2025 IMLP Spectating

Photo by Angela. 

We recently took our 6th trip to Lake Placid, NY. 

Lake Placid holds a special place in our heart for several different reasons. Ironman Lake Placid was Karel's first Ironman in 2013 and our first Ironman together. It was the first Ironman that I participated in after my dad was diagnosed with cancer and had undergone extensive spinal surgery due to the cancer spreading to his spine. Karel had his only DNF in Lake Placid in 2015 when he went into the race with a torn plantar. Karel has raced IMLP 4 times and I have raced 3 times. We decided to move to Greenville after 2013 IMLP as we fell in the love with the mountains. Lastly, we made the long drive to Lake Placid three times so that we could bring Campy with us. This recent trip was a bit emotional as Friday was the one-year since we said good bye to Campy. 

Karel was supposed to race Lake Placid this year but he has had some complications after two knee surgeries (meniscus trims) so he deferred to 2026. Since we had 9 athletes racing, we decided to make the trip to support our athletes. And this time we would make new memories with Sunny. 

Tuesday

We started our long 16 hour drive early on Tuesday morning. We made a stop in DC to stay with our athlete Morgan. We had a nice pizza dinner with several of our DC athletes. Sunny enjoyed playing with Morgan's dogs (Cheddar and Gossip). 

Wednesday

We finished the drive on Wednesday morning (we left before 6am and arrived around 3:30pm) and checked into our Airbnb at the Snowshoe Lodge.  During our drive, I ordered some groceries from Hannaford online (Instacart) and they were delivered in the evening. This location was perfect as it was only a ~1/2 mile walk to the lake and right on the run course. After we unloaded our stuff, we walked to Mirror Lake and was joined by our professional athletes Yannick and Katie for an open water swim. Since Karel and I don't leave Sunny alone when we travel, we took turns. I swam a loop (1.2 miles) and then Karel swam a loop. After the swim we all ate dinner at the brewery across the lake. 

Thursday

On Thursday morning, I left around 7am for a ride on the IMLP bike course (53.5 miles from our Airbnb). I enjoyed riding the Keene descent on my road bike and enjoying the scenery on the course. Lake Placid is incredibly beautiful and although the weather can be unpredictable, the weather was warm and humid. After my ride, I went for a 2.7 mile/22 min run. While I was out, Karel worked on a few of our athletes bikes and got some work done. He also went on a long walk with Sunny and stopped by the Blueberry bakery. He then went out for a MTB ride on the Lussi and Logger trails. Karel is getting ready for his 2nd Breck Epic MTB stage race. He was really disappointed in the trails on Thursday as they were not well maintained. He was able to ride for 2.5 hours and after his ride he went for a 4.5 mile, 31 min run. In the afternoon, we went for another swim at Mirror Lake. The water was warm so we wore our swim skins every time we swam. Our athlete Yannick watched Sunny in his camper van as we swam as it was raining (lightly) and Sunny does not like the rain). 

Friday

On Friday morning, we set up a meet up with our athletes at the lake. We all swam a loop. Since it rained overnight, Karel waited until it dried out before heading out for his ride. After the swim I went for a 9.2 mile, 1:12 run on the run course. Since Karel left for his ride after I swam, our athletes Katie and Yannick offered to watch Sunny while I ran as Katie needed to get some work done on her computer and she misses her pups (Sunny is the replacement :) I ran on Hwy 86 (reversing the bike course) to River road and then followed the run course back into town. After I returned, I walked with Katie to the pro meeting and then continued on with our walk in downtown with Sunny. Karel went out for a 4 hour, 30 mile MTB ride at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg (the out and back of the bike course). He was hopeful that this would be a good area to ride as it's the home of the UCI mountain bike race in Placid but once again he was not thrilled with the riding. He was still able to get in a long ride. In the evening, we had a pizza party at our athlete's house and enjoyed chatting with all of our athletes racing. 

Sunny is in the process of becoming a certified therapy dog so we did some practice with his vest on in the town. 

Saturday

In the morning, Karel went for a run (1:34, 12.2 miles) and I hung out with Sunny and got some work done. While Karle was running, Sunny and I walked to downtown and picked up bagels. After Karel returned, it was my turn to ride. I was really looking forward to my ride on the Whiteface Memorial Highway. Anytime I do a new route, especially a climb, I always do some research first. My friend Carley from Gville told me about the climb and she told me I would really enjoy it. She was right! The 40 mile ride took me 2:43 and had 4700 feet of climbing. The climb is 8 miles, gains 3600 feet and averages 8%. There is a toll booth after a few miles and it costs $15 for cyclists to continue to the top. There were a few cyclists climbing and descending as I was riding. It got cooler as I got to the top (I brought arm warmers and gloves and a mylar sheet for my chest). My goal was to complete the climb under 1:10 and I did it in 1:09. The views at the top were incredible. Because the climb didn't have any significant turns, the descend was fast! I maxed my speed at 50 mph! When I got back, I went for a 31 min, 4 mile run. After I returned home, Karel drove to the Flume Trail system and he said this was his favorite trail of the three. It was flown and fun. He rode for 1:48. As Karel was riding, I walked with Sunny to the transition area with Katie as she checked in her bike. In the evening (around 6pm), Karel and I went to Mirror Lake for one last swim. Karel went first and then he picked up dinner and walked back with Sunny and then I went for a swim. It was very peaceful as there weren't many people swimming (maybe 3 others and not athletes racing). 

Sunday - race day!

I got up at 5am and Katie came over shortly after. We walked to the transition area and I helped her out with her special needs bags and holding her stuff as she warmed up. Karel met us near the water a little after 6am. Sunny was a very good boy and did great all day with the crowds, music, loud noises, rain (not his favorite!) and long day. We had a great time cheering for our 9 athletes. We loved seeing Bruce - the oldest athlete in the race - complete the swim, bike and 7 miles of the run. Incredible at the age of 75 and his first Ironman! There was rain for a good part of the day (on and off) but thankfully all of our athletes completed the bike and made it to the finish. Our athlete Angela hung out with us (she was watching her partner Kevin race) and after the race, we had a few of our athletes come to our place to tell us about their race experience. We love Lake Placid! 

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A post shared by Marni Sumbal, MS, RD, CSSD (@trimarni)

Monday/Tuesday

On Monday morning, we packed up our place. Karel went for a run (5 miles, 40 min) and when he came back, I went for a run (50 min, 6.4). It's so easy to train in Placid as it's just so beautiful. We left in the late morning and started our long drive home. We stayed in Pennsylvania with one of our athletes to help break up the drive. We arrived home on Tuesday around 3pm. After unpacking, we went to Furman and did an easy 2400 yard swim in the evening. Sunny told us that he really enjoyed his trip and he is looking forward to more race/train-cations. Congrats to our athletes and everyone who raced! 

2022 IM Lake Placid Race Recap

 

2.4 mile swim
Marni -57:40
Karel – 1:00.28

As soon as I started swimming, the nerves went away. Since I lined up with the sub 60 min group, I found myself swimming strong right from the start. Although I breathe to both sides when I swim in the pool, I tend to favor my left side when I swim open water (and favor my right side when I swim in the pool). I didn’t need to sight much since the lake is so small and several people stay along the cable (under the water) which helps to keep everyone on course but when I did sight, I take note of the next buoy. When I breathed to my left, I would make note of the number on the buoy – counting to 9 before the first of two turn buoys. Karel tried to stay with me but he had to stay with his own effort after a few buoys. As I made the 2^nd turn buoy, it felt like I was swimming fast. I rarely found myself swimming alone and many times, I found myself in a crowd of other swimmers. As I was nearing the end of the first loop, I was looking forward to getting out of the water for the quick run on the sand before starting lap two. I like loop courses, especially when you can get out of the water. I don’t have any issues with cramping but some athletes need to be careful when getting out of the water (going from the swim position to upright) – Karel sometimes cramps when he gets out of the water quickly but thankfully he was ok for this race. I was surprised that all 2000+ athletes were already in the water when I started my 2^nd loop. I felt like I was swimming strong for the first loop so I wanted to keep that same effort. However, with slower swimmers in the water, I had a lot of athletes to pass. I try to be extra careful when passing slower swimmers so I did a lot more sighting on the second loop, which I think slowed me down a bit. The two turns were extremely chaotic that I had to swim far outside the buoys as I was getting caught between swimmers between the two buoys (about 25 yards apart). On the way back to the shore, I found myself thinking about the run. I know better to not jump ahead with my thoughts but with this being my 3^rd time racing on this course, I knew how much the run would hurt (physically) and I wasn’t sure if I was mentally prepared for that. I almost wanted to quit the race as I was nearing the end of the swim. But as I got out of the water, the energy of the spectators kept me going as I made the long run from Mirror Lake to the transition area. Karel was happy with his swim and how he felt in the water. It took Karel many years to feel comfortable swimming with a group as he would get a lot of panic in the open water, especially during races. 

