A month has gone by since racing Ironman Lake Placid, so I better get started on this race report!!!  I think this delay is a reflection of my recovery from this race.....both physically and mentally.

We left PA for Lake Placid on Thursday before the race and made good time traveling.  We got into town and staked out a nice spot near the lake for our race day pop up tent.  It was next to the tennis courts near where we had been in the past.  After setting that up, we changed in the bath house and swam one loop of the swim course.  They were setting out the turn buoys which was helpful.  There were quite a few swimmers in the water, lots of folks on the beach and the water felt great!  From there we headed to our friend's camp in Upper Saranac, but had to take a very long detour.  There was a horrible accident between Lake Placid and Saranac-our prayers go out to those people involved.  We got to pass by Santa's Workshop and some other beautiful areas we had not seen before and were happy to safely arrive at our destination.

On Friday we met up with our friends Cindy and Mike to ride a bit and check out our bikes.  We rode the run course along River Road and back.  What a beautiful stretch!!!!  Melissa took some pictures of bags that were left at each home along the race course.  We aren't quite sure how this tradition started, but chocolate chip cookies called ""Friend Chips" are delivered to each and every single home along the entire race course as a way to say thank you.  Yummy!

From there it was Athlete Check In and getting my swag plus a few souvenirs and some lunch.  I had been warned to check the backpack I would get to make sure the zippers were working.  Turns out they had quite a few defective ones piling up along with one Ironman Texas bag.  I can't help but feel that WTC is much more concerned with their profits from these races than providing good quality items to their athletes.  More on this later....

After check in we headed back to our home base and dinner at Charlie's Inn in Lake Clear.  The cool nights made for great sleeping in the Adirondacks.   Saturday morning was another beautiful day! I got my swim done in the Upper Saranac Lake with my jet ski escort and then my run along the shores of the lake.

Next up was heading into Lake Placid to drop off my bike and gear bags.  We got a great parking spot behind the high school which made for an easy walk to the Olympic Oval.  We stopped in the Merchandise Tent one more time as well.  I saw a white long sleeve shirt I really liked, but when I looked at the Mdot logo on the back I realized it was defective.  They used the names of the athletes to make up the logo, but there was one line that had too large of a space between it and the next one which made it look like an empty line.  I asked one of the workers about it and he agreed that it was defective, but they were all that way and they wouldn't do anything about it.  Just one more way that WTC seems to be cutting corners.   Chalk up another disappointment....  After that it was back to camp for an early dinner and early bedtime.

Race morning started with a 3:00am wake up and a Naked brand liquid protein drink.  After getting dressed and making sure I had all of my gear, I made my oatmeal breakfast.  What a wonderful surprise to hear the beautiful call of Loons on the lake!!!  Then it was off to Lake Placid and the shuttle bus to the start.  We were able to park very close to where the bus made its pick up and had no trouble getting into town.  First up was body marking on Main Street and then into transition to pump up my tires, fill my nutrition on the bike and add a few more items into my bike and run bags.  Then to special needs to drop off those bags and meet Melissa at our tent near the tennis courts.  Everything was going smoothly!  It was great to meet up with Mike and Cindy there!

