IRONMAN Lake Placid

IRONMAN Lake Placid

Swim:
2.4 miles
Time: 1:03:50
Pace: 1:40/m
Rank: 279th

T1: 6:27

Bike:
112 miles
Time: 5:52:24
Pace: 19.07 mph
Rank: 269th

T2: 4:40

Run:
26.2 miles
Time: 4:00:16
Pace: 9:10/m
Rank: 231th

Total Time:
11:07:37

231st of 2,200 Overall
11th Age Group of 56

http://ironman.com//events/ironman/lakeplacid?show=tracker&y=2007&race=/events/ironman/lakeplacid&bib=211


More than alot to cover in this race. First IM. And I couldnt be any happier. Its possible, that im the happiest person on earth. I... am an IRONMAN.


RACE SUMMARY:

Swim:
My FIRST MASS swim start!! The whole week I felt so good swimming. I kept telling friends how good I felt only to hear... Just wait till 2,000 other people join you. Ha. I was officially scared. My friend Scott and I walked across the timing mats and stood by the waters edge for a bit. Finally, with about 15minutes to go we stuck our caps on and swam across the shallow part of the lake to a nice spot we could stand on. The national anthem was sung, and we had about 5minutes to go. When the helicopter showed up I was in complete awe. I guess I had finally made it big time?! ha. With about 3minutes to go... and with Ironman playing in the background I swam my way out to the starting line. The entire week I tried to think about where I would line up, and of course I couldnt make up my mind. Once I was there I put myself about 5-10yrds back and right in the middle. I was confident enough in my swim that I felt comfortable right there. Bitter Sweet Symphomny started and we were told we had about 2 minutes. Next thing I knew... The canon goes off. It was time to start my first IM.

I immediatly started swimming. It was everything I have ever dreamed. Flailing of arms and legs... people kicking each other... people smasing each others goggles... mass... "organized".... chaos. If anyone knows anything about LP you know it has a guide wire on the swim to sight with. My goal was by the 4th or 5th bouy to find the wire. About 3-4 minutes into the swim I was finally able to put my head down and swim. Everytime I turned my head up to breath I could hear and see a helicopter right above!! I was having the best time of my life. I kept focusing on trying to head towards that guide wire. I kept feeling people hitting my feet but just kicked them off. People kept jumping right in front of me. A few times I had to accelerate sort of hard to jump ahead of small groups that were forming. About 500m into the swim I found the guide wire but people were fighting like crazy for it. I decided it was a little to chaotic over there and came back out a bit and sighted old school like.. :) Was really feeling good. I had decided the swim start wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. I think I had heard so many stories that I half expected to drown. lol. About 100m from the turnaround I was able to get about 10ft from the guide wire and used it to sight. Other people obviously had no idea how to sight even with the wire there. Guys kept getting up next to me and heading off to the right... away from the course. They would keep wacking me with their arms and id just push them over and cut them off. Once When I got to the turnaround it was pretty packed up. People we running into each other everywhere. I rounded the corner alittle ways out and quickly made it to the back straight. Got to the straight and everything was still pretty congested. Quickly found that guide wire and started to find a solid stroke. The same thing was happening here. People were packing up. Every few minutes youd be alone... then next thing you know... you're bashing into people w/ every stroke. I finally cut to the inside of the bouys and was REALLY able to see the wire there. Decided to hang out there and was able to keep a good consistent stroke. I occasionaly smacked into a bouy but that was it. Was still feeling really good. I maybe had looked up once by the time I got to the shore. I used the guide wire all the way till I had to walk. Once standing up I quickly tried to "jog" over the timing mat and back into the water. I was maybe out of the water for 15-20seconds. Came around the dock and back onto the swim course. This time it was much easier to find the guide wire. Still was having some issues with running into packs every few minutes. When I had checked my watch at the halfway point I think it was something like 31:32.... I thought hell yes. Im exactly where I wanted to be. My ulitimate goal was a sub 1:05 swim. By the time I had made it to the turnaround again it was still slightly congested. Bashed my way through and around the turnaround to the last straigh again. Once again I found that inside line right inside the bouys. The guide wire was AWESOME! People were still fighting for it a bit but things had spread out pretty well. I was having a great swim, and still smiling the whole time! Got all the way down to about 200m or less and all the sudden I got smacked in the face! UGH. A little bit of H20 had leaked into my goggles but I still had a descent seal so i didnt bother trying to fix them. At this point I found it funny that I had made it about 2.3 miles w/o getting smashed in the face! :D Followed the guide wire all the way to the shore till I had to walk. Stood up and started "jogging". Next thing I hear is, "GO JAKE"!!!! There was JOHN! just a few feet away cheering for me! I couldnt believe he recognized me among 250 other people wearing a QR wetsuit. Crossed the timing mat to hear booming over the speakers..."Jacob Evans from Midlothian, Tx"!!! Wow... This rocks.