Transition 1
Marni – 5:45
Karel – 4:35

As I was running to the transition area, I pulled down my wetsuit and started to put on my tri top. Even though I wasn’t wearing a one piece trisuit, I put on my tri top like it was a trisuit and zipped it up just to my belly button so that it stayed around my waist and when I pulled down my wetsuit, I could put my arms through the sleeves and zipped up the top. Karel did the same, although he had a trisuit on. I chose to not wear my tri top around my shoulders because it feels too restrictive with the wetsuit when I swim. Additionally, because the water was warm (75 degrees), I knew I would get warm with my effort while swimming and didn’t want the extra layer of clothing under the wetsuit.

As I entered the transition area, I grabbed my blue bike bag and ran into the changing tent. I took off my wetsuit and then opened my bag….only to realize it wasn’t my bag! I didn’t waste any negative energy on the situation but instead, just laughed at myself and ran back out and returned the bag and grabbed my correct bag. My athlete Kathleen was volunteering outside the women’s changing tent and she told me “Great job Marni, round 2!” It made me laugh. Inside the transition area, I was there with one or two other age group females and then 2 professional females (they started only 3 minutes before the age groupers and didn’t wear wetsuits due to the warm water temps – they have different wetsuit rules compared to age groupers). I took off my timing chip and put it in my mouth (to remind me to put it back on around my ankle) as I put on my compression socks. I then put on my Bont tri shoes, stuffed a bar and packet of chews in my pocket, put a baggie of Gu aminos in my shorts side pocket and then put on my helmet (with the shield up as it’s easier to put on that way, and the shield doesn’t fog right away). I then stuffed my wetsuit, cap and goggles inside the bag and carried the bag to my bike rack, I dropped the bag and grabbed my bike. I powered on my bike computer, ran my bike to the mount line and got on my bike. I saw my mom with Campy up on the grass field and she told me that I swam 57 minutes and I was 1^st in my age group. I was really happy with my swim time and I was looking forward to the bike. 

109 mile bike (short course due to construction)
Marni -5:24.34
Karel – 5:15.02

As I started the bike, I quickly noticed how much my bike skills have improved over the years. I was taking the turns very quickly and I passed a few girls in the early miles. I found myself around a few professional females and I was even passed by Heather Jackson (who placed 2^nd female pro) in the early miles of the bike. I didn’t have any time, power or metric goals for the bike but instead, just hit the lap button at key sections of the course (ex. Keene, Jay, Wilmington) as a way to keep me focused on one segment at a time. However, I rarely looked at my computer. My focus was on managing the terrain, always keeping someone in my sights and keeping up with my nutrition. I felt very warm on the bike (a lot of it was likely due to my hormones as I started my period around 15 hours after I finished the race) and found myself needing water from every aid station (I didn’t miss one) to pour water on my body to help keep me cool. I really enjoyed the bike, although it was hard. Even with the fun fast descend into Keene, there’s very little “recovery” on this bike course and you have to work for every mile. The early miles were hard (to be expected) and I consider these hills the hardest of the course. The climbs are long. After I made the turn in Keene to head toward Upper Jay, a guy rode up to me (as he was passing me) and told me that I was a great descender. That made me smile.

As I was approaching an aid station in Upper Jay, Karel rode up next to me. It was nice to see him and exchange a few words. I had grabbed a bottle of water from the aid station to use to cool myself and when I was finished, I handed it off to Karel to use to cool himself. Karel went on and passed me and I stayed a few bikers behind him for several miles. It was fun to feel like I was “racing” with him. As we made the turn in Jay to start the steady long climbs, Karel rode away and he was out of sight until the out and back in Haselton. The Haselton out and back section felt very windy and the climb back up to town was also a bit windy. Last year this section really got to me mentally so this time around, I tried to find the positives in the views and I told myself that I would ride strong in this section. Throughout the first loop, it felt a bit lonely as I never saw more than a handful of athletes around me. It was fun to see the female pros at the front of the race. The first few miles in Wilmington were rough. It felt like I was going nowhere. I knew that this section would be tough so I just focused on the beautiful sights and anytime I felt like I could make up speed, I quickly got aero and tried to use the momentum. As I got to the top of the bears, I didn’t even realize that I had climbed all three of those hills and I was nearing the quick out and back (and hot corner) before heading back into town. The first loop went by really quickly and I did a great job drinking my nutrition (all Skratch Super Fuel). I stopped at special needs and my mom and Campy were waiting there outside the special needs area. I told my mom it would be a great place to watch as I would be there stopped and she could actually talk to me. I grabbed my 1 liter bottle filled with Skratch SuperFuel to fill up my hydration system and then put another bottle in the cage between my aerobars. I had one more bottle filled in case I needed it but decided to pass on it. My stop at special needs was 46 seconds. Karel also stopped at special needs.
As I was stopped, my mom told me that I was 1^st or 2^nd female amateur and winning my age group. As I was pouring my drink in my hydration system, I started to feel a bit dizzy. I wasn’t too concerned but it did make me notice that I felt a bit off going from riding hard to suddenly stopping. Once I started riding again, the feeling went away.
The 2nd loop felt better than the first. The wind had shifted a bit and I felt like it was a little less windy. However, it got much warmer (in the upper 70’s) and it was very humid. I found myself riding around the same people throughout the entire ride. I took in a few aminos here and there throughout the entire ride, which I feel helps me stay focused and avoid some of the sleepiness that can happen in long distance events. Karel was really happy with how he biked. He went into the race with some back pain from the long drive and although he had a few signs of cramping in his inner thighs (from previous labral tears in his hips), he was able to manage everything and somewhat enjoy the ride. Karel used NeverSecond C90 and C30 to fuel and hydrate on the bike. He also took in a few bites of a Maurten bar. In total, I consumed around 2100 calories and Karel consumed around 2000 calories. Karel removed his power meter before the race as he didn’t want to get frustrated by any numbers. Plus since we didn’t ride our tri bikes much throughout the year, we didn’t really have any numbers to go by. We both prefer to go by feel so Karel felt free not having any power numbers to get in his head.
Throughout the entire 2^nd loop, I found myself with a bit of negative thinking. I was concerned about the run and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to suffer for the rest of the race. I even contemplating quitting. I tried to get myself into a good mindset but for some reason, my mind wasn’t as committed as my body throughout the race. Luckily, my body was on autopilot and it just kept going. Even though I was having a great race and performing so well, my mind was still trying to get me to quit. As I rode into town and removed my feet from my shoes, I dismounted my bike before the line, gave my bike to a volunteer and ran to my red run bag.

Transition 2
Marni – 3:37
Karel – 3:07

As I was running to my bag, I unzipped my tri top and it felt so good to remove the jersey off my upper body. After grabbing my bag (the correct one 😊 ) I made a stop in the potty to empty my bladder. I didn’t pee on the bike (neither did Karel) but I did have the urge to go in the transition area. It also felt really good to sit down. As I was peeing, I turned on my watch to the run setting (multitasking). I didn’t know my bike time as I didn’t look at my computer much throughout the race but in looking at the time of the day, I did some quick math and realized that I was doing really well. When I got into the women’s changing tent, I was the only athlete in the tent. I removed my helmet and put on my Naked running belt (bib number attached), put in my two 10-ounce flasks (filled with Never Second C3), grabbed a C30 gel (to hold in my hand – helps with my form), put on my New Balance Fuel Cell running shoes, wrapped my cooling towel around my neck and grabbed my visor and sunglasses to put on as I was leaving the tent. I immediately poured water on my neck as I was leaving the tent as it was in the 80’s and I was feeling warm.

26.2 mile run
Marni – 3:53.27
Karel – 3:25.26

Even though I felt like I was ready to quit, my body kept moving forward. And as I started the run, my legs felt pretty good. The first few miles are net downhill so that helped the legs loosen out after 12+ miles of climbing to finish off the bike (with almost 7000 feet elevation gain). The first mile was awesome because of all the spectators. But as I passed the horse grounds, it was only the aid stations that gave me a boost of energy. I found myself with an uncomfortable side stitch on my right side for a few miles so I had to work that out with breathing and pinching my side. I ended up putting the gel in my belt as I felt like holding the gel was affecting the stitch. Eventually, the stitch went away. I didn’t have a run/walk strategy for this marathon, even though in St. George I knew right away that I needed to walk every aid station starting from the first. I ended running 6 miles before I started my first walk at the aid station. It was so great to see my athletes Kathleen and Morgan at the turn around. They even had music playing for us with our own “theme” song. The aid station volunteers were amazing and I recognized a few familiar faces which brought a smile to my face. It was great to see Karel a few miles ahead after he made the turn around. Although the 8 miles on River Road are beautiful, it feels like those miles never end. I actually looked forward to the slight uphills to change up my running gait. I was sipping on my C30, grabbing ice and pouring it in my sports bra (and holding the cubes) and pouring water on me at every aid station. The cooling towel really helped as I could give it a squeeze to cool myself between the aid stations.

