Tag: IMLT

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Ironman Lake Tahoe Pt. 2

I watched the Lake Tahoe Live Stream for a while last night and that’s when it really hit me how brutal this race must have been.  The time was around 13 hours and the flow of competitors (not to mention spectators) was sparse.  It was dark, and frankly, felt lonely.  But this is exactly why the finishers of this race will have a bond like no other.  I would love to hear from anyone who did this race.  Please contact me if and when you do a race report and I will gladly link to or post it here.

I found this excellent breakdown of IMLT and it confirms everything we thought.  A couple of stats from the article.

– Nearly 25% of racers who started didn’t finish  (average IM DNF rate is about 5%).

– Only one M 40-44 age grouper broke the 10 hour mark.

– 385 people on the bib list did not even show up to race.

I really do commend those who jumped in that frigid water.  I did the Rev3 Olympic in May of this year and the conditions were similar, but I can’t imagine doing a race four times as long with mountain climbs and weather so cold the downhills hurt as much as the climbs.  It’s likely no consolation at this point, but I really feel like my Rev3 experience made me a much better and tougher racer.  Congrats on being a part of the race that will go down in history as one of the toughest Ironman’s of all time.

Edit:  I just found this great video and would like to adapt my early observation of the IM Lake Tahoe finish line.  On the stream, the spectator support looked very thin, but this clearly shows that a lot of people were out there toward the end cheering for these athletes as they completed their epic journeys:

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Epic Ironman in Lake Tahoe

Edit:  If you took (or know who took) this photo, please let me know and I will give you credit.

It is an absolutely gorgeous day in Nashville.  I just rode my “other bike” a 2008 Triumph Bonneville around for a while, now I’m at the coffee shop writing on my new Chrome Book tracking Ironman Lake Tahoe (which is sure to go down in history as one of the most memorable) on my phone.

I was watching the weather leading up to this and the forecasts were brutal.  31 degrees at cannon time?  Seriously?  Unbelievable.  And so AWESOME.  Look at this Swim Start photo!  image

I just can’t imagine what was going through their minds at this moment.  Well, on some level I can.  There is a switch that must be flipped or you’re doomed.  This sport is very mental and this kind of day will stretch your capacity to the limits.

I have to admit, even though I know most racers must have been pissed or downright frightened by the cold, there was a big part of me that really wanted to be in the race because it will surely go down in the IM annals as epic.

Aside from the awesomeness of the freakish swim, I’m tracking the bike and there is a section of the course where the PROS are averaging 8 mph.  Must be a brutal hill because the next splits are in the mid-30s.  Here’s Chris McDonald’s @IronTrac about halfway through the run.  Image-1

I guarantee you that, no matter how much they’re hating it right now, everyone that finishes this race will look back as one of the most prideful moments of their life.  Racing Ironman is “survival enough” without having frozen feet for most of the race.  I just hope there’s a nice fireplace in the ski lodge to enjoy a hot coco with friends and family when they’re done.

To all the new Ironmen that sucked it up to scrape and claw your way to the Finish Line today, congratulations . . . we are watching in envy, respect, and awe.

Edit:  I just realized that Maik TWELSIEK, who won IMWI took 2nd at Tahoe just two weeks later.  Nice work, man.  I am seriously impressed.  I remember seeing Maik on the run and while we didn’t really exchange high fives or anything, I could tell he was thinking, “Man, Mike needs to work on his running form in 2014.”  You got it, man!