I was able to get in the water for a short warm up and then lined up in the 1:21-1:30 group to wait for the start.  It took quite a while to get in the water with the new rolling start but it seemed to go smoothly.  I stayed left to miss some of the congestion and felt good through the first loop.  I was almost back to the final turn buoy when I thought I saw lightning off to the right of the swim start area.  As I was swimming I was trying to look to see if swimmers were going back out for a second loop or not.  I couldn't quite tell what the announcer was saying until I got out of the water.  There was no mention of any electrical storms even though it was raining and everyone was continuing to head out for their second loop.  I noticed some camera flashes and thought maybe that was what I had seen.  There really wasn't any time to stop and ask questions and so I followed and headed back out.  I was still feeling good and was able to follow the cable this time around.  The cable is under the water and makes it very easy to swim in a straight line.  I was just about at the first turn buoy and noticed everyone in front of me had stopped swimming.  It was raining pretty hard at this point and there was a policeman in a boat yelling out to "cut across and swim back".  What???  We were all unsure what was going on.  I use ear plugs and had to yell to ask him what he was saying.  No air horn or siren, just shouting instructions from the boat.  Then we started swimming across and could see the storm all around us.  I remember thinking that I didn't know if I could swim all out the entire distance back and the heard someone yell "swim to the shore" which was actually my first instinct.  As I got close to the shore I could see large rocks along the wooded shoreline.  There was a home with a boat house and dock and that is where everyone was heading.  I swam up to the side of the dock where two swimmers were helping to pull swimmers up and out.  I reached up and the next thing I knew I was on all fours on the dock with a cramp in my left calf.  I took a minute and was able to rub it out and stand up.  There was a steady stream of swimmers heading along side the house and out onto Mirror Lake Drive heading towards Main Street......in the road and on the sidewalk in our bare feet..... about 3/4 mile worth of road and sidewalk!  My feet were killing me after just a few minutes.  I never do anything in my bare feet and the wet surface plus all of the cinders and grit were tough to walk on.  At one point I was able to slip my swim cap on my right foot until I got near the carpet area where we would normally exit the swim.  The wet suit strippers had moved out to the street and helped get out suits off.  At one point the carpet under neath my feet shrank into a strip about 3 feet wide.  Once again I have to ask WTC what happened to the wider carpet they always had in the past for the run to the transition area.  All of this while the thousands of spectators were in harms way standing on the shores of the lake during the rain and electrical storms.  It was pouring and thundering and lightning as I made my way towards transition.  Luckily I saw Melissa near Main Street where we had planned to look for each other.

The boathouse on the far left is where we got our of the water.

(You can see the change in the carpet in this picture!)

From there I walked into the transition area and grabbed my Bike Gear Bag.  Then into the changing tent which was packed full of athletes and volunteers.  I stood near the entrance and started to get my gear out.  I saw Doreen getting ready to head out.  I asked if she was going out since it was still storming.  She replied yes and another woman turned towards me and said that she has two rules when racing.  One is to keep moving and two is to stay safe.  With that said she turned and headed out into the storm.  I couldn't help but wonder about the staying safe part.

So what do I do......head out into the storm or wait it out in the tent and know that the clock is ticking.  I followed suit and geared up for the ride.  Everyone rode very cautiously  heading out of town.  It was almost a solemn feeling as we passed the ski jumps.  I could hear thunder and see lightning come and go and the rain would ease up and then come down again.  Next up-the descent into Keene.  Most people continued to ride carefully through this section.  About two thirds of the way down I saw a female cyclist down on the ground.  I could see her pink aero helmet while the rest of her was covered with a blanket.  There was a woman kneeling near her and we could see an ambulance coming up the hill.  I hope she was ok.  The rest of the first loop was uneventful and I was happy to get back into Lake Placid to head out for the second loop.  The descent was dry by now and I was able to ride it more aggressively.  I was having a tough day on the saddle and from talking with others after the race, it seems that others had this issue and attributed it to the rain.  I made a few stops to reapply some Vaseline which helped a bit.  As I got near Jay another quick storm hit and pelted us with some sharp feeling raindrops.  After that it was sunny and quite humid as I climbed past Whiteface and back into LP.  Yeah!!!  Done on the bike and time to head out on the run.

