Ironman Indiana 2021

I'm starting this race report off with the most important part. The thank yous. This race was successful as a TEAM effort. Triathlon is an individual effort to complete the distance. But the truth is, it takes a small village to get an athlete through a race of 140.6 miles. I can tell you personally, the following people made my race successful.

My wife and daughters. Day after day, month after I month I take time to train my body for the challenge. Brittney, Heidi and Savvy support my time away to be ready. They also know I try very hard to minimize time away from family. To my girls, I love you and thank you!

Our cheer squad! Lori, Colleen, Jamie, Paige, Stuart, and Matt Lewis spent an entire day to cheer all of us on. Hugs, high fives, explicit lyrics, smiles and positive energy sent our way all day, early in the morning, late in the evening, in the rain, in the sun, under the stars. Simply amazing to help us out.

The race volunteers. If you've never been to an Ironman race, you wouldn't believe the amount of volunteers it takes to complete a race like this. People holding swim signs to show athletes where to seed themselves, the ladies blocking swim entrance and allowing 3 swimmers to enter every 5 seconds, kayakers, wetsuit unzippers, transition guards, aid station workers, finish line catchers (Lori was the best!) To the volunteers, I thank you. 

To the athletes on course. So many of us cheer each other on. Whether you are wearing the same brand of kit or just happen to be walking at the same time as another, some stop and help another athlete struggling with bike or fueling options, the athletes are phenomenal for helping all become successful. To the athletes, I thank you. Keep on motivating and inspiring.

To my race, I must take you back 4 weeks ago. Indiana has a run course that is "rolling hills". Nothing terrible, but its all up and down. So I decided to run a 19 miler of lots of hills. This was to build confidence of my long run which I struggle with in the Ironman. The run actually went well. I was sore but thats what you expect after 19 miles of hills. My right Achilles was pissed off though. To the point where I caused myself Achilles tendinitis. I gave it a few days of 1 milers to keep the run streak alive but let it calm down and that failed to cure it. I saw my chiro who worked it a little and then Shawn and Liz gave me an idea that helped mask the pain. After another week of minimal running, I went and saw Dr. Girmann who gave me a Toradol shot to wash out some inflammation and nitroglycerin patches to help the tendon. That helped but it was still sore. With a week to go, I got a recommendation to see a physical therapist who did dry needling and scraping.  2 days before the race, I got a massage and saw my chiro to make sure I was mechanically balanced. I did everything I could to help the Achilles. More than one person warned me to not tear the Achilles tendon. I knew I was rolling the dice racing IM Indiana. I felt I could pull it off. I also knew this was my last Ironman for a good long time. I had spent the money on registration. I put the work in to be ready. There was talk this would be the only Ironman Indiana. I had too much to lose to not try. 

Race morning- Alarm goes off at 0330. Chris and I leave hotel at 0415. 

(Chris insisted on just 1 trip to the car!)

Pull into Prairie Creek around 0440 and get a front row parking spot! To not fight traffic is a win in my book. I've seen traffic jams and had races postponed because traffic jams at Prairie Creek. 

Chris and I eat in the car. We find out we have parked 50 feet away from porta potties! Another win!

I'm nervous but feeling good. Achilles was a dull ache. I prayed it didn't flare up or tore. Time to set up transition arrived. Dropped off personal needs bags then headed to check my bike. I had to fill my run bottle and front water tank of my bike. Ironman provides a ton of water all day. I make my way to the water table and talk to another athlete getting water. It was his first Ironman on Saturday. He turns around and gets interviewed by an Ironman official videographer. I'm a little jealous because that's how you get on the post race video! I head to my bike and the videographer walks by. I tell him good morning and that I was hoping he would've interviewed me. He tells me to hang on. He walks around the long bike rack and comes up to me. He then points the camera at me from 2 feet away. He asks a question about the race or the meaning and I lose it. I can't control the tears. I answer his questions trying to fight back crying. I guess the story of Fat Matt in 2010 to 6 time IM Finisher Irondad with the thought that this could be the last Ironman took over and poured out. When he shut the camera off, I was relieved. He then pulls out his cell phone and says, "Wow! I'm glad you stopped me! Whats your bib number?" He informs me he will be tracking me and he wants me to flag down camera guys along the course. I then realize I have possibly become a featured athlete for the post race video. Which is awesome, and scary if something goes wrong and I don't finish!!?? Then I think, I can't stress over this. I got a race to do. I make sure transition is ready. Run stuff is in the right bags (lesson learned from Placid!)  Bike tires feel fine. Back to the car to chill. I decide to keep the videographer story to myself. Chris and I can't sit in the car long. Nervous energy forces us out to get wetsuits on and make last minute checks. We head to the water.

The swim!

Athletes are lining up. I see this younger guy with a wetsuit that is jacked up in the back. This bothers me. I ask him if he wants his wetsuit like that or if I can fix it for him. He has the, "Thank you so much!!" look, I fix that up for him. I introduce myself. His name is Matt and he's from Pittsburgh, PA. This is his first Ironman. I introduce him to Chris and they enjoy the Pennsylvania connection they share. 

(everyone else is serious and ready, I give a guy I don't know bunny ears!)

The sun comes up at 7:25. The music is cranking. The cannon blasts. As we move toward the start, House of Pain Jump Around comes on. I see Lori and Colleen cheering us on. My energy takes over and I'm all out singing and dancing to Jump Around. Colleen told me what I needed to hear, 

"Have fun!" 

I believe it was in Maryland where I lost the FUN in Ironman. Stupid jellyfish and GI issues. Dark mental fights. Leg cramps in Lake Placid. Dark mental fights...Ironman was whipping my ass and stole my enjoyment. I had forgotten what Sean Walsh calls "The Matt Kennard method. Just smile. I decided to smile and have fun the rest of the day.

Suddenly its my turn to run in the water. I dive in and man, 65 degree water was chilly! Took me 100-200 yards to chill out and get into my rhythm. Then emotions flood again! Now I'm starting to cry while swimming. WTF!?! I then laugh because who cries while swimming?? I keep singing Jump Around to keep my arms moving. Buoy to buoy. Just keep swimming Dory. Ironman spread out the swimmers to 3 swimmers released every 5 seconds. This was much easier than Placid where they let out like 25-30 at a time. I barely had any contact in the first loop of the swim. 

