My IM USA LP Race Report
Tony Orlando

In a nutshell, my 2nd Ironman race report is shaped in 4 ways: 1) Kona qualifying times from 2003 IM Lake Placid and 2) a June, 2005 training weekend in Lake Placid and 3) 12:50 am on Sunday, July 24th, 2005 (yes, that’s race morning!) and 4) most importantly a need for better balance in my life – an apparent dilemma with 1-3!

Goal setting - previous Kona qualifying times at IM USA Lake Placid
One of my personal goals is to someday qualify for the Ironman World Championships at Kona. To this end, as I prepared for another Ironman training season during the early spring, I reviewed the last 3 years of Kona qualification times for my age group at IM USA LP. Now, I am not targeting to win my age group, but with a little luck the Kona spots can rolldown with a few of the top qualifiers saying “no thanks”. During the past 3 years in my age group, there have been Kona qualifiers with ~ 11 hr, 11 minutes – my goal. Given my 2004 11 hr, 48 minute time at IM Wisconsin, cutting 30ish minutes was feasible, albeit on a tougher course.

Training, including on IM USA Lake Placid course in June, ‘05
As I thought about my performance at IM WI, my run was about as expected but I felt there was an opportunity to cut my marathon time if I got more comfortable running while relatively tired. So, earlier this year I decided to not only head out to Lake Placid to become more familiar with the course, but to also participate in the Lake Placid Marathon – but showing up a little spent. Prior to the Sunday marathon, I biked 225 miles on the IM course over a 3 day period in unusually very hot and humid conditions (56 miles on Thu, 112 on Fri, and 56 on Sat). This, in addition to swimming 3 miles on Mirror Lake, was good training and helped me achieve a state of being spent going into the Sunday LP marathon that would be roughly equivalent to starting an IM marathon. On that Sunday, I ran a 3 hr, 48 minute marathon. So, needing an < 11 hr, 11 minute IM less a 3 hr 48 minutes marathon, this helped me establish a goal of being out of T2 at the IM of ~7 hrs, 20 minutes.

Ok, so now I have some goals, now what? I had good training sessions during the early spring; however, during late spring and summer, a new career role required me to travel extensively outside of the U.S. --- not good for training. So, during a 9 week period, I spent 6 weeks in Australia, Africa and the U.K. Do you know how hard it is to find a safe, reasonably paved bike route in Johannesburg, South Africa??? Fortunately, I was able to keep up with much of the training – albeit in not the most ideal setting. Heading into my IM taper, I felt a little sore but physically & emotionally good. I’m ready for my 2nd IM!

Race day
12:50 am – Woke up with sour stomach – shit!. During the next 6 hours, tried eating a banana, walking, further resting but all no good. Only once in 3 years had I experienced a stomach upset while training / competing, so this was unusual but of course I just tried to not think about it and hope that with time, it would settle.

7:00 am – swim went pretty good. Got my goggles knocked off twice, but felt ok during swim. T1 was good & fast, then started the ride which I was pretty excited about. Still have quesy stomach, but the good thing is that it wasn’t getting worse. Perpeteum, Hammergel all going down pretty good (thanks Ray Chavez and Jonathan Berens for the E-Cap recommendation and putting up with all my questions!).

During 6 hr bike, I felt strong, weather was cool and enjoyed seeing a few friends on the course. Spoke with Emily Brackett for a while – it was good to see at least one other competitor without ZIPP wheels! Saw my mom and aunt along the course, and a few others friends, I was riding high although ever mindful of my sour stomach. It wasn’t getting better, but wasn’t getting worse either – at least not yet…

Guess what? I came of T2 at 7 hrs, 20 minutes according to my watch - the exact time as my swim & bike goal. So I’m thinking “I’m doing pretty good, repeat June’s marathon and I MIGHT be headed to Kona”.

The first 13 miles of the run were at a good pace. Felt ok, but also began to feel its just a matter of time before I blow up. And, at mile 16 of the run, things changed. Stomach shutdown, legs became weak and for the first time in any sporting event, I stopped participating. I walked, got cola and pretzels to settle stomach. Nearly bonked, but didn’t. I feared bonking and DNFing. But, I was given a gift. I quickly realized “no Kona”. I started asking myself “Why is this happening?” As I looked alongside the road, there was a beautiful flowing river, majestic mountains in the backdrop, a bright sunny sky and then started a conversation with myself “I am a lucky guy. Physically gifted to do IM, surrounded by wonderful family & friends.”

Balance
"I am unfulfilled. Something is missing for me. I miss spending time with my parents who are getting older and who I love dearly – I drive back to suburban Detroit to see them, but then go biking for 6 hours and barely see them before they go to bed. I want to fish in that river with my dad. I want to hike up the mountain with my friend Kevin. I want to hang out with my sister and Anthony in their backyard and BBQ. I have missed spending time with George & Angela, my Godson Georgie and his twin brother Alan, Jeric & Sarah, Mark & Judy, etc. I haven’t even met Jeff and Maryelise’s son Ethan. I want my social life. I miss eating ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s, Weiner’s Circle, ESPN and walking through Lincoln Park with no agenda. I miss going for a casual 40 minute run along the lakefront. When was the last time I stayed out late on Friday night and drank a few extra beers and didn’t have to worry about driving to Barrington or Madison the next day to ride. How about staying in Africa and taking advantage of business travel and go on a safari instead of zipping back to Chicago to train. I need better balance like Anthony Chukumba.”

I wasn’t in a negative emotional spin, but rather I realized that during the last 18 months of IM training, I sacrificed a lot. And, if I did quality for Kona, I was looking at several more months of training. This isn’t sour grapes. I needed to take this mile 16-18 timeout and am grateful for it. After this soul searching, I was ready to proceed. I picked up my pace and finished the IM in 11 hrs, 57 minutes. At finish, I was escorted to the medical tent by two very attractive women (nice bonus). Medical staff informed me I had lost 7 lbs during race and blood pressure was too low. I need to rest in their presence, take in some fluids. Was released after about 20 minutes. Pizza never tasted so good.

So, a 11 hr, 57 minute IM -- no Kona, but respectable. And most importantly, I have a renewed sense of priorities. So, yes I will do another IM someday, but not until after I have reconnected with some important people in my life and deepened some relationships I am grateful to have.

What is Georgie’s favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream anyway? I guarantee this, I will soon find out…