T1:
The run from the lake to T1 was about 2 blocks... Hint my 6:27 transistion.....As I was running down the chute I could barely hear myself think! People were lining the chute 10 deep, screaming their heads off.... "welcome to Ironman" i thought... :) When I reached the transistion volunteers were telling us we were going to grab our own bags. I knew exactly where my bag was. Grabbed it and headed right into the changing tent. BAM! First thing I see is naked man ass... "welcome to Ironman" i thought... lol. I quickly spotted a chair w/ my name written all over it. I sat down, and next thing I know some man is grabbing my wetsuit and folding in to put in my swim to bike bag! Then he starts helping me unload my swim to bike bag! Wow... what bad ass volunteers. He sat all my things out for me and helped with everything. I got my helmet on... dry socks, and all my "just in case I get a flat" gear in my back pocket. I was ready to go. Said farewell to the bad ass volunteer man and started towards the bikes. Then BAM! Some lady was holding my bike for me waiting on me... "welcome to Ironman" i thought... these people rock. Grabbed my bike.. ran to the mount line and I was off for 112 mile bike ride. Sweet.

Bike:
WOW.... I was cold. I had been worried all week about getting cold on race day. I tried to push being cold out of my mind and just start cycling. Came out of transition and down a nice little hill through town and past the ski jumps. Was about 3 miles in and feeling good. Started drinking at this point and was actually starting to warm up. I was drying off and the sun was poking behind the trees a bit. Once I passed the ski jumps there was a nice little climb. Tossed it in the small chain and just spinned right up the hill. Started to level out a bit and was able to put it back the big chain. Kept reminding myself it was going to be a long day.. and not to push it too hard in the big chain... but of course im known for just cranking away in the big chain... climbs and all. So breaking down and putting in the small chain was sorta tough. :/ Went ahead and took my first gel about 15min in to the bike. Tasted GOOOOD. I was getting passed occasionaly but was feeling good. Just kept a good cadence and pedaled away. Had some good downhills and the uphills didnt feel too bad at all. Around 10 miles into the ride we came to the section that was SOO gorgeous. We were right next to a lake with a huge cliff right above us. We cycled next to the lake/cliff for about 3 miles. The views were unbelievable. Mountains everywhere you looked. HUGE trees... Prestine lakes... Who could as for more? Well... more was about to come :D About 14 miles into the ride we hit the most PHENOMENAL down hill!!!! Something like 8 miles...
Started heading downhill, and tucked pretty tight into the aero pos. Felt really comfortable. Pedaled occasionally but other than that just glided downhill! I looked down at the spedometer and was reaching about 46mph! So.. of course.. knowing me... at this point I realized I could probably hit 50.... lol. And that I did. Started cranking away and hit 50.13 mph!!!!! :D :D Wow.. This was awesome. Slowed just a bit to about 45mph and decided it was time for a powerbar. Ha. So at 45mph I grabbed a powerbar and ate half of it. This guy pulls up next to me and looks over... and kind of gives me this look like.. "what the hell are you doing eating a powerbar at 45mph???????" lmao. Crazy thing was I was still getting passed by people like I was sitting still at 50mph. Some of these guys were crazy than me! Got to the bottom of the downhill section and finally hit a nice flat stretch. Left it in the big chain and just focused on a nice pace w/ a good cadence. Was cruising at 22mph at a mod to easy effort. Occasionally we had a nice roller but that was it. Passed the second aid station and switched out my H20 bottle. Once again... AWESOME volunteers. Made my way to the next small little "ski town" we passed through and hung a right. Another relatively flat section. Was feeling really good. Felt really comfortable in the aero position. The vistas were still amazing. I couldnt believe how gorgeous this bike course was. I believe it was this point where I took my 2nd gel. Mmmmmm... So good! :D Passed another aid station and hit a nice little climb. Once again I stuck it in the small chain and spinned right up it. So far... I was doing all the passing on the climbs... But thats definitly my strong point. Leveled out for about 3 miles and we took another right. It was then we hit a section sometimes called the stair steps..... There was a pretty steep climb right at the beggining when we took the right then its a few climbs back to back that dont really ever drop.. they more or less, just level out a bit in between. No downhills. :( Once again put in the small chain and spinned all the way through them. This section was a little tougher than I had expected it to be, but I was still feeling awesome. We got to the top of these climbs and had a "mild" downhill till out out and back section. Took a right onto the out and back and saw the female pros coming my direction. Well... This was a good sign! They started 35min ahead and werent toooo far ahead. Had scoped out the out and back the day before and was expecting it to be pretty tough. On the positive side it was probably the most gorgeous part of the bike. The road the entire way down to the turn around was pretty small. I had heard about drafting issues out there but didnt know what to expect. Little did I know.