The turn buoys always get crowded and I know to pick my head up and take my time around those. I'm glad I did as one guy went around the turn buoy and decided to stop swimming! I would've swam over him had I not looked. Instead, I had to push him out of the way! Like Cmon man! You don't stop there!! I think he was surprised he had been moved but I was on my way before he could react. I keep swimming. Every 500 yards my watch buzzed to let me know I completed another 500 yards. First loop is almost done. Getting closer to the beach, the water is becoming cramped. Someone hits my wrist and my watch feels all outta whack. It was now diagonal and over my hand. We had to exit the water and make our way over to start the 2nd loop on the sand. I fixed the position of my watch. I took in the gel I had stored in my wetsuit. I dive in for loop 2. Everything is going swimmingly,  (wink), until I realize I haven't felt a 500 yard buzz lately. I check my watch. Its been paused! Dang it! Next stroke I turn the watch back on! Most of us triathletes want that data! Losing distance sucks! I lost about 500 yards on my watch. Grand scheme of things, not a big deal. 2nd loop I was really trying to draft off other swimmers. Most were too fast or too slow though. I slapped a decent number of feet. After the 2nd turn buoy, I slapped the wrong foot. That foot was connected to a powerful leg. That powerful leg delivered a straight kick to my left rib cage! Ouch! I laughed as the pain reverberated. You play the draft game, you risk getting kicked. Shit happens in Ironman! I also remember a different guy who I slapped his foot and he started kicking water like crazy! It was splashing all around me! I was laughing because he was wasting a lot of energy to kick like that. I was enjoying the swim. Messing with people, swimming around them. Just having fun, when boom! I start to cry again! I think I was thinking about Heidi preparing for her first Homecoming. I'm so freaking proud of my kids, they make me smile (and apparently tear up.) I get myself collected again and just kept swimming. This was one of the easiest IM swims for me. Emotions, positive thoughts, energy, it all worked out. Super happy later on to learn I had a top 50 in my age group swim!

(Swim went well!)

I jump out of the water. Start to make my way up to transition. This dude runs up and sticks a camera in my face and asks how'd the swim go? I'm getting interviewed trying to get to T1. I'm pretty happy about the swim and tell him it went great! I can't believe this! I'm stoked about the post race video and I haven't even biked yet! I get to my bike. I slow down. I make sure my feet are dry before putting the socks on. I make sure I have everything I need before making my way out. Took me 4-5 tries to buckle my helmet. Breathe Matt. Finally get it buckled. Lets go!

Since I had reduced my running in the past 3 weeks, I had worked a little extra on my cycling. As soon as I started pedaling, I felt great. The weather forecast had said the rain was going to hold off until 3. I should be done with cycling by then. First hour went by pretty easy. 

(the BEST POSE in Ironman!)

I did well getting my heart rate down. No pushing the first hour. No major traffic jams of riders. No vehicle traffic because Indiana shuts the roads down for Ironman. Life is good! Chris catches me and yells out, "That swim SUCKED!!" I want to know why because I thought it was great. But Chris was on a mission and he was in no mood to chat. He rocketed ahead and I got no further details until much later that night. About mile 25, I feel rain drops. The sky looks ok, but I see the weather report was probably wrong. I still have a long way to go on this bicycle. So I ask myself, "How are we doing? How do you feel?" There is a song out right now by Grammy award winning (I think he won that, I'm really not sure, but it sounds good) artist Pitbull called, "I Feel Good." This jam is a fast moving song full of great lyrics. I can't tell you any of those lyrics other than the refrain which I still messed up on Saturday. I could remember, "I'm drinking out the bottle. (Something..I tried "party" and "hanging") with supermodels, I don't know about you but I feel good!" This is exactly what pushes me in a positive way. Makes me SMILE! If I can keep myself in the headspace that I'm out here partying, Having FUN, life goes way better for me. I had some negative motivators stored away in case I went to a dark space in my head but I was good. My legs felt good, the weather wasn't terrible, the road was smooth except for this chip and seal out and back that also was a bridge so it had a little climb to it. Then the rain really hit. At this time I was happy to know I had ridden in the rain. Kevin Sturm and I rode a good portion of a 93 miler in the rain. This is why we do it. In case Mother Nature challenges us during a race. I also thought, "Mom never let me play in the rain! This is great!" I saw Shawn on the rough road, in the rain and he gives me a big thumbs down. He is not enjoying this. I'm really trying my best to keep smiling and just get through it. I want to throw in an extra thank you to the bike personal needs volunteers. They were very short staffed and the 4-5 people they did have working, were working their tales off. 

(Rain. Lots of rain!)

About mile 90 of the ride, I started feeling a touch tired. Heart rate was lower than what I wanted. The toll of swimming then cycling for 5 hours in the rain had caught up to me. Notice this pic doesn't show a smile or silly pose?

(ok I'm tired now, Can I get off this thing?)

My shins were sore. That was odd. Usually I don't have leg pain on the bike. I had to ask myself if they were really sore or was I having some mental block knowing I was about to tackle another IM Marathon??? I looked at my legs and told them they were fine and to keep pedaling. Then we turned right onto the bike path. I do not enjoy riding a bike path in the rain. I've slid out on my bike on wet bike path more than I wish to admit. Getting tired, raining, and now bike path. Not awesome. Shawn caught me on the bike path and passed me. I was happy he looked strong after the thumbs down on the rough road. I really wanted off that bike path. I was hoping the rain would stop. Once off the bike, we got back on the road. Thats when I see runners going all out! My competitive mind is wondering what is going on?? I know I'm not that fast, but people are finishing before I finish the bike?? I mean thats ridiculous. Then it hits me, those athletes are doing the 70.3 race. Ironman decided to run 2 different races at the same time. The IM started at 0730 and the 70.3 started at 1030. I was relieved when the people finishing had only raced half the distance as I did.  Again, the mind is tired at this point. I hit the dismount line and jump off the bike. 

(very happy to be off the bike.)

Off to transition I roll my bike. As soon as I get there, there's a camera man asking how the ride went! I tell him the rain became an added challenge but overall I didn't have any problems. I was ready to get this race done! I change my shoes and prepare for the long run ahead. As I head out for the run, the cameraman again flags me down and asks if I'm ready for the marathon. I remember saying, "Time to find out if I've gotten any better at this!" Jamie, Colleen and Paige are there to see us off onto the run. Jamie has a whistle! Makes it easy to find them! I get some sweet high fives and hear Colleen say, " I'm glad to see you are smiling and having fun!" Again reminded to just have fun. Don't stress. 

(Jamie and his whistle!)

The Run- this is my obstacle. This is where we are tested. You survived the swim, biked 112 miles, and now you gotta run a marathon. I prayed for strength of the Achilles tendon to not give out. I altered my run walk intervals to 3:30 run and 30 second walk. This was a great decision as my walk breaks hit sooner than usual and I was able to run the run portion pretty well for a while. The Pitbull song kept my legs turning. I felt good. I was happy to be off the bike and the rain subsided. The sky was cloudy which was perfect. No sun cooking us. The thought crossed my mind of where I had come from, 270 pounds fat and lazy in 2009, to now an Ironman. My first 70.3 (which I almost didn't make the time cut off) was on this course. Now my 7th and possibly last Ironman is on the same course. That's cool. Wraps it up nice and neat. But I gotta get this done. The run course is 2 loops. The athletes doing the 70.3 just do 1 loop. I hit the far turnaround at mile 6.5. I'm feeling pretty good. Staying on my salt and using a Gel every 2 miles. Really trying to stay ahead on nutrition. I had a thought that I got behind on nutrition on Placid run course and thats why my legs locked up. So I tried to stay ahead of it this time. I just kept rocking forward. I see Chris on his way back in, then Shawn. Those guys looked great. I remember seeing Kim on her way in. Smiles, high fives, "Keep going!" We all helped each other. Then I started to realize I was passing some 70.3 athletes on the run. I don't want to seem as if this was a goal, to pass 70.3 athletes, but I couldn't help to recognize that I swam and biked twice as long as they did and now I've caught them on the run. Remember, I bonked hard on this course in my first 70.3 (like a 8:20 total time) so for me to now be doing as well as I was, I was proud. I saw Brenda heading out on the run. I asked her how she was doing. She replied, "My shoe fell apart at mile 2!" I responded with something dumb like, "Shoes are overrated. You don't need them! Keep moving forward." But the thought of how do you complete a marathon with shoes falling apart entered my brain. This shit is hard enough, I hope she can fix the shoe issue! There was a young man about 24 years old. We had to be around mile 10 when I caught him. He explained that he had not finished his first Ironman in Wisconsin and he was doing the 70.3 with his dad today. He said his dad was just a few miles behind him. This reminded me of the Gates father and son team that I admire so much. We ran together for about a mile and a half. I congratulated him for finishing his race today and encouraged him to keep working toward his Ironman goal. I told him it took me years from starting triathlon to becoming an Ironman. Then he started walking more. I kept running. I saw the turn around point. I ran up this hill that didn't feel as bad as it normally does. I hit that turn around and again prayed that loop 2 wouldn't suck.

