Did that just happen? IRONMAN LAKE PLACID.
2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike and 26.2 run.
Stats: Swim – 1:08:01//Transition 1 – 8:13
Bike – 6:57:30//Transition 2- 10:33
Run – 5:13:04
Overall time: 13hr 37min 18 sec
Overall place in Age Group: 24/103. Place by Gender: 173/597. Overall place: 927/2093
I cannot believe that I am officially now an “IRONMAN”.
It was an unbelievable experience. Everyone that has done one says, you cannot explain it, until it happens to you. But, I am going to try and explain it to you anyway. We spent Wednesday-Saturday as typical tourists in the town of Lake Placid. Checking out the bobsled and luge race tracks, looking at the hockey rink where the Miracle on Ice happened in 1980, and taking the gondola up to Whiteface to check out the views.
Relaxing, fun, inspiring.
Now about the race. I did a quick warm up swim before getting in the swim corral. I lost Keith. I was in a panic. No good luck hug. And then, I found him. Whew. Hugs and smiles. Time to head to our respective areas. It would have been horrible missing that hug. The swim was fantastic. 74 degrees. No wind, and the rain was holding off– for the time being. Mirror Lake has a cable sunk 5 feet down that outlines the whole swim course. Just follow the line. Easy peasy. Except for the fact that 2,500 other people are trying to do the same thing. Two clockwise laps of the lake, a few too many unintentional gulps of lake water, and the shortest part of my day was over.
Onto the bike. The ride out of town into Keene was harder than expected. Especially since it’s mostly downhill. It was windy, gusty and rainy. And windy and rainy. Did I mention windy? I heard some competitors experienced had hail. Yikes!!! But overall the ride down into Keene was amazing. Super-fast, and super-fun, even with the rain. 
The bike portion is famous for its hills. They have names. Goldilocks. Mama Bear. Baby Bear. Papa Bear. Lining the edges of the road from the crest of Papa and ½ way down are fans, cheering you on, shouting encouragement, ringing cowbells, just like you see in the Tour de France… minus the mankinis. (Thank goodness!) It was amazing! And, since it’s a 2-lap bike course you got that twice.
The run portion also has its share of spectators. In some places it was 3 people deep behind the barriers. In others, like the “crazy corner” there were no barriers but people everywhere – cheering, playing music, laughing, having fun while encouraging us. The run bib has your number and name on it.
So, not only are people shouting, and whistling, and ringing cowbells; they are cheer specifically for you, by your name. It was so amazing to have someone yelling, “Go Deb, you can do this.” And you have no idea who they are. But it still felt personal. It was motivating.
Many spectators used chalk to inspire the riders and runners with personal messages for them in the road. This was a favorite!
The run was challenging for me as my toes started to complain about mile 14. 
I had to walk for one entire mile between 16 and 17. But the amazing thing was, you walked with other competitors; chatted a bit; laughed a bit (especially at the guy wearing a full orange lycra jumpsuit); encouraged each other; and then started running again. We were all in this together. The run was in a U-shaped pattern, you do it twice, it enables you to see other participants, your family and spectators multiple times. I was psyched to see my training partner Keith the first time since 6:30am. The 2nd time I saw him, we were on a narrow road and I was 20 miles in. I ran over and gave him a big squeeze for good luck. I almost crushed him, ooops, but I was so happy. We were both almost done.
We received an email that told us to SLOW DOWN at the end. (It’s a race…who slows down on purpose??) But they were right. Slow down. Look around at the crowd cheering you. Smile. Give a high-5 to a little kid. Enjoy YOUR moment in the chute. And that’s exactly what I did.
One of my favorite pictures of the week is of me and Keith, at the end of the night.
Tired.
Happy.
IRONMAN finishers.
And I’m so glad I took his advice to sign up for this race.
So after an IRONMAN, rest is involved. We checked out the High Falls Gorge and did a bit of hiking to stretch the legs.
Who’s idea was this any way?
So what is the next big epic thing???
Stay tuned….
For the last 7 years, I have been representing and racing with TEAM SPARK along with raising $$ for Homes for Our Troops. If you would like to donate to this cause, click the link listed. https://www.pledgereg.com/2609/deblevesque
Thank you for your support.