Hello everyone! February is a tough month. Especially this year with the winter we've had so far. The general consensus seems that motivation is a bit lower, and indoor workouts are getting played. I thought that I'd share my Ironman journal from Lake Placid 2000. Maybe it will provide a bit of get-go to the bunch of you training for Ironman races, and Lake Placid specifically, this season. Maybe not, but read it anyway…
Eric's Ironman USA 2000 Journal
This is my fifth year training for Ironman distance races. I train mostly alone. It's not that I'm non-social, in fact, I like company and training with others. It's just that I have specific goals for myself and for every workout. I know what I need to do and I have limited time to train, so I need to make the most of this time. Training for Ironman races, as well as working more than full time and trying to keep balance in the rest of my life can be wearing. During my buildup for each Ironman, I reach a point where I tell myself “that's it! This is the last one of these things. Why the hell are you putting yourself through all this? Stay focused, kick some ass at the race, and then move on with things Eric!” Never fails. I've gone through these emotions before every Ironman. Than I do the race, and the race itself is not always fun. In fact, there are times when it really sucks! For some strange reason though, I love this discomfort. And minutes after every Ironman, I start thinking, plotting, and planning next years race. In fact, after last years Hawaii Ironman, I decided that I wanted to do IM USA as well as Hawaii in the year 2000. I wanted to use IM USA as a qualifying race for Hawaii and as an opportunity for family and friends to come and experience an Ironman race. I also set personal goals of winning my age group at both IM USA and Hawaii.
I came back from Hawaii in October 99' and immediately went to register for IM USA in Lake Placid in July 2000. Registration had been closed out for months already! There is an awesome surge in Ironman racing lately. I don't know what it is, but I like it. –Except when races fill up this quick! Thanks Ron Meneo for helping me get in!
In January, Lisa and I found out that we were going to have a baby! Since the baby was due in early October, I ruled out Hawaii and began to focus on IM USA. Training through the spring was going really well. I felt relaxed, strong, and on track. Lisa being pregnant helped me re-focus my priorities. I was so pumped about this baby, that I couldn't believe that I took my training and racing so seriously in the past! My laid back attitude and approach towards training worked really well. In fact, I had some breakthrough workouts, and the only thing that I can attribute this to is my more relaxed attitude. I remember one day in particular where I rode out to the bike shop to motor pace with Rick Beasley. I rode like a champion, hanging on to the wheel of his motor scooter for over 1 _ hours at 30+ mph! Then I rode home and immediately went to the trails to run repeat half miles with Mike Kerin. After 3+ hours of hard riding, I ran awesome! Now if only I would start swimming.
My father and I went up to Lake Placid in June to check out the course. We had a blast! My dad truly loves these races and the whole lifestyle. He loves being what he refers to as my “domestique”, finding vacancy, places to eat, where and when I have meetings, and taking all the minor stresses off me during race week so I could focus on just racing. He loves to train on the course, and talk with all the tri-geeks. And I really appreciate this. But what I appreciate the most is the faith he has in my abilities. Everyone goes through some self-doubt and negative thoughts before a big event. He might not even realize it, but his belief in me is very reassuring and calming. This June “pre-race” trip turned out to be really valuable. I rode the course and ran one loop of the two loop run on Friday. I gained a lot of confidence from knowing the course, plus, Lake Placid is a great little town. This race venue was challenging and beautiful.
Flash forward to race week. My father found this rental home that was incredible. Only a mile out of town, but felt as though you were away from everything. The place was big, clean, and lots of sleeping arrangements. This was key since we had invited a bunch of family and friends up to spectate. The only bummer was that it was raining a lot. I felt really rested and sharp, and was anxious to race.
Race morning, 4:30am, I awake and it's pouring! I was more concerned for Lisa and my family and friends having to watch in the rain then I was about racing in it. I kind of like adverse conditions personally. I should rephrase - I seem to race well in adverse conditions, but I like nice sunny weather. Anyway, I made an omelet, protein shake, and some rye toast for breakfast, and began to prep mentally. I do this by keeping busy, listening to music, and trying to envision a “perfect” race. Boy was I in for a surprise.
Standing in the drizzle, I zipped up my wet suit and said bye to Lisa. She looked really concerned. Lisa knows that during races, I get this focus and tend to take more risks and chances. I can tell she was worried about the wet conditions and the bike course. This normal worrying combined with her whacked-out hormones from being 7 1/2 months pregnant, and my history of kissing the pavement in a few wet races, … Well, she was a bit more nervous than usual.
