughts, get body marked, Drop off my Special needs bag and get my nutrition together for the bike and run. A friend of ours is apart of Ironman and it was great he was there assisting me and calming me down before the start. I met up with my training partner in transition and we headed to the swim together. It was going to be a great day!!!!