I had a few sips of coke around mile 8-10 which was a nice change from the C30 berry (which I absolutely love). I kept telling myself that all I have to do is run 13 miles and then I could quit. Of course, I didn’t come this far to only come this far so I knew I would quit but these were the mind games that I needed to tell myself to keep moving forward. Miles 10-13 were tough as you climb back into town but I enjoyed the hills much more so than the flatter sections. Once I got back into town, I loved all the cheers and energy I felt from the crowds. The out section by Mirror Lake was long and it seemed like the turn around never came. I loved seeing my mom on the climbs in town – as well as Campy. I even gave Campy a pat on his head when I saw him. Whenever I saw Karel, I would give him a cheer and he would give me slight smile.

The second loop was tough. I expected and feared this part. This run course is so hard and it really hurts. I could feel the deep fatigue and soreness and I was so ready for the pain to stop. But I still had 10 miles to go. I was stopping at most of the aid stations for ice/water and to reset my form. Oddly enough, I felt like I was holding good form when I was running but each step forward got more and more difficult. I got energy watching the other athletes ahead of me, especially the female pros. I was passed by the overall amateur female early on in the run but I was being told that I was winning my age group and I was 2^nd overall amateur. Oddly enough, even though I was having a great race, I still wanted to quit. The struggle was real and Karel was suffering too. We both really had to fight for each step forward on the run. Whereas some athletes can get easily distracted in an Ironman marathon and resort to walking and talking, I found myself needing to distract myself from the pain/soreness. I started the mind games on River Road. But despite all the soreness, I was still smiling. Every time I saw one of our athletes on the course, I gave them a big cheer. Although my mind was playing all types of games with me, my body was healthy and strong and it knew how to get me to the finish line. 

Ok – just run to the turn around. That is your finish line. Just 4 miles. I continued to walk the aid stations. Once I got to the turn around, I needed to go to the bathroom. I thought it was #2 but false alarm. Just needed to pee. It was hot in there and I was ready to get running again – even though it felt great to sit down. My next goal was to get out of River Road. Four miles. Get to mile 22 and then it’s all downhill from there (even though it’s all uphill from there). Miles 18-22 lasted forever. I would try to distract myself by looking at the water or out in nature but it didn’t last long until my mind went back to the pain in my legs. Ever foot strike forward made my legs throb. I wasn’t sure if my next step would be my last. Once I got to mile 22, I gave myself permission to walk the big hill by the ski slopes but it actually felt better to run/jog up the uphill. Plus, I told myself the more I run, the faster I’ll get to the finish line and I can make this hurt stop. As I got closer to town, I looked forward to the hills in town. The energy in town was incredible. I had cheers from so many people (as well as updates on my placement). My friend Nick and his fiancé told me that I was winning my age group and I could easily walk/jog it to the finish line and I was so relieved to hear this. I was barely hanging on. The last two miles were long. I needed to be extra careful during mile 24 as my body was running on empty. Once I made the turn around, I made sure to really soak in mile 25. Knowing that I wouldn’t be running another marathon off the bike anytime soon, I was so proud of myself for finishing this Ironman as it felt like every mile of the race was a mental and physical battle. Once I got inside the oval, my legs suddenly became light and free of soreness. That finish line feeling took over and I was so excited to reach my 19^th Ironman finish line as the 2^nd female amateur female and to win the 40-44 age group.

Our athlete Ruthanne caught me (and before me, Karel) at the finish and gave me my medal. I collapsed in her arms as it felt so good to take the weight off my legs. I hobbled my way to a chair and cooled myself off. The hotness I felt all day changed to cold as I warmed myself with a space blanket. I saw my mom and gave Campy a big hug and thanked them for being out there all day. Karel was in the medical tent (there was a sign outside the tent that said “Triathlon Royalty” 😊) enjoying some chicken broth as he came back to life after a very tough run. Karel was really disappointed with his run as he felt like his legs were not cooperating. He wore his Asics (and not Nike) so maybe it was the shoes – or just not his day. Regardless, he was 2^nd in his age group and 13^th male amateur. He was proud of effort and relieved to have reached that finish line. It was interesting that we both had such a tough run but we both fought hard to get to that finish line. I ate like a champ after the race – 4 pieces of pizza, chocolate milk, sprite and French fries.

Karel went back to the house to shower and I got my bike and bags and went back to the house to shower. Aside from some chaffing in my armpit area from running, it felt so good to get clean after 10 hours of racing. After we changed, we walked back to the venue and spent the next 5+ hours on the course, cheering on our athletes. We watched all our athletes finish and had so much fun cheering on everyone. It was so inspiring to see all the athletes fighting through their own battles to get to the finish line.

After a somewhat ok night of sleep (besides the soreness), we went to the awards ceremony at 9am the next morning. We were shocked to have received 5^th place for the TriClub award. Karel and I both received slots for the IM World Championship but we turned down our slots and let them roll down. We stayed for the roll down ceremony and it was so wonderful to see our slots get taken by other deserving athletes. We have so many great memories from Kona from our combined 9 times racing on that island and we are so happy that others can enjoy that historic race.

Thank you for the cheers, pictures, support and encouragement. We really needed the positive energy during the race – thank you thank you!

Next up……Europe to visit Karel's family, race Xterra Czech and finish off our trip with the 7-day Haute Route Alps!

2022 IMLP Race Recap - Pre-Race

On Tuesday morning, we left around 7:30am to start our long 15+ hour drive to Lake Placid, NY. My mom and her partner Alan left around the same time and we kept in touch via text/phone throughout the drive. Our goal was to drive as far as we could and then stay the night in a hotel.
The drive on day one went pretty smoothly. We didn’t encounter any traffic and only a little bit of rain. We were entertained by listening/watching the Tour de France on my phone (Peacock) for 5+ hours. I packed a cooler and two bags of food so we didn’t have to make any stops for food. We brought two frozen dinners to “cook” in the microwave at the hotel (I had a veg and grain bowl). I drove for around 3 hours and Karel drove the rest of the way. It was great having Campy with us as he’s a great travel partner (he mostly sleeps). This was Campy’s 3rd time to Lake Placid and we were excited to add more memories to his 14.5 years of life.

Around 7:30pm, we stopped driving for the day and spent the night at Embassy Suites in Parsippany NJ. The next morning, we had a good breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road for the last 4.5 hours of driving. Karel drove the entire way while I ordered ~$500 worth of groceries on Instacart for our team house. We stayed in the same house as last year (on Elm Street, ~.5 mile from the race venue) and we shared the house with 14 other people (it was a big house!). The last 45 minutes of the drive brought back a lot of memories from our last 4 trips to Placid. We still find ourselves loving the nature during the drive from Keene into the village of Lake Placid and always wowing at the Ski Jumps when we start to get close to town.

We arrived to the house around 12:30pm and the groceries were delivered just as we pulled in. Thankfully we had a big kitchen and two fridges! The athletes started to trickle in over the next few hours. It was great to see everyone as we had a packed house of spectators and athletes racing.

After we unloaded, Karel and I got on our bikes to shake out our legs from 15+ hours in the car. We rode for around 2 hours (38 miles) - down to Wilmington and then did the Haselton out and back and then back up into town. It felt great to smell the fresh air and pine trees and the views reminded us why we love this place. When we got back, my mom and Alan went for a bike ride around the lake and down to River Road and then back up the “bears.” Several of our athletes went for a jog when they arrived, and a few went for a bike ride to shake out the travel.

I made a big dinner for everyone (rice, salad, tofu, hardboiled eggs) and around 9pm we were ready for bed. Campy slept great.

On Thursday, we woke up around 6:00am and Karel slept in until around 7:00am. The weather was unusually warm for Lake Placid, which was different from the past years when we would bundle up and sit outside in the morning. We walked down to the swim start around 7:45am and met up with a few more of our athletes (we had 13 athletes racing). It was so great to be back at Mirror Lake. With flat conditions (no boats), mountain views and a cable running the length of the rectangle swim course (1.2 miles), this is one of my favorite swimming venues. The water was a bit warm this year (74-75) and it felt a bit warm in our wetsuits, especially swimming at 8am. We swam a loop of the course (29 minutes) and then headed to Bluesberry Bakery for the most delicious bakery goods. For the swim, I swam easy going out and then Karel and I waited for our athletes to get to the 2nd turn buoy and then we all swam back to shore by including a few fast strokes and then easy (ex. 10/20/30 strokes fast, then back down w/ easy between).

After we had a quick bite to eat, Karel and I started our ride with our athletes. We had our athletes ride down to Wilmington and back up and Karel and I rode with them to River Road and then we turned on River road (run course) and then headed out on the bike course by the Ski Jumps and did the start of the bike, out and back section and then to the last climb before starting the descend to Keene. We then headed back the way we came out. We tried to avoid downtown on our bikes due to the construction in town. We rode around 30 miles and then I did a 25 min run off the bike around the lake. This was a big day of training to help wake up the body for the race. We had a nice dinner (sweet potatoes, veg, chicken, tofu, salad) and watched TdF on TV.

