Stormy Ironman Lake Placid

IRONMAN - 2.4 mi swim followed by a 112 mi bike and capped off with a 26.2 mi run all in 17 hrs or less

Eight members or recent alumni of the MSU Triathlon team marked July 20th, 2008 on their calendars over a year ago knowing it was going to be a challenging day but none expected what mother nature had in mind.


Ironman Lake Placid is one of the most popular Ironman races in North America (selling out ~2,500 spots a year in advance in a mere 10 minutes). Being the 10th anniversary and arguably one of the most scenic courses this years event was going to be one to remember regardless of what happened on race day.

The night before most expected some rain on race day but it appeared it would only come in the afternoon and be fairly mild. On race morning there was still a slight hope for most competitors that it might not rain.

The day starts with a open water swim with 2,500 of your closest friends...without any warning or countdown a canon goes off. In an instant all the perpendicular floating athletes become parallel swimming athletes and all that talk of camaraderie and friendship disappears. You quickly find yourself fighting for air, fending off flailing arms and legs, and thinking what the hell did I get myself into. Soon you're able to find and defend enough water to fall into a pretty good swim rhythm and you're quickly thinking this isn't half bad.

It's a two-loop swim course which leaves about 900 meters until the first turn buoy at which point there's a huge bottle neck of traffic as everyone wants to take a left as close as possible to the buoy. As the field spreads out the second loop is much more mild, except by now most competitors have noticed the rain has started (~7:30am)...

Upon exiting the water on the second loop athletes were greeted by "peelers" whose volunteer job is to pretty much rip wetsuits off athletes. Affectionately know as "strippers" by most, it is one of the most coveted volunteer jobs and quickly fills at all Ironman races.

After the 1/3 mi run to the transition area, athletes were shuttled into either a "mens" or "womens" changing tent. All the bike gear (shoes, helmet, nutrition and what not) is emptied out of the transition bag and swim gear is thrown in and it's off to the bike course...did I mention that it's still pouring rain!

If you weren't aware of the fact that Lake Placid, NY is tucked away in the heart of the Adirondacks the challenging 2-loop bike course would soon let you know. The first part of the "official" course description highlights a long downhill descent into Keane...what they leave out is that there's a 5 mile climb out of the town of Lake Placid to get there. Back to the "long downhill descent", translation "flying downhill at 40-50 mph with huge drops of rain beating down on you for 9 miles". At the same time dodging sunglasses scattered across the road as people quickly realized they were of no use all fogged up. The rest of the bike course included long climbs and much more mild descents. Many athletes also learned that where there's rain flat tires are sure to follow...something about the water holding particles to the tire combined with a riders inability to notice pot-holes or keep the bike rubber side down at all times.

Back to transition now 114.4 miles into the day (still pouring rain with some athletes getting to experience biking in hail as well) and time to put on some dry running shoes...only to leave the changing tent only to find it hadn't stopped raining in the 3 minutes you were inside:(

Quick shout out to two of our bike handling volunteers (Renee and Ashley) who are sporting a popular look from the day in Lake Placid seeing as you couldn't find a raincoat or umbrella to buy if you wanted to (spectators were also seen wearing wetsuits)!

Many friends and family also made the trip to Lake Placid and bravely endured the harsh weather to cheer and support the athletes on the course for 17+ hours on race day--their support and enthusiasm did not go unnoticed and is truly appreciated.

The 2-loop run course consisted of mostly rolling hills with two monsters at 9/22 miles and 11/24 miles that left athletes walking or wishing they had walked once they were at the top. The rain continued until about 8pm (making for about 12.5 hours of straight rain) meaning that if you finished in under 13 hours you raced the entire day in the rain.

For 140.6 miles it's up to you to survive the swim, pace yourself on the bike, and put anything you have left into trying to run. Many Spartans enjoyed epic journeys on that rainy day in July and at the end of the day all were crowned an "IRONMAN".

Fellow Spartan Ironmen--please share your personal iron-journeys!!!

--Uncie Tim

Fifth Third Bank Invests In A Winning Team

Thank you, Fifth Third Bank!

