IMLP2013 Race Report Part 1 - The Days Before...

Last Wednesday, Randy and I made the very familiar trip up to Lake Placid, NY for the Ironman.   We rented a house for a week to share with other friends who would be racing with us.  There were five couples staying in a gorgeous Adirondack house with six of us racing.  After getting settled in on Wednesday with one of the other couples, Jen and Gerry (Jen was racing, Gerry was our race-week photographer - thank you, Gerry!), we enjoyed a nice dinner out and waited for the rest of our crew to arrive on Thursday. 

Once we were all in town, we went to the athlete check-in, which had moved from the high school to the new conference center.  As usual, the process was very smooth - get your number, fill out the waivers, get weighed, get your bags and swim cap and numbers, goodies, and timing chip.  This is a well-oiled machine and the volunteers and other race officials take very good care of us athletes.  Matt (racing Ironman #13 - seriously, dude?) graciously offered to snag me a second poster for my classroom - thank you, Matt!

After checking in, we were told to go to the merchandise tent to pick up our way-cool Ironman backpacks, then we went down to Mirror Lake to get in a swim.  This is one of my favorite parts of Ironman week.  Everyone is milling around the beach area and swimming the course.  Mirror Lake is right in the heart of Lake Placid and is just beautiful.  The water was clear, cool (about 72 degrees), and just right for a swim.  I didn't wear my wetsuit for this swim, but was planning on wearing it for the race.  I hate wearing a wetsuit, but I know it offers an advantage, so I deal with it for races.  Later that evening, Keith (also racing) and Gretchen (who volunteered and whose husband, Dan, was racing) made us a yummy dinner.

On Friday, after doing a short run and visiting the expo, we got our bikes prepped.  Let me tell you, we don't mess around here!  There is careful trimming and placement of the race numbers to be as clean and neat and professional-looking as possible.  Back when they still used paper race numbers, it would take Randy and Matt a good hour to get them on their bikes just right. 

Despite our fastidiousness, it is very important to remember when doing an Ironman is that it is just a race.  It can get difficult, no doubt about it, and it is a very important day to all of the athletes (including me), but in the great big scheme of things, it is still just a race.  So, to keep myself grounded and focused on race day, I added something special to my bike.  In an earlier blog post, I wrote about keeping perspective as friends of mine were battling their 5-year-old daughter's cancer (click here to read that post).  One of our colleagues made bracelets as a fund-raiser for the family.  That bracelet was to come along on my 112-mile ride on Sunday.

Here are some other pictures of my beauty...

 

 

That evening, we went to the Athletes Dinner.  This year, the dinner was moved to the Herb Brooks Arena.  We sat on the (covered) ice, where the 1980 Miracle on Ice occurred - very cool!  This year, the dinner had an Olympics focus, which was a nice change.  Andy Potts (last years' winner and current IM babe) lit an Olympic-style torch for the race, which ended up at the finish line (also very cool).  The food was good and the company was great.  Then it was time to go back to the house and get some sleep.

Saturday was the day the anxiety started to kick in.  All the gear bags were packed.  We did one last spin on the bikes to check things out.  My legs were feeling good and I was getting excited about what the next day would bring.  Then, it was time to bring everything to the transition area in the Olympic oval.  I dropped off my gear bags (taped shut in case of rainy weather) and my bike (with a bag over the rear wheel and drivetrain in case of rainy weather).

We all headed back to the house for an early dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.  Randy's parents were able to join us for dinner too!  After we ate, we had a great time putting on our race numbers.  There were would be no waiting around in the bodymarking lines in the morning!  Randy and I decided to surprise our friends with race tattoos for the big day.  We spent the next half hour putting them on our legs and arms and feeling pretty proud of ourselves and how awesome we all looked!

Yes, we also have an Ironman flag!  I love how Dan's head is below the rest of ours even though he is a foot and a half taller than I am!

Time to settle in for the night and hopefully sleep until that 3:30 alarm...

It should be stated that these days leading up to the race are what it's all about.  So many things can happen on race day, but spending time with good friends who share your passion and can make you laugh despite your jumping nerves is what makes this fun.