On Friday morning, it was back to the lake for another swim. My mom took Campy for a 3 mile walk in the morning. Campy was having a great time with everyone and he was on his best behavior. For this swim, I pushed it a bit more to see what it felt like to be uncomfortable in the water to gauge how I wanted to feel for the race. I swam the loop in 28 minutes which felt uncomfortable but doable to hold that effort for 2 loops. After the swim, we had another stop at the bakery and then I went for a 22 minute run around the lake. Our athletes biked the run course. Karel went for a 38 minute run (almost 5 miles).

Friday was pretty chill. We drove to the Horse Grounds to check in for the race and got caught in a downpour. This was the typical mountain weather that we experienced on Thursday – random short showers. Thankfully we were under the tent when the downpour happened and then the sun came out. After we checked in, we went over to the athlete village to get our gear bags and then I did an interview for Ironman Tri Club as this was the TriClub North American Championship. We also received small bottles of maple syrup as tri club members – yum!

In the afternoon, I laid out my gear on my gear bags in the garage and then around 5:15pm, I took Campy for a walk around town. I met up with Kathleen and Morgan who were picking up my pizza order from Bazzi’s for our team party around 5:45pm and got a ride back with 11 delicious smelling pizzas in the car. We had all our athletes and spectators/friends/family over for our traditional pre-race pizza party and then a pre-race motivational chat and group pic. We went to bed around 9pm and tried to sleep in as late as possible. I made it to 6am, Karel slept in until 7:30am.

It was really nice having Campy with us as it kept me on a routine. Plus, he makes me so happy and I love his cuteness.

With one more sleep until race day, the focus on Saturday was to carb-load, shake the body out, and rest. However, Karel spent most of Friday and Saturday working on athlete bikes, including putting on new Tubeless tires on my bike as well as tubeless tires on another athletes bike. He was on his feet a lot.

For food on Saturday, I consumed:
-Bagel w/ PB and yogurt before a 80 min spin w/ a few short hard efforts on River Road followed by a 8 min run. Skratch during the ride and run.
-Glass of milk and 3 pieces French toast, yogurt, bananas, butter, brown sugar and granola.
-Bagel w/ butter.
-Pringles and pretzels.
-Yogurt w/ blueberries and granola.
-Amy’s No chicken chicken noodle soup (with pasta added).
-3 small sweet potatoes and tofu.
-2 brown sugar poptarts (an hour before bed).

We packed up our gear bags and rode down to the oval (transition area) around 12:30pm to check in our bikes and gear bags. With one of the coolest Ironman transition areas (and finish lines) in the Olympic Oval, I found myself nervous and excited to race. We walked back home and laid in bed (and ate) the rest of the day. We watched the PTO women’s race from Edmonton which got us excited to race on Sunday. We went to sleep around 7pm and as usual, it was a somewhat restless night of sleep before the 3:45am alarm. Campy, however, had a fantastic night of sleep!

Race Morning
After waking up at 3:45am, I had a cup of instant coffee and had my typical cinnamon raisin bagel w/ peanut butter, banana, granola and syrup. I had a little yogurt on the side and a glass of water. After eating (which felt like it took forever), I put on my race outfit, did some foam rolling and went for a short jog up and down the street to get the systems going. I was expecting to get my period on race morning but thankfully it held off until Monday (as soon as I woke up the morning after the race). Karel had his typical oatmeal concoction and espresso from his espresso travel machine.
I gave Campy a big kiss and said good-bye to my mom. When she spectates, she has a piece of paper with our predicted times (give or take a few minutes) as well as my suggestions for where to stand for each portion of the race. We left the house around 4:50am and walked to the Oval.

I felt very nervous. Even after 18 Ironmans, I know that the Ironman is a long day and it requires so much mental energy. Plus, having raced her twice before (and just last year), I knew how much this race would hurt. In my opinion, this is one of the hardest race courses (bike and run) as you have to work for every movement forward. There’s very little “free speed” to rest or make up time on the course. Plus, with it being warmer (in the mid 80’s for a high on race day) and no rain predicted on race day, alongside the wind, this race course is very challenging. The good thing is that I was sharing this course with our athletes and we were all racked next to one another. I felt a lot of good energy from them. Plus, we had 5 of our athletes volunteering on the course, which was awesome to see them throughout the day.

After putting our frozen flasks in our run bags and then our nutrition on our bike (fluids), Karel pumped up our tires with his electric pump and then we walked to the swim start. We needed to go to the bathroom again but with the lines being long, around 5:30am Karel and I decided to jog back to the house to use the restroom – which meant one more kiss for campy. We then jogged back just before 6am. For some reason the morning clothes bags were left by our bike and run bags but thankfully, our athletes who were not racing held on to our morning clothes bags so we didn’t have to walk back and forth after changing into our wetsuits.

After putting on our wetsuits, we went into the water for a warm-up swim. It felt good to be in the water (75 degrees, air temp was upper 60’s) to shake out some of the pre-race nerves. I found myself in a really weird mental space as I wasn’t overly excited to race. I think I was most nervous for how much  this race would hurt physically and I wasn’t sure if I was prepared to suffer. I was most worried about the marathon as I knew how hard it would be.  I found myself feeling waves of emotions as I stood in the corral before the start. I knew this was my last Ironman for a while which made me want to put together a good race but I couldn’t shake the feeling of how much the run would hurt. I found Karel in the sub 60 area near the front of the swim corral and I told him that I was nervous. He told me I have nothing to be nervous about and that I would have a great day. After the pros went off at 6:25 and 6:27, it was time for the age groupers to start rolling in at 6:30am. Shortly after the race start, I lined up just ahead of Karel and with the sound of the beep, I ran into the water to start my 19^th Ironman.  

Ironman Lake Placid - quick recap

Karel is a "make no excuses, make things happen" kind of guy. He has carried this motto through his life and this mindset has helped him overcome so much in sport.

Karel is not one to make excuses, complain or blame others when things don't go his way. Regardless of the situation or circumstances, he doesn't spend much energy on things out of his control, he always keeps an open mind and he will be the first to tell you that he will take responsibility for his choices and owns-up to his decisions. He also admits that he is not perfect and he does make mistakes.

As it relates to sport, he competes for himself because he loves competition. He's not afraid to fail and he doesn't worry about what other people think of him.

Excuses are a way to avoid failure. Karel doesn't dwell on the past or think "what if" but instead, he looks for the opportunity, the possibility or the chance that things go well, even when he's not destined to succeed.

Karel is a no drama, no excuses, make things happen kind of guy and his Ironman Lake Placid performance demonstrated just that. 

On July 10th, just 10 days out from race day, Karel came home from an easy spin and within an hour, he felt sick. The feeling turned into chills and sweating and suddenly he was in bed, with a fever. Although he did not have any above the neck issues (sore throat, coughing, runny nose), his body completely shut down for 48+ hours. Karel spent all of Tues and Wednesday in bed, struggling to eat, move or expend any amount of energy. Ironman Lake Placid was not longer a focus but instead, Karel was trying to beat the flu. He didn't complain but instead, he admitted that his immune system was down after his last load of training and he must have caught something. After 6 years of not getting sick, Karel was suffering.

But, he didn't expend energy on what was out of his control and instead, he just focused on letting his body take care of the healing process. Since we are not "quick-fix" type of athletes, we let his body naturally take care of things without rushing to the doctor (or store) for medication. Karel made his mom's garlic and potato soup that is known to help with healing, I kept Karel well hydrated and nourished with fruit, water, orange juice, applesauce and anything else that he could tolerate that would provide him with nutrients and he just slept until he felt 80%. On Thursday, he was feeling about 80% (he could think and move a bit more normal) but he knew his body was still struggling. For the next 2 days, Karel managed to exercise for about 30 minutes each day by spinning easy on his bike. On Saturday and Sunday, Karel was able to do a modified workout each day but at a very low intensity to not stress his cardiac system. With his muscles fatigued from the final training load, he never recovered from his peak training and the flu completely destroyed his immune system.

But still, Karel didn't complain.

Since Karel competed in Lake Placid for his first Ironman in 2013, he has always wanted to come back and race with his improved swim/bike/run fitness. As you know, in 2015, he tore his plantar two months before the race so he was not able to finish the race after the bike. With this being Karel's comeback race to prove to himself that he could race strong on this very tough course, under these new circumstances of going into his 8th IM with compromised health, he knew that he would need to be very careful with his pre-race training to not sabotage his health but at the same time, the priority to protect his health also left him with a lot of uncertainties of race day.

Before the race, I told Karel that he could only do his best and that's all that we could ask for. I also told him that even on a not-so-good day, it could still be good enough to be on the podium. You never know what will happen on race day and that's what we love about the Ironman distance. You simply never know what will happen until you cross that finish line and look back on all that you were able to accomplish and overcome.

Karel suffered on race day. Even with a huge PR in the swim, he was not able to produce any power in his legs and that empty-leg feeling left him with a bike time that he was far from proud of for the day. He didn't let his ego get the best of him as his competition was riding by him on the bike course as if he was pedaling backwards. Nonetheless, he still focused on being in the moment, taking care of what he could control (his attitude, his terrain management, his nutrition) and just taking the race mile by mile. He didn't think negative thoughts or throw in the towel but he just kept moving forward. When he got to the run (typically his favorite part of an Ironman), he didn't race with his usual running confidence but instead, he raced not knowing how his body would be able to run a marathon on empty legs.