Was still feeling good. About half way through the out and back I realized maybe its not as bad as I thought. I was in my big chain and feeling great. There were a few climbs but nothing major. Ate the other half of that powerbar I had earlier. On the way out people were coming the other direction as well. I couldnt believe what I was seeing! I could have sworn I saw some actual PELOTONS! I was furious. This road was too small for 1000 cyclists at one time... I made it to the turnaround and grabbed some more beverages, then started my trek back to Placid. On the way back there was some OBVIOUS drafting. Nice thing was... the people around me got CAUGHT!! Downside was... I feel alot of those people were just caught in a bad spot at a bad time. The ref was carding peole left and right. It was getting rediculous. I was still feeling great and ready to make it back to the main road. Weaved in and out through some nice shaded areas and started a good climb. Small chain again and spinned right through it. Passed quite a few people here. The last mile before coming back to the main road was pretty flat if not a slight downhill. Cranked away in the big chain and back onto the main road. Hung a right for about a mile and then took a left onto the last road till about mile 53. This was the section with the climbs. Was probably around mile 43ish. These last ~15 miles felt almost all uphill. Came to the first climb and went straight on up in the small chain. Passed a few people and felt good. Small small downhill then another climb. Right on up onto another nice little flat. A few people passed me on the flat.... Then it was back to climbing. We did a nice climb up to another section that rides next to a river w/ some AWESOME vistas! There were a few falls/rapids that were easy on the eyes after seeing the white stripes for so long. This whole stretch had back to back rollers. Was still feeling AWESOME and not effected by any of the climbs. I think it was around this point... after going through a few new bottles that someone let me know one of my bottles was HALF IN MY CAGE! Apparently it was slipping out. My cages are sorta at an angle so the small bottles they were handing out were slipping.. Especially when Full and wet. I quickly tucked the bottle back up and kept on. After we passed through the rollers we came to the "Last 3 climbs".... aka, Baby Bear, Momma Bear, and Papa Bear. Came to Mama Bear and spinned all the way up, passing people as I went. Had been checking my watch occasionally and realized I was a little ahead of schedule... So I took it especially easy on the climbs and was STILL passing people. Next was baby bear.. No prob. Spun right up it and then I could see Papa bear up ahead! Whew.. it was go time. Once at the bottom of Papa I could see to the top. People were lining the climb half way up all the way to the top. Once at halfway people were crowding the course like the tour!!! I couldnt BELIEVE it! People were shouting my name, just feet from me. It was so motivating and gave me goosebumbs all at the same time. It was nice feeling like I was famous... even if it was for a short climb at mile 53... :D Took a right and headed down to the last street till town. Took a left and was on the run course. It was 1mile till town. Rode past mirror lake and into town. WOW. People were lining the streets 10 deep again. It was... wow. Once again I couldnt hear myself think... People had written all over the streets w/ chalk. Took a left right in front of the Olympic center and was in awe of the sight. People as far as the eye could see. Took a right around transistion, keeping a eye out for John. Was almost to the end of transistion and THERE HE WAS! How awesome. He shouted my swim split at me... (like it mattered at that point?? ... lol) and I told him id seen him in a bit. Took a left and started Lap TWO. Mile 57. Realized at this point... EVERYTHING was going according to plan! My bike was a bit fast... something like 2:45ish, but I didnt feel like I was pushing so I felt confident. The day was ABSOLUTLY STUNNING. The weather couldnt have been any better. The day was warming up nicely and the sun was shining in full force. I knew I was getting a nice little sunburn.

