Ironman USA, 2002
Lake Placid, NY
by Bob Panzak
I signed up for the Ironman USA race in early August of 2001 as the
race fills up very quickly. My brother did the race in 2001 and after
hearing about his experience I just had to do it too. I believe I
thought about the race every day since signing up. I did some biking
in the fall to build a base but didn't start really training for the
race til mid February. I was in good running shape and changed my main
focus to biking. I started to put a lot of time into biking and less
into running. I knew the course was very hilly and being in pancake
flat Florida posed a big question mark on how to train for the hills.
I never really figured out the answer but decided to get in good biking
shape and hope for the best during the race.
The race was held in Lake Placid, NY. It's a great little town that
is athlete friendly. I had never seen so many people biking before in
one place in the days leading up to the race. The population of
Lake Placid is only around 3000, and with close to 2000 athletes and
their friends, the town is basically overtaken by triathletes. I had
never seen anything like it. I was starting to get worried as
everyone in town looked to be in great shape. My family decided to
make a summer vacation out of the race and decided to rent a condo
for a week in Lake Placid. This was great as I had my own cheering
section at the race that was 11 strong. During the race, they all
wore their Team Grasshopper shirts which made it easy to spot them in
the crowd.
When I arrived in Lake Placid 4 days before the race, I drove the
bike course to see what I would be in for. The course was a 56 mile
loop which I would have to do two times. There seemed to be very
little flat sections with most of the course either going uphill or
downhill. There was a very long steep downhill that went for
miles. But what goes down means that there would be an uphill to
make up for it. The inclines didn't seem that steep at least
driving them in a car, but they did go for a long time. I knew I
had my work cut out for me and wasn't sure how I was going to do
since I have haven't been training on any hills. I took my bike out
for a spin the next day to do a short ride of about 25 miles and to
test myself on the hills. My legs felt good biking since I was
tapering and I actually felt strong. I did encounter a problem with
my bike though, every time I shifted to my big chain ring it jumped
back to the small chain ring. Luckily the local bike shops
accommodate the ironman crowd and actually stay open 24 hours a day
for several days before the race. I was able to get the bike
repaired, I was relieved when it was finally repaired although I was
still nervous that it would start jumping again. Even if the
problem came back I knew I could still do alright being in the small
chain ring for the whole race since there were so many hills. I did
1 lap of the swim course the two mornings prior to the race. The
water was a cool 70 degrees but felt great. I was glad that
wetsuits would be allowed since it helps the poor swimmers like
myself. Both mornings I completed the lap in around 40 minutes. I
was thinking that I would complete the swim on race day in about 1:20
since I swim basically at one speed. I could put a lot more energy
into the swimming but I hardly see any time improvement. On both of
my warmup swims my goggles kept fogging up so bad that I was having
trouble seeing the next buoy and this was in practice with no other
swimmers around. I wasn't sure what I would do if I couldn't see on
race day with the huge crowd. I was actually very nervous about
the swim since I've never been in such a large field for a swim.
I've heard stories of others adventures with mass swim starts and it
had me worried. I decided to go with my backup pair of goggles
which I hadn't worn in over a month. I knew they couldn't fog up any
worse than my new ones.
The day before the race there was a parade of all the athletes down
Main St. to the Olympic oval where the ironman activities were
taking place. 21 countries and all 50 states were represented in the
race. The transition area was in the Olympic speed skating oval and
the finish line was on the oval. The day before the race the bikes must be
turned in at the transition area. You could feel the energy rising
as all the bikes started arriving. There was a lot of money spent on
bikes. I felt a little intimidated as my bike is just an entry level
road bike. I may be wrong but I feel the bike doesn't make that
much difference, its the engine that makes it go that matters.
Lance Armstrong could probably beat me using a one speed beach
cruiser. I'm content with my bike and have no plans to upgrade.
Race day finally arrived. I had a good night sleep and woke up
focused and ready. I was still nervous about the swim. I felt
confident that I would finish but had no idea of what my time would
be. I had done one previous ironman in 12:42 on a much easier
course. I felt I was in better shape now but wasn't sure how I
would handle the hills on my bike. I headed to the race with my gear
bags. Triathlons require a lot of gear and the race gives you 5
different bags that will be placed at different spots so you have
access to what you need. Even though I made lists and checked the
bags twice I was still nervous that I got the right stuff in the
right bag. After checking the bags in I got bodymarked with my race
number on my arms and legs with a marker. I went to check my bike to
make sure everything was ready to go. There was a lot of activity
going on in the transition area and you could just feel the energy in
the air. It felt great just being there. I felt a bond with all
who were doing the race. I knew from my own training experience the
amount of time and the sacrifices that are made to be prepared to be
in one of these races.
