Mike R's IMLP Race Report
Ironman Lake Placid 2017
Summary: 10:36:45 10/285 M45-49, 101/2758 Overall
Lake Placid has been one of those races on my “list” for a very long time. Before EN, I had always been scared to do it, because it would certainly require a ton of money to go have what most likely would be a lousy and humbling day. But with it being an EN Key Race this year and with my fitness and confidence levels being much higher than pre-EN, I signed up. And, man, it did not disappoint. We spent eight days in the village . . . and loved it. The swim course is second only to NZ, and the bike and run courses are probably my all-time favorites. The crowd and volunteer support was off the charts. And, as my 10th Ironman, it was the first race that I truly enjoyed from Cannon to Reilly.
Pre-race: Arrived last Wednesday with the family, rented a condo downtown. So great to have so many EN teammates, coach, admin and friends on scene. I came into the race fit, but because of a nagging knee injury, very undertrained for an Ironman. Although I was curious and anxious to see what I could do on less-than-ideal training, I was still confident that I could easily finish and probably post a decent time. If you read on, you’ll learn that I exceeded all expectations and had a blast in the process.
Swim: 1:00:57 7th fastest in AG
My swim had been off all year. Just not much interest in swimming, quickly bailing if the pool was too crowded, etc. My longer interval (200-500yds) pace had been stagnant at around 1:30/100yds for too many months to count, and my lack of speed showed in my two 70.3s (Puerto Rico and Raleigh) this year. But after getting a couple of 10-12k weeks late in the Placid build, my swim speed "switch" finally flicked on. My longer interval pace dropped to the 1:23-25 range seemingly overnight, and swimming became easy. And fun. I did a race rehearsal at moderate race pace, and produced a 1:02. Not great, but also not bad without a wetsuit. Once in Placid, I joined the team practice swim on Friday. Water was cool, pretty clear, and smooth as glass. Following the underwater cable makes things so much easier. I averaged 1:22/100yds with my wetsuit. Good enough to make me think – just maybe – I could challenge 60 minutes.
On race morning, Danielle and I went for a warm-up swim, topped off the tanks with a couple of gels + water, and got in the 60-and-Under corral with time to spare. Weather was perfect, water was glass, no wind, I had no stress or nerves, just geeked to go spend a day playing sports like a kid.
I have found there are three types of people who line up in the first swim corral at IM: a small group of men who belong, a small group of women who belong and a large group of men who don't belong. Distinguishing the first group from the third is often impossible. So, I found four women and grouped myself with them. At the cannon, they let a group of ten go, stop and wait 5-10 seconds, let another group go, etc. I was in fourth group, I think, leaving 30 or 40 seconds after the cannon.
We quickly waded in, started swimming, found the cable line, and stuck to that thing for the first 1,000. Some contact, but mostly strong, straight swimmers trying to get in the draft line. Both turn buoys were crowded, but the return trip on the cable was about like the trip out. My stroke felt great, I wasn’t exerting much effort or energy, just swimming. We were moving at a good clip, so I was admittedly disappointed when I saw a few seconds over :30 as we exited the first loop. My thoughts of a sub-60 melted before I even got back in the water. Pounded a cup of water and waded back in. The third leg was like the first two - follow the bubbles of good swimmers right on top of the cable. The buoys were just as crowded as the first loop. As we began the fourth and final leg, we encountered our first swimmers still on their first loop. The 2+ hour swimmers. But they weren’t swimming. They were just bobbing. And bobbing directly above the cable. I managed to get around the first few, but I never saw the next one and plowed right into him. I hit him pretty damn hard. Hard enough that I stopped to apologize and make sure he was alright. So I started sighting, even though I was on the cable. When I did so, I could see the semi-horizontal ones who made some splashes, but I couldn't see the ones who were bobbing vertically. Wham! I hit another one. Racer Mike would have told them to get the hell off the cable, but last Sunday I felt more empathy for them than frustration or anger. They had warned us to stay out of the inside of the buoys/cable, as that's where the pros were swimming. But with their head start, they were long finished. So I moved a few feet inside the cable. Still had to navigate around a few dozen more “swimmers” really struggling on their first lap, but we eventually hit the sand. Goggles up, I see the anticipated triple digits starting with 1:00:xx, and moved on.
