Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Lake Placid July 22, 2007

Race morning was cool and crystal clear. This year there were some 2,000 athletes vs only 1,600 in 2003. The pre-race tension was palpable. At 7am, the fun began.

I had a great swim coming in at 1 hour 23 minutes. That was a personal record ("PR") for me. As usual the swim started out all knees and elbows. I got smacked and kicked, but gave as good as I got. About half way through the first lap of the swim, I was got close to the buoy line and was able to hold that for most of the rest of the swim. I finished strong, had my wetsuit stripped by the peelers and hustled off to the changing tent.

The first lap of the bike course was great. I was strong on the uphill portions, and was able to focus and ride hard on the flats. Naturally, the downhills were exhilarating. I had a fast first lap, but a headwind, and tired legs slowed me down on the second lap. Nevertheless, I completed the bike ride in 8 hours and 8 minutes, only 4 minutes slower than my previous best bike time.

I saw my tri buddies Chuck and John late in lap two, and I saw my loyal fan contingent everywhere. Joani biked out to the hill called "Papa Bear" twice and saw me struggle to the top. She then hustled back to the center of town, to see me begin my next event. Arlene and Roger (sister and brother-in-law) had a great view of the race from the road in front of the Marriott Courtyard. Jason and his kids mostly hung out there too, and they enthusiastically greeted me every time I went by.

Now, having completed the bike before 5pm, I could finally begin my run. It's always fun to begin a Marathon right after a brisk little bike ride. The first 13.1 miles of the run were tough. My legs were stiff and achy at first. By the time they loosened up, I realized that I had raised blisters on each foot. Such is the life of an Ironman. I really did feel stronger on the second run lap, and by then the sun had set, and the much cooler temps were a blessing. I saw many of my tri buddies on the run. Patricia was about a half a lap ahead of me. I didn't see John R, because he was nearly done when I started running. I saw Chuck during my first lap, and was surprised that he did not catch me. Later I saw Rob and John E but I did not think they would catch up at that point. I never saw Andy, but I finished the race with Brook.

My fan contingent was great on the run. Jase, Jordan and Reed had no problem keeping up with me when I got to their viewing spots. They paced me and we chatted. Roger and Arlene were busy snapping pictures, and Joani was everywhere...encouraging me, cheering, giving me time updates, etc. She managed to catch me 9 times during the day!

My primary goal for the day was to beat my previous best time of 15:59. Most of the day I figured I had that made. Ha! Late in the second run lap, I realized I had better speed things up. When I got back into town, with only 2 miles to go I was able to knock 2 minutes per mile off my pace and finished strong. That put me over the line in a brisk 15 hours and 50 minutes, nine minutes faster than my previous best!

I crossed the finish line with most of my fan contingent in tow.



On Monday, a bunch of us got together for a late breakfast. That's me on the left. Andy completed his first Ironman after only two years of tri's. Rob finished his fifth Ironman, and did so without training. Patricia knocked over an hour off her previous best time! Chuck got a monkey off his back by finishing this year after having medical problems that prevented his finish in 2003. And John E finished his first Ironman during his first tri season.

So, what will we do for fun next year?

3 Comments:

At 5:21 PM, Blogger chuck naegeli said...

Thanks for capturing the moment for me.

Check out my YouTube video "Chuck Naegeli You are an Ironman!"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gG2yZm2Y6vU

my stats 2002/2208 49/60 16:29:03

 
At 6:54 AM, Blogger Patricia Clifford - "Cliffy" said...

Chuck, Harvey, John E., Andy, Rob, John S., Brook, John R., Daniel:

Wanted to congratulate all who attempted the Lake Placid Iroman; and for those who prevailed, Way to Go!
It has been my pleasure to train with everyone through the years (missed John Selly and Brook this year as they moved away) and even more exciting to see all who crossed the finish line at Lake Placid. What a very nice race!!
I understand John Sellinger had a very unfortunate rib incident in the swim and I hope he is ok and will be able to come back soon. What a major bummer to train and have an accident end your race. I truly can relate and hope he is doing well.
Again, congratulations to all. The journey to the race is worth the suffering and the ultimate triumph of being an IRONMAN!!

Patricia

 
At 4:36 PM, Blogger jsellinger said...

Harvey,
That is awesome, congratulations. You were looking pretty lean and mean when I saw you. I am thrilled for you that you were able to put down a PR.
Full contact is a good description of the swim. It was crazy for the entire 70 minutes I was in the water. I actually took a breast stroke kick to the ribs within the first 15 minutes of the swim, not sure if someone was trying to spot or was trying to recover from going out too hard but they were swimming breast stroke and had a pretty powerful kick. I had a buddy that finished 1:05 and in the 5 minutes that I remained in the water, 650 athletes exited the water headed for T1. It never thinned out and I paid for fighting for a good position in the lake. I came out of the water in pain and new it was going to be a long day. I felt like I might have a broken rib or two, but managed to get on my bike where I actually felt OK.

The first loop of the bike went well, but I was having a lot of diaphragm issues and trouble getting air in. I was right on the mark through the first turn around, but the pain was growing. So I took a 25 minute hiatus at the medical tents at mile 60 on the bike. They cleared my lungs and left the option to me, so I continued on. I made it through the first 13 miles of the run in a lot of pain but was motivated by my kids desire to run the finish shoot with me. Still struggling for breath and in a lot of pain, I made it to mile 17 before calling it a day. I was on PR track but was light headed and very shallow in my breathing. I decided to throw in the towel rather than risk further injury.

I was out on the course (after 3 Aleve) to cheer in the last of the athletes. I ended up walking in the last 3 miles with the last guy out on the course. He finished at 17:28.

It was a really memorable experience being out on the course at that late hour after a full day of suffering. I have a new appreciation for the guys that are out there putting in 17+ hours on the IM course.

 

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