I then made my way to the swim start. There was a huge crowd that
came to watch the race. It seemed that just about everyone had there
own cheering section. The whole length of the swim course had people
lining both sides of the lake with a thick crowd where we would be
coming out of the water. The swim is a 2 loop course in which you
actually come out of the water and run over a timing mat to verify
that you completed each loop. I got in the water about 15 minutes
prior to the start. There were many warming up but I didn't feel the
need and didn't want to waste the energy. They were playing some
great music and I was getting pumped up. There was an ESPN
helicopter flying around filming the race. I chose to stand up in
the shallow water rather than tread water. I was trying to figure
out where would be the best spot for me to start the race. I didn't
want to swim any more distance than I needed to. It was going to be
crowded no matter where I started. It felt like half the field was
near the start line and the other half near the shore. About a
minute before the gun went off I made my way to the back of those
waiting near the start line on the inside near the boueys. As soon
as the gun went off it was wall to wall people and I'm not sure I
could even call it swimming even though we were moving in the
water. We were all in the water trying to move in the same
direction but it was actually very hard to touch the water with your
hands and arms. Every stroke if you can call it that was more of a
push of the person in front of you and the same thing was going on
behind you. It felt like I was in a washing machine. This continued
for a couple hundred yards gradually getting better. Finally I was
able to stretch out my body and actually swim. It was still very
crowded but at least I felt like I was swimming. I felt like I was
tickling the feet of the person swimming in front of me as every
stroke my hands seemed to make contact with his feet. I was
prepared for all of the contact from hearing others talk about their
race experiences. I tried to keep my breathing relaxed and my heart
rate down. I was concentrating on trying to swim a straight line
and was relieved to see my goggles did not fog up. I exited the
water after the first lap and saw the clock read 35:XX. I was very
happy with that as it was about 5 minutes faster than my warmup
swims. I must have been getting pulled along by the current of all
those ahead of me. I ran across the timing mat and headed back for
the second loop thinking if I could just do another loop in that time
I'll have my fastest swim ever. The second loop was much less
crowded as the field was spreading out. Even though it was spreading
out it was still crowded but nothing like earlier. I began the
second loop going just outside the buoys. There was a tension rope
on the bottom of the lake that held the buoys together and I used it
as my guide like I was following a line in a pool. The buoys
drifted a little off the line and I actually swam right into the 5
foot high buoys a few times stopping me in my tracks. It seemed
everyone had the same idea of following the tension lines as it was
very crowded. I actually got kicked in the face causing me to bite
my lip. I could feel it bleeding and swelling up but it wasn't
hurting at all with all the adrenaline I had in my system. I continued
the rest of the swim trying to stay relaxed and use the least amount
of energy. I just wanted to get through the swim in a decent time (for me
anything under 1:20 would be great) without using up too much
energy. I felt like I was putting in the same effort on the second
loop but my time ended up about 5 minutes slower on the second loop. I
was a little shocked when I saw my swim time of 1:16. I was
very happy with the time given the small amount of swim training that
I put in, but after the fast first lap I was thinking I was going to
be quicker. After getting out of the water I ran to the wet suit
strippers. I had pulled my wetsuit down to my waist on my way
there. I sat on the ground and 2 ladies each grabbed a leg and had
it stripped off me in seconds. The lake was actually a long way
from the transition area and I had to run along barefoot on a
carpeted path for a few hundred yards with crowds going crazy on both
sides. This was exciting and I had a huge smile and enjoyed running
through the crowd.