I don't know how he did it but Karel was able to run with empty legs, a numb body, screaming quads and a body that wanted to lay down in the grass and not move for hours. He moved one leg in front of the other, walked at times to try to collect himself and with each mile clicking away on this extremely tough run course, he was never sure when his next step would be his last step.

The Ironman brings highs and lows and for Karel, his day started out with a high in the swim but for the next 8+ hours, he was able to conquer the demons in his head (telling him to quit) and managed to get to the finish line. While it wasn't the race that Karel trained and hoped for, it was more than he thought he could accomplish, under the circumstances that he was given going into the race.

Karel's no excuses, make things happen attitude clearly works for him. I don't know many people (including myself) who can face defeat, setbacks and failures, like Karel, and can still think that anything is possible.

Although Karel's race performance landed him in the medical tent (for the first time in an Ironman) for a good 60+ minutes due to complete exhaustion and being a bit delirious at the finish (no dehydration or IV's needed), shortly followed by Karel telling me that this was the hardest race that he has ever fought for and he doesn't think he can do another Ironman ever again (we all know how long that thought stays for), he was still able to put together the best race that he could, on the day, which landed him on the podium, with a slot to Kona.

Karel declined his slot to Kona for this year as he will be racing Ironman Chattanooga in late September and hopes to qualify for the 2018 Ironman World Championship.

There was no pita-party for Karel after the race. No excuses. No what-if's. No complaints.

Although this wasn't the race that Karel trained for, he reframed every obstacle in his way with a positive mind and conquered much more than he thought was possible by his body. Clearly, his mind was stronger than his body on race day and this helped him prevail on a very challenging course, on a very physically tough day.

Karel's Ironman race day was truly about digging deep. Digging deeper than he has ever dug before.
In a few days, Karel will forget how bad this race hurt his body and once he recovers from this Ironman (which will take a bit longer than in the past), I have no doubt that he will be mentally and physically ready to do it all over again in 8 weeks.

When it comes to being an athlete and performing with your body, the most important indicator of how well (or not well) your day will go is how well (or not well) you mentally respond to the difficulties that come your way.

Although it's normal to be disappointed in a race that didn't go as planned, remember that every race is a learning experience. With a "no excuses, make things happen" mindset, you may not only accomplish more than you thought was possible but you will likely learn far more from the bad races, than from the great ones, when everything seemed to easily go well. And it is from those very tough, how in the heck did I finish races that you will gain the necessary tools and confidence to one day, conquer your athletic dreams and make great use of all that you have learned in your many years of training and racing.

The only day that matters is race day

Over the past few days, I have been surrounded by many inspiring Ironman athletes who are counting down the days until it is time to put all that hard work to good use (one more sleep left!). Although I am out there swimming, biking and running alongside hundreds of other athletes, my intentions with each workout are very different than the athletes who sport a blue wrist band.

As Karel sharpens up his body to race 140.6 miles on Sunday, I have been training my body to adapt to intentional training stressors. Karel has done the work for his race day and I am (still) putting in the work for my upcoming races. We each wake up with a workout on our training plan but with different mindset as to how the day will go and what we need to accomplish. Whereas I have great flexibility in my training and I don't have to read too much into my body signals, Karel, on the other hand, has to be very in-tune with his body signals so that he can perform his best on race day.

The Ironman athletes who will be racing on Sunday can now think back to all the training sessions that helped to physically and mentally prepare the body and mind for race day. The preparation is done and now the only day that really matters, is finally here. All the hard work is in the past and the only day that matters is the present moment.

I think most athletes can agree that training is fun. Although the early alarms and busy schedules can make training exhausting, preparing for a race is not as nerve-wracking as race day. Nobody is watching you, it's easy to give-in when it hurts and it's fun to push boundaries when there's no finish line to chase and you can always modify the workout/course when you want to change things up.

But not on race day.
Race day is the day that really matters. 
Race day requires you to believe in your abilities. To trust your training/preparation and to know that you can handle anything that comes your way.

Self-awareness and being in the moment will allow you to avoid and to overcome obstacles that will occur on race day.

Just like in training, race day requires a high level of motivation. You must never stop caring about your performance, from start to finish. Keep your focus on yourself and don't be disrupted by distractions, like the race pace of another athlete. There's no need to compare yourself to anyone else or say "I'm too slow" or "I'm having such a bad race." Hopefully you learned in training that you can never ever judge an outcome from a current moment situation.

Understand that your race will likely not go as planned so be prepared for the unexpected and the unfamiliar.

Race day is going to hurt and you probably won't feel great throughout the entire race. There will be high moments and there will be lots of low moments. Understand that you don't have to feel great all day to have a great race performance. Thoughts are not actions.


Stick to what worked in training and don't overthink race day pacing or nutrition. Your training prepared you for race day so please don't try anything new on race day. Go into the race with confidence by doing what worked in training.

Bring a positive attitude to your race and keep it high all day long. Your mind will wander, it will bring in negative thoughts like "you can't do this, walking would be so much easier than running, this hurts too much to continue" but you must catch and quiet these thoughts before they become so strong that you can't ignore them. Let your mind work with your body.

The work is done and it's now time to race!
Don't give up until you reach that finish line!

Staying busy in Lake Placid

Now that we are all settled in and we have made Lake Placid our home away from home until Tuesday, it's time to look back on the past 48 hours as we have been very busy! 

My train-cation started on Wednesday morning with a 1.2 mile swim in beautiful Mirror Lake. Oh do I love swimming in this lake. With an underwater cable to keep me on course, floating small buoys to break up the swim and lots to look at in the lake, I am reminded of how much I love open water swimming when I swim in this lake. After my swim, I walked back to our house (1/2 mile away) and got myself ready for my second workout of the day - a 75- minute interval run. 

Although I got a little warm during my run, it was nothing compared to the heat that I have been training in in Greenville. Plus, the dry air was so welcoming. I was running happy, despite working hard with my body.

WU: 20 minutes on the start of the IM run course
MS: 6 x 6 minutes as (#1-2 build by 2 min to strong. #3-4 2 min EZ, 4 min strong. #5-6 strong) w/ 30 sec rest in between. 

Steady effort back home

I just love this part of the IM run course (River road) as you are running by farms, which eventually turn into a flowing river and plenty of mountain views. 

The roads were semi quiet, with only a few Ironman athletes out training, so it was nice to enjoy nature while working hard during my main set. 

As I was finishing my run, Karel headed off for a 3- hour ride (joined by his friend from Czech for 1/2 of the ride) so that he could get out on the course and wake up his legs. While Karel was gone, I got some work done on the computer, while hanging out with still-exhausted Campy. 

Later in the afternoon, as Karel was resting and watching the Tour de France on the NBC Sport Gold app, I headed out for an endurance 2 hour ride. It was nice to spin my legs and to not have to focus on structure in a workout. 

So happy riding here in Lake Placid! 

I rode out to the new out and back section on the bike course and although it is a short section, it is so historic! I rode by the Olympic biathlon and bobsleeding courses - so cool! The athletes are in for a treat! 

You can see the Olympic ski jumps in the far distance. 

After my ride, I grabbed a recovery drink (Clif protein) and Campy and I walked with Karel to Mirror Lake so that Karel could swim a loop of the course. We bumped into Trimarni athletes Adam and Ariel (Adam is the host of the Intelligent Racer Podcast - check it out!) and it was nice to see the town becoming more crowded with triathletes. 

With so much fueling/refueling and snacking between workouts, I was looking forward to a refreshing dinner so I made lettuce wraps stuffed with rice, crumbled cooked tempeh and provolone cheese. Around 9pm, it was time for bed and it was a great night of sleep to conclude our first official day in Lake Placid. 

Thursday morning started with another swim at the Lake - not complaining, I love open water swimming at Mirror Lake! But this time, I was joined by Karel and we both swam together for 1 loop of the swim course (1.2 miles). We started out smooth and comfortable on the way out, swimming side by side and then after passing the two turn buoys (~25 yards apart), we picked it up - swimming from one buoy to the next as strong and then smooth. It was nice to have the big buoys on the course as we used those as our markers for when we would pick up the effort. Karel has improved his swimming so much over the years and it was nice to be able to clock 29 minutes with him by my side for a semi-comfortable 1.2 mile swim. 

Karel has been a great guide and translator for his friend Roman who is from Prague. This is Roman's first time to the US (and first time racing in the US) and Karel is enjoying speaking so much Czech (his native language) here in Placid. Although, I think his brain is a little tired because he often forgets to switch from Czech to English when he talks to me right after having a conversation with Roman. 

