Ironman USA Lake Placid NY 2012

After six months of training, it was finally time to pack up the van and head to Lake Placid.  What seemed like a time that would never get here was now only a few days away.  Melissa and I headed out on Thursday and made our way north.  We rolled into LP and stopped at race registration and packet pick up.  We were greeted by friendly volunteers and no line!  This is one of the few races I have been in where you get weighed when you pick up your packet!!  New this year was a great looking Ironman Tri bag instead of the older sling bags.  Very cool!!!!  We spent a little time at the expo, did a little shopping and met up with our friends Mike and Cindy for a great meal in town.  This would be Mike's third time racing here at LP!

We are very fortunate to have good friends that have a camp at the Northend of Upper Saranac Lake.  Pam and Bonnie have been gracious hosts many times before and once again welcomed us with open arms.  Between good sleeping weather and the long drive, we had a good night's sleep!

As a member of PowerBar's Team Elite, I have opportunities to work at race expos.  This year I worked a few hours on Friday morning.  I always learn something new about the products and nutrition in general and this year was no different.  Another perk of being in the booth is that I get to see friends and fellow racers.  I finally got to meet fellow Snapple Tri Team members Mindy and Bart.  It was so good to meet the people behind all of those emails we have exchanged!!  From the expo I met up with Melissa and headed to Mirror Lake for a short swim.  The water was beautiful and pretty busy with swimmers.  The lake also has a great beach area where families can enjoy the lake too.  We followed our swim with a wonderful bike.  Mike and Cindy met us for an out and back loop on a section of the run course.  Then back to "camp" for a good "night before" the night before the race sleep.

On Saturday morning I did a short run just to loosen up my legs and then a swim in the Upper Saranac Lake.  Thanks to Bonnie for escorting me on her jet ski.

Then we went into town to rack my bike and drop off my bike and run gear bags. I made sure I had a bottle of PowerBar Ironman Perform to sip on all day.

Back to camp for an early dinner and then try to relax and get to bed early.   I never get much sleep the night before a race like this.  I woke up around 3:00 and drank a protein shake to get some early calories in.  Got out of bed around 3:30 and headed out by 4:30.  Breakfast was a banana and a bagel with butter and honey, water and some PB Ironman Perform to sip on my way.  We drove into town and after a short wait hopped on a shuttle bus to get to the transition area.  A stop at T1 to pump up my bike tires and fill my water bottles, then body marking, drop off special needs bags and then over to our little tent area that was near the lake.  That spot would be home base for Melissa, Pam and Bonnie during the race.  I was thrilled to run into Andrea and Doreen on my way and exchanged hugs and good race wishes.  Apply the Sport Shield, give more hugs and head down to the lake with 2,500 or so new freinds!  I was feeling very calm all week long and on race morning too.  I'm not quite sure why, but I was very happy that I wasn't feeling stressed or anxious.  

And then the race started....  I waited for what seemed like almost a minute before starting the swim.  I went to the left of the buoys to try to stay out of the chaos.  There was an occasional bump and whack of a hand and only one solid kick to my left shoulder.   About half way out there was a lot of commotion to my right.  I thought to myself that I couldn't be hearing the crowd cheering, we were too far out into the lake.  I looked to my right and realized it was swimmers shouting and then I could see lifeguards on paddle boards headed that way and blowing whistles.  I just kept swimming and hoped that everyone was ok.  (We heard afterwards that someone was unconscious and swimmers were alerting the lifeguards.  We haven't been able to find out anything more about it.)  Before I knew it I was heading back in to the beach to end the first loop then back in to do it again.  Back to the beach-Yeah!!!  Then it was time for the "strippers" to pull off my wetsuit.  I tucked it under my arm and headed down the 1/4 mile or so to T1.  One of my goals was to cut down on my T1 time and did my best to hustle.  It was great to see Melissa, Pam and Bonnie on my way.

