Blowin' In the Wind: Lake Placid Ironman 2018 Race Report

Standard race reports - even if it takes me years to do them, they are pretty easy.  Even tris, which are composed of three disciplines, aren't too bad - morning of, swim, bike, run, reflect.  Wham, bam, done.

Then, there's Ironman.  To sum up Ironman in a standard race report is just not possible.  The day is about so much more than a metric - a power output, wattage, pace per mile, finishing time.  As Aristotle said, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts".  Smart man.  I've done three Ironmans now, and there is no way I can describe to you the feeling of one - the nerves beforehand, the ups and downs (both emotionally and physically), the kindness on the course, the inevitable doubt of a finish, the mind taking over when your body says "no", and the....feeling.  That feeling at mile 25 when you KNOW you will become an Ironman today.  When your eyes well up and you choke with emotion, and your body aches become a distant memory as you run toward the finish line, arms pumped in victory, with Mike Reilly yelling "Rae Glaser, you ARE an Ironman".  The crowd, screaming your name.  The culmination of the months of training, pushing, and all of your "why's"....are here.  Right at this line.  

The only birthday cake on an Ironman day!!

What race report?  You need more than that?  Well, you know I'm dying to regale the good, the bad and the ugly...with emphasis on "gale".  LOL

Pre race - Greg and I arrived in Lake Placid on Thursday and did the usual rigmarole.  As many of you know, the race fell on his birthday this year, so in addition to the pre race prep, I did some prep of my own - working with my surprise crew, which consisted of five family members that were coming up to surprise Greg, one of them being our five year old son!  (I decided Biz was better off at Gramma's with such a long day, but I knew Greg would FLIP when he saw Rob), pulling together small birthday touches with Ironman, etc.  I was determined to make his day special - after all, thats why we were here!!  Friday, we packed gear and did a nice loop swim, ate breakfast with RWB teammates and Roc peeps, and went to the local team dinner at Lisa G's.  Saturday was a haxe of bike check in and forced relaxation, and admittedly, a blur.  Before I knew it, it was lights out at 8pm Saturday night (until I got up at 9.  and 9:30.  And 10.  You get it.)  The alarm went off at 3am Sunday morning with the finesse of a toddler jumping on my stomach.  OOF.

Side note - All the concern I had about enthusiasm disappeared as soon as we touched down in Placid.  I was like a kid in a candy shop, amazed and amped to be there, with a Joey Tribbiani in London eqsue "Placid, Baby!" every 5 seconds.  I'm sure I annoyed the crap out of everyone, but this was Ironman and I was here to play.  As if to squelch my childlike joy, the Adirondack gods kept threatening shitty weather for race day.  I brushed it off - 2010 was supposed to suck, it didn't.  2011 - supposed to suck, was perfect.  Before any of you wise asses comment about 3rd time's the charm, I'll just do it.  Probably should have thought about that one before I signed up, but I do hard things.  And this - would be a hard thing.

Going into this race, I felt pretty decent about my swim training - I expected about a 1:20 in the water, and was cool with that.  I never swam speed, only distance, as I had time for 2 swims a week and that was it.  My run was on point.  I was hoping for a 4:30, though I knew it would be aggressive.  The bike - ahh, the bike.  I would have told you until June that I felt strong on the bike - maybe not fast, but strong.  But a series of bad rides and a crash after getting buzzed in training shook my confidence - I was concerned about my fitness, my bike handling skills, everything.  I knew this portion would come down to my mental game, and at this point, I knew if I could keep myself in check, I would be ok.  A recent course change revised my goal to a 7:15 on the bike, which I thought would be doable.  Add in 15 minutes transition and some wiggle room, and I was shooting for a 13:30, which would have been a 24 minute Placid PR.  

How much back story can I give you?  Plenty.  Back to THE day now.  After the alarm went off, we went about the business of race prep - bagels and peanut butter, coffee, tri kit donning, and the short drive to the Oval.  We caught the shuttle and were in transition by 4:30am.  The pink clouds in the brightening sky gave a foreboding feeling, but we were determined to think the best.  We prepped our bikes, checking tires, breaks, bike computers, and loading nutrition.  I lubed up, sunscreened up, triple checked bags, and gave out hugs to everyone.  We headed to the swim start for a quick warm up and the winds started to pick up, as we heard athletes checking the radar with tht band of storms that were settling over the mountains.  As I looked over at Whiteface, I could see the rain forming in a threatening cluster over the peaks, and the trees started to sway.  OMG.  The wind.  Just what this nervous biker needed.  But....one discipline at a time.  Greg and I hugged, and he headed off to his corral of 1:00 swimmers.  I headed for the 1:20, and stood, shivering on the beach.  The anthem sounded, and I placed my hand on my heart, thumping with nerves.  The cannon sounded, and we started moving up the beach......