After the swim, we walked back to our house and I got ready for my ride. I snacked on a Clif Mojo PB bar as I started my ride as the first 20 minutes or so was very easy before settling into a rhythm down to Wilmington. I reversed the IM bike course and ended up in the town of Jay, where I started my main set of intervals. It was fun to be on the IM Lake Placid course and to reflect on my first time racing here in 2013 with Karel (our first IM together). We were living in FL and I thought the Placid hills were so hard! Although our Greenville training has strengthened our legs, the wind was a bit exhausting today on my ride - and you can never beat the wind, no matter how hard you try. At least the views were pretty! 

I didn't have much time (or energy) to take a lot of pictures so I took a lot of mental pictures as I was enjoying my time on two wheels.

MS:
6 x 8 minutes build to strong w/ 2 min EZ spin in between (In Jay, toward Keen and back)
20 min recovery/smooth
30 min strong (starting from Wilmington)

The wind was straight in my face for my first 3 intervals but I managed to stay focused and to remind myself how lucky I am to be able to do what I can do with my body. 

It's been good for me to have my own training to focus on so that Karel can spend the time that he needs to focus on himself, without me being in his way. I know there are times when he just wants to be alone so it's been nice to have our own time to do what we both need to do here in Placid.

When I returned back from my ride, I was exhausted and just crashed on the couch with my recovery partner Campy. Karel was getting ready for a 20 minute shake out run so it was nice to have a quick chat with him before he headed out for his run. 

Around 2:30pm, we walked up to the lake and met up with our small group of Trimarnis who are racing at Lake Placid (Chris, Adam and Heidi. Also Chris's fiance Michaela is racing her first IM here in Placid) and we gave them a course talk and last minute tips for race execution. Our athletes are very prepared and we are excited to cheer for them on race day.

After our talk, Karel headed over to registration to make his Ironman Lake Placid athlete status official (with a wrist band) and I walked through the expo to say hi to a few familiar faces at the HOT SHOT and Ventum booth. It was also great to see Clif Bar in the expo.

When Karel returned home, I was prepping some food for dinner (roasted potatoes with garlic, salt and olive oil) and he got ready for an EZ 1 hour spin with Roman. As you can tell, Karel has been keeping himself moving with a good amount of resting, just to make sure he doesn't get too stale for race day.

The past two days have been great and we are just loving our time in Lake Placid. The weather has been amazing but it's expected to cool off over the next few days, which should be a great thing for all the athletes who are training/racing here in Lake Placid.

Hello from Lake Placid, NY!

After over 1000 miles of driving, we finally made it to Lake Placid, NY. Although it was a looooong drive, divided into two days (7.5 hours of driving on Monday and 9 hours of driving on Tuesday), it all felt worth it when we arrived to our final destination. 

With Campy's 10th birthday approaching in September, we wanted to share this experience with him. As he gets older, we look forward to any and all opportunities to make memories together as a family. Campy is our furry child and he has a special way of keeping us stress-free, calm and appreciative of all the little things in life. Plus, he gives us non-stop unconditional love. 

It wasn't long into our road trip on Monday that we made a stop at the Flat Rock Village Bakery. Since we only end up at this bakery mid-long-ride (and jersey pockets not big enough for a mega cinnamon roll or a loaf of bread), we took advantage of this opportunity to stock up on some fresh local bread for the first leg of our trip. 

Campy was so excited for his road trip that he didn't nap for the entire day on Monday! He was so interested in all the sights and with no idea of where we were going, he was very alert throughout the entire trip. He's a great partner in the car and never complains or asks "are we there yet?"

After spending the entire day in the car, it was around 5:15pm when we finally arrived to our overnight stay, with our friends Katie and Chris Morales in Cross Junction, Virginia. 

Campy needed to stretch his paws so as Karel took a dip in the lake for a 35 min swim, Campy and I walked around the local lake. 

We then enjoyed a delish homecooked (vegetarian) meal of pasta noodles, squash, chickpeas and goat cheese. Oh so good! And a salad on the side. 

With a longer leg of our trip on Tuesday, we headed out around 6:30am after waking up without an alarm around 5:30am. Campy was exhausted from not napping on Monday so he slept throughout the entire trip. Just like on Monday, Karel and I switched off driving, a few hours at a time for each of us, while being entertained by lots of podcasts. 

We made really good time, with only one minor construction delay and arrived to Lake Placid around 4:15pm. 

I brought a lot of snacks and food in a cooler but we also made one lunch stop at Moe's for a delish meal. The views were beautiful in route to Lake Placid with the mountains views and green trees covering the hills.

After we arrived to our Airbnb, right on the run course (about 1/2 mile from the expo/lake/finish), we unpacked and Karel went for an hour shake-out run and I walked Campy to Mirror Lake. As Karel ate and relaxed, I headed out to the grocery (Hannaford Supermarket) to stock up on some refrigerated food for our stay.

We were all pretty exhausted when we arrived to Lake Placid (traveling is exhausting!) so it was early to bed, around 8:45pm when we all laid down to get a good night of sleep.

As Karel gets himself into "race mode" for his 8th Ironman, I am excited for my train-cation over the next few days as I will be doing a lot of training in prep for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship (and Lake Logan half) which is quickly approaching.

I am mindful that this trip is all about Karel so I am doing everything I can to make sure that he can get himself in the zone and I can't wait to cheer him on, as well as Trimarni athletes Heidi, Chris and Adam and nutrition athlete Christine, and all the other IM Lake Placid athletes. 

Off to Ironman Lake Placid - time to reflect

It was only four years ago when Karel and I made the trip up to Lake Placid for the 2013 Ironman. Not only was this an amazing opportunity to make memories together in a new location but this was Karel's very first Ironman! Although I never take an Ironman start for granted, I couldn't believe that I would be sharing a 140.6 mile race course with Karel for my 6th Ironman. I was so use to seeing Karel on the sidelines that it was a little strange, exciting and special to see Karel on the race course. 

When we arrived to Lake Placid, we were in awe of the mountain views. The scenery was breathtaking and we felt so lucky that we could race in such a beautiful venue while soaking in all of the nature around us. Lake Placid was the last place that we both visited before we decided to move to Greenville, SC. After returning home from IM Lake Placid in 2013, it was only 6 months later that we decided to make the scary but exciting decision to leave the beach scene and familiarity of Jacksonville, FL and move to the mountains as we craved a bike friendly playground to maintain our active lifestyle and a fresh start to grow the Trimarni business. 

Crossing an Ironman finish line is always an emotional and exhilarating feeling, but knowing that I was sharing the entire race experience with Karel was extremely special. For the first time, I was able to share my race stories with Karel and he could share his experiences with me. It was so fun to talk about those inside details with each other - and walk a little funny together after the race. 

Although I went into the race with limited running due to another setback with my hips/back and we both had our challenges during the race, it was a great race experience to share together and it made me realize how much I love racing the Ironman distance. 

After the awards ceremony, I received a roll down slot to my 3rd Ironman World Championship just 12 weeks later. Although Karel was not able to come to Kona with me due to work (GM of the Jacksonville Trek Store), I was able to share the special experience with my dear friend Dr. G. 

Although I was celebrating my 7th Ironman without Karel, I was extremely proud of my body for racing so well (IM PR) just 3 months after Ironman Lake Placid. Somehow, Lake Placid taught me a lot about myself and since then, I have not been seriously injured and have experienced huge improvements in my fitness and racing performances.

Although our 2013 Ironman Lake Placid experience left us with happy memories, inside, Karel and I were both dealing with the news that my dad had stage IV cancer. A few weeks before our trip, my dad was in the hospital due to having major surgery on his spine. He was given little chance of walking again and a poor prognosis of making a full recovery from his cancer. 

My training was severely affected because mentally, it was hard for me to be in the zone during a workout. I couldn't clear my head and I wanted to be with my dad, in the hospital, as much as possible. It was extremely hard to wake up each morning, questioning how much longer my dad would be with us. But my dad's strength was contagious. I've always admired his positive attitude and his ability to live life to the fullest every day of his life and even during his cancer diagnosis, he still stayed positive. He was so excited for Karel to tackle his first Ironman and he was so proud of us to both for being able to do amazing things with our body, while celebrating our good health. After cancer took my dad's life after a hard 10-month fight, I learned that good health is a gift and we should never ever take it for granted. When an opportunity arises to do something amazing with your body, take it! 

It was then 2 years later, in 2015, when we returned back to Ironman Lake Placid with a few of our Trimarni athletes (Joe, Mike, Adam and Heidi). This was an extremely special experience to share Lake Placid with our athletes and to give Karel another opportunity to race on one of his favorite race courses. 

Sadly, things didn't go as planned leading up to the race. Near the end of May, Karel tore his plantar fascia after two super strong performances that gave him a lot of confidence with his fitness. He didn't get the diagnosis of the severity of the injury until he had a MRI just 24 hours before we left for IM Lake Placid. With this being Karel's first injury, he had a really hard time accepting that he would not be able to do the run at Ironman Lake Placid. This left Karel with a ton of emotions going into the race, including a lot of frustration. But knowing that he had his first Ironman World Championship just 12 weeks later, he made the hard but smart decision of pulling out of the race after the bike. 