(approaching the turn around. still happy)

I remember thinking, "Well, we've made it further than Placid before the wheels came off. Keep it up!" I saw Tom Sens wasn't far behind me. That man is 60 years young and I chose this pic because he looks like this all the time. Full of energy and smiles.

(Fun fact, Tom passed me on the run and I had no idea!)

(I'm not sure where this pic was taken but man my quads look cut here!)

It was about mile 15 when my energy decided it was at a low. I took some caffeine and an extra gel. I also drank my pickle juice shot. The thought of using the stuff before the cramps hit me took over. DUH! Why I hadn't thought of that before? I have no idea. I think it helped. I never got the pre-cramp warnings my legs love to give me. I even used a Hot Shot around mile 20, they taste nasty but I never cramped. That's a win. As the sun is setting, and my walking is taking over, I happen upon a lady who is also walking. 

(my new friend Katerina who loves my joke telling ability)

I ask her how she's feeling. She says "OK." It isn't terribly convincing. I tell her I understand because my legs are starting to hate me. I then ask her if she has a favorite joke. She gives me this side eye that I can't fully "read". After 7 Ironmans, I've seen people get totally annoyed at other athletes and others who absolutely need company to keep moving forward. She tells me she can't think of any jokes right now but asks if I have one. I explain I have one favorite joke but it's mildly offensive. If she is easily offended, I'll just move on. She says, "Start telling it and if it's bad I'll stop you." Fair enough. (insert mildly offensive joke here.) Funny enough, I realize later I screwed it up a little, but told it in a way it still made her laugh. After I saw her smile, I decided to try and run a little. I told her she would catch me soon enough and to just keep moving forward. I ran up to a guy who was walking and my body agreed that sounded better than running. I asked how he was doing. He looked good but said he was pretty tired and his legs weren't wanting to run. It was about this time I see Chris coming the other way. I wave. He yells out, "I can't stop! I can't stop!" The dude looked strong. I tell him to keep moving and go get it. I do get a get a high five from him.  (Remember that mission he was on? Brother smashed it. Sub 12 hour IM!) The guy I'm now walking with has 2 young kids, lives in Jacksonville,Florida and is a physical therapist. Pretty good memory huh? I can't tell you for the life of me his NAME! I hate that I forgot his name as we spent miles 17-22 together. Speaking of these later miles, the sun totally disappears. I guess it does that at night. Ironman had rented some lights. In my opinion, they didn't rent half as many as they should have. The below pic gives a perspective but was under a light. If you look and see where that road bends to the right, the only lights were athletes wearing headlamps and neon glow necklaces. Parts of the course looked like a Blueman Group concert. You could see the outline of a person but all that stuck out was the neon necklace. Parts of the road weren't in great shape and walking on them in pitch black on tired legs sucked. There were now times I was walking but not able to walk straight. I'd lean left or fall right but kept walking. I saw Liz heading out for her 2nd loop of the run and knew she was hurting. I encouraged her to keep trying and never stop.

Then this young lady catches me and the PT. She joins our merry band of walkers. Turns out, she is a police recruit going through an academy right now. She has a job as soon as she graduates. She was also supposed to have PT on Monday. She hangs out with me through mile 25. I explain that I have to stop at the porta potty at mile 25. I encourage her to go get her finish line that she has earned. She was swimmer growing up and crushed Muncie's swim in about an hour. Her name....can't tell ya. I suck at remembering names! After a stop at the porta potty, I continue my journey. I have just enough time to reflect on the day and prepare for my favorite part. It hits me that I never went to the dark place in my mind! I never went negative. I never grabbed into the bag of negative motivation. I stayed positive and got it done. The Achilles was sore but not bad. I thought about my wife and kids. I was praying Heidi was having a good time at Homecoming. I'd be remissed if I didn't add the part during the run when Paige showed me a picture of Heidi in her Homecoming dress. She looked gorgeous and happy. That picked me up. I was so happy and relieved to know I'd make it to that Finish Line and not having the pressure of Ironman on my shoulders anymore. I was content with my decision to walk away from the Iron distance for a long while. It was a crazy journey. A journey that was just a dream to do one. Then a goal. Then a 7 time finisher! With the thought that this was my last IM Finish Line, I had to enjoy it. I was wrecked in Lake Placid and simply just walked across that finish line. About 100 feet before the Finish Line, I hear Jamie's whistle! I see Jamie, Paige, Colleen, Chris and Tom! Tom?? "Holy shit! Tom beat me! Dude must've had a great day!" I didn't know he had passed me, but I was happy for him! I gave them high fives and started dancing! I was cognizant enough of athletes behind me to not get in their way but I danced. I was soaking in every bit of the atmosphere.

 I've said it before, I'm not that good looking and have no musical talent, so an IM Finish Line is my only chance to be a rockstar!! 

I was high fiving other spectators who said they wanted to see more dancing. I gave it to them! I worked that red carpet for all it was worth! I see Lori is about to catch me and is videoing my finish line shenanigans. 

(this lady ran right by me. I just kept dancing)

(imagine if I had dancing skill?!)

Danced all the way through the Finish Line

After I stop my watch, Lori gives me a huge hug and congratulates me. Then Dave the cameraman who is cracking up at my dance skills points to this well lit corner and says "You! Over there right now." He wants that raw emotion. I'm elated. Relieved. Proud. Sore. I loved it. I give the interview and Lori helps me chill out. She puts my medal on me. Gets me a cold Coca Cola. I ask how Brenda is doing. Lori explains the tread had ripped off Brenda's shoe and Brenda's feet were in bad shape. I was able to hobble my wrecked legs to my transition area and get my stuff to my car. My awesome teammates were awaiting my arrival. I got to eat my cookie sandwich, 2 cookies with icing in between them and changed clothes. Getting those nasty shorts off felt so good. All in all, I was in pretty good shape. Achilles was just sore. Getting to watch Brenda finish her first Ironman was so inspiring. I've watched her go from photographer to Ironman in a few short years. Knowing Liz struggled mightily and still finished, just awesome. We call our team Rogue, a group of misfit triathletes. Truth is, Rogue is full of Ironman finishers. Rogue is full of BADASS TRIATHLETES! I consider myself lucky to be friends with all these inspiring athletes. 

