Lake Placid 70.3 Race

The time is drawing near to join 2,000+ other athletes in Lake Placid, NY on a 70.3mile adventure. Fortunately I am a member of a three person relay team and only have to do the 1.2m swim. My goal is to beat last year's time when I was trying to complete the entire distance myself. That turned into a big fat DNF. My swim time was around 42 minutes last year, the ultimate goal will be to break 40 minutes this year. Not having to worry about hopping on my bike for 56 miles in the mountains and then running 13.1 miles should help my swim time.

My wife and two friends are attempting the complete distance. I will be able to go back to our rental house, shower, eat and meander out to cheer on the full distance competitors (and two members of my team). I'm kind of looking forward to that.

There will be nerves before the start of the swim, of course, but once getting away a couple of hundred yards into the lake I hope my breathing and stroke get into a nice rhythm. No one is allowed to swim over me, kick or elbow my face and no goggle fogging up problems. 

 

Jan and I swam in Canandaigua Lake many times over the summer and did a wide variety of drills and workouts in preparation for this race. I'm not a great swimmer, even in my age group I'm just average, but I've come a long way in ten years or so. When Jan first made me begin swimming in a nearby college pool I didn't know how to breathe with my head/face in the water and couldn't go 25 yards. I'm proof even old guys and gals can learn new sports. 

Icebergs in Mirror Lake?

Race morning for our Lake Placid 70.3 jaunt was a bit on the cold side. Only thirty-eight degrees when we were setting up our gear in transition. Brrr. After months of being worried about heat, especially on the run, we got just the opposite, a beautiful, but chilly, race day.

Mirror Lake had cooled off from 70 two weeks prior to 61 on race morning. Jan and I went out and bought booties, which in our practice sessions worked great. After much planning I went to get dressed for the race and couldn't find my swim cap. Panic quickly overtook me as I ran back to transition. I couldn't find it. It wasn't anywhere in the house we rented. What to do? Jan and I went to the race start early to try and get a replacement but couldn't. I was really worried I would be disqualified right at the start. I ended up being the only swimmer with a blue cap, but they let me in the water.

I had a great swim, actually enjoying myself, passing people, feeling good, getting rid of my pre-race anxiety. It's amazing what training and adrenaline can do. Then we came out of the cold water into 20 degree colder air. It was brutal. Mistake one was taking off my wetsuit before the long run/walk to transition. Now I only had on small tri shorts. Transition took forever, I think it was the same for many people who were trying to dry off and get warm enough for the bike leg. Mistake two was not planning ahead and changing from wet, cold shorts to bike pants. Mistake three was not having another layer on my top. Mistake four was thinking winter bike gloves would be enough, they weren't. I was worried about heating up too much later on the bike. I should have been more worried about freezing going downhills.

Jan Swim

Long story - but I dropped out after only 3 miles on the bike. I was frozen, hands were numb, I couldn't hold the bike going down little hills and didn't want to risk the 7 miles down to Keene.

Congratulations to Mike W, Eileen W and Jan (my wife), who not only put up with me, but completed the IM 70.3! They were awesome. The temperature didn't really go up until the run when it hit about 60+ degrees. 

Jan at Finish

Jan Bike

Mike W Bike

 

Eileen Finish

Special thanks to the Katz's for volunteering at the swim session for several hours. I think they got colder than any of us. Also - these photographs are under copyright. I did purchase a photo from Finisherpix. 

If I take one more stroke, it'll be the deepest lake I have ever swam around

Apologies to Samwise Gamgee for stealing/amending his quote about leaving the Shire with Frodo in "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring".

Six of us ventured to Lake Placid for three days of half-ironman triathlon training June 30-July 2. The weather was always on our minds as rain and thunder were forecast on and off throughout the weekend. We arrived Friday afternoon and before checking into our motel (The Hungry Trout - Wilmington) immediately began swimming in Mirror Lake. Jan was kind enough to kayak while four swam and one went shopping (she is "only" running the 13.1 mile leg as part of a relay team).

It's nice that the town sets up buoys for the IM swim course knowing that hundreds of people come there to train for the full IM or 1/2 IM. It's amazing how far away 800 yards looks across a lake. Many thoughts ran through my head while swimming;

1. I'm glad I have a wetsuit on. (bouyancy)
2. I'm glad Jan is nearby with the kayak.
3. This isn't Canandaigua Lake where I can stand up when swimming the buoys. Mirror Lake is up to 65 feet in depth, though its' average depth is much less. Still, if you get tired, there is no standing.
4. There are fish in this lake. Bass, trout, perch and more. I don't want to see fish, unless it's deep fried and surrounded by cole slaw, fries and buried in tartar sauce with an ubu beer nearby. Hopefully the noise of me swimming is scaring them away.
5. My sighting of buoys is poor. In part this is due to my goggles always fogging over, the buoys being small and me being scared of hitting another swimmer. This causes me to swim further than necessary.
6.  Lake Placid, the movie, wasn't based on fact, right? No crocodiles in this lake. Then why do I keep thinking about this possibility while swimming?
7. I hope Joanne, who is holding my wallet, cash and credit cards, isn't going on a major shopping spree while I'm in the water.
8. I'm swimming great! Fifty yards later.. I'm so slow, and back again. But I did get out of the water feeling pretty good, not overly tired. Something about training, maybe it does work?
9. I'm sorry Jan didn't get to swim (threatening clouds/rain moved in just after we finished). But at least she swam the course before (two loops) for her Ironman race a few years ago.
10. I'm really glad the rest of us had the chance to swim the course. My confidence has increased regarding the swim. I won't be fast, but hopefully will be steady and keep my breathing in check.