We'll be headed down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in less than two weeks for our biggest race of the year, Collegiate Nationals. We've spent months training for the race and are confident that we can better our 2nd place mens/13th place womens/10th place co-ed finish from last year.

But training is only one piece of the puzzle that makes MSU Triathlon such a powerful team. The support of many people and organizations is absolutely essential to help our team continue growing in size and success. Fifth Third Bank is at the core of that group.

By making a $2,000 donation to our team, Fifth Third is enabling our team to continue taking larger groups to more races. Additionally, their help in getting our team nonprofit status will prove to be invaluable. Most importantly, Brian from Fifth Third has been our team's biggest supporter, showing compassion for every single one of our members, both as triathletes, and as students.

The relationship between MSU Triathlon and Fifth Third Bank grew out of our mutual goals to better the communities we live in. Fifth Third has a long tradition of supporting community groups and causes. Starting in 2007, our team made a serious effort to make volunteering a fundamental activity of our group. If our members can devote 15 to 20 hours each week to train, they can certainly find the time to give back. Already this year, we've worked with Girls On The Run, the Capital City River Run, the Steelhead Half-Ironman, and MSU recycling program, Into The Streets and Fifth Third's Junior Achievment. It's been remarkably rewarding, and we're excited to increase our efforts in 2008.

Thank you Fifth Third, and thank you Brian!

-Eric Tingwall

The Lone Star State

On February 29 eighteen members of the MSU Triathlon team headed south to Canyon Lake Texas for a week of sun, warmth, and training. On the way south, we swung by Greencastle, IN for the DePauw cycling race. There were no crashes among MSU riders, only one flat, and one DQ. Considering it was the first time most of our two-wheelers had seen the open air since October, that's not so bad.
We then continued on to Texas, and almost 20 hours later, completed the nearly 1,500 mile one-way journey. The week wasn't filled with as much sun and warmth as we would have liked, the water in Canyon Lake was "brisk" to say the least, and our rear-ends got a good workout from the bumpy texas roads, but in the end it was great to get a chance to workout outdoors and see that the sun actually does still exist. While we were in Texas we also had a chance to connect with the Texas State triathlon team and make some new friends and share some tri stories. More to come on this.
Now, back in East Lansing, the team is bundled back up again in cold weather gear, confidently awaiting the return of the warmth and sun.

Book it!

Lately I've found myself doing a lot of reading, unfortunately a good chunk of this wasn't something assigned by one of my professors. We all have plenty of reading and studying to do for our academic classes so who wants to read more, right? Well, I went on amazon.com a few weeks ago and picked up a few triathlon related books. I'm training my body like crazy in preparation for the coming racing season and I figured I should be training my brain a little, too. Below are a couple of the books that I am currently reading with a short description of each. If you're lucky enough to find yourself in the same van as me on our 22+ hour trip (one way) to the Lone Star State you'll probably have a chance to check them out for yourselves.



The Triathlete's Training Bible (2nd Edition), by Joe Friel

The title of this book just about says it all. Between the covers of this book you'll find out about planning your yearly/monthly/weekly training, swim/bike/run technique, valuable nutrition imformation, strength training plans, racing strategy and MUCH more. Mr. Friel backs up his advice with references from the scientific literature which gives this book much credibility. If you buy just one book about triathlon, I would recommend this one. This book covers all the bases.



Going Long: Training for Ironman-Distance Triahtlons, by Joe Friel and Gordon Byrn

This book covers much of the same topics as the Triathletes Training Bible, but with an emphasis on long distance triathlon (Ironman and half Ironman). I'm an Ironman virgin, and will be competing in Ironman Lake Placid this July. As I prepare for this race-that's-longer-than-most-people-are-at-work-in-a-day I'm finding this book to be very helpful in calming some of my anxieties about how to prepare for this race. It gives detailed descriptions of how to prepare for each of the disciplines, how to fuel your body during training and the race itself, what to expect come race day, and just about every other big question that runs though your mind about Ironman training.