To be continued.....

The Storm before the Calm...Ironman 2018

And it's here.  Even though I haven't been posting about it aside from random facebook updates, the last 7....12...months of my life pretty much play out in the span of 13-17 hours tomorrow.  Ironman Lake Placid.  Holy cow.  Roughly 51 weeks ago, when I saw this race was on Greg's 40th birthday, I had the brilliant thought that it would be a great, crazy thing to do.  In most of these crazy incidences, my somewhat saner husband talks me off the ledge, but he didn't do it this time.  When I said "Hey, let's do this!"  He said, "Sure, why not?"  And a journey began.

It's been 7 years and two kids since I toed the line at 140.6.  It's been a journey that can only be described with one word...adaptation.  Adapt to training, adapt to life, adapt to expectations.  There are only so many hours in the day, days in the week, and weeks in the year to fit in family, friends, self care, work, every day life, and training.

Gone were the days when we could roll out of bed at 9 and do a 6 hour ride, put our feet up, and order take out while watching netflix. Gone were the days when I could shift a run because I felt like crap.  Not only were we both training for an Ironman (which we had never done before), but we were doing it with a new business to run (Greg quit his job and started doing real estate photography in March), a promotion for me in work (Which meant more travel), and a two and four year old.  Holy what.

And, in less than 36 hours, the hard work, persistence, and adaptation will hopefully culminate in something really awesome.

Looking back, it's been tough.  And humbling.  And more than a little crazy.  We rode at 3am.  We did long runs at 8pm.  We pared down a training plan that included key workouts and no fluff.  We did 20 milers on the treadmill while watching "The Emoji movie".  More than once.  (Jailbreak, anyone?).  We did trainer rides while tandem playing Forza with a 4 year old, or where we hopped off the bike 6 times to settle disputes over pop tarts.  We held virtual staff meetings on mile 85 of a long ride (Oh yes I did).  We just did it.

And it's funny.  Back in 2010 and 2011 when I did Ironman, it consumed my life.  Everything was carefully planned around that 100 miler (god forbid I exert myself the day before or day after).  For race prep races, nutrition had to be perfect and recover essential (what, not everyone does brunch for 18 the day after running a double marathon?  Amateurs.).  This time, training fit around life.  Around the kids.  Around us.  Around work.  Sometimes, I would really shake my head and wonder if this was even right because ZOMG Ironman wasn't the FIRST AND FOREMOST in my mind.

Then I would have doubt.  We had a sucky training weekend in LP where every bike thing that could go wrong, did.  We would go 3 days without doing anything but verbal volleyball and kid hand offs, and I would miss my husband.  I would lace up my running shoes at 6am and my two year old would cry, "Mommy, don't run!" and I would question every decision I made.

Then it was Wednesday.  Time to pack.  As I worked through my bag checklist and did my last shakeout ride, I felt them.  The butterflies.  They were there.  I danced around to Skillet's "Invincible" and literally jumped up and down as I packed.  I sat down on Thursday to hug my kiddos and Rob said "Mommy, you're an Ironman.  I want to DO Ironman!".  And that feeling came back.

When we arrived in Lake Placid, the air felt abuzz with the promise of something amazing.  3000 triathletes in town with the expectation of nirvana. Again, I bounced around like a kid in a candy store, taking pictures, running around mirror lake, swimming the line, and riding by whiteface.  And smiling the whole damn time.  All my crazy friends are here - there are about 40 of us from Rochester - and it feels like one big happy reunion.  Sunday will be a party - which is fitting, since we are here because of Greg's 40th birthday!

Am I nervous?  Oh hell yes.  You don't do 140.6 with the expectation that the day will go perfectly.  Something will go wrong.  It's a given.  But how you deal with it will define your day.  And I have that in spades.  ADAPTATION.  I may not be as "physically" trained as when I toed the line in 2010, but my headspace is totally ready for this.  I expect to shake out anywhere between 13 and 14 hours, but if I cross the line in 16:59, it's perfectly fine with me.

It's IRONMAN, baby!  Let's do this!!

Growing Up- Cause that's What People Do! (Rob is 5!!!)

