IRON MAN LAKE PLACID RACE REPORT 7/24/2011
5:00 a.m. I stood in line to enter transition, double checking everything. I reviewed this race multiple times in my head, but now the day is here and I was ready to go. Planed to swim 1:45, Bike 6:30, and Run 5:00, with 15 min for both transitions, I should be able to hit 13:30 and under my personal goal of 14 hours. I just need to wait for 2 hours to do so… I met up with Ed Slovenkay in transition and we headed over to drop off our bags and get to the swim start. Finishing my pre-swim nutrition, I was ready to get in the water. I headed over to the dock to hang on and not tread water. The shot rang out and the race began. Sticking to my swim strategy, I started my watch and waiting for 45 seconds to tick by. As the watch clicked 45, I headed around the dock and began the swim. The water was amazing, it is so clear, you can see at least 10 feet down. I swam to the buoy line and followed the line all the way out. There was occasional bumping and kicking, but nothing major. I got to the first turn buoy and the corner was mobbed with folks, unlike anything I had ever seen. Around the second turn buoy and someone swam on top of me and had nowhere to go. Between breaths, I snuck out “no”, “rides”. In my mind, I was thinking of saying:
“piggyback rides are not allowed in the water” and “hey lady, I’m married”, but there was not enough breath to get all that out. The lady was frantically trying to find a place to go, but for a second, there were just people everywhere. On my next stroke, I turned completely sideways and dumped my passenger. I was almost laughing in the water it was so comical. On to the rest of the swim… I got to the exit / second lap start and felt great, headed back for the second lap and again was able to keep the buoy line in sight for about the whole swim. As I started to sight the exit arch, with no breathing problems, I started to pick up the pace. I swam about as hard as I could for about the last 300 yards. Exiting the swim, again, I felt great, looked at my watch and saw 1:25. Elated, I headed down the long carpet to transition.
5:00 a.m. I stood in line to enter transition, double checking everything. I reviewed this race multiple times in my head, but now the day is here and I was ready to go. Planed to swim 1:45, Bike 6:30, and Run 5:00, with 15 min for both transitions, I should be able to hit 13:30 and under my personal goal of 14 hours. I just need to wait for 2 hours to do so… I met up with Ed Slovenkay in transition and we headed over to drop off our bags and get to the swim start. Finishing my pre-swim nutrition, I was ready to get in the water. I headed over to the dock to hang on and not tread water. The shot rang out and the race began. Sticking to my swim strategy, I started my watch and waiting for 45 seconds to tick by. As the watch clicked 45, I headed around the dock and began the swim. The water was amazing, it is so clear, you can see at least 10 feet down. I swam to the buoy line and followed the line all the way out. There was occasional bumping and kicking, but nothing major. I got to the first turn buoy and the corner was mobbed with folks, unlike anything I had ever seen. Around the second turn buoy and someone swam on top of me and had nowhere to go. Between breaths, I snuck out “no”, “rides”. In my mind, I was thinking of saying:
“piggyback rides are not allowed in the water” and “hey lady, I’m married”, but there was not enough breath to get all that out. The lady was frantically trying to find a place to go, but for a second, there were just people everywhere. On my next stroke, I turned completely sideways and dumped my passenger. I was almost laughing in the water it was so comical. On to the rest of the swim… I got to the exit / second lap start and felt great, headed back for the second lap and again was able to keep the buoy line in sight for about the whole swim. As I started to sight the exit arch, with no breathing problems, I started to pick up the pace. I swam about as hard as I could for about the last 300 yards. Exiting the swim, again, I felt great, looked at my watch and saw 1:25. Elated, I headed down the long carpet to transition. I was not expecting the chaos in the tent, but a volunteer quickly got my stuff situated, I had all my bike gear and I was ready to head out to the bike. Wait, almost forgot sunscreen, of course, it was back on the other side of the tent, Uggghhh. Got the bike and had to wait in line to get out of transition, I was itching to get going, I almost rode over some guy who decided to put his shoes on at the mount line. The weather was perfect and I climbed out of Lake Placid (LP) remembering the advice of many, “do not burn out on the first loop of the bike”. I took it relatively easy up the hills leading out of placid and as I headed down to the first small descent, I heard someone yell: “Told you, you’d be fine on the swim!!” as Jason Davis went flying past me. Instinctually, I kicked up the pace and tried to chase him down, but then thought, “What are you doing? Jason rides much faster than you; let him go, ride your race”. The descent into Keene was not as bad as either of the training attempts, and then I was able to crank up the speed heading to Au Sable Forks. Climbing to Wilmington, I saw Dave Duecker and Matt Batzel screaming on the side of the road, just the boost I needed before climbing back to LP. The climb back was uneventful. It was great to see some familiar faces. Danielle Jolliff also seemed to appear at multiple spots on the course like she had some secret underground tunnels; she ended up with
