2012 Ironman Lake Placid

2012 Ironman Lake Placid Race Report

Joe Sullivan

Training:

Training had gone as well as it ever has for my Ironman prep. This year, I met some great people that were very supportive and fun to train with. I joined Team Loco after I was introduced to the founding members on a Wednesday night ride. From that point on, I had an invitation to go for a weekday ride somewhere new. I enjoyed those rides, thoroughly. I also got in some great long rides with J from Steiner’s Bike Shop in Glenmont. J knows all of the roads out there and knew where to take me when I was in need of a certain distance and hilly route. Needless to say, it was one of my better bike training years.

My plan going into this race was to bike more than I had previously. I would stress the bike in training with the hope that it would translate to a sub 6 hour Ironman bike split. I have the luxury of training on the course from early spring up until the day of the event. During training, I had some GREAT rides on the course. I found a nutrition plan that worked and I was very excited for. Going into race day, I had reason to believe that I was going to have a great bike split.

Race Day:

I woke up at 3:45am after getting a better night’s sleep than I anticipated. I chose to set the alarm for this time because the last 2 Ironman competitions, we hadn’t gotten to the race site with enough time to take care of special needs bags, set up the bikes, get body marked, and use the restrooms. There was never time to get myself mentally ready.

This year, I ate my English Muffins with peanut butter and honey in a relaxed state, at the kitchen table of the camp. I drank 2 glasses of water very slowly. I was ready for this day, physically. I didn’t want to mess it up by stuffing my face too quickly. Everything settled in my stomach, nicely. So far, so good.

With the help of Kelly’s parents, the truck was packed up with my baggage and their cooler and chairs for the long day. We applied Kelly’s Ironman tattoo to the back of her head, double checked that we had everything, and then left for the race site. We were on time and I was excited.

We got there with more than enough time to drop my bags at the special needs site and do my last minute bike prep in the oval. I got my body marked and used the rest rooms multiple times. Things were going swimmingly! We found Mark and Liam (2 of the people I met during training that were doing their first Ironman). They were excited, although Mark was trying not to show it. He’s such a cool cucumber. Liam showed us what he was wearing underneath his wetsuit and just as he was doing this, Mike Reilly, “the voice of the Ironman” (the guy that you all know that announces that “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!! As you cross the finish line) walked by and told Liam that if he wears that throughout the day, he will stay on him and keep tabs for the crowd. Liam’s choice of speedo was definitely unique.

With about 15 minutes to the canon, we started our walk to the timing mat to enter Mirror Lake. I said my goodbye to Kelly and that’s when it hit me. This is the first time that Kelly and I aren’t competing in the Ironman at the same time. We don’t really train together so I didn’t really let it sink in during training, but we start the race together and give each other a hug and a kiss right before the canon. I started to walk away and Kelly stayed with the spectators. Kelly called to me and I turned to see her at the gate. Boom. She’s not coming with me. My heart went into my throat and I quickly came back and hugged her and gave her a kiss. If I didn’t turn back around and leave her then, I would’ve been a mess. So I did just that. I found Mark and Liam and we continued on to the timing mat.

I shook Mark’s hand (we lost Liam in the crowd) at the mat and wished him luck. I reminded him to enjoy the day. I then stepped over the mat and swam to my starting spot. There seemed to be more people than usual. I could not start in my usual spot because it was packed with competitors. I swam out a little towards the starting line and found a patch of water to call my own. I found Kelly and her family on the shore line and then floated on the water with a minute left. I was in my calm place and let Mike Reilly count it down.

KABOOM!!! The canon fired and the lake came alive. Arms, legs, heads, body parts were everywhere. I continued breathing and stroking. I was immediately met by people who started on the shore line and swam over towards the buoys. People were swimming over me, hitting me with viciously swinging arms, and pulling on my feet and legs. There was no spot of water that wasn’t occupied by at least 2 people at the same time. CHAOS!! I stayed in my peaceful place as much as I could by I was using my legs more than I wanted to. I soon found myself kicking people off of me and swimming sideways to try and find space. I swam out wide enough that I finally found a spot that I could make forward progress. As soon as I got into a groove, I heard swimmers yelling and screaming for a kayak. I stopped swimming and noticed a mass of swimmers waving their arms and shouting for help. A swimmer was in distress and many swimmers stopped to help. I screamed for help a couple of times and then thought, well, there are enough people helping, I will just continue on and get out of the way. I continued on and made my way around the turn buoys and back to the beach. I got out of the water and looked at my watch. Oops! Someone kicked it at around 10 minutes because that’s where my time had stopped. I looked up and saw that the clock was at 47 minutes… wait… 47 minutes??!! That’s 10 minutes slower than I wanted! I asked the person that got out next to me if that was the pro time (the pros start 10 minutes before we do) and she confirmed that I was correct. Phew!!

