Some Post-race thoughts and observations
1) That was fun! Plain and simple, fun! I mean there were certainly times during both the bike and the run where it was less fun than other times, but all-in-all, that is an unbelievably fun way to spend a day. I don’t see how you can train and then race and not want to come back for more. There were certainly people who had much less fun than others (see below), but even those people will be doing this again, I bet.
2) The Ironman is 100% a group effort. Knowing that my family was there supporting me all day helped carry me through the lows over the course of the day. I knew that I would see and hear them as long as I made it back to the transition area. When I was walking in the sun at mile 7 with my quads on fire, I knew that as long as I got myself back to town, they would be there. That was huge. My team – Elizabeth, parents, in-laws and Charlie – were fantastic the entire weekend. They made my first Ironman experience one I will never forget. Thank you! Also, the whole rest of the crowd is amazing. It’s a different crowd than what you see at the New York City Marathon – there’s not nearly as many fans, but the ones in LP really really mean it. Everyone knows people who are racing and they all scream their guts out for anyone who passes. Because every event is a loop, you see the same people at least twice over the day, and some of them remember you. I remember seeing this couple who were standing on the road in the middle of the climb back into town. They were so encouraging – picking people out by number and shouting to keep pushing. And there they were on the second loop still cheering just as loud. It gave me something to look forward to. Also, Lake Placid and the volunteers are amazing, but they deserve their own point…
3) I obviously haven’t done an Ironman anywhere else, but I find it hard to believe that any location is better than Lake Placid. The whole town turns out for the race – and it really seems like they’re happy to be there. Whole families come and volunteer all weekend. They are enthusiastic and efficient and they want the racers to race well and have a great time. The volunteers on race day really bust their butts to make it happen. They’re sprinting in transition. They’re getting soaked stripping wetsuits. They’re holding a water bottle out to be grabbed by the speeding bike passing by. And they’re smiling. There are kids out picking up trash and holding your bike at the porta-potties. It’s amazing. I used to wonder why there aren’t any Ironman races in bigger cities. I think I know one reason why – the feeling could never be the same if the athletes and action were spread out over a large city. For that week, Lake Placid is IRONMAN Lake Placid. All the stores have signs up. It felt like an Olympic village – and we were the racing stars! Then there are the other athletes, but they also get their own points…
4) Walking around town in the days leading up to the race, everyone is either racing or supporting a racer. I was worried that it would be a scene where all the athletes strut around in the T-shirt from their bad-ass race acting like they’re too tough. But that’s not it, everyone is excited and nervous and there to have fun. People are talkative and interested. I met some really great people before the race. I don’t see how you could avoid getting swept up in the excitement. And the crazy thing is that while I was up there, it began to feel like racing in an Ironman was “normal.” I mean, everyone does it, right!?
5) And it only gets better after the race. That’s when you really meet the great ones. I had planned on staying around after I finished to watch other racers and I especially wanted to see the last hour or so of the race. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it; I was just too spent. But Monday morning in the line to register for 2008, it was like a party! We met all kinds of people – from the first timers to the old vets. People who won their age group to people who came in close to midnight. And they’re all coming back next year for more. No one is bragging, but everyone has their story, or their friend’s story or the story they just heard. We met Wayne, who looked like a million bucks. We spent all morning in line talking with him, but it wasn’t until we randomly ran into him again that evening that we heard his story. It turns out that he set the LP marathon course record – for longest marathon ever. He started off great and hit T2 at about the same time that I did. Then, just into the marathon, his body revolted. At one point during the first loop he actually lay down in the dirt for 90 minutes. The medics ignored him (or he told them he was OK). Finally, he threw up his guts and started on the road again. At some point during the second loop, he sat down in a chair at an aid station – when he woke up sometime later, he was back on the ground. He threw up again and got back at it. And he finished. The marathon alone took him over nine friggin’ hours, but he did it. Then there was Nigel who we met at Caribbean Cowboy Monday night; Nigel was racing this, his first Ironman, in honor of a cousin who recently died. His finisher picture is amazing – his head is raised high and he’s holding a sign above his head with her name on it (was it Juanita?). It’s an amazing picture. We were listening to his story and he told us that he was asking racers to sign the sign. And he asked if I would sign it for him. Me? It was such an honor. And those are just the two stories I remember best. Walking through town on Monday, all the finishers are wearing their finisher T’s or hats and doing the post-Ironman shuffle. “Congrats!” “Nice work out there!” Everyone is part of the Ironman team.
