Well its been two weeks since my big race of the year and other than some stiffness in the legs (been lazy the past two weeks so recovery is slow) I am feeling back to normal and busy loving every second with my girls.
I might as well jump into the main reason this blog was originally started and it was a place where I could write down my journey towards the finish line of Ironman Lake Placid while spreading the word of my cousin Jimmy who was loosing his life to cancer. I think that what the journey taught me was that in the big picture the race was very insignificant in my life. I have put all this pressure on always training the right way, always eating the right way, always getting enough sleep, always maintaining a healthy mental outlook and that if I didn't succeed then the whole process was a giant waste of time. Well I sit back on the coach now and tell you that I have been living with blinders on for most of my triathlon career.
At the end of the day everything that I was focusing on is important but only in small increments individually. One can get caught up in the process and never admire the beauty that is surrounds them daily. In my world my beauty is my family and the friends that I have surrounded myself with. Without any of them this world would probably be pretty empty and quit frankly no fun.
I knew deep down that my training for Lake Placid was going to be interesting due to family commitments and a growing business. I however believed that if I could devote all my energy into the time I did have that I would at least know that I did everything in my power to prepare for what I wanted to be the race of my life.
The following is a short race report of my days in Lake Placid:
I drove up to Lake Placid the Wednesday before the race so that I could soak in the aura of the olympic energy that has been part of the town for decades. The only negative part of the drive up was having to talk to myself for 8 hours but I guess after being an endurance athlete for 15 years talking to myself is a common occurrence. The couple days prior to racing an Ironman can be relaxing or stressful depending on the company one keeps around themselves. I can say that I nailed my company perfectly this time around with all the wonderful people from Mid Maryland Triathlon Club, Josh and Becky Nipper and one of my best friends in the entire world Eduardo Guerra (and his beautiful bride,Stacy). My days prior where pretty uneventful and for the first time prior to Ironman I felt very calm in my mental prep. I knew that I had nailed some crucial workouts and although I didn't get in the volume or time that I had wanted I knew that my confidence in myself and the confidence of those I surround myself with could carry me when things got tough.
Race Morning:
I woke up at 3AM so that I could get my nutrition in place and then just chill before heading to the race start as I felt I was in a good place physically and mentally. Race morning nutrition consisted of one banana, two bottles of Ensure, 500 calories of oatmeal and of course COFFEE!!! After hanging out and doing one last mental rehearsal of the race it was time to head to the race start.
Swim:
Ironman forever has consisted of a mass start in which about 2500 of your closet friends line up in a small area waiting for the gun to go off. What happens next is what I call a bout of mixed martial arts in the water as everyone is jocking for position and open water which doesn't exist when you corral that many people into a small area. At the end of the day this is something I truly love and maybe its because I grew up swimming every day in open water and consider myself a stronger swimmer. Regardless Ironman is trying to make the swim a safer environment for the masses so they have switched the race to a rolling time trial start. I lined up with the fast swimmers in the estimated swim times of under an hour. The swim in lake placid is a two loop swim for a total for 2.4 miles. Everything was on track for under 60 minutes until about 300 meters to go when we ran into the back of the slow pack which closed down the open lanes and slowed my time down. The best part of the swim is that I came out of the water not taxed one bit and felt great heading into the bike. I wish I could give you secret advise to how I felt so great but in reality this was only the 5th time I have swam all year with no other swim longer than 45 minutes. Total swim time: 1:02:49
T1: The first transition at Lake Placid is somewhat of a run from the lake to the tent and the only thing that I noticed while getting ready for the bike was the fact that it had started to rain. At this point in my mind all I could think about was going doing the 6 mile decent in the pouring rain which scared me. Total T1 Time: 6:03
Bike: My training this time around has been unorthodox in nature due to the fact that we expanded out family and time was not on my side for leaving my wife for long OUTDOOR rides. That being said I only road outdoors twice in my training leading up to Lake Placid so most of my training was on my trainer in the "mancave". One of those sessions included a 140 mile bike ride (yes I need to be examined for psychological issues) with a 3 mile run to follow. The good thing about all those indoor rides was that mentally I knew I would be strong. The bike in placid is said to be one or lost in the first 15 miles of the bike. What that means is many people typically blow out the gates and don't realize it until about 15 miles in that they went out to hard and now most of the rest of their race is sacrificed. I stuck to my plan the entire bike (looking back I can break it apart and say I could have probably gone 10-15 minutes faster) and everything went well for the most part. I did have some stomach issues abour mile 45 in which some of my oatmeal was starting to come back up but that subsided pretty quick. I do know that getting out more and riding more of the longer descents will be in my future should I ever race Placid again. The only reason I say that is because I felt a little timid on the bike going 40-50MPH in the rain knowing that at any second my day could come to a very bad end. Total Bike Time: 5:34:33