After his race was over and he turned in his chip, he joined me out on the course to cheer for the rest of our Trimarni athletes. Although Karel was disappointed with how his second Ironman Lake Placid experience went down, it was a special experience to see our athletes cross the finish line. Although Karel's injury was very slow to heal (11 months), not running on it ensured that he wouldn't do any further damage.  

Karel's foot injury was tough to handle but we noticed that Campy was experiencing seizures more frequently while in Lake Placid. This was very scary. As soon as we returned home, we had to attend to Campy's health with several vet appointments to figure out what was going on with Campy's brain. Finally, we were able to control his seizures with medication and since then, he hasn't had a seizure. 

Admittedly, my head was not in a good place in the summer of 2015 with so much going on in our life over the past year. Despite Karel and I sharing our first Ironman World Championship experience together (and my 4th IMKona), I couldn't get my mind off Karel's foot, wondering what would happen to him on race day and still grieving over the loss of my dad. 

We both finished the race but I was very disappointed with my performance as my body and mind were not in a good place on race day. After IM Kona 2015, I decided that I would take a break from IMKona and just focus on training and racing without putting any pressure on myself to re-qualify. Since then, I have experienced huge improvements with my fitness and have maintained great health. I've also noticed an improved joy with training and racing. 

Thankfully, Karel's foot was ok for the run (picture from IM Kona 2016) and although he had a few niggles for the next few months, his foot finally healed about 11-months after the tear and he went on to achieve great results in 2016 - which happened to be his best season of triathlon racing at the age of 40! Karel completed 3 Ironmans within 4 months and ran all three marathons off the bike under 3:10! 

As we gear up for our 3rd trip up to Lake Placid today, it was important to reflect on all of the lessons that we have learned since our first IM in Lake Placid. Through the highs and lows of training and racing, we have learned a lot. 

-You can never predict the future. No matter how good or bad your training goes before a race, you never know what race day will bring you. Don't waste your energy trying to make assumptions or plan for what is out of your control. Be in the now. 

-Never wait for the right time to start or do something with your body. Life is too short to wait for the perfect moment. If you wait too long, your moment may never come.

-Make time out of your busy life to slow down and make memories.

-You deserve to be happy - in life, with your career and in your relationships. Don't let people steal your energy or make you feel less of yourself. 

-Work to live, don't live to work.

-When you think that things can't be any worse, there's something better coming your way.

-Slow down. Life rushes by fast. Always take note of the special/happy moments in your life.

-Tell the people in your life that you care about, that you love them.

-Some things in life will just not make sense. Accept that there is not always a reason for everything that happens to you in life.

-Money doesn't buy happiness. Use your money to provide you with life changing experiences.

-There's something special about being in nature. It just feels right.

The power in.....

It was just over 3 years when I crossed my 6th Ironman finish line in Lake Placid. Although every Ironman finish is worth celebrating, this one was extra special as it was the very first time that I raced for 140.6 miles with Karel on the course with me, and not on the sidelines cheering for me.
It was so much fun for us to share our race day stories with each other after the race. For the first time in 6 Ironmans, Karel actually understood all the emotions and feelings that happen during (and after) and Ironman.

2013 Ironman Lake Placid was a special race for many reasons but in looking back on the day when I told myself that "I gave my best effort ever", in order to qualify for my 3rd Ironman World Championship (just 10 weeks later), this picture below shows me how far I have come in just 3 years. 

Karel on the left, me on the right. 

This picture popped up on my memory feed on Facebook last week and the first thing that caught my eye was Karel's time.
I remember after the race in 2013, in the evening, I told Karel how incredible it was that he almost broke 10 hours in his first Ironman.
In my mind, covering 140.6 miles in the low ten hours was something that I never considered possible for my body and the thought of my husband doing it was insane.

But then it dawned on me.....holy cow, I was 6 minutes away from breaking 10 hours at 2016 Ironman Austria!?!?
And Karel was just 13 minutes away from breaking 9 hours at IM Austria!

 

Five Ironman finishes later after Ironman Lake Placid in 2013, I am now a 11x Ironman Ironman finisher, including 2 more Ironman World Championship finishes (4 total) and I have a 10:06.54 Ironman PR.... which still blows my mind that my body could race that fast,, for so long.
Thank you body!

As an athlete, I feel it's important to never limit your potential as an athlete and to always believe that there is room for improvement.

If your sport ignites your emotions, fuels your motivation and keeps you hungry for improvements, there's no doubt that a breakthrough performance is coming your way.
You just have to believe it will come but you can't chase times, look for shortcuts or rush the process.

When you think about progress, it's not just the major breakthroughs that you should be wishing for but instead, focus on the small improvements that are necessary components in your personal athletic journey.

While you may be hoping for big gains in fitness so that you can get faster on race day, small steps in your development are important milestones and many times, they don't show as improvements in times (ex. faster times, paces, higher watts, etc.) but rather, it's something within you that makes you believe that you are improving.

It's far too easy to only be happy when you see a faster time but if you are constantly expecting too much, too quickly, you may find yourself not enjoying your personal journey and consequently, sabotaging a potentially great race day performance.

Every athlete is going to have setbacks and losses and many times, you are not going to see a faster time, despite making a lot of forward progress. But remember that it's the steps forward that accumulate over time, which help you become a smarter, wiser, stronger and perhaps even faster, overall athletically fit and prepared athlete.

I realize that every athlete is different in terms of fitness background, support from others, athletic goals, motivation, mental strength and work ethic, but I believe that to be a faster athlete, simply training with the mentality to get faster, is not a wise approach.
Many times this backfires with burnout, sickness and injuries.

I've accomplished a lot in the sport of triathlon with several best time performances, much of which I never thought was possible by my body, without training longer, training harder, chasing times, abiding by a specific diet/fueling trend or focusing on specific times, watts or paces.

Instead, I have directed a lot of my energy into training smart and putting a lot of my trust into the power in the following, which ultimately, has helped me take my fitness to that next level.

It only took 10 years but at 34 years old, I feel healthier, stronger, fitter, more energized and more resilient than ever before. 

The power in......

Using food for fuel
Using food for nourishment
Having a great relationship with food
Staying in great hormonal health
Committing to training
Stay present during workouts
Always warming up
Daily mobility work
Not skiping steps
Training and racing without expectations
Setting goals
Racing with a resilient body
Reaching out to professionals for help
Not being stubborn
Being flexible
Not giving up
Not wasting energy on what other athletes/pros are doing
Not being a trend follower
No excuses
Staying accountable
Foundation training
Training smarter
Accepting that setbacks are normal
Accepting that bad workouts are normal
Staying patient

Working on mental strength
Visualization
Mantras
Support from friends/family
Having fun

Dialing in and constantly tweaking sport nutrition
Creating a strong body through year-round strength training
Getting stronger before trying to get faster and then getting longer
Selecting races appropriately
Planning/mapping out the season

Constantly improving skills
Being willing to fail in order to succeed

Being willing to change

Staying humble but confident

Not training or racing with a big ego
Always feeling grateful
Never taking a day/workout for granted
Thanking the body - daily

2015 IM Lake Placid - behind the scenes part 1

This race experience was extra special because we had all of our Trimarni athletes in one house (except for Heidi who was with her family/friends just a few houses down - super convenient!). 

With two of our athletes doing their first Ironman, we could not have asked for a better venue for our athletes to enjoy racing for 140.6 miles.

I rented a large house for our group of 10 which was off Greenwood, just about .6 mile from Main Street.  We had several side streets to walk on which was  nice to avoid any busy roads. 

We were less than 1/2 mile from the local grocery store (Hannaford) and it was easy for everyone in our group to get to downtown by foot. 

Our 3-floor rental home had a lot of character. There were a lot of updates inside the home but a lot of old features like claw foot tubs, creaky wood floors and lots of decorative features. Needless to say, we loved this house because it always was the topic of conversation for our group.
Campy, of course, loved his fenced-in backyard. 

Now I will say that our kitchen was amazing! We would all gather around the island and drink coffee/eat and chat in the morning and throughout the day.
We also had an industrial sized refrigerator and freezer which we had no problem filling up on a daily basis. 

It was great to be there with our athletes as a spectator. Although I was on the sidelines on race day, I still felt as if I was one of the group on the days leading up to the race. I had a great time training in Placid for my mini training camp and being around the positive energy from our crew. 

Adam, Mike, Karel, Joe and me before our first swim in Mirror Lake. 

Mirror Lake is unbelievable - not just because of it's backdrop but there is a cord under water that is visible while you are swimming so that you can just follow the line without getting off course. There are small buoys lined up in the lake so this makes for a very easy-to-navigate swim course. Plus, the rectangle swim has two turn buoys that are just about 25 meters from one another so the swim is literally and out and back course with little to no chop. The water temp was around 72 degrees but with a wetsuit, it was comfortable if not warm at times. By Tues, when the temperature increased from mid 70's race weekend to 90's, we swam with only our speedsuits. 

