IMLP has been a staple for me since 2010, either as a volunteer (2010. 2013) or athlete (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015). There is something special about this race that keeps bringing me back. Regardless, in each year that I planned on racing I told myself that I would get up to LP to train before the race. It wasn’t until this year that I finally made that happen and I believe it made all the difference in the world. I know this course inside-out, however having a chance to get all the climbs and turns in my head a month out from the race really helped me develop a bomb-proof race pace strategy.
Pre-Race:
The weekend started on Thursday when I piled into the truck with Ed, Sue and Shaun. Ed brought his huge truck, stuffed all of our gear in the bed, and put a mattress in the back of the cab so we could stretch/massage our legs the entire 11 hour trip to the Adirondacks.
We arrived to our hotel, went for a quick jog, and Ed gave us both a quick massage. After that, the trip felt like it was completely out of my legs.
The next morning was one of my favorite Lake Placid traditions, the underwear run!
I really like having the opportunity to let loose a little bit and make the weekend about having fun as opposed to being hyper focused on the race and performing. We had a huge group this year and I’m pretty sure team PAPI gave people a bit more to look at than they bargained for...whoops!
Shaun and I followed up the run with a one loop swim in Mirror Lake. As always, I like to get a non-stop loop in a little below race effort so I can get an idea where I’m going to be come race day and get a gauge on how much of my fitness has showed up with me. A practice swim of 27 low on minimal effort left me confident that I’d be able to hang with any group I wanted and even if I had to swim solo, I had enough easy speed to get through in a time consistent with my goals.
We went right to check in and got everything squared away. After check in, we got our bikes ready and went out for a little ride. Ed was finishing up Willls’ massage when Shaun was ready to ride so I wanted for the other guys and we had a nice 75 minute tune of ride down the bears and back in to the hotel. I used this opportunity to make sure my bike was ready to rock, open up my legs with a few short efforts, and get one final look at the final climbing section into town. By the time we got back to the hotel, my family had arrived so I split and got my gear moved into our hotel.
We took a car ride around the bike course so everybody could get a mental picture of what we were suffering through and why it was taking so long to get back to town once we left. It was great to have my sister and her husband in town to watch their first ever Ironman. We made it back to town and got ready to head over for a really good dinner at Smoke Signals. One of the highlights of the weekend was trying to finish off the pile of meat that my brother-in-law ordered and could not conquer…it was insane.
Saturday morning, Wills and I got our bikes and bags checked in immediately so we could get back and get off our feet. All I really did all day was shave down and get ready to feast! I took ¾ of a large pizza to the face then started to salt load as we watched Breaking Bad and did our final bottle mixing and stretching.
Race Morning:
The 3:30AM alarm always comes sooner than I’d like it to but I got to bed right around 10PM the night before so that was going to be about as good of a night sleep as I could expect. We threw down soooo many pancakes, also referred to as B1, then got ready to head over to transition. We made it through transition nice and easy, getting over to swim start about 40 minutes before race start. Just enough time to stand in the port-a-potty line until 20 minutes before the race started. It’s very hard to get alone time to think through the race with 1000s of people around all weekend but I was able to give myself about 5 minutes with headphones on to go through my race one final time, settle myself down, and mentally prepare for a LOOOOONG but enjoyable day. Wills and I got our wetsuits on with about 15 minutes to race start and put down any final nutrition we needed. I gave everybody a big hug, thanked them for making monumental trips to support me, and promised not to disappoint. The last thing I told myself in the closing minute to swim start was “Everybody made the trip to support you. If there ever was a time to do this, it’s right now. Feed off of your friends and family and go have the day you sacrificed for. Giddy Up!”
After an eternity of a countdown, the gun finally went off and we frantically into the water fighting to get in the correct positions.
The swim settled out very quickly and within the first 5 minutes, I noticed that I was at the back of a group of 4 and this group was moving! I hung with them swimming as easily as I possibly could but to be honest, even being on the back of this group left me working a bit more than I cared to this early in the race. I didn’t do as good of a job keeping feet right in front of my and had to do a few very big efforts to close things back down. Heading into shore for the finish of loop 1, I brought the contact back pretty close but was starting to throw up a little in my mouth and told myself that if I couldn’t easily get on their feet while we ran across the shore that I’d let them go and settle into my own pace, still moving swiftly through the course but without burning any matches.
I checked the clock and saw that we went through in 25:22, a touch slower than last year but with far fewer swimmers working for that swim. I couldn’t easily get on their feet so I forgot about them and swam my own race the rest of the way through loop 2. I didn’t think anybody caught me from behind but it turns out a small group did. Had I noticed them, I would have swam with them but it wouldn’t have changed much +-10 seconds. Made it onto the beach and found my favorite wetsuit stripper, Greg Murnock! If you ever need somebody to rip your clothes off in public in < 3 seconds, this is your man!