T2: The second transition is always the easiest in my mind as there really isn't a whole lot to do before one starts the run. You hand your bike off to a volunteer and then head into the changing tent where another volunteer dumps out your bag and helps you obtain any items you may need. For me all I needed was a fresh pair or socks, my shoes and a visor. Total Time: 2:50
Run: The run was the one leg of Lake Placid that I was most excited for and the one that I was the most scared of. I had some great early season run training in which I was running the fastest times I have put down in my life. My legs where turning over fast and there was not one hill that could slow down the strength that I had built. Then my beautiful little girl was born and some of that amazing run training came to a screaming halt. Balancing another kid to the family, sleepless nights, not the greatness nutrition and lacking the drive to get out the door in the morning threw a wrench into my training. Thats not to say I didn't have some great run sessions they were just few and far between at this point in the game. Looking back though I wouldn't have changed one thing. Spending time with my family versus training more is not my goal in life. So back to the run...I left transition with what felt like brand new springs in my legs. Quarter mile out of transition I looked down at my GPS watch to see I was running 6:45 pace which I knew I couldn't hold but I also thought well lets give it a shot. That was until our local pro suzy serpico yelled "Slow Down Oergel!!!". It was at that point that I knew I was playing with poision if I was thinking I could keep up that pace. So I slowed in down to the low 7's and plugged along. I felt absolutely awesome for the first 8 miles of the run and that is when my mind started to get weak on me (probably from the fact that at this point in the run you are out on a part of the course that is just you and the elements with no support). Before my mind took to much of a downward spiral I started talking to myself...well more talking to Jimmy asking for the inner strength and courage to push past this point. I knew that he went through more discomfort when getting chemo and dealing with the side effects of brain cancer. I also know that he pushed past those moments with strength and was always there with a smile and positive outlook on life. So sure enough after about a mile of inner talk and thinking of my ladies sitting at home cheering for me on the computer my mindset changed from one of difficulty to one of ease. For the next 8 miles I just plugged along trying to soak in as much of the experience as I could. Around mile 17-18 I even thought about dropping the pace and going for it as I started to feel like I had the strength to do anything...however I decided to stick to the plan. If I had stuck to my training plan without the interruptions I have no doubt in my mind that I could have taken another 15-20 minutes off of my run. The fun part of coming to the finish in Lake Placid is that they have the finish line set up on the olympic oval in town. I will never have the opportunity to be in the olympics but for a brief second with all the energy that is in the atmosphere in Lake Placid you get the feeling of what it would feel like. Total Run Time: 3:32:30
Total Time: 10:18:45
Overall Place: 100 out of 2537
Age Group Place: 20 out of 304
In the end I didn't meet my goal of qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman. The fast guys came out this year in Placid which is always more fun racing against the best. Was I let down that I didn't accomplish my main goal....not one bit. I stuck to my plan and nailed it with precision. I was able to race for a cause of keeping my wife's cousin Jimmy's spirits alive and well. I was able to show my girls that if you try your best (no matter what you have going on in your life) you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I was able to help numerous friends up in Lake Placid who where embarking on their first Ironman attempt. I was able to show up to race day healthy as sometimes that is the hardest part of our sport is getting to the start line healthy. I was able to spend time with one of my best friends in the world who I unfortunately don't get to see all that often...love the Guerras!!!! I was able to use my healing ability as a chiropractor to keep a bunch of competitors healthy so they could achieve their goals. I was able to cheer on a new buddy of mine as he pushed past the demons telling him to stop on his way to finishing the race in 17 hours and becoming an Ironman...your determination and drive is contagious Sergio. I was given the honor of being asked to do the race for Team Inspiration and carrying the Inspiration Flag across the finish line...my goal in life is always to inspire others and try and live life to the fullest as nothing is guaranteed. Most importantly above everything else I was able to remind my wife why she married this crazy (probably a few screws loose) man.
There are too many people to thank for helping me this year through our crazy life we live. Just know that I love each and everyone of you and that I appreciate you letting me into your life. This is not the end of a journey for me but just another chapter in my life which I am sure will be just as crazy as past chapters. I have new goals for the next two years of my life which includes racing the 2015 Age Group Triathlon World Championships in my home town of Chicago. In the meantime my goal right now is to spend quality time with those close to me and constantly remind them how special they are to me.
One last special thanks to Jimmy for getting me past that dark place in the Ironman and I hope that I made you proud.
Make It Count!!!!
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