Another great feature of Lake Placid is the bike-friendly roads no matter where you are staying. With the course being a two loop course from Placid to Keene (from the ski jump side) to Jay/Upper Jay to Wilmington and back up to Placid on the Whiteface mountain side, you will always see athletes out on the course training or gearing up for the race. I rode the course twice (75 miles on Thurs and 56 miles on Saturday) and I never felt alone out there. 

It was great for Karel and I to help out our athletes as needed on the days leading up to the race. There is so much to do before an Ironman that it is easy to get overwhelmed to race for 140.6 miles. 

Our athletes were super prepared, physically, going into this race as Joe, Adam, Mike and Heidi put in the work and made huge gains in fitness over the past 8-9 months. 

As for the "sherpa's" we had fun helping out as needed. 

Campy enjoyed his vacation and although he was exhausted on a daily basis from all the excitement, he could always be found in the kitchen on his comfy chair. 

Taylor (Adam's wife), Erica (Joe's wife) and Erin (Mike Girlfriend) were amazing. Whereas I was out training or with our athletes, these ladies did an exceptional job feeding the group. The meals were outstanding! 

Best sherapas ever! And THANK YOU Taylor for all of these great pictures!! You are a great Trimarni photographer!

It was so fun to make so many memories with our group. 

And to share so many experiences together....especially for our first timer Ironman athletes, Adam and Mike. 

Saturday came quick and it was time for everyone to check in their bikes and Bike and Run gear bags. 

Later that evening, Taylor made Mdot sugar cookies...for our Ironman athletes to enjoy post race. 

Did I mention that we loved hanging out as a group in our house?

When the guys were in bed on Saturday evening, we had fun decorating signs. 

And doing our nails - Trimarni Jamberry nails! 

Oh I almost forgot - Friday night was Pizza and Pasta night! A tradition of mine - shared with the group at IM Lake Placid. 

Stay tuned for part 2 of the behind the scenes recap of 2015 IM Lake Placid - race day!!

Thank you again Taylor for these amazing pics!! 

Ironman Lake Placid - Day 1-3

Day 1 - ThursdayIt was great to finally see Lake Placid. It was just 2 years ago when Karel and I shared our first Ironman race together in Lake Placid but now it's extra special as we have several athletes racing on Sunday. 

We started the morning with a 1 loop, 1.2 mile swim in the refreshing (72-degree) calm waters in Mirror Lake. It was nice to be able to settle into a rhythm and follow the cable under the small buoys. Several large buoys were set up which was great to be able to navigate on the actual Ironman race course. 

After the swim, it was time to get some food and Karel wasted no time to find the local European bakery. 

After we ate breakfast back in our rental home, Karel and I were off to ride 1 loop of the bike course minus the 2 out and back segments. Our ride was 44 miles and we averaged 19.4 (it was fun to sit on Karel's wheel for most of the ride - minus the descend into Keene in which Karel was nowhere in sight). 

After our ride, we picked up our athletes at the rental home as they just picked up their bikes via Tri Bike Transport and we were all off for a ride. 

We started the ride by showing the guys the run course and instead of making the turn around on River Road, we continued on and made a right onto 86 to head down to Wilmington. 

Karel gave a little talk about executing the 16+ mile "climb" (a mix of rollers) back to Lake Placid and then we all rode back up together. 

It's really important that our athletes have an opportunity to wake-up their legs a few days before the race so this was a welcomed ~90 minute ride for the group, following their morning swim. 

Karel and I ended up with 74 miles and a little over 4 hours of riding. 

Although I am not racing, our athletes have the best sherpas which prepared dinner...which was amazing in the evening. 

Roasted veggies and potatoes, orzo "pasta" salad, Greek yogurt and roasted carrots. YUM!

We just love our rental home. Plenty of room for our big group. 

And for dessert, banana raisin "cookies" - so good! Thanks Erica!!

Day 2 - Friday

The weather outlook from Thurs - Monday looked great in Placid but Friday was the only "off" day with the typical mountain weather mix of rain, clouds and sun. 

For day 2 of my mini Training camp, I started my morning with the guys at the lake for a swim. The guys were only doing 15-20 minutes and I had 2 loops planned. 

We started around 8am and the water was really comfortable despite a little crisp in the air. 

I just love swimming in this lake. I don't think I can compare it to anywhere else - the views, water conditions...just perfect. 

I settled into my rhythm rather quickly and enjoyed my 2.4 mile swim in 59.27 which was my fastest time for 2.4 miles in open water. But......it's not a PR until I can do it on race day :) 

After my swim, I met the guys at the expo and we all headed back to the house. 

As the guys were eating their post workout meal, I had a small snack before heading out on my long run for my second workout of the day. 

I ran 1 loop of the run course and finished with 12.5 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I didn't have my phone so no pictures but I can assure you that the run is just as beautiful as the bike course. 

Later in the day, Karel gave a bike clinic for the guys and apparently, Campy was not impressed with all the bike talk. 

We had a little get-together of Trimarni nutrition and coaching athletes at our house from 4:30-6pm and it was fun to have everyone together, especially those who are doing their first IM in Lake Placid on Sunday. 

After our get-together and snacking all afternoon, it was time for our dinner at the house which was pasta and pizza and Caesar Salad.  Sorry no pics - we were so hungry! 

After our dinner, we walked .6 miles to Main Street for the athlete Opening Ceremony. 

By 9:30pm, everyone was ready for bed. 

Day 3 - Saturday

If you couldn't tell, I just love it here. I feel so relaxed in the mountains, especially when I am on my bike. I love the feeling of climbing, descending and taking in all of the scenery. 

Lake Placid provides plenty of beauty. Hopefully you can see why this race is so popular. 

For day 3 of my mini training camp, I rode 1 loop (including the 2 out and backs) for 56 miles on the race course. 

After the ride, I went for a transition run. I was only planning 6 miles or 45 minutes but I was really enjoying exploring some side roads so I ended up with 7 miles. My legs were happy so I didn't mind the extra mile. 

After a quick clean-up and food around 12:30pm when I finished my workout, it was time to walk downtown to the bike check-in. So excited for our athletes!! 

Now that is a great backdrop for a transition area!!

It was a bit warm out there so Campy found some shade in an expo booth. 

And to make sure us sherpa's are ready for Sunday, we did our nails - Trimarni-style!
(Thanks Trimarni athlete Kate for the customized Jamberry Trimarni nails)

So excited to be on the course tomorrow! 

It's going to be a special day for all of the athletes out there on the course.

As I always tell my athletes (and myself)...as long as you keep moving forward, you WILL get to the finish line!

IM Lake Placid travel day

Tues morning we were off to Placid. 1100 miles, 2 days and 17 hours in the car, we arrive to Lake Placid!

The drive was long but it was really neat to be able to see so much of the west coast. 

My mom, Karel and I took turns driving and Campy enjoyed the scenery in between mini naps. 

We broke up the drive with a stop in Cross Junction, VA to visit/stay with my Katie Morales who is a professional triathlete and friend of mine. It was nice to spend some time with her parents and husband Chris and sleep in a comfy bed in a house and not in a hotel room. 

We unloaded the car around 4:30pm and when Katie arrived home from work, we all (her parents, my mom, Campy, Karel and me) drove down the community lake for a 30 minute swim. The water was warm and it was so refreshing to be in open water (and in the sun) after a long day of sitting. 

After the swim, it was time to eat and we enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by Katie and her dad of couscous, roasted veggies and potatoes and pork. 

Around 10pm we were ready for bed and it was lights out for an early morning to hit the road. 

At 7:45am, we were off for our  last day of driving. It was a very long drive with a bit of construction traffic on the way to Albany but by 6pm, we were finally in Lake Placid. 

The scenery was unbelievable for the last few hours of our trip.
Campy loves seeing the mountains just as much as we do. 

After we arrived to our rental home just a few blocks from downtown, we were greeted by one of our athletes Mike. When Karel signed up for Lake Placid last year, we had several other athletes who wanted to race as well so we thought it would be fun to have everyone stay in the same house. I rented a 6 bedroom home for everyone to share. 

We were hungry when we arrived despite a day of snacking/eating so we headed down to Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood to enjoy dinner with Mike, his girlfriend Erin, Campy, my mom and Karel.

After most of our crew arrived in the evening, it was time for bed before our first official day in Lake Placid. 

Here are a few pics from our trip.

Campy taking a nap - sitting up. 

Welcome to Virginia!

I'm in no rush to get there. I'll just nap, says Campy. 

A delicious dinner at Katie's house. 

We had a delicious breakfast of homemade granola, fresh fruit and yogurt. 

Food break in NY. I got a salad from Panera - kale and quinoa (minus the chicken to make it Marni-friendly)

Yum!

Campy loves his IM Lake Placid road trip!

Look at those big mountains!

Getting close!!

Even closer!!

Driving up the descend to Lake Placid. 

Those ski jumps are impressive!

Love our kitchen in our  rental home. 

Dinner out in downtown Lake Placid. Karel's plate (fish).

My delicious wheat berry salad. 

Stay tuned for more pics!