A brief review of the greatest challenge I ever completed
In The Days Before
Andrea and I left Chicago on Thursday morning at 7am. After three weeks of an emotional taper time, combined with working really hard leading up to prepare for this time away from my team and job – and then also packing for the weekend and road trip – we were FINALLY on our way. Honestly, a major weight off my shoulders. In retrospect, I think after peak week finished (July 4th), I was so emotionally exhausted from the build up, the remaining weeks became a bit of a daily grind and mental slugfest, as I worried about my recovery, doing enough to feel good on race week/day, and making sure I had all my ducks in a row with work and life before I left. It felt GOOD to be driving and only Ironman weekend on my mind.
The drive went well, just a lot of Moth Radio hour, good tunes, and talking about the weekend ahead with Andrea. We had packed most of our road snacks, so only really had to stop for gas, stretching, and one Chipotle pit stop about 3 hours out of Lake Placid. And then15 hours after leaving Chicago, we arrived to our AirB&B right off Main Street in Lake Placid. We unpacked, settled in, and got to bed.
Friday was pretty magical – walking down the Main Street strip, you can’t help but be humbled by the history. To the east of Main Street is the beautiful Mirror Lake, and to the west is the ice rink where the 1980 US Men’s Hockey team beat the Soviet Union in what some say is the greatest sports upset in history. Lake Placid is filled with sports and specifically Olympic history, and i’s pretty surreal to think about the countless athletes that have arrived to this town – just like me – ready to chase a dream.
Following the schedule of the weekend, we made our way to the Ironman Village at the Olympic Horse Grounds, and I got checked in. Entering this area was a row of World Flag representation, the downhill Ski Jumps in the distance, in addition to the “Welcome to Lake Placid – Home of the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Games.” It just continues to hit you – you are in a really special and unique place, doing something that is really special and unique.
Check-in went smooth, I got a picture in the Ironman Lake Placid Adirondacks style chair, and sat through the athlete brief. More and more, it began to settle in that this challenge – one that I had thought about for over 3 years of my life, and trained for nearly 2 years straight for – was right around the corner. After the briefing, I got to run into Rob Bunting, my training parter for most of the cycle, and only other athlete in the field that I knew (or so I thought at the time). It was great to see Rob, go through a couple pre-race logistics and questions, and eventually be on our way. It’s funny actually, while at the athlete check-in, the weather went from sunny and 70’s perfection to immediate downpour – which in retrospect was a pretty good foreshadowing of how quickly weather can change in Lake Placid and potentially what we were in for on Sunday.
After check-in, Andrea and I stopped by Big Slide Brewery for dinner and local libations. They had a delicious lineup of beers (I got the Pear sour Göse, and Andrea got an array of their offerings that were all pretty awesome, save for the hot pepper beer that packed a spicy punch too strong). But what really made this place stand out, was the awesome plant-based options on the menu. We split the vegan buffalo chicken pizza, vegan tandoori wrap w/ fries, and a salad – and they were all awesome! Sitting outside in again another mix of sunshine and brief rain was funny but kind of refreshing. On our way out, we snagged some of their beers to go, and asked a group of dudes walking in to take our picture in an old beat up luge donned with the Brewery name; another homage to the winter Olympic Games: FEEL THE RHYTEM, FEEL THE RHYME, GET ON UP, IT’S BOBSLED TIMEEEEEE!
After we got back to our AirB&B, I geared up for a 40 minute easy spin out bike ride, followed by a 20 minute jog. The bike ride was another special opportunity to tour the beginning of the course and the ski jump area, and on the run I got to make my way around Mirror Lake. It was beautiful and stunning as people described it as, and I got to meet two people around the Lake: Howard, a local dog owner to Aries (New Guinea mountain dog – very cute!) who was making sure his rowing boat was out of the wake of Swim Exit, and a father/grandfather of an athlete who was taking a look at Swim Exit. The latter gentleman had a Cleveland baseball hat, so we shared a brief laugh about the team, their name change, and the hopeful prospect of their years ahead.
I made my way home to wrap up the run, and the rest of the evening was used to pack up each bag I had been given as an option for race day: Bike Gear Bag (T1), Run Gear Bag (T2), Bike Special Needs, and Run Special Needs. It took a considerable amount of time, but I’m really happy with the outcome. Highlight of this decision making was putting extra socks, cookies, miso soup broth, and Swedish fish in my Run Special Needs bag (came in handy at mile 16/17 of the run!).
After some time in the recovery boots Andrea rented from Edge for the weekend, we were off to bed. Saturday was going to be just as packed of a pre-race day, and the day my parents arrived.
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I woke up Saturday morning, and went to the grocery store for some last minute breakfast needs: after all, today was MEGA breakfast (brunch) day!
After I came home, I suited up in my Edge try-suit, ate a banana and some berries and maple stroopwaffle snack, and biked on down to Rob’s place on the other side of Lake Placid. Fortunately for me, Rob is a wizard with bicycles. I wasn’t able to get into the bike shop for a final degrease/clean/wash, so Rob helped me out big time with greasing the chain and doing some last minute checks to make sure everything was in working order – this was a MAJOR relief to feel good about my bike for race day. We wrapped that up, and both walked down to Mirror Lake for a final shake out swim in the water.