T1: 4:22 3rd fastest in AG
The strippers were a bit gentle and struggled to get mine off, but off it eventually came. Ran to TA, grabbed my bag, just enough time to grab my helmet and put it on before entering the tent. Handed my wetsuit to a volunteer as I removed my shoes, gave him the bag, and I ran out. The announcer said my number over the loudspeaker, but no one retrieved my bike (looked like about 50% were receiving valet service). My bike was at the very end of a row, so this added at least 20-30 seconds, as we had to leave down the center aisle. At the mount line, I stopped and put on my left shoe, but struggled for way too long to put on the right. Gave away more time. But I didn't really care. Even though I had planned to “race” the TAs, I clearly was in fun mode, not true race mode. Saw P and Mariah at the mount line. Good times.
Bike: 5:45:41 30th fastest in AG
After the first downhill admin section, I noticed Garmin wasn't
reading watts, so I stopped it, reset it, turned it off, then back on.
Connected, good to go. I then settled in for a catered 112-mile ride at
175 watts. I really had simplified it to nothing more than that. The
climb out of town was mostly a non-issue. Just found a gear that allowed Garmin
to read 175. At around Mile 10, Tim Cronk comes up on me. We share some words
of encouragement, he moves on, but I was able to keep him in sight until the
Keene descent. As we started down, it became apparent that my considerable KG
advantage on TC was going to allow me to do something I've never done before in
a race. 
Like the climb out of
town, the descent was no big deal. It's not technical at all, the roads were
decent and I was now all by myself. I'm a very cowardly descender and I hit 50
mph without taking any risks. Definitely one of the most fun descents
ever.
The middle rolling section is very pretty. It had, however, begun
to rain, which made things a bit cold. I passed Teri Cashmore (:55 swim 
) around Mile 20. When TC hadn't re-passed me by
Mile 25 or so, I started to worry that he had flatted, mechanicaled or even
worse. Those fears quickly evaporated as I heard the distinctive voice once
again from behind. We chatted for a bit, then I paced off him from a distance.
Unfortunately, we joined a group of 5-7 guys after whom RnP clearly modeled
their 4 Keys. This group of knuckleheads drafted, blocked, blasted up the
inclines at 450w, coasted the declines, sat up during the flats. After many
miles and countless passes and re-passes, TC had had enough and took off. But I
had a marathon to run on limited training and couldn't afford a long-term power
blast. After nearly 20 passes and re-passes, Numbskull #1 in full Wattie Ink
kit pulled up beside me and said: "You need to get your shit
together." Oh, I’m sorry. What
happened? Did my pee hit your windshield?
"This is a hilly bike race, and you're going too easy on the ups, then
re-passing the ‘group’ on the downhill coasting sections." Racer Mike
certainly would have responded differently, but I was thoroughly enjoying the
ride, so I just said that I'll just ride my way and see how the bike race
ends.
At Mile 37, we started the 19 miles of climbing back into Placid. On the very first 1.5-mile climb, I got passed by a dozen or two riders, all of whom were pushing WAY in excess of 300 watts based on their sizes. The entire Knucklehead Klan was with them. As for the hills themselves, I found none of them to be particularly challenging. Four times I had to get into my 28 and max out watts to get up some short 8-9% grades. But I could do it at about 230 watts. Which is 30+ watts below my FTP, so I never had to burn a match at any time on the bike. Sure, there was 2,500 feet of climbing in this section, but it seemed like every time you went up for a while, there was a flat or downhill mile to give you a break. I thought the three Bears - right before re-entering Placid - did not live up to their hype. Each was very short and no biggie. Saw both P and Mariah again. When I had started the 19-mile climbing section, my NP had been 174. At the end of the first lap, it was up to 177. Filed away that info to plan Lap 2. Also noted that my average speed was under 20 mph, so although not terribly difficult, the course is anything but fast.