T1 (0:03:51):
One of the magical parts of IMLP is the run through town from the lake to the changing tents. This area is absolutely packed with people screaming and throwing hands in the air. I always love swimming my buns off here so I can try to surprise my spectators and get them even more excited than I am! It’s also one of the last chances to see friendly faces before you head out on a long, lonely 2 loop course. My volunteers were awesome and took care of me right away. I was heading out to my girl GrAce even faster than expected, hot on the heels of Michael Hoffman, who had an awesome swim and grabbed the ROKA swim award for our age group.
I have spent years trying to figure out this bike course and I think it’s safe to say this was the first time I’ve really done it well. Not as fast as many of the top shelf bike guys, but certainly the smartest I’ve ever done it, trying to set up for a battle of a run.
Wile visiting Placid for camp, I spent a lot of time making sure I knew exactly how I wanted to ride certain sections of the course. I have also done the course enough times, in varying conditions, to know just how bad some sections could be if the weather was not on our side.
I wanted to get up the first climb and down Keene with as little effort as possible, then carry that effort through the out and back section before I’d inevitably have to work a bit across to Wilmington. Executed perfectly! It was tough, mentally to let guys go by me, especially guys who I knew were strong runners, but I knew how I had to spend my energy in order to get to the finish line as quickly as I possibly could. There was no sense in chasing guys down on the bike to risk blowing up on the run as SOOOO many people do in Lake Placid.
Mentally, I kept telling myself: “Do whatever it takes to be fresh for the final 20 miles. I don’t care what that means, don’t make silly choices out here and throw the race away before the marathon.”
As expected, every now and then, an athlete would roll by me and I would chose not to go with them. I’d stare at my power meter and just focus on where I needed to be. The heart rate was a bit higher than expected but it felt effortless so I decided to let that ride a little and just be careful to pay attention to it. By hour 2 I realized I had made it through a good section of the course and it was time to start working back towards town. I made the turn to head back and noticed that it was going to be a bit slower than I thought. There was a solid headwind for the initial miles. Luckily, it gave way and I was able to get moving a bit more rhythmically but still seeing more of my power ceiling than I would have liked.
Coming up the bears and back into town usually gets me way too excited and pushing more watts than anybody needs to do 56 miles into an Ironman ride. I had to work very hard mentally to make sure the climbs and the crowds didn’t impact my physiological state. I decided to sit up on the climbs, focus on nutrition a bit, and think about how I was going to use my special needs as quickly as possible.
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| Mental Games: Visor up = Take it easy, Silly. |
I made it back into town and rolled up to my special needs bag.
Volunteer: “What would you like out of your bag?”
Me: “I’ll take my two bike bottles, can you swap my frame bottle while I refill my BTA bottle?”
Volunteer: “I’d love to but there aren’t any bike bottles in this bag. You’re 439, right?!”
Me: “Yea, (realizing my morning nerves must have navigated those bottles into my run bag) no big deal, I’ll take the caffeine and flask of UCAN and take the rest off the course. Thanks!”
This was a major issue for me as I typically don’t like the mix on course and really work well off of my custom Infinit mix. Oh, well. It was just another part of the day that i was going to have to deal with and get through. I got rolling again and made my way through town. Said a quick hello and goodbye to everybody who traveled hundreds of miles to see me fly by for 15 seconds and just like that, I was back climbing the hills near the ski jump. I got into my first aid station and grabbed a bottle of Gatorade endurance to slam into my torpedo bottle before I went through my typical aid station routine. I didn’t love the mix but it was good enough and I knew that I had to drink it or risk having a real bad day. Luckily, I could work off of my flask and not have to worry about really loading up on the orange, sugary mix. I think I only used about 1.5 bottles on loop two, where I normally would have put down 2-2.5 bottles of my infinit mix.
Knowing that nutrition was gong to be a factor for the rest of the race and noticing that my HR was still high, I made a decision I never through I’d make. I chose to ride easy from 3-4.75 hours, then bring it home strong for the final kick. I let a few more people roll by until I settled into an athlete or two that I was able to pace back and forth with for the majority of loop 2. The wind was much better on the way back and I was able to save a ton of energy to bring it in hard from mile 95. I passed a few people and was able to ride hard through some sections of the course that have historically stolen TONS of time from me closing out the ride.
All things considered, I rode much easier than last year, a few minutes faster, and most importantly kept the rubber side of my bike down the entire ride.
T2 (0:02:16):
I don’t remember much of this part of the course as I had fallen behind a touch nutritionally and my focus was on getting things ready for the run and trying to think if there was anything I could do to tweak my nutrition to make up for the bit i fell off on the end of loop 2. I do remember asking for sunscreen in the tent, being told I could find it near the exit, asking for it, and never getting any. I really like to load up on it so my system can stay as cool as possible. Sure, it’s only skin but how can you expect your body to react well to the efforts you’re asking of it when the largest organ in your body is being damaged from the sun. Out onto the run course we go.