I tried to keep the video interviews a secret, but I couldn't. I let some people know what happened. I was excited to see if I would be a featured athlete. The video came out and there I was. It was pretty awesome. What I didn't expect was to get a Facebook message from Katerina who said she watched the video, saw me and found me to thank me. Katerina was having GI Issues right before I caught her. I didn't know she was struggling as bad as she was. She explained to me that I may have saved her race just by talking to her and telling her a joke. I guess I brought her out of the dark place that I'm all too familiar with. Nothing warms my heart more than knowing I've helped another athlete accomplish their goal. So many others helped me get to where I am, I love paying it forward.

The past few days has made me realize Ironman is far from a selfish sport. Sure, the athlete must be the only one to complete the distance. But it takes an entire community to see that through. The athlete needs support from friends and family. The athlete needs a community to be willing to close roads and provide volunteers. The athlete needs people to drive them home (Thanks Jamie!). The athlete needs other athletes to pick them up, show a picture (Thanks Paige!), tell a joke (you are welcome Katerina), or get them whatever they need (Lori is da bomb!). Ironman is a phenomenal challenge that takes people to all kinds of places and challenges them in all kinds of different ways. I'd encourage anyone to do an Ironman with the proper training and preparation. Ironman will change you. Ironman will change your perspectives. To anyone that has finished an Ironman, I raise my glass and tip my hat. I'm also glad to report that 5 days later, I sit here comfortably in the mindset that I'm racing 3 70.3 races in 2022 and no races longer than that. Ironman is a great distance for some athletes. To them I wish nothing but the best of luck. For myself, the IM distance just isn't fun for me at this point in my life. I'll race some shorter distances and get the fun back! A guy reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in an easy ride just to talk triathlon stuff. When I explained about American Triple T next May, Jade said, "Wait? Thats how you take a step back?" I laughed. Triple T will be a different kind of challenge. I'm looking forward to it. Challenges keep me moving. Challenges keep me motivated. For now, the 7x Ironman finisher is out!

Love all, Irondad

What is Ironman?

 Ironman. What is Ironman? 

I am again submerged in the Ironman training which gives me a lot of thinking time. Since I'm training for Ironman Indiana after completing Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman is consuming me. I thought typing this blog out might help get the thoughts together and may help help others understand Ironman. I may start an interesting conversation. We shall see.

On it's face, Ironman is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride then followed up with a 26.2 mile marathon which all must be completed in under 17 hours (16.5 hours if race starts later in year example Ironman Indiana. ) That doesn't sound too bad right?? ;)   Splash in water, play bikes and then go for a run. No problem. 

What does it take to prepare for an Ironman? 

1. Training for the swim, bike and run can be done in numerous ways. There is the athlete who prepares themselves by a strict training plan. There are athletes who just train on the weekends. Some athletes have coaches, some athletes buy training plans online, some read their training plans out of a book. There are many different ways to prepare the body for a 140.6 mile adventure. Those who don't prepare, usually don't make it to the finish line. You can also over prepare. Work too hard and you get injured. Get injured at the right time and you don't even start the race. Get injured at the wrong time and you are out the $800 registration fee. Training for anywhere from 8-20 hours (some train even more) in a week depending on how far out their race is also requires fuel. 

2. If you meet a triathlete, ask them what kind of snacks they have on them. We are always hungry. When you demand the body to continue exercising day in and day out, it requires food to keep moving forward. Some athletes train with Gatorade, some of us have personal fuel blends to keep us moving. Some athletes use real food like fruits or peanut butter sandwiches, PayDay candy bars are a hit with a lot of triathletes. Gotta have fuel. Stop feeding the machine that is our body and the machine breaks down. The body breaks down, there is no more training. 

3. Rest. Some of us have a really hard time with this one. You get so hell bent on training hard so often, we forget to let it set in. Training is good, but it requires rest for the body to recover. Some of us require more rest than others. 

4. Time management skills. Most of us are athletes with full time jobs, families, other responsibilities.Time management skills are essential. Can I finish my run and change my clothes before I go pick up the kid from school? What time is that wedding? Can I fit this ride in during (insert your kids sport here)

5. Discipline. The willingness to say no to others. The discipline to go to bed early just to wake up and get going before the sun rises. Understanding that others who aren't living this lifestyle can't understand why you need to go ride your bike for 5 hours. The discipline to dedicate time to preparing yourself to enjoy race day. 

6. Mental health awareness. The mind games Ironman prep and race day are incredible. 

 

When the ravenous hunger monster hits me, I have to watch myself to not snap at people. A hungry and tired triathlete may have a short fuse. Positive thoughts, "Man I killed that ride!, are great. Negative thoughts, "My run sucks! I'm never going to make it through this race."Negative thoughts can wreak havoc on a training triathlete. "I'm getting slower! How the hell am I getting slower??" Having the mental health awareness of stepping back and reassessing (4 syllable word used correctly!) the heavy training load or weather conditions or both and taking a deep breath then moving forward can keep a triathlete from going crazy. Keeping a journal (or a blog!) can help work these thoughts out. 

7. Motivation. What is your WHY?? This question gets asked a lot. What is your WHY? Why do you train like crazy? What keeps you getting out of bed at 4:30am just to jump into a swimming pool? Are you doing this to prove to yourself you can? Are you showing your kids or community what can be done if you refuse to quit? Are you running away from the unhealthy person you once were? Are you running toward a bigger goal? Does this make you happy? Can you use negative influences to motivate you? ( so and so doesn't believe in me, I'm going to show them how great I am!) 

8. Support. I can't tell you how important support is. Having a wife and kids who understand why Daddy is gone way before they wake up and won't be home until after lunch makes it easy to get the training in. Having a wetsuit hang to dry in the shower, walking in on a bicycle in the living room, dishwasher is full of bottles, washer is full of sweaty clothes, our families put up with some crazy things. Yet they see how happy we are when we nail a workout or set a personal record for a specific distance. Willing to hang out at races just to cheer us on, carry our gear at the end, listen to us when we say, "I'll never do that again." Family support just means the world to us. 

I titled this, "What is Ironman?" I've thought about that question a lot. I came up with a list of short answers. I bet others will add to it..

What is Ironman?

1. A Goal

2. A Dream

3. A triathlon

4. A physical and mental challenge

5. A numbers game

6. An addiction

7. A Lifestyle

8. A confidence builder

9. A confidence thief

10. A commitment

11. Discipline builder

12. Limits and Perspective changer

13. A Community

Most of those are self explanatory. The one that provoked a lot of thought to me was A Numbers Game:

140.6 - total distance of an Ironman

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run...easy right??

temperature on race day? water temp, body temp, 

heart rate

power 

calories..how many calories can your body ingest and turn into fuel?

time..time limits/cutoffs, time in-between calories, transition time, 

items it takes to complete..(wetsuit,goggles,tri kit,timing chip, swim cap, lube) thats just for the swim

The numbers can get maddening if you let them. Ironman numbers go way beyond 140.6.