Felt great as a I started Lap 2. Once in town, though, I discovered that the light-wind forecast had been wrong. It was blowing pretty good. And the second Keene descent was nothing like the first. The wind funneled into the canyon and buffeted me and my 90/disc all over the place. This time down, it was white knuckles, braking and just trying to keep the bike on a semi-straight line. The rolling section out to the turn-around near Mile 86 was more challenging this time, as we fought a pretty good headwind. I felt an energy and wattage dip during the 60s and 70s, so I started consuming my caffeinated gels a bit early. Which helped a lot, because I had a good second wind when to we started the final 19 miles of climbing back into town. Like the Keene descent, the second time around in the hills was nothing like the first. We had a pretty good tail wind, and I suspect I spent at least 50% of the time over those 19 miles of hills in the big chain ring. But because the hills were easier the second loop, I didn’t get the wattage pop I got the first loop and finished the ride at 173NP.
I definitely undercooked the bike a bit and probably could have shaved 5-10 minutes with better fitness and a bit more “raciness.” On the plus side, it was the first pain-free IM bike leg I’ve ever experienced. No trouble eating or drinking. Gatorade never got old, so I consumed it until the very end. Because you sit up and change position so often, there was no neck, back or undercarriage distress. No cramping. In short, it was exactly what I had hoped it would be: a beautiful, six-hour ride at moderate 175 (or 173) watts and very low average HR (123, usually 133-35). I got off the bike in 17th AG position, expecting fresh run legs.
T2: 2:21 3rd fastest in AG
So much for fresh legs. I was actually quite startled to find that my legs were solid cement. I could barely bend my knees. Very slow, awkward shuffle to my bag, managed to enter the tent and plop down on the first available seat. Rather than putting on my shoes and racing out with my go-bag like the plan, I slowly put on my shoes and socks while a very nice volunteer opened my go-bag, put on my hat and sunglasses, even managed to get my race belt around me. With nothing left but my Garmin, I decided I could strap that to my wrist as I hobbled out. Fortunately, the sit helped, and my legs started to come around by the time I hit the run exit, now in 16th place AG.
Run: 3:43:24 11th fastest in AG
As I exited, I checked time of day on my Garmin and saw 1:33pm, only seven minutes ahead of the 1:40 I needed to be able to break 11 hours with a four-hour marathon (our race started at 6:40am). Guess I was gonna have to earn the sub-11. Fortunately, the Placid run course is so forgiving up front because the first six miles are net downhill. There are two real descents that become two real climbs on the way back. I saw Patrick, Al, Tim, Heather and the rest of the EN crew in the first quarter mile, which is always a nice boost. Even though I had peed a ridiculous four times on the bike, by Mile 1 my bladder was screaming once again. I figured I wasn’t racing and had seven minutes to spare, so I hopped into a porto at the aid station at Mile 1.5. As I exited, I noticed a tall EN-clad runner just ahead getting water or Gatorade. Pete Lautenslager. I hadn’t met him yet, but he was part of the online training group. I knew he had placed 2nd in his AG at Syracuse on the back of a killer bike leg. So, all in all, not at all surprised to see him here. We ran side-by-side, chatting about all things Ironman and race goals and tactics, all the way out to the turn-around at Mile 5.5. During an aid station, we re-grouped, and Pete told me that he had just learned that he had been leading his AG and had just been passed by the new leader. I don’t recall exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of, “game on, let’s go get him!” But Pete said he didn’t think he had it in him today and was gonna take it mile by mile. Although I internalized it, that was not acceptable to me. The plan I formulated was to try and get us to 13.1 by 1:50, so that he could hopefully run no worse than a 3:50 and put himself in the mix. He’s two AG’s older than me, so I figured 3:50 – following his torrid bike ride – should definitely put him in the mix. So, we made our way back into town, eating, drinking and constantly gauging HR and effort. Up the ski jump hill at Mile 9 and the townie hill at Mile 11. Both hills definitely jack your HR, so I paid close attention to RPE and breathing on these sections. As we embarked on Lap 2, I gave Pete some parting words of encouragement, told him he had to bury himself and really race, that I’d see him at the finish where we could start planning the trip to the Big Island. I don’t know if I did anything beneficial at all for Pete or was just an annoyance in his ear for 12 miles, but I loved being a front-row spectator to a FOP race.