One major thing that I have learned from this book that I (and many other triathletes and endurance athletes) almost completely overlooked in the past is how to rest and recover properly during training. With all the stresses that are placed on the mind and body during training for an Ironman, it is crucial to build in recovery as part of your training plan. This book details how.

If you are signed up for an Ironman you've already dropped a chunk of cash just to be able to toe the line. This book is easily worth its minuscule cover price when compared the the entry fee.

Happy reading.

Joel


P.S. Does any one remember what "Book it!" was? Or am I dating myself??

Cutter Style.

As we get ready for our first cycling race of the season, let's all make sure we have the necessary equipment on race day. Don't forget your bike shoes.

-Joel

A place called home

There was once a time when our team feared we would show up to USAT Collegiate Nationals with a severe disadvantage in our biking and running. While the pretty-boy Californians would be out eating up miles of road, our planned speed workout was being decimated by a foul combination of rain, snow and wind. Forced to spin on trainers inside, we soon realized that it was crucial to maintain the team-practice atmosphere. The spinning studio was born.

The original studio was affectionately known as "The Swamp," a name suiting of the stench and damp air that greeted you every time you ducked your head to carefully descend the rotting stairs. Today's spinning room is slightly nicer. The carpeting and five-speaker sound system are certain upgrades. But some of the original charm still remains. We continue to use the same 15 year old TV with a harsh yellow tint. Things don't quite smell right. And the walls sweat almost as much as the triathletes.

Here's a brief photo tour from the regular Tuesday morning ride:

People claim that triathletes can't bike in packs or pelotons, but I think this proves otherwise. Twelve people are crammed into the main spinning area. Once you're in your spot and the legs start moving, you're pretty much stuck there until everyone else is done spinning. Buddhist prayer flags and movie posters watch over us.

Showing up late is a sure way to sentence yourself to some time in the laundry room. Ventilation is non-existant, the floor is more uneven and there is absolutely no chance you'll catch any bit of what's showing on the TV that day. If people are feeling nice, they'll at least share the workout with you.

The workouts follow our team's long-term training plan. There's everything from 1-minute builds to three-hour steady rides.

The Christmas lights and string of floral decoration? Left overs from our Tri Formal this past fall.

The view from the back row isn't the prettiest, but it's made better by our custom TV stand made from scrap wood. Our favorite spinning entertainment includes last year's Tour de France, Spinervals and comedies for long rides. Fans are hung from the ceiling in the corners to keep the sweat to a level that is just marginally below disgusting.

It may not be much, but it serves its singular purpose: giving us a snow-free place for good team workouts.

-Eric Tingwall

Why we're here

We've got something to say. In the pool, during the run, and as we climb onto our bikes, we're always talking about the latest triathlon toys, upcoming races or news about the pros. But it doesn't end when we're through with our workouts. Our conversations about triathlon follow us out of the locker room and into the cafeterias, onto our couches and inside our email inboxes.

As one of the largest and most successful collegiate triathlon teams in the nation, we're constantly training and racing together. But we also live together, study together and eat together. Some of us even sleep together.

The world isn't exactly thriving with fresh, relevant content for the enamored triathlete. Google "Triathlon Blog" and you'd think I'm lying. But start clicking those links and you'll find the true story. Most of those blogs were three-post wonders, with the most recent entry dated sometime before Ironman Louisville existed. Even if you happen to stumble upon a blog entry with a post that came after the born-on date of your Budweiser, do you really care about Johnny Firsttimer's 14-page epic about his 5-hour finish at the local sprint?

Our roster is filled with characters: The eccentric bike-freak, the guy who still can't swim after three years of triathlon, former collegiate runners; Ironman finishers and triathlon rookies; elites and middle-of-the-pack age groupers. And while we all came from different backgrounds and are on the way to even more diverse futures, for the moment our team members all share the same life-consuming passion: Triathlon.

It's this rare combination of diversity united by an unhealthy obsession that has driven us into every corner of triathlon. We have the experience and the passion to tell the stories that haven't been told yet.

-Eric Tingwall