The mental challenge of Ironman for me, has been rough. There are athletes who thrive in "suffering". Suffering is the common term when you know you are hurting, but you press on anyway. When I spoke to Lake Placid champ Lisa Norden, she said, "Our pain is the same. I hurt just as bad as you are." She admitted she had suffered as I was. There are times the suffering makes the physical pain seem way worse than it is. When I start "falling down the dark hole", it's a tough fight to get out of. The bad seems to outweigh the good and it just keeps piling it on. I'm trying to build my mindset to prepare for this in Indiana. We shall see how that goes. 

Breaking the 3 main parts down;

The swim- 2.4 miles might not sound that bad. When we mean 2.4 miles of swimming, now it starts to make sense why it's challenging. 2.4 miles is a long swim! This is also a crucial part of the race in terms of athlete safety. Not only do you have to be prepared to swim the 2.4 miles, you gotta swim in the same water as all the other athletes at the same time. The term "washing machine" is used to describe an Ironman swim. An athlete can get pushed, pulled, hit, kicked, or swam over by other athletes. You hope this is accidental. Some athletes, new or veteran racers, can have freak out moments in the water. My worst freak out moment was the jellyfish stings to the face in Maryland. I had to swim to a kayak and chill out for a minute before continuing on. In water freak out moments can be the end of a race for some. Freak out too bad, and your heart might not recover. Heart stops, breathing stops...there is a reason there were scuba divers in Mirror Lake while we swam in Lake Placid. Triathletes will joke when asked about their swim, "I didn't drown!" is a common answer. We laugh, but on the inside, were happy we didn't die. You can slow down on the bike or run, but you get tired in the middle of a lake, you gotta keep stroking. No giving up or you sink. The swim is the shortest part of the Ironman, but if you don't swim the 2.4, you don't get to move on. The swim is also the hardest part to take on nutrition. Hard to carry your water bottle or energy gels while swimming. There are some races where the swim is 2 loops which require an athlete to swim a loop, exit the water, run to start 2nd loop then swim 2nd loop. This allows for time and ability to take a gel if you can figure out how to carry it with you (wetsuit seems to hold it against tri top). I don't want to forget that you also have to know how to sight while swimming. Making sure you aren't going too far off course or following others who get lost while swimming. Swim 2.4 miles...swim 2.4 miles against a ton of athletes all fighting to go same direction while sighting buoys and praying you don't get tired...or drown. Trying to not have an adrenaline dump because you still have a long day ahead of you. This is how we start an Ironman.

The bike. 112 miles. I don't have to try and impress people when I say 112 miles. Most people say "I don't even like to drive that far." We get it. We don't like driving 112 miles either. But for triathletes who love the bike, 112 miles can be a ton of fun. For those who aren't prepared, 112 miles can be seriously challenging. I can say that because I was way undertrained for my first half Ironman, and the cramps my legs gave me were debilitating. I have rode many long rides trying to build the endurance to make this 112 miles feel good. Each individual race will have differing levels of difficulty. Lake Placid had the added challenges of the Keene descent and the 11 mile climb at the end of the loop that we did twice. Maryland was flat which meant constant pedaling. It was a challenge to keep my mind from being bored from no elevation challenges. Indiana will be interesting as there are some elevation changes, but not much. The bike course will be on a closed highway. Should make for a fast bike split. Again, biking 112 miles with all the other athletes. Some going fast, some slow, going in and out of aid stations. 

Praying there are no wrecks. Praying we don't have flat tires or bike mechanical issues. Staying hydrated and well fueled. Making sure we hit every time cutoff but without burning up your legs. You still have a marathon to run. Maybe the swim wore you out? Maybe the "demons" start making you ask if you are really prepared for this?? Are you "suffering" already? 

The run. "it's just a marathon!" That's right boys and girls step right up! An event that is life-changing by itself, the marathon! 26.2 miles on foot! I know when I completed my first marathon, it changed me. I proved I could train for that event. Prepare my legs, prepare my mind. Fight through cramps. Keep moving forward. In the sadistic world of Ironman, we have you swim a long way, then bike a much longer distance before requiring you to run a marathon!! You are welcome!! The start of the Ironman marathon is very interesting because the thought pops into your head, "All I gotta do is finish this run and I'm done!" The success your brain is feeling from conquering the swim and bike can uplift you. You're feeling really good about yourself. You want to get moving! If you run too fast too early, your heart and legs may say, "Nah, were good. You are done." Suddenly you can't run, you just walk. I've talked to some athletes who said it hit them at mile 3. Others might make it 13 or 20 miles in. Lake Placid for me was mile 11. There are others who fight through the pain and tired and keep chugging on through. You just never know how your legs will respond. You must keep moving forward. "Forward is a pace". Quitting isn't an option, although it will sound good at times. There are many tricks to try and help, each athlete must figure out what works for them. You just gotta keep moving forward. For me, I usually get pretty emotional during the run portion. I pray. I think of strong warriors who have fought cancer. Family members who have fought their own personal battles. Pray for safety of all the athletes racing with me. Thanking volunteers and police along the route. Talking with other athletes. Remembering my "Fat Matt" days. Thinking of my wife and kids. Just wanting to make them proud. Whatever it takes to keep moving forward.

The Ironman Finish Line. I have tried in the past to describe the feelings I get when crossing that finish line. I can describe it all day long. But until you EARN that Finish Line, you can't fully grasp it. The training, dedication, sacrifice, pain, suffering, planning, executing, everything comes together and success is yours. No other event gives you a new title like, IRONMAN! Each Ironman finish line proves, it was all worth it. The success of completing this epic adventure, the showing yourself you can fight through tired and pain, the joy of being able to sit down!! It's all worth it.

I hope this blog entry gives you an insiders look on what is Ironman. A deeper dive into what it takes and what it really is. Ironman isn't pretty. Ironman is far from easy. Each Ironman race has its pros and cons. Ironman is wild. Ironman is fun. "Ironman challenges you in every way" Chris Tech said after Ironman Lake Placid. Ironman will challenge you. It may challenge you in ways it doesn't challenge me. 

There are 2 sports that stand out to me when I think of sports tattoos. The Olympic Rings tattoo that an Olympian gets and the M-Dot tattoo that an Ironman earns. When I see an M-Dot tatt, I know I immediately have a few things in common with that athlete. It's a badge of honor, a symbol of triumph. My one and only tattoo. Nothing else drove me to getting a tattoo, but Ironman did!

Let me know your thoughts. Agree or disagree I'd love to hear about your thoughts on this topic. Maybe this inspires an athlete to give it a go. They might hate me for it, only to thank me later. Maybe it pushes someone to say, "Nope! That's not for me." And that is just fine. There are lots of challenges in this world. Find your dream. Find your goal. Go get it. Work your ass off for it. Show people how great you can be. Thanks for reading, IRONDAD Matt 

Ironman Lake Placid 2021

"This is it. My last Ironman. 6 Ironman finishes is pretty good. I said when I stop having fun, I'll stop this craziness. The last 15 miles was NOT FUN!! I'll just request to drop from Ironman Indiana to the 70.3. That will be way better. I don't suffer for hours on a 70.3"

I have had trouble typing this out. Part of my brain didn't want to. When I type out a race report, it brings back feelings, emotions, successes and failures. It reminds me of things I did well, things I failed at. The good, the bad and the ugly. This blog entry is just my race day. There will be another blog about the entire vacation. (The entire vacation was epic!) 