Passed the dismount point for the second loop and headed back onto the course. Once again people were lining the streets 3-5 deep for about 3-4 miles out of town. When we passed the ski jumps again I noticed everything had REALLY thinned out. It was nice being alone for a change! I was climbing up that 2-5 mile gradual uphill leaving town and realized it was a bit harder than last time... thing was I felt great still. Apparently the wind was REALLY starting to pick up. Very odd for Lake Placid. Got closer and closer to that big downhill and a pretty big pack of guys passed me. I wouldnt say it was an illegal draft... but it was damn close! A ref passed me and told me to back off a bit, of course I didnt reply, but deep down inside I was hoping she'd see what was really going on and watch the guys that just passed me. Headed down a small hill towards that gorgeous lake w/ the road right next to the cliff. I could tell by looking at the water the wind was much stronger than earlier that morning, plus I was really pushing to get up to 20mph. UGH. I couldnt wait to get to the downhill. Finally came to the downhill and got tucked as tight as possible. Started cranking away and was working too hard to hit 45mph. The wind was even pushing back on the downhill!! Passed a few guys and got passed a few times. Kept my speed above 35mph the whole way down, above 40 most the way. Made the last little descent into ?Keene? and hung a left. This is the relativly flat part compared to the rest of the course! So I was prepared to just crank away on this section. There was a nice section w/ a large cliff next to us, so it blocked alot of the wind at times. About 2-3 miles after the left turn I realized I needed to pee. Well.. I thought... I dont really want to stop... and there is no one behind me... I guess this was a better time than any other. So for the next 5 MILES I tried to go in the saddle. Just WOULDNT happen! Ugh. I drank a little more water thinking maybe that would help.... NOPE. By this time I was probably around mile 70ish. So I decided at the next aid station id hop off.. relieve myself... grab a new bottle or two and get back to it. Saw an aid station coming up and dismounted right before the port-o-john. Some kid runs up to me and asks to hold my bike. I eyed him for a minute or two.. asked for some credentials and his GPA and finally decided i trusted him to hold my steed. Lmao. Was off the bike for less than 3 minutes. It was nice to stretch the legs for a few minutes for sure. Got back to the bike and a man was handing new bottles! These people were so nice. I felt like I was the only person in the race I got so much "individual attention".... Got back to racing and still had a nice line of trees to block my wind. At this point I was headed towards another small ski town we were going to take a right at. I took the right and quickly ran into a nice headwind. Ugh. I guess I couldnt complain. I was already around mile 85ish and feeling good. Once again I just wanted to concentrate on staying in good form and of course comfortable. I knew that I had an aid station coming up so I was prepping for what I was going to drop and thinking about what I was going to pick up. About 100y out from the aid station someone once again let me know my gatorade bottle was slipping from my cage : - / By the time I reached behind to fix it I grabbed it and threw it out at the aid station along w/ my H20 bottle. I picked up two new fresh bottles. (one gatorade, and one H20) Once through the aid station I had one more small hill to climb before a mile flat to the left turn that hit the stair step section. I stayed in my big chain here because I was feeling so much better than I expected. Passed a few people climbing then tucked back down for the flat. Cranked to the left hand turn and headed onto the stair step section. As soon as I turned it was down to the small chain ring and the up right position. I just wanted to focus on being comfortable and stretching my neck/back muscles. I spun