Ironman Lake Placid 2009

1:30 am – The sound of an intense rain wakes me up. The forecast calls for showers in the morning, giving way to thunderstorms (90% chance) during the afternoon. There was even a chance of hail during the day. I was not too pleased to wake up this early to rain but I calmed myself and got a few more z’s.

4:00 am – The alarm sounds and the rain is still coming down. You know what? I trained for this day in the rain, so I’m ready. It could rain all day and I would be prepared. I was just worried about lightning. The swim could be cancelled if it was present. Kelly (my wife who is also participating in the race) and I make our way downstairs and tiptoe through the sleeping members of “Team Sullivan.” We have numerous people sleeping at the camp that we call home during the summer. I am immediately overwhelmed at the thought of how selfless these people are. We have people from Pittsburgh, PA, Springfield, IL, and Phoenix, AZ staying with us that have flown in to be here for us. We have a friend that has to leave at 5 am the next morning to drive to NJ. We have a friend that has to leave early the next morning to be with her dad in the hospital. We have a friend that took time off from a brand new job that she started, risking her first impression with her boss. I stand there for a moment and look at the tired group. There are no words to express my gratitude for their support. I know I HAVE TO finish today, for them. They slowly rise one after another while Kelly and I partake in a small but important breakfast.

5:00 am – Kelly and I finally leave for Lake Placid which is 30 minutes away from our camp. The rain has stopped and I start to see some breaks in the clouds. The drive is tense and quiet in the car. Kelly’s cousin and her new Fiancé join us on the trip to the race site.

5:40 am – We find a parking spot and walk our special needs bags to the drop site. I see the buoys on the lake for the first time. It starts to set in. This is going to happen.

6:00 am – Kelly and I walk into the Olympic Oval which is the setting for the transitions. We finalize the bike preparation and put our wetsuits on. The great thing about Ironman is that when I start struggling with my wetsuit zipper on my back, a guy sees me and comes over to help. This will be the theme for the day. We are all friends out there today. We get the final call that transition is closing and we must leave for the beach.

6:45 am – Kelly and I bump into a friend who will be doing his 10th Ironman Lake Placid in a row. Kelly starts to well up due to nerves and we do our best to calm her. Kelly finds the tent for her inhaler and I lose her in the crowd. I worry that she is worried. I look all over for her and can’t find her. At this point I have minutes to get into the water and find my spot. I hope to find her before the cannon sounds.

6:50 am – I get into the water and immediately find Kelly. She seems relieved and we settle on a spot that looks unpopulated for the chaotic start.

7:00 am – The cannon sounds:
THE SWIM: I start all of the way in the back but quickly find open water and go by slower swimmers. My first lap is completed in 37 minutes. I am amazed to see the clock read that time! I had to stop and look for open water several times. I thought I’d be over 40. I am excited to get to my second lap.
I find a great amount of room and stay on the outside of the line. I end up taking too wide of a line and lose precious minutes getting back to the turn buoy. I come out of the water with a 39 minute second lap. Oh well. My first lap gave me some unexpected time in my pocket for the second lap. I am pleased, overall.

Swim Time: 1:17

THE BIKE: I get through transition with a calm feeling. I make sure I have everything I need for the bike and then I go. I tell myself to relax on the first lap because I don’t want to bonk on the second lap. I feel great, however, and am cruising along at a better speed than expected. I notice there is a wind at my back so I use it. My goal for the first lapis 3:40. I come through in a 3:05. Holy crap. WAY TOO FAST!!
I immediately slow the pace on the second lap, worried that I will hit a wall and ruin the run. I take the hills in a methodical fashion and ignore all others that are pounding up them, dancing on their pedals to get to the run. I come through on the second lap with a 3:30. Much better… The one thing I do notice more than anything else is that the sun is beating down in an unrelenting fashion. I did not apply sun screen due to the fact that the clouds looked menacing coming out of the water. I would realize this horrible move the next day.

Bike Time: 6:35

THE RUN: I get through transition in great shape. I breathe and collect myself before heading out on the run course. I take advantage of the free sun screen (although it would be too late for me). I exit the transition area and take inventory of my body’s status. Lungs… check. Legs… check. Head… check. Oh my god! I feel great! This is too good to be true. I’m going to rock this run. I start off with a very healthy pace but remind myself not to blow it early. I back off the pace and take the early miles easy.
At mile 9, I feel a tightening sensation in my calf that causes me to stop. It feels like my calf will cramp any minute. I audibly say, “Oh no!” I start a walk/run for the next several miles. I run as far as my calf will allow me before it decides to cramp up. I stop, rub it, and walk for a while. I repeat this until mile 19. It starts to get so bad that I’m running about 200 meters before I have to stop. I walk from mile 19 to around 22. I walk until I see Kelly’s dad. He comes out on the street and tells me I’m almost there. He walks the hill into town wit me and I tell him I’m going to run as far as my calf will let me and then run through that. I will run the finish. This is what I’ve waited for.
I run the rest of the way on pure adrenaline and what made it even better was that I passed Kelly on my way into the finish as she was going out for her second loop. She was able to see me as I began to enter the oval. That was all I needed. I run into the oval and get my first Ironman finish. It is a feeling I will never forget and never experience again. Perfect…

Run Time: 5:03

Total Time (including transitions): 13:13:22

HMRRC Marathon Relay

So, once again, I get talked into doing the relay. This time I ran the 9.3 mile leg instead of the short 5.6 mile leg. The longest run I've done to this point was a 6 mile run. I was a little worried but decided to come up with a game plan. I would run the first 6 miles at a cozy pace and if I felt good enough, I'd pick it up for the last 3.
Well, I felt good after 3 so I picked it up. It didn't help that I was in third place and I could see 1 and 2 about 50 meters ahead. So I started to try and chip away. I got a little closer before the #1 runner pulled away and I was left to battle for 2nd.
I was the first of three legs so I wanted to start us off on a good note.
As I made the last turn and approached the finish line, I see the second leg sprinting to the line. Uh oh. He's not there yet?! I slow down so that he doesn't tire himself out before his 5.6 mile leg. I cross in third about 45 seconds behind first. My time was 61 minutes. That was 4-9 minutes better than what I was shooting for.
A side note- The scond leg got us into first place and our third leg (11.3 miles) held on to third place overall for us. Not a bad team effort.
I had bad effects from pushing harder than I should have. I'll skip the details.
Next up, we'll see. Something in March I'm sure.