As I entered the transition area it was pretty hectic but also well
organized. There were volunteers eager to assist you. They handed
my Swim-Bike Transition bag and off to the changing tent I went. I
quickly changed into my bike jersey and loaded the pockets with
food. I put my swim gear in the bag and off I went in search of my
bike. As I got to my row of bike racks a volunteer was heading
towards me with my bike. I ran another 100 yards before I was able
to mount my bike and begin riding. The nice thing about being a weak
swimmer is that there are lots of people that you can immediately
start to pass. This is a big confidence booster for me. I felt
very strong on the bike and began to pass people like they were in
slow motion. There were a few passing me who were even poorer
swimmers and stronger bikers but they were few and far between. It
was mostly me doing the passing and it felt good. I had no idea of
what place I was in and it really didn't matter to me at all. I was
racing against no one but the clock. It was a crowded bike ride for
the first few hours before the field really spread out. There was a
lot of talking going on and I was having a great time. Everyone was
encouraging each other. I was trying to take it easy on the first
loop of the bike course and trying not to work too hard on the
hills. I took the hills in my easiest gear and wished I had an even
easier one. The whole course was hilly with very few flat
sections. There were many sections that had rolling hills and I
tried to get as much speed on the downhills so that my speed would
carry me as far up the hill as it could before I had to start
climbing. I was passing riders throughout the whole bike ride. I
was passing people everywhere except the uphills. I would have a few
people pass me on the uphills but I would always catch them once we
reached the top of the hill. It seemed many of the bikers that were
better climbers would actually relax once reaching the top and not
continue to bike hard. I was trying to use the least amount of
energy going uphill and once on top of a hill I was ready to start
hammering. There were small crowds throughout the bike course and
aid stations every 10 miles. I was bummed to have my bike computer
stop working about 10 miles into the race. I've put on a few
thousand miles in training with no problems and couldn't believe it
decided to stop working during the big day. I would have liked to
have seen my speeds on the steep downhills. I know I was going
faster than I had ever ridden before. I'm pretty sure I exceeded
50mph . I'm sure I could have stopped and readjusted the sensor
but I didn't want to waste the time to fix it. I really didn't need
to know the speed. The cadence feature of the computer was still
working but it took me a while to remember that it works off of a
different sensor. It was actually more important to monitor the
cadence than the speed anyway. I tried to keep the bike in a gear
that would have me at a cadence of around 90-95. I was trying to eat
a lot during the bike. I had a smorgasbord of Clif bars, bagels,
GU, bananas and was constantly drinking Gatorade. I was trying to
drink a bottle of Gatorade before I reached the next aid station. I
was also taking electrolyte replacement capsules every hour. Midway
through the first loop of the bike a storm moved in and dropped a lot
of rain on us. It was coming down pretty hard and made us pay a lot
of attention when making turns. I can't remember how long it
lasted but it may have been an hour or two, maybe even more. The
rain had us completely drenched but it felt good since it was warm.
As I neared the end of the first loop the course takes you through
the downtown area where my family would be waiting to cheer me
along. I wasn't sure exactly where they would be and I kept looking
for the group of green shirts. Finally I came by them and I knew I
was having a good bike split and they would be relieved that the
hills weren't too much for me. It was exciting biking through the
town of Lake Placid as the whole course was lined with people for
miles. They had the cow bells ringing and music blasting. It felt
like I was in the Tour de France.
The second loop of the bike was more of the same but with the field
spread out, the rate that I was passing people slowed down. I felt
good starting the second loop but my legs started feeling the effects
of the hills. I decided to maintain the same effort level taking it
easy as I could on the uphills. Right before I reached the long
downhill section of the course the rain had stopped and the roads
were actually dry allowing us to go as fast as we felt was safe.
There was a lot less talking going on during the second loop as the
hills started to really feel like work. I was pretty focused during
the race and kept monitoring my cadence trying to find the proper
gear. I was trying to stay relaxed and not let the heart rate get
too high. I was having the bike ride that I had hoped I would.
The hills were a lot of work but I was able to handle them. There
was a long uphill stretch that was late into the second loop that I
started to feel good climbing and I actually started to pass people
during a climb. It must have been the positive vibes that everyone
was sending. I can't explain it but it felt like I was being
assisted or had a rush of energy when others were beginning to
fade. I wasn't keeping track of my lap splits just my overall time
and I knew I was happy with my overall bike split. My family was
great as they stayed on the course the whole day waiting for me to
come around. It was a rush and a good pick up every time I saw them
out there.
When I finally stopped the bike at the transition area, it was
actually difficult to dismount. The end of the bike course has a
long section of uphills and the second time around took a lot out of
me. After dismounting my legs felt like rubber and they actually
buckled for a second or two. I tried to shuffle to the gear racks
for the Bike - Run transition bag. I would like to see a tape of
that run as the legs really didn't want to run. Once I got my bag
and made it into the changing tent, I had a volunteer assisting me
with whatever request I had. These guys were great and the
assistance was appreciated. My legs recovered quite quickly and I
actually had a fast and smooth transition and soon found myself on
the marathon course.
My plan was to run at whatever pace felt comfortable and walk the
uphills. The run course was also very challenging with several good
size hills that would have to be run both up and down twice during
the 2 lap out and back course. I knew it was a good possibility that
I would be using a modified Galloway run/walk approach to finishing
the marathon. I started out running comfortably and found myself
running around 8:45 for the first 3 miles. I then started walking
through the aid stations which were every mile and running between
them. My pace began slowing after 3 miles. It was unexpectedly hot
during the run with temps in the mid 80's. The aid stations had
sponges dipped in cold water and at every aid station I squeezed one
over my head. By the time I reached 8 miles I had to start taking
walking breaks between aid stations. The course had many small
rolling hills and I tried to run to each hill and walk up it.