It is always exciting to step out onto Main Street here in Lake Placid.  The crowds are incredible and they line both sides of the street for most of the way out of town.  I was feeling good as I started out and tried to get into a comfortable pace.  Nutritionally I was able to take gels along with electrolytes and drink some cola.  I wasn't able to drink any of the PowerBar Perform on the run course.  It just didn't taste good to me.  I wasn't worried about not taking any of the drink in since I was getting plenty of calories and sodium.  My pace slowed as the miles went on but I felt fine.  I stopped to get a long sleeve shirt from my special needs bag and headed out for another 13.  My plan to run easy and add walk breaks turned into a brisk walk with running breaks.  Again, I felt good, I just couldn't get into a pace that I could maintain.   The cool night air felt good and the aid stations had plenty of soda, pretzels, cookies, fruit and chicken broth.  The volunteers all along the course were awesome, especially those on the late shift for the run course.  Thank you for being out there for us!!!  One last climb into town and then the long out and back on Mirror Lake Drive and into the oval to the finish.  All day long I would look forward to seeing friends along the course, it is such a moral boost.  Melissa and Bonnie headed into the finish area after I passed them heading out on Mirror Lake Drive.  Heading back in on that road is a great time to reflect on the day as you listen to Mike Rilley announce the Ironman finishers.  Just a little bit more and I would be crossing that finish line.  I had a nice surprise as I was getting close to the oval.  My good friend and TNT teammate Derek was along the sidewalk cheering me on.  It was so nice to see his smiling face and he jogged along as I made my way to Main Street.  He snapped this photo at that point...  Thank you Derek!

Then you cross Main Street and enter the Olympic Oval.  The crowd is out of this world as you make your way around the track.  Thoughts from earlier that day disappear, aches and pains are gone....now is the time to celebrate and listen as you hear your name announced and to know that you are an Ironman.  When I crossed the line in 2012 there were a few others along side me, so my name was never announced.  Melissa spoke with Mike Reilly after the athlete meeting on Friday and he assured her that he would call out my name and he did!   What a great feeling!!

As you cross the finish line a volunteer guides you to get some water, your t shirt, hat and your medal.  Then to the photographer and to the food area.  I was getting cold and asked to get a "space blanket' which I could see some people wearing.  My escort went off to get me one, but sadly came back saying there were no more left.  I couldn't believe that IM could run out of blankets, but they did.  I ended up pulling one out of a trash bin.  This still makes me shake my head in disbelief.  Come on WTC......how could you run out of such an important item??  

It was easy to meet up with Melissa and Bonnie on the steps of the school.  Once again they took care of getting my bike and all of my gear bags and special needs bag.  They had taken all of that to the van so we just had to catch a shuttle bus to the parking lot and we could head home.  What a day it had been.   After the drive home and a shower, it was 1:00 am and time for bed.  A mere 22 hours since we woke up.  Kind of crazy, but we survived another IMLP!!!!

I do have to say that I am still very angry at WTC for leaving us in the water as long as they did.  I can't imagine what their thought process was in making that decision (or NOT making the decision), all I know is that the best interest of the athletes, volunteers and spectators was not their priority.  I have talked to many professionals such as coaches and USAT officials.  They all agree that we should have been pulled at the first sign of lightning.  Any public pool you go to will abide by that guideline.  I find it impossible to believe that there was no plan in place for these conditions.  Why was it not put into place?  WTC got lucky this time.  That same weekend a swimmer was killed in CA when a lightning strike hit while he was swimming in the ocean.   We as athletes have a responsibility to train properly and show up prepared for the race.  WTC has a responsibility to do what is necessary to keep us as safe as possible out there.   No one can control Mother Nature and we all train in the rain knowing that race day can be wet, but a lightning storm is much different.

Between broken zippers and "chintzy" backpacks, defective shirts for sale, a shrinking carpet for the swim transition run and no blankets left at the finish line, the disappointments added up.  These are minor things compared to the swim situation, but disappointments just the same.  WTC runs so many races these days that I can only hope they get their act together before there is a tragedy on their hands.  I am going to write to them to express these thoughts and then I will let it go.  I don't mean to sound so negative, but I feel this was a very serious situation that was handled very poorly.

It's time now to move on and also to celebrate my efforts on that day.  It was a race unlike any other and definitely one for the record books!  Great job to all of my friends that raced and a huge thank you to Melissa, Bonnie and Cindy for all of your cheering and cowbell ringing throughout the day and night.  I have the best support crew out there!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!