LIVE from Ironman USA at Lake Placid: RACE REPORT from CARMELLO ELIE
So this is it, this is what I wanted since last year when I saw my friends cross the line. Here’s my story.
Friday/Saturday:
Ate a lot of carbs, much more than I am used to eating these days since my slow conversion to the Paleo diet. Friday night we had pasta at a restaurant called Jimmy’s in town. The food was great and I felt stuffed.
Lessons Learned: Try and eat normally (per “Going Long”) and experiment with G’s Carbo loading protocol earlier (Training especially on “Big Day “and before a Half IM)
Sunday:
Woke up at 12 am and downed 1 can of ensure with water (didn’t drink it with water for Eagleman ½ IM so I made the adjustment this time around). Went back to bed and woke up about 2 am and drank 1 more can of ensure with water. 3 am one more can of Ensure and water. At 4:30 AM I was up showered and ate a small bowl of Oatmeal (I could barely finish it) and ½ a banana.
Got dressed and stretched outside the room and listened to a playlist to get psyched up. My family got ready to take me down to the start, time started to fly. We drove into town but roads were closed. I dropped off my Spiz and Perpetulum and went to get Bodymarked. And all of a Sudden it was time for the big dance. We headed down to the swim start.
Got my wetsuit on and walked to the arches to get my timing chip set. I had to pee bad and could not wait to get into the lake. So I let it go while waiting. I got into the lake and headed to a deck where people were hanging onto and standing on. I spoke to a few of the athletes, one of which was a girl who I would end up riding the 1st loop of the bike with. We were both nervous. I spotted my family and waved hi.
SWIM
The canon went off and it was time to roll. The swim was a bit rough but somehow I ended up on the line. Which made sighting easy for the 1st loop; I stayed to the inside of the line and avoided the fight on the right of the line. I finished it in 38 mins. This was a PR for me for 1.2 miles.
Lap 2 was a challenge because I had 3 linebackers ahead of me, I wanted to swim a bit harder since the 1st lap was so easy. I ended up getting kicked in the face by one of the linebackers. Then when I tried going around them, I started swimming off course. I ended the 2nd loop in 40 mins. Still faster than I have ever swam 1.2 miles.
BIKE:
1st Loop:
Took it easy on the 1st 30 miles, riding the course 8 weeks earlier, I knew the real work was gonna happen much later. My HR was all over the place though, I tried just to hold my HR below 150 on the hills.
There were 6 girls around mile 45 who mooned the group of riders with the words “ROCK ON” spelled across their butts. This was hysterical!
2nd Loop
Started picking up the pace, and started catching up to people who took off in the 1st loop. The downhill into Keene was fast, I hit 45 mph. Then it started to happen, I started cramping on the out and back. So I put it in the small chain ring and spun a bit. The cramping slowed me down, I was hoping to ride stronger on the last 20 miles, so I decide to be conservative and save some energy for the run.
Nutrition – on the bike I had Spiz, Perpetulium and GU. I took in 1 Succeed cap per hour. On the 2nd loop I had a Cliff bar. I drank water for most of the day on the bike until the 2nd loop, I started drinking Gatorade to try and get rid of the cramps
T2
I got into the Men’s Change Tent and I was cramping big time. I had trouble putting on my sneakers because both legs were cramping. My Left hamstring would cramp, then my right Quad would cramp. I told myself get moving, hopefully it will go away.
Run:
1st Loop:
Cramps disappeared for a while on the 1st loop after I got moving. I took in some Redbull and GU and got going. I had planned to drink Cola and Gatorade on the run, but a friend from G’s (Justin “Mag3”)board told me how good Cola was, and man was he right. Cola became my crack for the run. I had H.E.E.D. in my fuel belt so I drank it, Cola and GU. I never skipped an aid stop. I tried to take my mind off of the distance by thinking of as loops. I also looked at the trees and scenery and ignore everything around me. The hills leading into town were hard, very hard. My goal going into IMLP was to be still running by Mile 18. I finished the 1st lap in 2hrs. Great!! If my legs can only hold up. I can run my fastest marathon.
2nd loop:
The night before a reviewed Rich S.’ article about race day and the “monkey” on the 2nd loop. I was a crack addict by now, each aid station all I was looking for was Cola. And they ran out, I was a fiend searching for my next hit. To take myself away from the moment I started talking to people on the course, ran for a few with a guy and girl who were on their 1st loop. We talked about why we are doing this and how we got into it. They started to walk so I continued on. Running into people and talking, as I knew this would help make the miles pass by. I was cramping on the out and back, I would stretch and be able to continue for a few more miles. Only to stop again and stretch some more. I could not wait to get out of their.
“Pain is Temporary, Pride is forever” I read this on the ground and I kept repeating it to myself. I found out later that Mary Eggers wrote it, she helped me so much with training ideas, and I could not find her on the run. I begged my legs to continue on. I tried to think about what I did to get this far, One thought brought me back to a night where I had to do a long run. It was pitch black out and my wife drove behind me in the car with her high beams on so I could finish my workout.
The run into town hurt, my legs were cramping on those last two hills back into town. I was going to walk up the hills, but seeing a few coaches from Long Island rooting for me I had to suck it up and run. 2 miles left, and my legs were screaming. The cramps were intense at this point. I stopped and stretched, when I saw Dave( He held a camp up in Lake placid which I attended) he told me I was almost home, jog slow and it’s over. ½ mile left, I saw another coach from LI, she yelled out “carmello you did it you’re a Ironman!” it was all adrenaline from this point on. I ran in, saw my wife, friends and dog. We crossed the line together, I saw the finish line, which I used as my desktop background for the last 6 months and I heard the announce say the words “Carmello Elie You Are an IRONMAN!”