Packet pickup: Just getting into Lake Placid was pretty cool. Leaving NY City and ending up in the Adirondack Mountains was an awesome change in scenery. The smell of fresh mountain air and the laid back feeling was welcomed. There's an energy at an Ironman Village. You get to see athletes that are all ready to test themselves. Seasoned veterans and first timers all there to get the coveted IM wristband. The official first step that an epic race is about to happen. Mike Reilly, The Voice of Ironman, yep, got to meet him and got my pic with him. 

Practice swim in Mirror Lake: I needed this so bad. You wanna escape all your stress and problems? Immerse yourself in a lake surrounded by mountains. I got to see the infamous cable. Its a cable placed in the water, about a foot under the water that gives a straight line to swim the course. Not having to sight buoys,  I was able to swim pretty fast (for me). I swam 30 minutes and got out feeling confident about the swim.

Practice Keene descent: part of the bike course is the infamous Keene descent. A 5-6 mile downhill bomb that has turns, and cross winds! This, my friends, is not my strength when it comes to cycling. First trip down the descent was not bad. The best sherpa ever, Brittney, drove us back up to do it again. The 2nd time down, the cross winds caught my front tire and I experienced the death wobble. It was brief and I reigned it in quickly, but I wasn't about to risk my entire race to bomb down the hill. Thankful for the opportunity to ride it before race day.

race bags..so many bags..morning clothes, bike, bike personal needs, run, run personal needs. Making sure the correct nutrition was in the correct bags. What did I need for race morning? My family was out shopping when I was filling these bags. Thank goodness. I was stressing over this. I'll pack these before I leave the house for Indiana. Major UH OH happened race morning over these bags...

Race morning, Rain. Awake at 3am. Slept ok. Check the weather, rain till about 0900. That means swim in the rain and bike the Keene descent in the rain. Plan on taking that silly easy. I eat my oatmeal, banana and peanut butter. Brittney reminds me to take off my wedding ring. I place my Infinit bottles in my morning clothes bag. Gotta put those on my bike and hand held in my run bag which are at transition. Make sure I got all my stuff and put on my hoodie to stay warm. Britt delivers me to shuttle location (which is also the Tech's AirBnB) at 0420. Line is kind of long and only getting longer. Heather Jackson, PRO Triathlete is about 10-15 people in front of us. Shuttles show up. Off we go. 

First stop transition at Northwoods School. Raining pretty good. Decision is made to leave stuff in bags so they don't get soaked. I would've rather set out a transition set up, but it was better to not have soaked socks and shoes. I put the bottles on my bike. I put some stuff back in my morning clothes bag. Fill the water tank up front. Use the porta potty and off to the shuttle to swim start.

We, (Team Tech and I) find a tree to try and stay dry (fail) under. We start putting wetsuits, lube and Amp lotion on. This is when I find my sunglasses and handheld water bottle (which has my Infinit run mix in it). These items should be in my run bag which is back at transition. A very smart man once said, "OH SHIT!!" I also uttered those exact words. It was 0550. Shuttles stop running at 0600. If the sun comes out and I have no sunglasses, my eyes are not gonna be happy. Bright weather doesn't help me run. Not having my handheld is really gonna suck as I trained with these calories. Part of Ironman asks "Can you overcome obstacles?" I took a deep breath. I considered my options. I took the sunglasses and handheld bottle to the "Glasses" table at swim start. I asked if I could give them my items now and if they would deliver them to swim out? No problem I was told. They were put in ziplock bags and marked with my number. Deep breath out. First problem solved. I smiled all the way back to our tree. Finished getting ready and to the start we went. Chris and Paige were focused to crush this. I felt prepared. The time to crush was upon us. 

Chris and I went and splashed the water to get the feeling of the temp. I believe it was 71. Perfect. Most racers were in long sleeve suits. We had sleeveless suits. I like the shoulder mobility of the sleeveless suit. Mike Reilly was in the crowd of racers! High fives and using the microphone to get us pumped up. The man is a star who likes being among his racers. Is that a dolphin? Nope! It was a scuba diver! They had 2 scuba divers watching from under the water! The canon went off and the line funneled into Mirror Lake. My plan was to stay just off the cable so I didn't fight for water with other racers. I ended up right on the cable. The "washing machine" was in full effect. I followed that cable like my life depended upon it. Swam over some small buoys. Got pushed and kicked. Used my arms to push people off me. It was a touch chaotic. I figured this would thin out as the race went on. I stayed calm but confident. I was prepared. I swam feeling strong. Loop 1 was done and I jumped out to go to loop 2. Sucked down a SIS gel and dove back in. It was time to finish this swim. Used that cable to help me. Watched for feet in front of me. Let faster swimmers pull me. Swam around people who got tired before I did. Swam toward the exit and smiled so big. 6 Ironman swims completed! Swimming isn't my forte but I did well in Mirror Lake. 1:14 for the 2.4mile swim. Heck yea. Even better was when I remembered to get my sunglasses and water bottle. There they were. I grabbed them and off I went. Found a big rock that was a perfect place to sit and remove my wetsuit. It was a long way to transition, but I found my bike pretty easy. Emptied the bike bag, wiped off my feet, and got ready to ride. Turned on my bike computer and loaded pockets with gels. Out of transition I went. Rain had just stopped. Roads were very wet. We start going down some hills. Through this part of town where there was a TON of people!! Everyone full of energy and cheering like crazy. I draw energy from that. I smiled from ear to ear. One fear I had was that spectators wouldn't come out because of Covid. That fear was quickly erased. The spectators came and did their job! My favorite spectators, Brittney, Heidi and Savvy would be out, but I wasn't sure where. I knew it was 1 of 2 places, either our hotel or the Tech's BnB. Rain played a part in this. What was awesome was our hotel was .9 miles away from finish line and Mirror Lake, Tech's BnB was practically at Finish Line. This gave Britt 2 places to camp out at. Brittney was the real MVP that day. She took care of 3 kids and helped her Mom who got taken to the hospital, broken foot, at the same time. She of course made sure I didn't know that until after the race. Brittney should do a "How to spectate an Ironman" blog.

