My husband is the most dedicated and high achieving person I know. He loves a challenge and has a high level of self-discipline that enables him to do challenging things, whether it be aerospace engineering or a 40 mile trail run
This past weekend, however, he took on the biggest physical challenge yet: an Ironman. He registered for it 9 months ago and pretty swiftly pursued a coach with a training plan to get himself in the best shape for this race.
An Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. Consecutively.
I know.
He chose the Ironman in Lake Placid for a few reasons. The timing of the race worked well with him not having to do long runs or bikes in the dead heat of summer (July/August/September) in Raleigh. He also really loved the fact that it was the 25th year anniversary of the Ironman and it was held at a place he always wanted to visit.
Lake Placid was the location of the 1980 Winter Olympics where the USA hockey team beat the Russians, and then went on to beat Finland and take gold. At that time in the world, that win meant so much more than a gold medal.
One of Justin’s favorite movies from his youth is Miracle, so to be able to stand in the exact ice rink where the team played that incredible game was pretty moving for him.
Needless to say, it was a very cool location for a very hard race, and all of the emotion about it funneled into a victorious and exciting race day for him!
I shared a lot of behind the scenes and play by play of our weekend on Instagram, you can watch the saved highlight bubble with all the clips.
I joined him for the weekend to support and help in any way I could. I didn’t spend much time at all scoping out the area online because I assumed he would have a lot to do to get ready for race day. As it turns out we managed to spend a pretty great deal of the two days leading up to the Ironman exploring the area!
We walked downtown Lake Placid, walked around Mirror Lake (the Ironman swim was in Mirror Lake, which was less than a mile away from Lake Placid), ate at a few local spots, and explored the historic ice rink and museum. Justin signed us up for a tour of the Olympic Luge training facility which culminated/ in a test run of one of the ramps. To borrow the words of a very funny (and honest) follower, I “gutter-balled” myself the whole way down. If you care to watch, it’s on Instagram.
Turns out Luge is very difficult and I have a new appreciation for that sport.
Aside from the fun and exploration of the area, we enjoyed all the energy from the thousands of people who came to town for the Ironman as well. It was buzzing downtown, and truly a great thing to be a part of!
Justin had a hugely successful race and finished in just over 13 hours. His swim time was a few minutes better than predicted, and if he hadn’t had a flat tire on his first loop of the bike, he would have likely finished that in his predicted time as well. He knew the marathon at the end was going to be tough (he’s run two Marathons before), so he planned to save some stamina for the run. He did unbelievably well on the run portion, especially in light of having just cycled for 112 miles and swam for 2.4 miles earlier that day.
I spent the day tracking him on the Ironman app, putting myself in positions to see him, call out his name, and encourage him. It was thrilling every time he came into view. My heart started pounding and I would call out to him so loudly! There are many barricades set up for the bike route, but not as many for the run route, so I was able to get close and fist bump him during some points on his run.
I made it to the finish line and watched him come in, cheering and celebrating his huge accomplishment. When we finally met back up at the hotel (I couldn’t get to him after the race, they keep the athletes separated from spectators for a bit to allow them to recover), I cried when I saw him. I was so impressed. So, so proud.
The entire Ironman experience was well executed, and filled with high energy, supportive people. The vibe of the entire weekend was positive and encouraging. It was a fantastic event to witness!
Ironman aside, Justin and I loved the Lake Placid area. We hope to plan a trip back up there with the kids next year! If you’re looking for an idyllic northern mountain town, with clear water lakes, Lake Placid should be on your radar as a place to visit.