right up the first pretty steep incline to a longer less steep incline that went on for about the next 5 miles or so. Stayed in the small chain ring for about the next 3 miles till I came to a small downhill. Once I was about a mile from the out and back section I could hear the strangest sound off in the distance! To me it sounded like what a dying moose would sound like... if I knew what a dying moose would sound like... ha. I pulled up next to a guy I was passing and looked over at him.... he gives me this look like "WTF"... I was thinking the same exact thing. I soon passed the origin of the noise. There was a (what appeared to be) 8-10yr old blowing away as hard as possible on a trumpet/cornet w/o valves. The only time he stopped blowing was to take breaths! Ha. That was awesome. Welcome to Ironman I thought. Next thing I knew I was taking a right onto the out and back. I was pretty phsyched to be here. I knew when I came back to this point id be close to 100 miles. This section of the course was so heavily wooded, that little wind could penetrate the tree line. There were a few rollers and one gradual climb for a half mile. I was about 3 miles down the 6 mile stretch and I came to one of two open areas on that stretch. All the sudden the wind smacked me in the face and brought me back to reality. This was the first time where I actually felt like I was getting fatigued. I think I took some sport beans at this point to maybe pick me up a bit :) A few miles later I was in site of the turnaround and I went back to sip on a bottle before tossing it and quickly realized once again it was sagging from its cage! UGH. I tossed it at the station and replaced the gatorade bottle. Turned around and headed back towards Placid. This was going to be nice. We finally had what seemed to be a tailwind! It seemed that ever since I had started the second loop that the wind was constantly in my face despite the direction I was heading! I cranked my way back through the trees to that open area again. I had been feeling awesome, but all the sudden at this point I felt a little fatigued and VERY slightly nauseated. I didnt really know what was causing it till a bit later. I continued down the last stretch of the out and back still w/ a nice tailwind. I had one more moderate climb on the out and back then I had what was basicly my last downhill of the bike... still w/ 20miles to go. ha. Welcome to Lake Placid. Spun up the climb and cranked the slight downhill back to the main road. I took the right, passed a few people and then took one more left onto the last stretch of road till town. I had been sipping on some gatorade and had suddenly realized I was "gatoraded" OUT. I think it had been all the gatorade that was making me kinda nauseaous....At this point I decided id try to take a few more gels to get my sodium and back off the gatorade until the very end. That ended up being exactly what I did. Slowly but steadily I worked my way back towards Placid. I was starting to feel alot better and stronger. This was good. The last 5 miles I was feeling awesome! I knew those last three brutal climbs into town were coming and I was ready. I was already in my small chain ring so there was no changing there! Ha. Scott told me id be in my small chain ring by mile 100. He was right. I spun right up each hill, and did it in good style. I passed a few more people going up "papa" bear and took the last right and then left onto the mile out and back of the run course. People were still out there screaming and shouting just like they had been 3hrs ago! This was rediculous. (but WELL appreciated) :D I had downed my last gel a few mile ago so there was nothing else to do except cruise into T2. Rode past Mirror Lake and through the MASSIVE crowds. Kept an eye out for John but didnt see him. I came around the back of transition and instead of going right went left into T2. That felt good. Oddly enough... I was feeling phenomenal. Felt like id only cycled 56 miles instead of 112. Now began the marathon.