Well, one thing is pretty consistent.  I obviously stink at Race reports (hello Keuka and Beer Mile), keeping any sort of reflective eye on Ironman training (I swear, I fly from 6 hour ride to 3 hour run to adulting (yikes) to boss lady with no in between), but one thing, thank goodness, stays consistent. 

Mommin'.  Last week, my little buddy turned 5.  Oh, be still my heart.  How is this even possible?  Of course, like a big ole softie, I look back at the past 5 years with tears in my eyes....when Rob was Born...One...Two...Three...Four....OMG.  How the years fly by (I sound about 80 years old).  I looked at Rob the other day and said "Buddy, STOP GROWING!"  And he goes, "Mom!  I can't.  We all grow,  That's what people do."  Well played, buddy, well played.

Ahem. I guess before I cry even more into my hankie, let's talk about this big boy.

 Size: 40 pounds.  Right smack where you should be.  You are 44" high, which is just perfectly right for a kiddo your age.  Way to go Rob man!!  Keep eating all that broccoli (lil trees) and of course, turtle power PIZZA dude!

Likes: Cars cars cars.  I swear I can just put this on repeat!   Not only do you love your cars, but you are getting pretty good at identifying them!  You can point to a car and say, hey mom look, that's a Nissan Hyundai!  Or, Hey! Its a Chevy Equinox, just like ours!  Much better than mom.  You love playing Forza and Project Cars, and got a pretty cool surprise for your bday when you got not one, but two! Power Wheels ride ons!  You love them.  You also love running - you see Mommy and Daddy do it all the time and you have totally caught the bug!  You run on the treadmill (yes, you actually beg to do this!), outside, on the track, everywhere!  You also are becoming a big fishie and looove your bike.  You totally have designs to "do a triathlon next year - our local kids tri has a six year old division, and you are SO there.  I can't wait to see this, little buddy - you melt Mommy's heart!!
Other current faves - Connor is your boy, and you plan to marry Jocelyn, Olivia or Emma - you can't decide (OMG it starts).  You still love trap music, but also a little TLC, Rednex, or Cobra Starship ( A plus parenting, folks).  You can quote Jason Dirullo on what to do with that big fat butt like no one else, and your dancing skills make Usher look like an amateur.  Rock on, dude.

Dislikes: Lack of play dates, beans (thanks Gramma), and bedtime.  Or, well, in general being told no.  (Get used to it, kid).  You have a love hate relationship with Biz (totes normal).  You also are pretty much set in your ways - omg - I thought I was bad.  So, like Mr, Incredible tells Elastigirl, we are working on being flexible.  Except with beans.  Thankfully, you love broccoli.  Hey, I can be flexible, too.

Sleep: Looks like the FOMO subsided, and aside from scary dreams, you rock out on this one.  It still takes a village to get you into bed, but once you are there (In your BIG bed, I may add), you snuggle up with your stuffed turtle, Mackey Doos, and are out.  Now if you could just train your sister on that one....


Eating: Pizza, brocolli, frosting, milkshakes, and fruit.  Oh, and ham, rice and beans, and chocolate milk.  Really, who can complain?  You have your definite faves, but you pretty chill.

Milestones/Firsts: Pre K.  Learning to read.  Counting to 100.  Still rocking out the ridiculously long words Iike paradox, apparently, sustained, and theoretically (You listen too well when you want to!).  Riding a bike with some assistance and no training wheels.  Going underwater.  Visiting the ocean!Swimming backstroke.  Rollerskating.  Oh, my big boy.  

Best Moment: This gets harder and harder each year, bud.  There are so many cool things you are doing - school, soccer, swim lessons, play dates, new vacation spots, new experiences, new friends, new feelings....watching you go through it all, I just step back in wonder.  But when it comes down to is, the best moments for me are the ones that are seemingly mundane....rubbing your back as you drift off to sleep....hearing what you saw as the best part of your day (we do this every night)....the sound of laughter as you and biz fling the poop toy at the ceiling....'Ber hugs....big smooches.....dancing to 1000 years (our mom/rob song!)....splashing with you in the pool....or just snuggling on the couch as we watch Boss Baby for the zillionth time.  I wish I could just stop time at moments like these and inhale your sweet little boy scent and make it last forever.  But I can't.  So I wipe away the tear in my eye as I realize that these moments are going faster and faster.....take a deep breath....and enjoy every precious moment for the miracle that it is.  

Looking Forward To: Everything.  Seabreeze, fall vacations, kindergarten, sleepovers, camping, soccer games, and endless play dates on the circle with all our best buds.  These are the days, bud.  These are the days.

I love you!!