6) I’m amazed that I made it through the whole training season without any injury or real set-back. A few little things here and there, but nothing that materially interrupted my training. (I’ll knock on wood as I type this!) The funniest thing is that Sunday, after the race when I’d changed into flip flops, I stubbed my right pinky toe – it’s all black and blue and that’s what hurt the most in the days after the race.
7) I have spent a ridiculous amount of time this week re-playing the race in my head. I’m thinking about things I did well and things that didn’t go as planned. I’m thinking about my training for 2007 and the changes I think I should make in preparation for 2008. I’m thinking about what I’d like to improve and how I think I can do it. That’s all for a future post.
8) Coming home after the race has been a little tough. I’ve heard people talk about post-race depression, but I’d never experienced it before. This time though, coming back to “reality” has been hard. For nearly a year, Ironman Lake Placid was at or near the forefront of my mind nearly all of the time. I slept in order to train well. I ate in order to train well. I trained in order to race well. Most of my free time at my desk at work was spent on triathlon- or Ironman-related websites. It kept me busy and tired and happy. If I had a complaint, it was that at times it felt isolating and lonely, but even that didn’t stop me from loving what I was doing. Then we finally went up to Lake Placid and I spent a week surrounded by people who had all spent the year doing and feeling and thinking the same things. Like I wrote above, I felt like part of that team. In a flash we were lined up in the lake listening to “Ironman” and waiting to go. I felt so alive during the race – even at the “down” points of the race, I felt like I could do anything. I was on top of the world and I was sharing that feeling with my loved ones and 2,000+ Ironman compatriots and all of their loved ones. It was such an unbelievably high “high”. But as quickly as it came, it was gone. We finished the race and told our survivor stories and then they tore down the tents in Ironman Village and it was just the Olympic Speedskating Oval again. And then we came home and I can’t train too much and all those little stresses that I’d been able to ignore when the Ironman was on my mind have finally found their voices and space to be heard. I’d go back to that moment in a second and I imagine that’s part of the reason why people get up at dawn the day after an Ironman in order to sign up to go through it all again. We’re searching for that feeling – before, during and immediately after the race – when we felt more alive than ever before. I can understand why people do more than one of these a year – waiting a full year to do that again seems like an awful long time. These recovery weeks are hard – I’m all out of sorts because the race is over and I can’t get out there and train like I’m used to. My body is tired, but I’m having trouble sleeping. My stomach’s a mess because I don’t know what or how much to eat. I want that training feeling again! Fortunately, I have a busy second half of the season already planned.
9) I have to again thank my parents and in-laws for making the trip and being such great supporters and cheerleaders. I can’t imagine having done this race without all of them there.
10) And I need to thank again and again my wonderful wife. She deserves a lot of the credit for making this happen. She kept me grounded and helped me through the hardest times during the training. She was encouraging and always acted like she wanted me to get out and do my training. And she’s such a good sport that she’s on board for another go at it next year!
I spoke with Coach John and my schedule for the first three post-race weeks is generally unstructured. He encouraged me to get into the pool and to do some easy spins on the bike, but nothing too strenuous. And given the way I’ve felt during the couple training sessions this week, that won’t be a problem! And no running at all for the first 10 days or so. I need to try to get plenty of sleep, eat lots of good food and maybe I’ll even have a drink or two. I have plenty of time before any other races but I also don’t want to fall too far out of the training regimen that my body and mind have gotten used to. Even though I want to get back at it, I’m willing to wait – a little bit to give myself a chance to recover…
Swim – July 26
Distance: 1,500 yards
Time: 28 minutes
Bike – July 27
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 108
Indoor ride
Bike – July 28
Distance: 21.8 miles
Time: 1:22
Average heart rate: 120
Course: West Side Highway to Central Park, 2 loops
Conditions: Sunny, hot and steamy
Swim – July 29
Distance: 2,150 yards
Time: 43 minutes