The start of the run course is another classically great spot of IMLP. You emerge from the Olympic speed skating oval, to a seas of cheering spectators and typically, sun! I was very happy to see friends and family again and gave them all a wave as I set out to really go to work. The entire day was set up in order to throw down on this run course, as I knew I’d have to in order to have any chance at a high podium place and hopefully a Kona slot. Heading down to Rich Clark hill, I passed Jessie Kropelnicki who pulled up to me and told me to relax, settle into MY race and get ready. He told me that a lot of guys rode too hard and looked horrible as they started their run. I told myself “Alright, you rode smart, it’s time to hurt for a little while and get this thing done. Whatever you do, don’t throw any of the work you’ve done to set this up by going too hard too soon.” The only problem was that I knew Michael Hoffman rode great and was out ahead of me and can has always put time into me on the run. An even bigger problem was knowing that Kevin Wright was somewhere behind me and capable of running 3:05 as he did in Chattanooga.
Ideally, I would have ran my own race, eased into the opening miles, and let the field bend/break as it might. I didn’t really have that option here. I knew we’d get 2, maybe 3 slots if we were lucky and I’d have to either outlast Kevin or catch Mike. I decided that since I had no idea where Kevin was, I had to go out and catch Mike if I wanted any chance of Kona happening. I got down the hills and settled into some really steady, fast, and smooth miles on River Rd. until I could get some eyes on the field. It looked like Mike had about 2 minutes on me and looked to be running strong. I didn’t let it phase me so I kept pushing on and noticed that I had some good time on the field behind me. I saw Kevin about 4-5 minutes back and he was flying, letting me know that it was only a matter of time. Nothing else looked like a major threat at this point so I started to back off just a touch and not completely bury myself.
I made it back into town and got way too emotional running up Rich Clark hill. I was already starting to hurt really bad from opening up with a hard first 11 miles when I heard somebody yell at the bottom of the hill, “He’s here!” as, what felt like, the entire hill started chanting my hill, carrying me up to the top. As I reached the top, I had tears rolling down my face. I knew I was doing the best I could, my quads were burning, the entire field looked strong, and I knew I was in for a lot more pain to come. The last thing I wanted to do was let this great group of family, friends, and BTC family down and throw in the towel, it was out of my hands.
I ran solid but smart through the turn around on mirror lake drive, where Kevin had already closed and passed me. Mike was still holding about 2 minutes ahead of me looking great, and I started to doubt what the outcome of this race was going to look like. I noticed that the AG was starting to come together and it was going to be a dog fight. I started pushing down the hill and out of town again. I wanted to get out of town, have a smooth River Rd. then do whatever it took to get home.
About 2 miles into loop 2, I was doing my own thing and happened to look up and see Mike coming back to me. I don’t know what happened with his race but I hate to see a guy I respect so much having such a tough time on the course. Something late in his day turned against him and he was really suffering. I tried to pick him up on the way by and even though he was hurting bad, he was a good enough of a dude to wish me luck as I went past. Suddenly, I was back in the conversation for a slot and needed to get to the turn around on River Rd. ASAP.
The miles weren’t coming easy at all. My quads were fighting me, my hip flexors felt stressed, and my HR was starting to fall. I started ripping as much coke and red bull as I could get my hands on and focusing on form as best as I could. The minutes were crawling by as I weaved my way down River and finally made it to the turn around. Bad news, the other guys in my AG were much closer than they were in town and they looked a hell of a lot better than I felt. In great timing, my coach, Tim Snow, ran by and told me “Dan, you don’t have a lot left to go, you HAVE to get tough here!” I put as much as I could in to the return on River Rd., ignoring my screaming legs and saving just enough to get up the hill, I knew the other guys were coming and I was trying to hold on the best I could despite feeling like my legs were ready to fall off. I was DEFINITELY paying for my efforts early on in the marathon, but I don’t regret the gametime decision I had to make in order to keep myself in the race. I used it when I had it and my tank was running out a little sooner than I wanted.
The goal was to make it back to the hill without anybody going by me but that didn’t quite work out. With a touch over 5K to go, Rooney Castle went by me absolutely flying, just like he did in Syracuse and I knew he was going to cruise it in very strong (he put about 6 minutes on me on the way in, super impressed with his ability to close). That put me into 3rd and I knew another guy was coming.
The next thing I remember is seeing Ed near the hotel cheering me on and I was in such a hurt locker, I couldn’t even high five him. I hate not being able to work with my supporters but I needed every ounce of energy I had left to bring it home. The miles started getting really ugly and before I knew it, I was back on The hill, clawing my way up to the top. The only thing I remember was seeing my boy Rusty weaving his way through the crowd, yelling at me the whole time up the hill...in sandles...walking. I took a mental note to tell him how much I hated him at that point but I can’t thank him enough for carrying me through the hardest part of my day.
