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!  

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.  

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!