T2:
I crossed the dismount line and someone immediatly took my bike for me! Wow... No time to check for credentials now! I let the friendly lady take my bike back to its rack and continued through the racks to our bags. I quickly and easily found my bike-to-run bag and was off to the changing tent. Ran inside and was soon greated by another super nice volunteer. Wow. I cant give those volunteers enough props. There were alot less people in the tent than there had been at T1. This was nice. I quickly found a seat and began changing. I was going to run in running shorts so I grabbed those (which were already sitting next to me because the super awesome volunteer had already unpacked my bag for me) and off came my tri shorts. Ahhhhh! IM naked! Wait... Other people are naked too! ha. It was nice having some fresh dry shorts to change into. I changed my socks. Put my shoes on.....gels in my pocket.... sunglasses....and the water bottle I was going to run with. Im good to go! The volunteer had already re-packed my bag and I was off! Wait!!!! I had decided on the bike i should probably get some sunscreen, I grabbed my volunteers attention and he immediatly applied sunscreen for me. I filled my bottle w/ half gatorade/H20 just in case I was still not reacting well to gatorade. Still in slight disbelief that everything except the race was getting done for me I strolled from the tent at a nice 8min pace.

Run:
I took my first few strides from the ten to thunderous applause and shouts of my name. This part is hard to put into words... other than once again... The fans... and volunteers make you feel like the only person racing. I rounded the corner and there I was. After months... and months of training I was starting the marathon. The part that everyone tells you... thats when the "real" race starts. I was suddenly pulled from the out of body surreal experience when I heard one of my gels hit the pavement. I looked back and grabbed the gel. Stuck it back into the tiny spot in my shorts. I had four gels in my race top, and one xtra in my shorts. Mainly because one is all that will fit in that tiny pocket. About 100y into the run I realized I was probably going to have issues w/ my top bouncing due to carrying 4 gels in it. I messed around w/ it for a few seconds until I tucked it into a comfortable spot and began focusing on the task at hand. The first 4 miles or so of the run course are almost ALL downhill. It seemed to take forever to get to that first mile marker. When I did I hit "lap" and saw 8:03. whoo. That was about where I wanted to be. Maybe a little fast. Goal pace was btwn 8:00-8:15. So that wasnt too far off. People were calling my name left and right. "Go Jacob"! Id hear... "Looking good!" ..."Keep it up!" .... Awesome. Just awesome. I was feeling awesome and had hit a REALLY comfortable pace. I wasnt really getting passed, and was actually passing a few people. I was suprised to not see as many people walking as I thought I would. That would come later.. on the second loop as the rest of the field got to the run course. I came to the first aid station and grabbed two sponges. One in the top of my jersey, and the other squished (sp?) on top of my head. Then I grabbed a cup of ice, poured it down my top and continued on. The ice felt awesome! It stuck right near the bottom of my top and didnt fall out, so it melted and felt great. Once again the volunteers were amazing. As I ran away from the aid station I thought about how awesome that was! They had everything someone could want! The plan from mile 1 was to walk for a few seconds every 3rd aid station/3miles to refill my H20 bottle, and every 6th aid station take a gel and refill. (just fyi) I came to the ski jumps and headed down the one MAJOR climb on the run. The downhill didnt feel too bad. I passed an older woman, and then got passed by some spazoid running probably close to a sub 7:00 pace. :- / Whatever floats your boat right? ha. Came to the bottom of the hill and took a left towards the out and back. This section was relativly flat w/ a few small rollers. Most of it was HEAVILY wooded/shaded but there were a few open field areas that had some awesome vistas! The run was actually a little lonlier than i thought it would be. Rarely was I running next to someone. Nice thing was the miles were ticking away. Before I knew it I was at mile 3. I stopped at a Gatorade stop and refilled w/ 75/25 gatorade to water and was back on my way. It was tough to stop at that aid station because I was feeling so good, but knew it would be a good idea, and that I needed to stick to the plan. I continued down the out and back and stuck to my routine of two sponges and a cup of ice at every aid station. Occasionaly id grab a cup of water, sip it and toss the rest on me. Mainly to get the sweat off my sunglasses. Before I knew it I was at mile 6 and feeling awesome! I think this was the point that I realized that I could have a good marathon. Well... the marathon I trained for anyways. I was keeping an eye out for age groupers but never ONCE! saw anyone in my age group the whole race. : - / My gels were tasting good. Which was a good sign. Normally (in HIMs) i get so tired of the same gels, but those chocolate Accel Gels never get old :D I was also keeping an eye out for my good friend Scott. It was nice to see him coming in the distance. We asked each other how we felt in passing and continued on. He looked good. The course was still a little lonely at times. I could the the "inspirational" mile or something like that coming up. They had the mats out for the sign that flashed a message a friend wrote but my message didnt pop up till I passed the sign. GHEY. I wasnt going back now to look at it! ha. At this point I caught up w/ a guy that I ran about 2 miles w/. He talked about how hed done his first when he was 22 and how this was his 7th Placid. It was nice getting my mind off the race for a few minutes. Cause I knew the CLIMB was coming. I was still having issues w/ my top because it was bouncing so much. I finally tried tucking it under and rolling my whole top up Faris style... wow... .it actually worked :D I rolled my top as high up as i could and did that about every 2 miles or so... to be sure it stayed up. I took the right and up the climb I went by the ski jumps. :- O. This is where I finally expected to feel the consequences of my 20mph avg first loop....

..... nope. Not yet. I jogged right up it and continued at a nice pace. By this time I had fallen down to about even 9s on avg. But they felt awesome. I didnt feel like I was pushing... and I didnt feel like I was dragging so I figured this was the pace for me. Was closing in on mile 9. This is crazy I kept thinking to myself. "Shouldnt I have bonked a few miles ago?!..... Sooner or later Im going to bonk... just wait for it...." Before I knew it I was back among the crowds of people shouting my name. We were getting close to town, I could see the Olympic center just a mile or so away. Nice and easy down a nice downhill then took the right up the tough uphill into a hard left w/ another incline all the way to transition. Took this uphill the same way. Nice and easy. Dont push it... but DONT walk.... just yet... The people shouting your name... and telling me how good I was looking was awesome. I knew that if i could just run up this hill id be back to a much smaller incline. I made it to the top and turned left. Whoo. I made it. Mile 10.