some amazing photos of the race. The amount of people on the sides of the papa bear hill made you feel like you were climbing a stage of the tour, great energy. As I rounded the beach, I saw Sue and the kids for the first time. That was the boost I needed to start the second lap. I headed back out of LP, this time; using a more energy on the climbs. As I finished the last climb and was about to start the descents, my rear wheel was making an odd sound. Long story, two CO2’s and a stop at the water station later, I had to pull over and change the tire. I looked at my average MPH, and I was at 19.9 before I started the repair. 25 min later and now at 17.1 MPH average; I headed down the descents into Keene on a tubular tire that I hoped I had put on correctly. It did not matter, I was angry at losing so much time, so I flew down the hills barely even touching the brakes. The rest of the ride went fine. I pushed hard and had in my head that I wanted to get my avg. MPH back up. Around mile 95, I saw two crazy nuts jumping and screaming in British flag Speedos, yep Duecker and Batzel. Just the jolt I needed to finish the bike. As I finished the loop, I saw Sue and the kids again, now perched on a huge wall near the special needs areas. Seeing them yelling and cheering made me forget about the time lost and start focusing on the run. Ended the bike at 6:18, not past my target, but I was hoping for 6 based on my first loop.In and out of transition, not forgetting sun screen this time, and I my legs felt fine. The first aide station seemed to come very quickly, and I looked down and saw an 8:45 pace, which was much faster than my plan. A few miles later I was on plan at around a 10 to 10:30 pace. In the beginning of mile 2, my quads started to cramp. I have no idea why, I had plenty of water, and sodium. I was refilling my 20 oz hand water bottle at least ¾ of the way at each stop.
Regardless, the cramps moved around my legs and forced me to walk a couple of times. I saw everyone from BAFF and CTC out on the course. The multiple out and backs made it great to be able to see folks. At one point, I was trying to walk off a dual hamstring cramp and Tim Walsh came by and gave me some tips on walking backwards, which worked wonderfully. The Ford inspiration station message from my kids was very simple “love you, beer time soon” I guess they know me. Entering the special needs area, again I saw Sue and the kids and I felt great. I headed back out for the second loop, confident I would soon finish my first IM race. The long out and back on River rd. was trying, but I kept focused on the goal, and seeing folks like Mark Durno and Rob Reddy along the way made the time go by faster. Coming back towards the Olympic oval, again, I saw Danielle, cheering and taking photos. I When I approached the oval, 
Jason was standing in the Bike transition area waiting for me, seeing him there, right as I was about to finish, was huge for me. I am not sure I could ever put into words how much I appreciate what he and Ed did to help me get ready for and get through this race mentally and physically. He was yelling at me to get moving, but I wanted to be sure Mike Reilly had a clear view of my race number.
Regardless, the cramps moved around my legs and forced me to walk a couple of times. I saw everyone from BAFF and CTC out on the course. The multiple out and backs made it great to be able to see folks. At one point, I was trying to walk off a dual hamstring cramp and Tim Walsh came by and gave me some tips on walking backwards, which worked wonderfully. The Ford inspiration station message from my kids was very simple “love you, beer time soon” I guess they know me. Entering the special needs area, again I saw Sue and the kids and I felt great. I headed back out for the second loop, confident I would soon finish my first IM race. The long out and back on River rd. was trying, but I kept focused on the goal, and seeing folks like Mark Durno and Rob Reddy along the way made the time go by faster. Coming back towards the Olympic oval, again, I saw Danielle, cheering and taking photos. I When I approached the oval, 
Jason was standing in the Bike transition area waiting for me, seeing him there, right as I was about to finish, was huge for me. I am not sure I could ever put into words how much I appreciate what he and Ed did to help me get ready for and get through this race mentally and physically. He was yelling at me to get moving, but I wanted to be sure Mike Reilly had a clear view of my race number. As I approached the finish line, I heard the words I had wanted to hear all day: “Steve Thompson, from North Royalton, Ohio, You Are an Iron Man!” I looked, saw 12:45:59 and just smiled. I kept my composure until I saw Sue and the kids, and my eyes welled up. They are the best support crew ever, both on race day and during the months of training leading up to the race.
So fabulous! Way to go Steve! Such a great race report and way to get back into the game after the flat which had to be a bummer. Nicely executed race. Good training friends really always hold a special place in my heart too! :-)
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