Back out for lap 2! This was much more uneventful… thank goodness! I got it around in 38 minutes for a total swim time of 1:16. Right on target! I noticed, however, that I expended way too much energy on that first loop just from the fighting that I did. I had my wetsuit stripped from my body and I was off to the transition area.

I got my bike bag and ran into the change ten. There were no seats to be had so I took a volunteer’s chair while he was helping someone. I, quickly, got my shoes and helmet on. I put my race belt on with my number attached. I grabbed my sunglasses and stuffed some gu into my trishirt pouches and I was out! I had to grab my own bike from the rack, again. Not a big deal. As I was running out of the oval with my bike, I noticed that my bike computer was not functioning. I stopped at the mounting area and fiddled with it for a minute. No luck. Oh well, I only had a race strategy that was contingent upon my computer functioning, that’s all. Shit! I pedaled away trying to calm myself down. It’ll be ok. Just go by feel. My plan was to bike the first loop slightly under 3 hours and then hopefully match it on the second loop. I immediately took in a good amount of my Infinit Nutrition as I rode out of Placid. It actually tasted good and went down nicely. All signs are a go for a good bike!

I made it up the Lake Placid hills with very little effort. I was so happy with my training! It made it possible for me to feel this good at this point! I continued on toward Cascade Lakes which is a traditional sign that the 5 miles of extreme downhills was coming. I was ready to go 50! As I started the descent, I dropped down into an aggressive aero position and was flying by people. The hill gently flattened out and I started to pedal… (CLANK!!) I looked down and saw my chain wedged all in my crank set and derailleur. SHIT!! Calm down… it’s fixable… calm…down… I got off of my bike after coasting to a stop. I pulled the tangled chain out and reaffixed it. I got it rolling again in about 2 minutes, or so. IT felt like 10! Calm down… calm… down… I hit the flat sections after the downhills and felt REALLY GOOD! I continued sucking down my nutrition at 20 minute intervals. Still yummy and still sitting well in my stomach. As I reached the turn onto 86, I hit the next series of challenging uphills. This would be a great test for how my legs are holding up. I went up the hills feeling like I was holding myself back. Good sign. The only problem was that I planned a speed that I was going to go on the hills and not go over it. I’m pretty sure that I surpassed that speed but I couldn’t tell.

As I turned onto the part of Route 86 that I dread the most (Whiteface Mountain), I knew that this was the most important part of my ride. If I can get through this with little effort and continuing to take in my nutrition, I’d be set! Not only did I accomplish this, but it went even better than I had planned. No effort at all! I came back into town super excited! I calculated my time as a 2:56. Spot on! I sped by Kelly, her family, and our friends giving them a thumbs up. I wanted them to know that all was going well.

I stopped to switch out my empty bottle for the full ones in my special needs bag. I got back on my bike and I was out for lap 2! As I approached the Placid hills I heard someone say, “Joe?” It was Mark! He was spinning along, looking great! We talked about our race so far and then wished each other continued luck. I made my way up the hills feeling pretty good. It took a little more effort than the first time, but about 60 miles of biking will do that to a person. I went down the hills without incident this time. I turned onto the flat section and went to take in my nutrition. My stomach rebelled. I started to get cramps in my lower intestines and my stomach started turning. Oh no. This can’t happen! Not this early, anyway!I still had roughly 40 miles to go! I backed off of the speed on the flats and cmae out of my aero position to try and let the body angle help things along. As I made it to my next nutrition marker, my stomach wanted nothing to do with it. I felt like I would have to get off the bike at any moment and either vomit or run into the woods for an emergency bowel movement. I started to take in water only. I knew this was bad, but I couldn’t get anything else down. I tried putting my nutrition in, I would get it into my mouth, but then would gag on it, or spit it out.

I reached the Whiteface section in this state. My energy levels were extremely low and I had not taken in anything that my body would need for the run. I was in trouble. I knew it. My goals went from 11:15 to hold on and finish.

