We headed to the northlands of New York on Wednesday before the race. The 6 am flight out of Denver was a bit rough, but got us into Burlington, VT (the Boulder, Austin, or Madison of Vermont) by mid-day. Losing 2 hrs of time zones and having a connection meant any route would take the good part of the day. We were on the same flights as some of the WTC folks which should us got into the VIP stuff, but somehow didn't pan out.
Anyways, from Burlington, we took a ferry over to the state of New York (the short one as the weather wasn't conducive to sightseeing), which meant our day included planes, boat, and automobiles (not quite the same as planes, trains, and automobiles). We drove half of the bike course (Ausable Forks to Lake Placid) in the rain. The village of Lake Placid itself is a bit of a tourist mecca (reminded me of Estes Park), but we kept going to our accommodations in Saranc Lake. Our accommodations were the dorm rooms at North Country Community College. NCCC, I've lived in dorms. I've stayed in dorms. Dorms were a home of mine. NCCC dorms, you're no dorms. More like nice prison rooms. But, they were the cheapest option by a New York mile (Same as a regular mile, its really just the minutes that are different).
Looking back, if we had know that there was a kitchen in the main building before the last day, we wouldn't have been so disappointed with the kitchenette (microwave and mini fridge). If there was soap anywhere, we wouldn't have been so disappointed. If there was a shower door or curtain, we wouldn't have been so disappointed. If we hadn't gotten the smallest room in the suite, while the two other individuals who stayed there each got a bigger room, we wouldn't have been so disappointed. If our room wasn't right next to the bathroom with its jet engine toilet, we wouldn't have been so disappointed. If the sheets weren't so thin that the plastic mattress felt clammy as hell, we wouldn't have been so disappointed.
But, it was away from the chaos that was the village of Lake Placid and the other guys in our suite (Bob and Tom) were nice.
On to Thursday... Picked up bikes. Got the wristband. Swam a loop. Biked the flat section. Ate dinner at nice BBQ place with live music. Went back to prison, I mean the dorm rooms.
Friday was a bit of swimming, time at the expo, and going to the athlete's meeting.
Saturday was the normal day of freaking out, dropping bike and bags off, and early dinner. For dinner we tried the Beth method and went for a breakfast at HoJo's (one of two restaurant only Howard Johnson's). Worked pretty well, but wouldn't recommend anything but the breakfast there :).
Sunday (aka Race Day)
We headed to Placid, parked and headed to transition. Body marking had no wait when we showed up (we'll be body marking at the Boulder 70.3 to return the karma). The special need bags drop off was a workout in itself as it was like a thousand million miles down the road. Okay, maybe not that bad, but still a bit of a trek. The rest of getting the bike ready when pretty well. Sunscreen application was next and then it was time to head over to the swim start. A lost her swim cap (actually in her bag), but got one at the swim start. I think we got in the water before the pro's started but memory ain't so good no more. After the pro's went we moved into position (near the middle, a few rows back).
Swim:
The plan I had was to swim wide of the line on the way out for the first lap, work to the line around the turn around and follow the line for the second half of the first lap and the whole second lap. For those not in the know, the line is a cable that runs the length of the swim course about 3 to 8 feet underwater (visible the whole way) and the buoys are connected to it. Since nearly everyone wants to swim on the line, I thought it would be suicidal to try to swim the line at the beginning, so we started in the middle. But, the peep's that started on the outside thought they should get to the line right away and I felt herded to the inside right away. Anyways, a few moments of near panic on the first section as it was crowded as anything. Got to the line at the turn around and followed it in. I probably hit about 20 of the little buoys, 7 of the big ones, and the line a few times (when it was shallow) throughout the swim, but at least I swam straight. I came out for the 1st lap of the swim in 33 or so and knew I was on a good pace (for me). The 2nd lap was still entertaining as I got my cheek kicked hard once and pummeled a bit trying to stay on the line. Second lap must have been about the same time as the total time was 1:06:16. Best IM swim time by a couple of minutes. Not surprising as my pace in the pool has been improving (right in time to stop doing triathlons...)
Oh, time to make some dinner. To be continued.....
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