"GO JAKE"!! "SHAKE AND BAKE!"..... Omg. There was John w/ the video camera. What good timing. It was nice to see a familiar face and have someone to chat w/. He ran along side me for just a few strides.. long enough to ask me how far I had to go... and how I felt... and if I had walked... ha. He would. :) I pushed up the mild incline and took the right hand towards the 1 mile out and back from transition. The people were STILL lining the roads 5-10 deep here. Crazy. Passed the special needs bags and finally reached the turnaround. My pace was still looking good. Holding 9:00-9:15. Ran next to the lake for a half mile or so until I saw the first place female coming! Ha! I was ahead of her!.....

NOT. She was on her second loop. lol. My goal at this point was to stay ahead of the her. I did... Made it to transition and started loop 2. Before you start loop two you have two options. Right goes to the finish shoot... Left goes to loop 2. It wasnt as difficult as I thought it would be taking the left hand side... but damn... that right hand side looked good. Soon enough. Back on the second loop things had gotten MUCH more crowded.

The whole time... since I had started the marathon, I was waiting for my bonk to come. I KNEW a bonk would happen... it was just a question of when.. and where. When I started my second loop... I still.. had not bonked, and I was feeling prime. Like I had just began the run. WTF was going on? I couldnt believe I was feeling this good. It felt just like my training bricks. Exactly what I wanted... and trained for. Those 7-8hr bricks were paying off. I headed back downhill. The downhill inside town hurt a bit more this time! I got to the bottom and stuck to the 2 sponge and cup of ice routine. By this time I was REALLY good at finding what I needed and getting out of the way! :) I jogged up a small uphill to a nice flat until id get to the big downhill by the ski jumps. I once again saw Scott somewhere between town and this point. Once again said hey. Having a good friend like Scott out there... someone that Id endured through alot of those 7hr bricks w/ was nice. It looked like we both were reaping the benefits of those long days... and that was awesome to see, and a big push to keep going. I was still stopping and walking a few seconds at every 3rd aid station to refill. Occasionally id walk the whole aid station just to get a gel down or get the lid back on my bottle. As soon as id pass the sponges back to running I went. It was never really all that hard to start running again either. On that second loop I knew I was about to be an ironman... NO MATTER WHAT. Knowing... that its about to happen... is a massive push. Seeing all these people on there first loop and knowing you have < than 8 miles to go is motivating. Once down that big downhill by the ski jumps it was back to the out and back. People were everywhere now. My pace was still feeling good and my legs werent as fatigued as I had planned. A few of my miles at this point were hovering around or above 10:00. I knew i could do better and did. I picked it up a bit and brought a few of those miles down to 9:15s. The fear i had been holding the whole time was starting to fade. I was owning this course... and I was prepared to accept that. Im my months of training for Lake Placid... I realized I was training in fear. Fear of bonking. Fear of walking more than i wanted. Fear that the climbs would be bigger than I planned, but all that fear was turning into confidence. I was sticking to my plan and was almost to the turnaround. Coming up on mile 18 my one of my worst fears was on the verge of happening. I could feel a slight pull/cramp coming on behind my right knee. ugh. This could not be good. I changed my stride just a bit and slowed it down just a bit and continued. It was pulling or clamping just yet but I knew that if i tried to push any harder than 9s it would. No doubt. I was back to running w/ fear. Fear that that cramp would tighten and it would be over. I convinced myself to take my mind off of that and think about getting to the turnaround and seeing Scott again. Before I knew it I was turning around! Whew. 6 miles or so to go, and I was STILL running. I honestly couldnt believe I was still moving at that pace...... much less running! Over the next 2 miles I kept an eye out for Scott. Each turn id look ahead. Then finally I see him coming in the distance. We both knew this would be the last time wed see each other until the finish. He quickly asked me how i was feeling. I must have been showing a little fatigue through my stride. I shouted a cramp was coming on and he told me to start drinking coke. As he faded off I didnt have time to ask him how he felt, but he looked good. I made it to the next aid station and shouted coke and downed it. If someone had told ME to drink coke a few months ago I would have called them nuts... but when Scott told me to drink coke I just accepted that as the "Wisdom of Scott" and didnt doubt it for a second. The coke was delicious! :D I could see the ski jumps and the big climb coming up and new... < 5 miles. This is it. As I got prepared to take the right up the hill I head someone I had just passed say, "Go Jacob".... I dont know who that was... or how they knew my name (because at this point my bib was not readable) but it was nice to hear that. I turned right and cranked up the climb. Passing people left and right I knew if I could make it up this climb w/o walking I could finish w/o walking. (other than aid stations obviously)