Several hills were rather long and a few times I found myself walking
for several minutes. I was beginning to fade and my walk breaks
became more frequent. I then started running (more like shuffling)
for 2 or 3 minutes then would walk for 30 seconds. Those 2 or 3
minutes of running went by so slow but those 30 seconds of walking
seem to go by in a blink of an eye. I knew where my family was
standing and I strategically planned my walk breaks to end before
they could see me so that they would only see me run past them. I
didn't want them to see me forced to walk and it took everything I
had to maintain a run til I was out of their sight. Just about
everyone around me was taking walk breaks and very few were running
the hills. There was a few short moments that I even questioned
myself for attempting races like this. When I was really struggling
it was not fun anymore and it had turned into work, hard work. I
think almost everyone has some low times during the race and
fortunately this negative attitude went away quickly. It was hard
to stay down with the great crowds cheering you on and the
volunteers helping you out in any way they can. Not once did I
ever consider dropping out of the race. I was thinking about how good it
would feel to just walk the rest of the way. But I kept pushing
even though I was slowed to a shuffle and then even forced to take
walk breaks between shuffles. I wanted to do the best that I could
do even if shuffling was all I had left to give. I was on the verge
of cramping and would run until I thought I was going to cramp. I
knew I was still on pace to set a PR. I had a goal of trying to
break 12 hours. I thought when I started the marathon that it was
possible as I only needed to run a little faster than a 4:30
marathon. As I finished the first loop of the run course, I was
still on pace to break 12 hours but my pace was slowing. I was
having trouble doing the math trying to figure out what pace I needed
to still break 12 hours. I was having trouble thinking clearly. I
was eating and drinking a lot but it was too late to recover. I
continued to slow down and ended up shuffling half the time and
walking half the time for the remainder of the race. If things
weren't getting hard enough, I started feeling a blister on my right
foot at around 20 miles into the marathon. From then on every step
on my right foot now was painful. My splits were irrelevant. As
sad as it may have looked, I was going as fast as I could have. I
feel great about the effort I put in, I couldn't have dug much
deeper. The marathon in an ironman is about as tough as it gets.
When I only had a few more miles to go I was able to see that I was
going to come up short on breaking the 12 hour mark. I kept pushing
trying to come as close to 12 hours that I could. I pushed the last
mile and only took one short walk break. There was a big crowd
watching the finish. The place was alive. Music was playing and it
was a party like atmosphere. I could hear the music at the finish
from over a half mile away. I thought about crossing the finish
line many times during training and wondered what it would be like.
The race finished on the oval with athletes running half a lap before
crossing the finish line. When I reached the oval my oldest daughter
who's 9 ran in with me holding hands and grinning. The crowds at
the finish are great and make everyone feel like a winner. I was
glad there was a little gap between finishers as I had the final turn
and the crowd alone with my daughter. Every finisher is announced
and it was a high, hearing the announcer say, "Bob Panzak from
Merritt Island, Florida YOU ARE AN IRONMAN".
My finish time was 12:08:32.
Swim: 1:16:48
T1: 6:44
Bike: 6:05:07
T2: 3:35
Run: 4:36:21
Overall I'm very happy with my time. I'm happy with the effort I put
in. I'm not happy in the way I faded in the marathon. I think
part of my problem was not having a good nutrition plan for the
race. I think I need to put together a planned nutrition strategy
making sure I get enough calories in throughout the race. I'm
thinking I didn't eat enough during the race.
Overall this was the best race I've taken part in. Everything was
well organized. They had 3500 volunteers for less than 2000
athletes. All of the volunteers that I had contact with were eager
to please and very helpful. The transition area was handled very
smoothly with a large number of people somehow it all stayed
organized. The aid station volunteers were awesome. A few times
some of the items getting handed out were mishandled and dropped.
Instead of stopping and going back to get something the volunteers
would go back and pick up some item and then run to where I was.
This was unexpected but just shows how well they support the athletes
during the race. The atmosphere at the finish line was like no other
finish line I've seen before. After I finished the race I went back
to our condo and showered then returned to see the finishers who
would be finishing in the final 3 hours. Several times it was very
emotional and I actually had tears coming down my face watching many
of the finishers cross the line. The crowd grew thicker as the night
went on as many athletes came back to cheer on those who were still
on the course. The music playing was upbeat and there was so much
energy in the air all night. The ironman is an expensive race but
the experience will be something I'll never forget. It may have been
expensive but the memory of the day is priceless.
These ironman races are difficult but very doable. If you break
down the paces needed for each discipline to finish the race within
the time limit it is not that bad. I highly recommend doing one if
you have the desire to. I felt so alive the whole day. As good as
it feels to cross the finish line at a marathon, the ironman finish
line feels many times better. I'll be back again. That feeling is
too good to not experience it again.