From T1 I made my way onto the bike and out on the roads.  I did my best to keep my HR down and get in a groove before taking in some fuel and starting to climb.  I felt good on the bike and only stopped once on each loop to use the porta potty.  There was a pretty good headwind in sections, but I told myself I would take the wind in exchange for a little cloud cover.  No flats or incidents even though I witnessed a crash at the aid station near mile 35.  I saw Kate's Crew (as they had on their custom t-shirts) and Coach Todd as I made my way through town on each loop and was thrilled to complete the ride well within the time cutoff.   I followed my ride and nutrition plans and was feeling good.  I was also thrilled to get off the bike and start the run.  I love my Kestrel but was ready to get off that saddle!!

Yeah!!  Finally out on the run course!!  I planned to walk through the aid stations and to also walk the hills.  I also wanted to start out easy and get my HR under control.  My legs were feeling good but my stomach felt a little off for about the first 4 or so miles (this was something new for me).  After that I was feeling good and headed back towards town and the run special needs stop.  It was great to see everyone's smiling faces-Melissa, Pam, Bonnie, Cindy, Coach Todd and his family and Coach Matt.  It was really great to see other racers I knew out on the course, too!!   On my second loop I had just come up the hill to Main Street, which continues up hill for a bit.  I was walking and was greeted by race fans calling out my name.  Before I knew it I heard clapping and a steady chant of Kate, Kate, Kate which turned into applause as I started running.  Thanks for the boost and for helping me get my running mojo back!!!!  Then the turn from Main Street and the out and back on Mirror Lake Drive and those smiling faces again!!!  I walked a bit more than I had planned, but still found that I had passed people in the latter part of the race.  The entire day I focused on staying in my "box" and only being concerned with the things I could control-nutrition, pace, etc.  I feel I did a pretty good job with that.

All this while you can hear the music and cheering coming from the finish area in the Olympic Skating Oval.  Above it all you hear Mike Reilley's voice calling out "so and so, You are an Ironman!!!"  Running onto the track is incredible as you hear and feel all of this going on.  Then you run the turn and onto the straightaway and see the finish.  There is so much going on around you at that moment in time and then before you know it you cross the finish line.  Two women crossed just ahead of me, so I don't even know if my name was announced, but that is ok.  I knew at that point in time that I was an Ironman!  That was my goal-to complete the race-and it felt great to accomplish that.

Time to celebrate with my favorite food.....pizza!!!  And friends including 3X Ironman Mike Walsh!

The sport of triathlon does not allow any assistance to the athlete during the race.  Those who compete in the sport know that the "assistance" that really matters occurs each and every day during the months or years leading up to an event.  The support, understanding, sacrifice and love of family, friends, co-workers, coaches, doctors and countless others is what enables, empowers and motivates us to follow our dreams.  Not only those who have touched our lives training for the most recent race, but those who have touched our lives all along the way.  It is such a wonderful journey and for me, one that only has meaning if it is shared.  I have so many people to thank that it would take days to write all of the names.  So please know that I do thank you and I love you for being there for me.

Kate Galinus, you are an Ironman!!

2.4 mile swim  1:26:50
T1  11:12
112 mile bike   8:22:18
T2  6:53
26.2 mile run   5:50:19
15:58:27

9th in Age Group out of 17


Buffet along the way:

Pre swim:  One PowerBar Gel

Bike:  PowerBar Ironman Perform, PowerBar Gels,  PowerBar Gel Blasts and some Stinger Organic Energy Chews.  Every 20 minutes I had either a) PB Drink, B) Gel and water or C) Blasts or chews and water.
One S Cap every 90 minutes
*nothing but a little water during the last 30 minutes on bike

Run:  PowerBar Ironman Perform, water, PowerBar Gels, flat coke, pretzels, chicken broth, half a banana, a few orange sections.  One Gel per hour, water or PB Perform at each aid station, broth during last 6 miles, other foods as I saw them.
One S Cap every hour

Post race:  12 oz PowerBar Restore, 2 slices of the most delicious tasting pizza in the world, water

I felt really good but a little tired the following day and enjoyed a massage in Lake Placid at Balanced Bodywork.  I did light stretching, some walking and some swimming during the week and really felt fine.



A special thanks to Melissa and Bonnie for taking such great photos throughout the race!