Next thing I knew I had topped the climb and was back to a mild mild false flat. Continued on at that nice 9:15 pace and ran for coke. :) The cramp was still there but STILL not clamping down. Downed another coke and loved it! The adrenaline was pumping. Passed mile 23 and that FELT GOOD. Not good. Fantastic. I was in the zone, and I ready to be an Ironman. Came up to the last aid station before the small downhill to big uphill in town. Decided to walk one last aid station and take that last extra gel and see if it helped w/ that cramp. Took the gel... grabbed some DELICIOUS coke and was off... not to stop again till I was an Ironman. I came to the downhill and flew down. Saw an aid station and grabbed a handfull of sponges. Glanced at the rest of the aid station only long enough to see they were putting the broth out. Shame I didnt get to try any.

I pushed everything out of my head and prepared for the next mile uphill through town. Took a right and began climbing. The adrenaline was going... and I was running. People were falling past me now. All I could hear were people shouting and occasionally that "GO IRONHEAD" that i was getting so used to! My head was up and i was climbing away. Before I knew it I was taking a left and right towards transition. People could tell I was on my second loop and were constantly shouting encouragment. It was phenominal. I didnt deserve this! Any hurt that was going on was now gone. I was running on clouds. I saw Scotts wife, niece and nephew and threw done a few high fives! As I got ready to take the last right towards the 1 mile out and back I was high fiving people I didnt even know. My adrenaline was going crazy. This was well worth the entry fee. Every last penny. I took the right and pushed. Pushed down to a nice 8:30 pace... and that only got faster. I felt like people were a blur that i was running past. All I wanted to do was get to that turnaround!! I ran right through special needs again and tossed my water bottle right there. I didnt want it in my finish photo! I looked up ahead and saw another good friend coming up! Tyler Kellogg! That crazy ass fool was wearing a cape! Gotta love him! I said HEY TYLER!! IM ABOUT TO FINISH and apparently rubbed my hand across his face... probably in a sad attempt to high five... I saw the turnaround and coudlnt believe it. I rounded it and saw Tyler coming the other direction. He yelled some very much appreciated words of encouragment and I was off to finish an Ironman. I pulled my sunglasses off and turned my hat around for my finish photo. Put my glasses on top of my head and i was ready. This last mile felt like it took 3 minutes. I could see the fences coming up that lined the streets. By this time I was pushing a 8:00 min pace if not faster. People were sticking their hands out to high five and I was returning the favor. I looked up and I had two choices.

Left to a 3rd loop...

or right to the finish shoot.

Right I went. That felt good. At this point I had less than 200y left. I looked behind me a few times to make sure no one was coming up on me to mess up my finish photo and then started to let go. I was shouting at people I didnt know... High fiving people I didnt know.... it was... nothing short of insane. The crowds were so loud it was hard to hear finishers names getting called. I rounded the corner of the speed skating oval and under the Ironman banner. I could see the finish shoot. Wide open... waiting. I ran..... Coming through that crowd... and touching that finish tape was unexplainable. I dont remember any specifics.... I dont remember if I got told I was an Ironman or not... but I remember how that finish line felt. Well worth..... every minute that went into it.


I crossed the line with my arms held high. (and apparently shouting my the looks of Johns video) Immediatly I was confronted by 3 people. One person w/ my medal and hat, and the other two which each quickly grabbed my arms and put them around them :D I told them to hold on real quick... took my arms off them.. and replaced my race hat... with my first Ironman finisher hat. Ahh.. that felt good. I then continued on w/ my arms around to total strangers.


Overall... I never bonked. I never hit the wall. Did I expect to run a 4hr marathon? Hell no. Did i want to the whole time? yes. Did I have a goal time going into the race? maybe... but the main goal was to have fun... and finish.

From the time the gun went off.. to the time i started eating my pizza I had a total blast. Never once was i grimicing... I was smiling. Constantly. Now I know what everyones talking about....

"I cant wait to do another one....."

_Jacob_