Sure enough, I finished the first lap in 1:49. Mission accomplished. I felt great and had experienced no physical issues at all. Because I now had well over two hours to run a half marathon (proverbial piece of cake), I decided to pack it in and just jog/walk the rest. I didn’t have weeks to recover before Kona training. I walked the next nine aid stations, usually from front to end, not because I felt bad, but because I could. In between, I jogged, even though I found my jogging pace to be sub-8:30s on the net downhill out section. I caught up to Trish Marshall, one of my all-time fav’s, on her first loop, slowed to chat with her for a while, then eventually moved on. At the turn-around at Mile 18.5, I saw that Pete had put pretty good time into me. Perfect. On the way back I could see a fast-charging Rob Sabo, followed by Dinhofer and Santucci behind me. Rob looked smooth and fast as always, but I suspected they would all run out of real estate if I could just continue as I was. As I started up the two climbs starting at Mile 22, I decided to cease the walk breaks and run it all the way in. I hadn’t hit the wall, still had no issues other than a few hot spots on my feet, just cruising along. At Mile 24, I passed the EN crew again, slowed to give some high-fives, but P was yelling at me to run – for God’s sake – as I was in contention for a podium spot. I wasn’t buying it, so I continued on. At the final turnaround at Mile 25, I saw Pete coming the other way, and his lead only looked like a couple hundred yards, even with all my walking. Which concerned me. Until I checked time of day again, did some math, and realized that I was on pace for sub-3:45, so he obviously was too. My concern for him was instantly replaced with excitement. And, at that moment, I decided to put in a good effort to the finish. Speaking of, the Placid finish chute is up there with Frankfurt in terms of awesomeness. The crowds were loud and huge. My family was ecstatic. Reilly gave me a nice welcome home, as I ran my way into 10th place AG. Soon thereafter, Pete confirmed that he had indeed snagged second. With a huge margin over third. Kona-bound.
My typical HR goal for an IM run is 145. At NC last year, I pushed the envelope and ran most of the time at 146 or 147, paid a dear price for that effort, but was rewarded handsomely. My LP run, by comparison, was exactly what I wanted it to be: a long, moderate training run.
LP Run NC Run
LP Run Pace (I took the bathroom break and my aid station walks very seriously!)
Take-away’s:
I wasn’t really trying to validate last fall’s KQ at Placid last weekend. I think if I had finished 3rd in my AG and 150th OA in NC, I probably would have been seeking to back it up. But when an OF like me comes in 27th OA with more than 1,500 finishers, I had no difficulty convincing myself that I had truly earned it. As for Placid, I’m pretty ecstatic about 10th place in a very deep, talented AG, especially when the Kona slots rolled to 7th.
That said, I was not at all convinced that my 3:33 marathon at IMNC last fall was anything but a total fluke. As a 51 vDOT, conventional wisdom says I should be running no faster than 3:50’s like I have in most of my IMs. But running a 3:43 on a very tough Placid run course, on a bum knee with sub-optimal training, at a very low HR effort, has now convinced me that I do belong in the 3:40s and even the 3:30s. Which is a nice weapon to have as I age up to 50-54 next year.
Finally, even though I woke up on race day with an 89 CTL and very under-trained compared to my previous IMs, I’m convinced that “fit” is a relative term. I’ve been training year-round, no breaks, EN-style, for nearly four straight years now. Finishing five IMs in the process. That creates a virtual ton of fitness to tap into, even if the weeks leading up to a big race aren’t what they usually are. The swim is only an hour, and the two 10k+ weeks of focused training was enough to give me a decent swim performance. Even though I missed a crucial long ride one week, I was able to get in a 70-, 80- and 90-mile ride on the trainer prior to an outdoor century in Week 18. That too was sufficient to get me through the tough Placid course with energy to spare for the run. And, despite my bothersome knee, I was able to get in a four-week block where I averaged 40+ miles/week and finished long runs of 13, 15, 17 and 17. More than enough for last Sunday. Well . . . more than enough for the EN-trained 48yo me. If I had done that to 35yo me, it would have been a 14-hour day. Speaking of, I passed all of the Knucklehead Klan during my run. They too may have been running at some point, but not when I saw them. I passed Wattie Ink at Mile 2. He too was walking, head down. When I lapped him again a few hours later, I was tempted to ask him how his bike race went or to thank him for the great advice and let him know that I had managed to find my shit and get it together. But I was having too much fun.
