So, two Ironman races in 4 weeks. Good Idea or Bad Idea? I think it worked out pretty well. I was worried about my fatigue on race day and it ended up not being an issue. Phew!

I set another PR! 14:09.21. I ran one of the most solid races ever and I am very happy with the whole thing, this course is tough. I did it in 2005 for my first Ironman ever which happed to also be my birthday. (15:18.38) What an awesome day, but what a slow bike split, with a flat tire on top of it all! This year I was out for revenge on the bike course!

The 5 days we were up in Lake Placid was great! I had two friends doing the Ironman for the first time and they were very excited and nervous, but I was sure they would both have great days and finish with a smile! Not to mention the teammates who were racing, Alex M. and Marie, you both rock! Keith, Brook and Jay were also fun to have on the course. Jay, I bet you will do another race!

It rained, and rained and rained some more and was cold. I didn’t pack my rain jacket (DOH!) or enough fleece and paid for it by having to fight off a sore throat on Friday and Saturday. It eneded up hitting me today, Wednesday. I have taken my second nap of the day and I have been taking a lot of Emergen-C! Love that stuff!

Doug, our great mechanic, tuned up and cleaned my bike, which rode and shifted like a breeze, thanks! The practice swims were solid and the water felt cool, but once you got going you warmed up. I don’t think Mirror Lake will ever be called “warm.” I ran once and was pretty tired running the loop around the lake. I got very worried about my fatigue, so I decided to lay very low for the next 36 hours. Whadoyaknow? It worked!

Saturday at Ironman Village we had a TIMEX seminar on Ironman TV. Ben (our fearless manager) emceed the show and Paolina, Alex, Marie, Dave and I were on TV talking about training, racing and our pre race meals and superstitions. My in-laws had come into town and were in the audience watching with my husband. We had a good crowd and the village was full of people! One of the funnier questions from the audience was “Do you pee on the bike?” everyone shook their head up and down, except me!  Guess that is another thing I have to work on. I just can’t bring my body to do that.

The swim, well, I was planning on swimming a 1:15 and ended up with a 1:22. Not what I wanted and it wasn’t for fatigue, but just really crummy sighting. I went way far to the right and ended up all by my lonesome until I hit the first buoy. I was just having a lot of trouble with direction and kept veering off to the right even when I would turn left. I ended up very frustrated and then had to battle the kayaks who kept getting in front of me to steer me back to the crowd.

T1- 12:46. I know, I know. What was she doing? Eating pancakes? I HAD to use the porto potties! It’s also a long run from the lake to the oval!

Bike – I was trying to get a 7 hour bike split. I had done 7:11 in Coeur d’Alene. So the first lap I hit in 3:29 I was very happy. But a headwind crept up on the second lap and killed me. I was passed a lot more on the second lap too. I got to the out and back and I was very spent with a lot of climbing to go. My second lap was 4 hours. Ugh, would I have legs to run??? Total bike 7:31:49

At the aid station in Wilmington, the volunteer made a comment about a lot of crashes. They had sent 3 ambulances to the hospital and needed a 4^th! There was also a very bad crash on the downhill to Keene. People, be careful out there!

T2- 5:45 Much better! Coming off the bike I hear this woman screaming my name. It’s my mother in law. My in laws stopped me and took my picture before I ran off to change for the run. It’s really fun to have your family there in the crowd. It made a difference for me and my race.

Run – I felt pretty good. I saw Paolina in the first mile and she said I had good turnover. I never lost that turnover. I ended up running a 4:56:21 marathon. Not quite as fast as Alex, but great for me! The best part is I finally got my nutrition under control and that really made the difference in my run. I had energy and surprisingly fresh legs. (Hmm, maybe should have ridden harder?) I kept expecting to run out of gas, but I picked up a buddy, Joel and we ran together for quite a few miles. This was Joel’s first Ironman race and he was hurting on the run, but had to beat his buddies time of 14:23. I said stick with me, I am trying to break 14 hours. It really helped me to run with someone. Sometimes we would chat, and most of the time we would just run. We would wait for each other after the aid stations and kept each other going. This is the first marathon I didn’t want to quit or slow down, even though the last 10K was so very painful. Alex asked me at lunch how do I run for 5 hours? Well, that is how. I now ask him, “How do you run a marathon under 3 hours?”

I really wanted to break 14 hours…but I saw my family on the sidelines and my friends and husband racing I would stop for hugs and a quick chat. For me it’s about the experience first and foremost, and then it’s about the clock.

My husband was a hero. One of my friends was having trouble on the marathon. She had nutrition trouble on the bike, which is very bad. That means no energy to run. Not to mention the temperature drops quickly at Lake Placid when the sun goes down. She became hypothermic and was walking from mile 17 to the finish. He walked with her the whole way and they crossed the line together.

Check out my photos on ASI. I’m #2156. I’m also in the DVD everyone got from Janus on my pretty blue TREK bike! (hint: I’m in the TIMEX uniform)