After 3 miles, there they were! In front of my hotel was my family!! I yelled out to Brittney and my kids and told them I loved them. I am a lucky man to have this support. I remembered I had a little climbing to do before the Keene descent. A short out and back, hit the first aid station. I was rollin! Feeling good! I had read many stories of the people who went way too hard on first bike loop only to get smoked the 2nd loop. I got passed by people. I watched my heart rate. This was a big difference for me from other races; using bike computer instead of watch. 1. It broke me free from having my Overall Time. In Maryland, I'd look at my watch for overall time and beat myself up over how long it was taking me. 2. Instead of watching what mile I was on. I watched heart rate. If I got much over 115, I was to back it off. (yes, I have a low heart rate.) I also didn't want to cook my legs on the bike. We were told to be prepared for over 6k elevation gain on the bike course. Finally hit the descent. I was holding those breaks in a fashion that kept me rolling but under control. Wet road plus winding descent= nervous Matt. People were flying by me. I stayed to the right and made my way down. Good lord man, I was happy to have that portion done. Turned left and had super smooth roads. Watching that heart rate and pedaling nice and smooth. Looked up to see the clouds covering the top of Whiteface Mountain. I was up there yesterday! The area is just gorgeous. Lakes and streams, trees, mountains, I could ride there forever! There is a longer out and back. This part had some rollers but was fun! Good speed and seeing bikes on both sides of the road helps the motivation. Then I see Chris on the side of the road. Changing a tire. I holler out to him and make sure he's ok. He says he's good so I continue. I hate to see this as Chris has prepared for a long time to finally get to race. If there was one guy I knew could fix a flat, Chris is him. Now I had motivation to see how long I could "hold him off". Well friends, it wasn't long! The man can pedal his bike. I hear that familiar voice, "Fucking mechanicals!!" "I'm not letting a flat take me out!" I reply, "Damn son, you got that fixed quick!" We have a short conversation before he takes off. I smile as I know Chris is back in the fight. Then I saw this sign, "CAUTION WIENERS AHEAD!!!" I hadn't been exercising that long for my imagination to be taking over already. Then they appeared! 3 people dressed up as hotdogs. Cheering their condiments off! They had other hot dog related signs and on my 2nd loop, they offered me a hotdog. If I wasn't a celiac, I may have taken them up on it. The end of the loop is an 11 mile climb. People had talked of the Three Bears hills. I showed I was prepared as I just pedaled right up and over those hills. The last hill, Papa Bear, was really fun. People went to this hill and surrounded the riders on both sides with a ton of energy. It was loud!! I've seen this at Tour de France on TV, but to ride through the crowd on both sides was awesome!! 

I make my way back into town and the hunt for my family began. Found them in front of Tech BnB. I stop for a quick second. I tell them my favorite part of the bike course was seeing "3 wieners!" I remember Savvy being really loud asking, "WHAT??!!" I then filled them in that they even had ketchup and mustard as I rode off. I laughed thinking about what were they thinking? My father in law later said he thought I was already loopy. Truth be told, I had more work to do. I made my way to that damn descent. Stayed to the right. People flying by me on the left. People cheering on the side of the road. "Just don't crash Matt" is all I thought. We came here to do all 3, not crash. The winds kept me honest. I got down the descent and was so happy to turn left. Through the gorgeous scenery. Made it back to the long out and back. Remember those people flying by me down the descent?? I started picking them off one by one. I was feeling very good. I'm like over 70 miles into this bike and not even feeling tired. I remember these blurs of speed down the descent as I catch and pass them. Feeds my energy. Feels good. Back to the long climb. Easy does it, keep pedaling easy, NO GRINDING GEARS, I smile as I see people struggling up the hill and I'm just cruising along. I knew I had paced this well. I talked to a few people as we climbed. Asked people how they felt, how did their swim go? Said I was looking forward to Papa Bear crowd! They didn't disappoint. Loud music, cheering, great energy! Back into town and I was feeling great. I felt like my swim and bike had went very well. Off the bike and back to transition I went. Legs were a touch tired but not bad. I thought through my transition before I got to my rack. Tom Petty's "Jammin Me" was on the loud speakers. I racked my bike, changed my shoes, made sure i had my race belt and nutrition. Off to run.

I had orders to keep heart rate low for the first 8 miles. The Ironman marathon has always challenged me. I've experienced cramps in muscles, bouts of diarrhea, and fighting mental demons on the Ironman marathon.Nothing about Ironman is "easy", but I've trained hard to try and make it tolerable. I wanted to average 11 minute miles. I couldn't keep my heart rate low enough to run any further than a quarter mile without stopping to walk to let the heart rate fall back. The opening 2-3 miles were lined with people cheering like crazy! Great energy! I was so stressed over my heart rate, I told people who were looking at me kinda funny, "I'm just keeping my heart rate down." I've identified this as a change for IM Indiana. I wont be stressing over heart rate in opening miles of the run. The good part of watching my heart rate was that my mind wasn't paying attention to the mileage signs. The sun was out and I could tell it was getting warm. I used ice in my Race Saver bag over my head and ice down my shirt and shorts. I found my family again in front of my hotel. I told them I was doing good and that I'd be back soon. The run is a 2 loop course. The course goes to the Horse Show grounds and this where some craziness happened. It was like a maze. Runners going back and forth in the same area around the grounds. There were volunteers directing people but you had to pay attention. If you were coming from town, you went clockwise, if you were coming in from River Rd (I'll get to River Rd, F River RD!, sorry bout that,I have strong feelings about River Rd.) if you were coming in from River Rd, you went counter clockwise. Got that? Imagine swimming 2.4, riding 112 then getting into a rat race where you have people going different directions at different mileage points, first or second loop??, and making sure you are going the right way at the right time. I focused on the volunteer directing traffic and figured it out. Others did not. Others ended up running the wrong way, adding or subtracting to their mileage. Not a great set up, but this was the year we were just thankful to race. 

OK, around the grounds and out to River Rd I went. Did I mention my disgust for River Rd? (Truthfully, I've identified another pre-race mistake here. I should've known how far we ran on River Rd. But it's way funnier to just blame the road). River Rd is clearly 112 miles long and the longer you take to get to the turn around, the further they move it back. Paige said it was 6 miles out to the turn around. She's pretty smart. I think it was closer to 20 miles out because it took me FOREVER to get there! There were a few spectators out there on River Rd but not many. The aid stations were manned with incredible volunteers who gave us what we needed. I tried to keep my running pace going, watching the heart race and ticking off miles. I was back to the rat race maze at horse show grounds and thinking I was close to halfway done with marathon. Just a few miles to see my family, get that crowd energy, do this stupid loop once more and get that finish line! As I'm leaving Horse Show grounds about to ascend a hill, mile 11ish, both shins LOCK up. I mean shooting pain with every step. I couldn't flex my foot without feeling like I'd fall over. Remember that famous quote from early in the morning? "OH SHIT" is correct. It hurts to run. Walking isn't great. I got 15 miles to go. Well Hello there mental demons! Bout time you showed up! Yall are gonna have to go away. I can fight through this. I've seen friends fight through cancer. I've seen friends fight with their kids fighting cancer. I can fight through this. I make it back to my hotel and my family are out. Clearly they left the swimming pool to come out and cheer on their Dad. I tell them I'm feeling great (LIAR!!) to try and make myself believe it (FAIL!) I get to the turn around in town in front of a ton of people! Cheering like crazy! I try to run but my legs are about to give out. I just walk and try to take in the energy from the crowd. I think I get to see my family one more time before I head back to horse show grounds. I'm disappointed that they aren't there when I get back. What I didn't know, was Britt's Mom was hurt and waiting on the paramedic to come get her. She needed my family worse than I did! No problem, I got this. I was able to clearly think through this problem. How do I fix this? How do I make my shins ease up?? If only I could ice them? Wait, Aid stations have ice. Most of us use it to cool ourselves down, but I can pour the ice into my hands and ice my shins!! Like a light bulb in a cartoon going off. I made it back into horse show grounds and found ice. I iced both shins as much as I could. I then remembered Liz Daulton's fight in IM CDA and how grapes were her friend. I decided to get some grapes. I looked at the tables and found Dixie cups with pictures of grapes in them. Perfect! Only to find the cups full of pretzels. Celiacs cant eat those pretzels. What a let down. Shins are hurting, no pretzels, 13 miles to go. Around the maze and off to HELL..sorry, River Rd I go. 