It was really foggy down by Mirror Lake, and as I put on my wetsuit, I actually felt pretty relaxed. I remember actually looking forward to a long day of hard exercise. As they played the national anthem before the cannon for the swim sounded, the fog lifted and the sun popped out! It felt almost scripted. Anyone that knows about my swim training knows that it barely exists, except for a few weeks out from the race. It's not that I'm that confident with my swimming ability. It's quite the contrary, however, I neglect swim training for time reasons. This swim was aggressive and I was paying the price for my swim training neglect. Mirror Lake has sculling cables running the length of the swim course about 6 feet under water, and if you could lock onto these cables visually, you are golden for swimming a straight line. After getting the crap kicked out of me for 10 minutes or so, I find myself swimming right on top of the cable. So cool I thought, except about 20 yards to the right I could see a lot of thrashing going on. At first I thought that a bunch of suckers are way off course and beating on each other. A few strokes later, I realized the sucker off course was me, and I was swimming over the returning cable. Slight detour back on course, and back into the washing machine. 56 minutes and change, and I'm out of the water! Not a bad time, although it felt hard.
I had done some great bike training, and this is my type of course, so I was fired up for the next leg. In the first 40 miles, I got into a good rhythm, and was flying by all those fish. I felt strong on the hills, and was staying aero on most of them. About 9 miles in, there is a huge downhill that's a blast! It goes for like 5 miles, and you can reach speeds of 50+ mph. Having ridden this in my June training trip, I was able to let er' rip. I still can't believe the amount of people I passed on this downhill, and without expending energy! Anyway, my rear derailleur wasn't shifting properly. It couldn't hold a gear on uphills unless I held the shifter in the specific gear position. Annoying as this was, it got worse when at the 40-mile mark, my shifter snapped off my aero bars. I know that these things should be checked before race day, but honestly, I had my bike tuned and it was running fine in race week easy training. I suddenly faced the fear of being stuck in my 12 on the back (bike lingo for a freakin' hard gear), with 72 miles left. The first thing that went through my mind was that my race was done. That on this hilly course with a ton of miles to go, I was screwed. Then I started to think about my dnf in Hawaii in 98' due to bronchitis. I thought about all the training and time that Ironman triathletes put into completing this one-day event, and I started to get really pissed. Anger can be used as a positive tool. I continued on, attacking the hills out of the saddle, grinding my hard gear at like 40 rpm's, and swearing all the way. I stayed angry because it motivated me forward, which is much better than sulking and feeling sorry for myself. My legs felt wasted towards the end of this ride, and I remember thinking that it was going to be a long and painful run. Funny thing is, my pace for the second loop of the bike course was the same as the first! One very cool thing – at the end of the first loop, coming back into town, my family was there decked out with t-shirts and banners sporting “Go Eric!” courtesy of Tommy Mo.
Coming into the second transition, I knew I was the first or second amateur at this point. Peter O. was there with me as we set out on the run, and I figured before the race that he would be my main competition in our age group. I actually felt o.k. for the first two down hill miles out of town. I tried to stay relaxed and put about a minute between Peter and I. Then the hard ride started taking it's toll. At three miles, I was hurting. I made a deal with myself that I would run one more mile, to the next aid station, and make a decision there. I ended up doing this 21 more times until the end of the race. I new I wouldn't bail out at one of the aid stations, but these mental games help move me along quicker. The run was very tough, and I know I'm capable of going much faster, but on this particular day, I was extremely pleased. One of the things I loved about this run course, which initially I thought just the opposite, was having it two loops, and coming back into town. Finishing on the Olympic oval where Eric Heiden dominated speed skating in the Olympics gave me the chills. I crossed the line in 9hours24minutes, good for 15th overall, and first in my age group.
I would definitely do this race again. It was the highlight of my race season in 2000. I took some down time after this, and thought a lot about triathlon training and racing. What an unbelievable education the training and racing has been towards my life ideals, values, and beliefs. I know it sounds corny, but what an opportunity to go outside your comfort level and see what you are made of. And you can't help but feel more connected and blessed to be on a back country road on an early sunny, spring, Saturday morning, 30 miles into a ride, while most people are just waking up… I can't wait to hook up the baby bike seat and take Ryan along for a few of these!