I made it up around the lake, still holding 3rd, suffering more than I ever have before. I reminded myself that this is where the special stuff happens. I could feel 4th breathing down my neck. With 1.5 miles to go, Tim went by saying “You’re going with me right now. Let’s go!” I tried my hardest and couldn’t. My mind couldn’t convince my legs to move any more. I was in luck it could get them to move at all. I made it to the turn around, about 0.9 miles from the finish, and saw that 4th was catching me and only about 45-60 seconds back. It was time to have another conversation with myself. “You’re either into Kona if there are 3 slots or you’re on the bubble looking for a roll. If you let this go now, you have almost no chance. Get tough, and bring it home. If this thing rolls, it’s going to you!” I was able to have my first sub 8:00 mile since mile 18, most of which were around 9:00ish between 18-25 (Like I said, real ugly!). The only time I’ve been happier to see a finish line was IMLP 2014 after the crash and a different kind of suffering all day. I made sure to take it all in, grab a bunch of high fives on the way in and get over to my friends and family as quickly as I could. Food wasn’t happening for a while even though I was starving. The onslaught of coke and red bull left me feeling awful.
Overall 10:04:51 (3 M25-29 / 18 OA)
I finished up in 3rd and we crossed our fingers that it would be enough to get to Kona. We didn’t allow it to drag on, just kind of put it out of our hands and enjoyed the rest of the night the best we could. I was very happy with my race and extremely proud of my efforts and where I chose to spend my budget.
Awards:
We showed up to awards and quickly found the slot allocation sheet. My heart sank as I looked at he paper and saw that there were only two slots in my AG and I couldn’t imagine anybody would be racing this close to Kona if they already had a slot. I went back to the table, thanked everybody for the support and thought “Great, on the bubble again. Which race will I attack now?”
I went to grab some food where I ran into Rooney. I wanted to congratulate him on a strong run and a well deserved 2nd place podium. I’ll never forget what came out of his mouth next “Thanks, I don’t want to do that again for a loooong time. I just want to focus on the short stuff.” Suddenly, there was hope again. If he didn’t take his slot, I was next in line. I grabbed food and went back to our table to spread the news. We had an hour to wait until we would know for sure. At one point, Tim came up to me and said “You were third, right?!” After I verified, he said “Great, pack your bags. You’re going. Rooney isn’t taking his slot”
Awards concluded and we got to the roll down. To my surprise, Kevin didn’t take his slot. He said that he took one in Chattanooga already. As expected Rooney turned his slot down. I claimed the first. For whatever reason, 4th didn’t take his slot, and 5th grabbed the second. That was it, we were going to Kona! We all celebrated, hugged, and started booking hotels, flights etc immediately.
Afterward:
It took a few days to settle in since I had to rush back to Richmond and move into a new house, which is quite possibly the worst activity to do post Ironman. My first feelings about the race were a guilt. I know that I have sacrificed a lot over the past 3 years to get to The Big Island but all I could think of was how much everybody around me sacrificed of themselves to help me get there. From cooking meals for me, helping me with errands when I didn’t have time to take care of them, helping me stay current with the best equipment, or being there for some encouraging words when things didn’t quite go as planned, I cannot thank my team enough! No matter how close I got to a slot in the past, people were quick to say, “It’s only a matter of time. Just keep going.” Without that type of support and belief, this goal can become convoluted and feel out of reach.
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| Not a bad ride home. Thanks Ed! |
The question I find myself answering the most is: “I’m so glad you finally made it, are you going to race it OR take it all in and enjoy it?” I have a simple answer: YES! I do this because I love it. I love to race, I love to suffer, I love to push myself and see how deep I can dig. What better opportunity to do that than toeing up against the best in the world? I will race Kona, and I will enjoy it, and I will take it all in every step of the way. This has been a dream for as long as I can remember and I’m glad to have so many family members and friends willing to put themselves in a tight position just to be able to go with me and enjoy this experience. I could write an entire post thanking people, but it’d be pointless. You already know who you are and how much you mean to me. I’ll be repping some BTC gear on The Big Island, and hopefully as many of my friends as possible can join my family as we take this all it. Aloha!
Huge thanks to Tim Snow and QT2Systems for supporting me and getting me where I am, with more to look forward to.
Quintana Roo for a sweet new PRSix that’ll hopefully be ready to ride in Kona.
Blueseventy for the speediest suit on the planet.
Shimano for the smoothest shifting gears I’ve ever experienced.
Powerbar for the training and racing fuel.
Infinit for the bombproof endurance formulas (Use code INFINIT-B2BLS for $5 off first order and 5% off subsequent orders)
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