Swimming in Mirror Lake was amazing, and I finally got to see the epic “cable” that so many people talk about. Either the city of Lake Placid, or Ironman, creates a cable in the shape of the swimming loop for this race, such that all buoys can be fixed to the cable/rod, and the swimmers know where to go, where to turn, etc. The amazing part about it, is that you can see the cable in the water, so you can just keep your eyes on it while swimming, and avoid veering off course or in a zig-zag pattern (like many athletes tend to do in open water swimming).
After we wrapped up the shakeout swim, we walked back to Rob’s, I grabbed my bike and rode back to my AirB&B, where Andrea had been busy cooking up a mega breakfast FEAST.
I sat down for a breakfast that started with an enormous plate of breakfast hash (plant-based sausage, sweet potatoes, bell peppers of all colors, onions, mushrooms and broccoli). That alone was an enormous amount of food, but I was just getting started. I finished up the breakfast hash, and moved onto an everything bagel with avocado, and a bowl of oatmeal topped with fresh fruit, nuts and local Adirondack’s maple syrup. I started to get full after all that, but I knew I needed to pack in as much as I could for this meal. So I wrapped up mega breakfast with a plate of 6 chocolate protein pancakes, topped with berries, chocolate granola, walnuts, coconut, and more local syrup. All of this food, and some delicious home brewed coffee, and I was finally done – and very uncomfortable! Haha.
With mega breakfast wrapped up, I moved my attention to bike racking. I added a couple last minute decisions to my race day bags, and then it was off to Transition at the local high school. Racking was pretty seamless, and stress free – only thing I had to consider was that it was most definitely going to rain overnight. I double wrapped all my bags, wrapped my handle bars and rear cassette in trash bags, and racked my bike in proper position. I took in the view of the transition area, and tried to get my bounds straight for swim exit and transition entrance, as well as bike out, bike in, and run out. It all seemed pretty straight forward to me, so I was all set and ready to go.
Andrea and I decided to drive around the town after everything was setup, just to make sure she had the town framed in her mind, and mapped out the best spots to spectate and see me – with additional considerations for where my parents could go and see me throughout the race. We realized it would be tough to see me at a ton of places, but it was manageable for everyone to see me on each segment of the triathlon, and that seemed like a good baseline. Andrea got the information she needed to feel like she could make a place and adapt on race day, knowing the lay of the land and accommodating for my parents desires to see me lots without too much pressure to move too far, too fast.
With everything else set and in order, we headed back tot he AirB&B for some final race day prep and to await my parents arrival to town. Only gear bags had to be at transition on Saturday with my bike, so I still had time to add a couple last minute items to my special needs bags, just in case. I landed on some cookies, peanut butter cups, Swedish fish, bean/rice burrito, and miso soup broth, in addition to extra nutrition and salts and the classics.
My parents arrives around 5pm, and after we unpacked their car, we all went to the local Episcopal church for the athlete blessing. It was only about a 5 minute walk from our place, and it was something I felt particularly compelled to go to. I don’t talk about it with a ton of people, but I’ve grown a lot in my own spirituality over the last couple years, and certainly used my faith and spirituality as a tool to assist me in my training and preparation for this goal. As I told the pastor after the service, it was exactly what I needed to fill up my cup before race day. It was really nice and simple, filled with mostly kind and elder locals, a brass trio, and a few other athletes from out of town. This was my kind of church – simple, peaceful, and a place to reflect on my own growth and how I can continue to be a better person – and as I always think about, how I can continue to be the light that anyone in my life needs.
Once we wrapped up service, we took in the view of Mirror Lake with my parents and then headed home for dinner. I had planned to eat my classic miso soup and bread/butter for dinner – and to my surprise, everyone else felt compelled to join me. It’s delicious, has a bunch of goodness in the form of tofu, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, and onions, and it oh so flavorful and salty to help me start hydrated me for race day.
A quick side note – dinner was really special to me. It was an opportunity for me to invite my parents into my world a bit, and share with them a staple of my plant-based diet – something they have begun thinking and talking more about to help assist with their own health outcome mindfulness. I think for some folks that have always lived and eaten a certain way, it’s difficult to imagine what life looks like if the way you eat – something so vital to our human existence – feels like it’s being upended. I know this is a barrier for my parents journey to a more plant-based or plant centered diet and life, and so for this moment, it was really special to help them with a little kitchen inspiration of how easy and delicious it can be to live this way.
Dinner was delicious, and while we all wanted to spend even more time talking and catching up, we knew what awaited us in the morning. My parents were tired from the drive, and filled up on soup, and decided to head to bed. I knew I had just a couple minor things to wrap up before the morning, to make sure the early morning would be smooth and easy. But by 10pm, I was off to bed for the 4:15am wake up call.
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