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! 

View this post on Instagram

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! 

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. 

Clermont, FL....here we come!

 It seems like it was just December and I was in the initial process of preparing for our 2016 Trimarni Clermont Training camp.

I know our campers are just as excited as we are to start 4-days of intentional training overload.

Our campers will be training over 4 hours every day with 3 workouts each day. There's just enough time between workouts to eat and rest.

Our campers know what they are in for at a Trimarni training camp - it's the perfect mix of fun, education and challenging workouts.
We will be stretching some comfort zones over the next 3 days.

And to conclude the training camp, every Trimarni camper will be racing (yes, racing) the Great Clermont Triathlon (Olympic distance) on Sunday. We included the race into our training camp last year and it was a perfect opportunity for our athletes to incorporate the many skills that they learned at camp and to execute without the pressure to finish with a specific time or place goal.

I will be updating the Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition Facebook page with pictures throughout our  camp and hopefully, my blog as well. You can stay up to date with our camp on social media by searching for the hashtags #Trimarni #Trimarni camp or follow on Facebook. 

Here are a few pics from our trip to Jacksonville, FL and then to Clermont, FL

Sweet snack on the road before lunch on Monday in route to Jacksonville, FL.

Late afternoon snack at Native Sun Jax.

Karel doing a pre-race tune up on our friend's bike at Open Road Bicycles. Karel is always in high demand with his expert bike mechanic and bike fit skills, even when we travel. 

Palm trees - it's been a while (I still love my mountains more than the beach)

But I really love outdoor swimming - anywhere!
Thanks Trimarni athlete and friend Adam for taking us to the perfect pool for our 4700 yard morning swim on Tuesday - and for joining us for some fun in the water!

Mix and match lunch from Publix grocery store as we made last leg of our trip from Jax to Clermont.
Karel got a Publix sub. 

After unloading our packed car, Karel and I needed to relax our tight legs from all the traveling. We enjoyed a 1:45 ride around the lake and on the Olympic race course. After two years of riding in Greenville, SC, the Clermont hills are getting flatter and flatter. :) 

After we cleaned up from our ride, we made a quick grocery store shop at Publix and then it was finally time to eat and call it a day.
I had a stuffed pita w/ mixed greens and arugula w/ chopped Cabot cheese and hummus, and a side of baby carrots and cottage cheese. 

Karel had "brinner" (Breakfast for Dinner) which consisted of oats, strawberries and almond butter (mixed with milk) and a side of eggs and ham with fresh bread (from Native Sun) w/ butter. 

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!