Right now, I have no intentions to return to Lake Placid next year. It was such a positive experience. The weather was great. I had friends and family around me, and we had an incredible time. It’s the only IM race where I had fun from sunrise to beer, didn’t have any low spots, no trouble, no thoughts of race retirement, etc. The odds of me ever repeating or surpassing that are virtually impossible. So, at least for right now, I’m going to let 2017 be my Lake Placid experience.
Comments
Way to set out and accomplish exactly what you wanted out of that race. LP is an awesome venue/race.
I'm glad you finally realize it, but you absolutely belong in the front of the pointy end of the field...
(I also absolutely loved the Ricky Racer commentary and also how you were able to help out and enjoy all of the other EN folks crushing it out on that course...)
Fanatastic report. Great to read and inspiring. Can't wait to read about Kona
looking forward to watching what you do in Kona!
Completely agree that fit is a relative term; and you are super fit. No surprise from your swim result; your race plan downplayed the swim a bit but perhaps that helped create a relaxing swim. Loved the strategy to line up near the women who belonged there
That bike picture shows excellent body position. And looking at the run picture ... your hat, shoes, race kit and bib all match ... very stylish Mike!
Great learning for you to apply on your Kona build and into next season. With a healthy body and optimized training you are no doubt a FOP guy, aging up or not.
looking fwd to follow your kona training and hope your knee issues will settle
What a great place to meet you!!
Looking forward to more of the same on the big island...
It was good to meet you and thanks for the advice on my run strategy!
I'm really looking forward to following your training (and picking your brain) as you roll into your birthday party race on the big island! Congrats on yet another epic day as an EN rock star! xoxo
Swim:
Mile 1.2 137th place OA
Mile 2.4 110
Bike:
Mile 7 107
30 107
55 (hills) 163 - ego being tested, big time!
67 165
86 158
112 (hills) 173 - again?
Run:
Mile 3 151 - passing 22 mostly-walkers on opening, downhill 5k
5.6 155
8.2 151
11.6 (hills) 144
12.6 141
16.1 128
18.7 123
21.3 112
24.6 (hills) 108
25.6 102
26.2 102 - net gain on competition of 41% on the run
Congratulations!
@JeremyBehler
I totally agree that for the majority of us in most races, the EN approach is the smart way to go. It's been proven too many times. And I'm totally convinced that the ~10 minutes I "gave away" at LP on the bike allowed me to gain 20-30 minutes on the run.
In checking the sportstats.ca results for IMNC, I see a far different picture. But leaving the EN Reservation for that race was by design. There, I was over 130 CTL on race day and was willing to risk walking/dnf in order to haul/hammer/hold on on the SBR. And, as you can see, unlike at LP where I moved through the run field fairly consistently, I faced an onslaught of runners the first 13.1 (a 1:45 opening HM ain't fast at the front), reeling back just enough in the second half to move up a few precious spots.
OA
AG
SWIM
2.4 miles
22
2
39.5 miles
15
2
56 miles
19
2
BIKE
56 miles
19
2
3.4 miles
19
2
6.8 miles
22
3
10 miles
27
3
13.2 miles
30
4
16.4 miles
29
3
19.8 miles
28
3
22.9 miles
29
3
26.2 miles
27
3
RUN
26.2 miles
27
3
Congratulations on a great performance. Of all the athletes I know, I truly believe you are the most effective when it comes to racing and executing the fitness you bring to the table on race day!
I followed you on tracker right up the to the finish line and had a big smile on my face when you crossed the line!
Keep leading Ironman!
SS