I went down 86 and past Whiteface using every ounce of energy that I had. I just want to make it to the change tent so I could sit for a minute. I came through town not being able to stand on my bike to push up the hills. If I stood to pedal, my quads started to seize up on me. The last sign that my body had used up everything. I grinded back into transition. I got off of my bike and gingerly walked to my run bag. 6:16. I was so out of it that I tried to grab my bike bag that had my wetsuit and goggles in it. A volunteer had to run over and yell at me, “No! You want your run bag!!! He came over and got it for me and then led me to the tent.

Ahhhh!!! An open chair! I sat down and the volunteer put my bag next to me and asked if I needed anything. I wanted to tell him, “new legs,” or, “you to run my marathon for me.” I went with water instead. I, very slowly, got my socks, running sneakers, and visor on. I sat for a minute after that just getting myself ready to leave the tent. Oh boy, this is going to be a long marathon.

I walked out of the tent, got slathered with sun screen and then walked onto the run course. Kelly, her parents, KP, and Grace were standing right there. I walked over and I could tell that I looked like crap. How could I tell? They told me so! What great friends they are!! I leaned against the barrier and did not want to go. I knew that if I didn’t go, I never would. So, off I went down the road to finish what I started. The thought that was with me for the entire marathon was, “Kelly wanted to be out here doing this if she could. She would be doing it with a smile on her face. I WILL get this done. If I could have put Kelly in my pocket for the marathon, I would have.

Let’s just say this. The marathon was the most mentally and physically challenging thing that I have ever accomplished. Along the way, there were runners being pulled from the course. People just couldn’t continue. Bodies were giving out left and right. The ATVs were working non-stop; bringing people back to the oval so they could be treated at the medical tent. The ambulances were hauling people away at a rate that was inconceivable. What was happening to us? I feared that I would be next after every step I took on that marathon course. I was dizzy, foggy, blurry, shuffling, walking, stumbling, and swaying. I tried cola, water, ice, bananas, oranges, performance drink, pretzels, anything… and none of it was working. My body had had it. It was done and it was slowly shutting down on me. I never thought that I would ever get to a point where I couldn’t at least walk. I had to sit on a guardrail 5 times because walking was too exhausting. I questioned myself for over 5 hours. I willed myself to take another step. Just another step and then we’ll see. Just another one. One more. What would Kelly think? Do you want her to see you on the back of an ATV driving up the road back into town? Think of what she is going through. This shit is nothing. Take another step. And now another. That finish line is getting closer each time you take a step.

On the out on River Road (Mile 16ish), they started offering chicken broth. I thought, what the heck. My body is probably missing salt (along with everything else). Let’s give it a shot. Gulp. Ok, that was tolerable. Let’s get more at the next one. Gulp. It’s getting tastier! Yum! Let’s keep doing that! I grabbed 2 more at the next one and my eyes started to focus. Interesting! I tried a jog and was able to keep it up for a long distance. What’s this? I started to sweat again! It’s been miles since I could sweat! This is a good sign! I ran as far as that soup could take me. I ran back into Placid. I ran up the last hill. I ran most of the last 2 mile out and back stretch. I sprinted into the oval. I stopped when I saw Kelly waiting on the last turn before I would get my 3^rd Ironman finish. I wanted to take Kelly with me to that finish because without her, who knows where my thoughts would’ve led me on that long and lonely marathon…

I gave Kelly a quick and sweaty hug. I started to well up a little bit. What an emotional roller coaster ride I had been on. And what a better way to finish than to have Kelly there with me? I released her and rounded the bend. And there it was! The big, bright finish line! “Joseph Sullivan, from Schenectady, NY, YOU ARE A 3 TIME LAKE PLACID IRONMAN FINISHER!

Post Race:

I should have gone to the medical tent. I lost 12 pounds during the race and Kelly said that I was blue. I just wanted out. I wanted to sit somewhere and recover in peace. I wanted to be around the people that supported me around and I wanted to thank everybody. I, immediately, starting cramping in my legs when I sat down with Kelly and friends. I should have gone to the medical tent.

I slept soundly that night, and the next. I slowly recovered over the next few days. My intestines still aren’t right. I should have gone to the medical tent.

I learned a lot about myself that day and what I am capable of. I also learned that my body needs more salt than I take in.

I will be signing up for IM Lake Placid 2014. I will do this again. I will be back with a vengeance. And so will Kelly!