Someone must've thought it would be funny to put a photographer on River Rd. I tried running. Short distances. Like "lets see if we can run to that tree" short distance. It hurt. I'd do it, but it hurt. I walked. 

 

Actual face on River Rd.

Sean, a New York Firefighter walked with me for a few miles. I introduced him to Chris who was on his way in as I was on my way out, so he had to be like 35 miles ahead of me just on the run portion because River Rd is 50 miles long. There was an aid station! I asked if they had anything that might help locked up muscles in my shins. They sprayed some cooling lotion into my shins and calves. It didn't do much but I tried to run some more. Sean went on ahead of me. Right before the turnaround, the aid station said they had chicken broth! Chicken broth by itself may not seem that great but after exercising for 14 hours, chicken broth is the bees knees! Salty, warm, and easy to get down. Yes please! I hit the turn around and a new feeling came over me. I'm about to fall asleep! Or pass out. Not sure which, but this is bad. I got like 6 miles to go and I just want to take a nap. Caffeine!! We need caffeine!!! I start loading up on my caffeine chews. On my final way out of River Rd, I see Paige running towards the turn around. Girl was looking happy and strong. She was killing it. I was jealous.

This is what I'm most sad to report. I'm blaming energy crash, hurting muscles and fighting extreme fatigue. A guy yelled to me, "Great job!" I replied, "Yeah right." in a manner of a depressed loser. Not a smiling lunatic who is happy to be participating, a depressed loser who got a little shitty with a guy trying to help me. He responded, clearly offended, "No really man, you are." I apologized for my response and said I'm just tired and disappointed. I had to look inward and go back to my goals. Just finish the 140.6 was goal 1. I was still doing that. I then saw a lady at the corner of River Rd where I turned off River Rd. I told her I didn't think I was ever going to see this place again. If I never see River Rd again, that'll be ok. Back to horse show grounds where I meet another athlete from Cleveland. We shared a mile or so before he went on ahead. Out of the Horse Show grounds (another place I don't need to see again) and up the hill. I'm slow, I'm walking but I now can hear Mike Reilly calling others an Ironman. That's motivation! 

There are 2 people who look like they just finished dinner and are walking back. I said hello. They said, "keep going! You're doing great!" Thick European accents but speak English well. I tell them I'm hurting pretty bad. They assure me I can make it. I ask them to tell me a joke. This request surprises them. They tell me they aren't sure their joke would be understood in English. "Y'all let me down!" I say and laugh. I just wanted something to take my mind of my legs. The guy says, "Well, Lisa did the race today!" "You did?" I reply, "How did you do?"  She says "Good"  The guy then says, "Well, she won!" Wait, what?? "You did? What was your time?" Lisa Norden then said "Yes, 9:11. I shared the same pain you are experiencing. Our pain is the same here." Did I tell the IM Lake Placid Champion she let me down? Yup. Did the Lake Placid Champ take the time out of her evening to come out and cheer on age groupers? Yup, she did. She asked who was waiting for me at the finish line? My wife and kids I told her. "Well go see them, and enjoy that Finish Line!"

I thanked them for their encouragement and finished that little bit. 

Of course, in Lake Placid, you dont get anywhere without going up hill. I had one more hill to crest before the bright lights and red carpet came into view. I almost couldn't believe it. I was crying. The crowd started to grow. I had made it. Fought the hard fight. Walked 15 miles. Almost passed out. Shins hated me. Told the race winner she let me down. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't what I hoped for. But I covered the distance. 140.6 miles. I found my Beautiful wife and gave her a kiss. Told my kids I loved them. I then walked down the red carpet to cheers and high fives. It was at least 3 people deep on both sides! They were banging the boards, going nuts. Then the coolest thing happened!! Fireworks went off!! I couldn't believe it!! Fireworks!!

I think the fireworks makes me think Placid's finish line just edged out Louisville's finish line. I was handed my Finisher shirt, hat and medal. My girls found me just passed the finish line. I got a bag of ice for my shins. I got my picture taken and grabbed some food. 6 time IM FINISHER. The struggle was real. It took guts. Stubbornness, refusing to quit. GRIT. Icing those shins may have saved me. 

Paige was hot on my heals and finished right behind me. She also started a few minutes after I did. She crushed it. Chris had finished way ahead of me. Chris had a 2nd tire issue he had to persevere through. Every athlete had to fight to cover those 140.6 miles. Some athletes who started, didn't finish. One athlete was kicked in the head in the swim and was out with a concussion. 2 athletes crashed on the descent, collar bone sticking out on the guy, broken arm and concussion for the female athlete. A paramedic had crashed off the side of a road and had to be towed out of the ditch. We made it back to the Tech's BnB where I found out my in-laws were at the hospital. Brittney was exhausted. She had a very hard day trying to tend to her mom, watching 3 kids, trying to track 3 athletes and get to the finish line, Britt needs a spa day. She has a small avulsion fracture now. We walked the .9 miles from BnB to hotel where I was spent. My girls were spent. We weren't sure how my in-laws were getting back to hotel. Medics ended up bringing my in laws back. When we were about to shut off the lights, I explained to Britt why this was my last Ironman. Wrecking my body, suffering for miles, making the family wait for me forever, expensive, 6 finishes is enough. Heidi will tell you I went on for an hour how and why I am done with this craziness. I was going to email Ironman to drop to 70.3 in Muncie. My brain was content that we weren't doing that shit again. I couldn't sleep. Everything hurt. Caffeine flowing through my veins. The next morning I texted Chris. Explained I was done. Dropping to 70.3 in Muncie. My girls and I went out for lunch, I typed up the email. I just couldn't send it....I still have the draft saved.

I decided to give it a day or 2. Let things settle down then send it. When I was clear headed enough to look into results, it appears my swim and bike are on point. I'm not the fastest in my age group, but I'm competitive. I run everyday. Yet, the Ironman marathon remains the bane of my existence. I've seen PRO triathletes have issues with the IM marathon. I've received plenty of messages telling me congrats for killing it. Congrats for another finish. My brain is appreciative for these as it puts it into perspective that people respect the challenge, yet I don't feel I killed it. I feel the marathon practically killed me. I'm just stubborn enough to think, "1 more try. I've already paid for Indiana, All I gotta do is figure out the marathon. Lucky 7! or 7 finishes sounds better than 6. So I'll do Indiana, its the only time this is offered, I'd regret not doing it. I'm not signing up for anymore IM races until after I see how Indiana goes. If I suffer like I did in Placid, I'm taking a long break from IM. Not announcing retirement, but a long break. Brittney says she's heard this before. 

things i think hurt me;

Walking NYC a few days before, like 25-29k steps in new shoes

wind on the bike plus elevation gain= longer on bike than expected, not enough nutrition

stressed heart rate too much on run

too much emphasis on marathon time

allowed myself to walk when i could've ran a little more

Things that helped me:

Consistent daily training

Workouts that pushed me

Never quit attitude

Family and friends support

Gratitude just to get to race