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Transition 1
Removing myself from the water, I unzipped my wetsuit from the back and peeled it down to just below my hips. As I approached the wetsuit strippers I was told to "hit the floor" and they quickly ripped my suit off and handed it to me with a quick "good luck". The run to transition is longish over a carpet laid on top of the asphalt road. I ran pretty steady with my wetsuit in hand. Two years ago, I had a bit of an emotional letdown at this stage and I was determined not to let this happen again.
I grabbed my transition bag and headed off into the tent where I quickly changed into my full cycling gear. As I was leaving the change tent for my bike, I noticed the porta-potties and thought that a quick stop for #2 was in order. What I couldn't believe was the amount of time I had to wait to use one. It seemed forever before I got into the porta-potty, although it was probably not more than a couple of minutes. After relieving myself, I headed towards my bike which was handed to me and I jumped on and headed out onto the challenging bike course.
Bike
I wasn't even half a kilometer into the bike course when my two behind-the-seat Extran bottles rocketed into the air. This has NEVER happened to me before on any training ride or race. I've always taped all my water bottles for extra traction just to avoid such dangerous situations. I guess they somehow came loose in the jostling of getting my bike and mounting it. I slowed and pulled off onto the sidewalk where a kind gentleman handed them back to me. Ironman spectators rock!
As I was pulling back onto the course, a guy who is on my masters swim team (whose name escapes me and whom I forgot was racing) went by me and shouted a quick word of encouragement to me along the lines of "there's alot of time left to get back into the flow". And he was right. Seeing him also filled me with alot of confidence. In our masters swim team practices, this guy was always ahead of me in the lane and I was sure he'd get out of the water ahead of me. But even with the infinitely long washroom break, I'd beat him out onto the bike course so perhaps a good day was ahead of me.
The first 15km of the Lake Placid course is rolling and I made the mental decision to stay aerobic (Z1/2) for the duration of this section. Unfortunately, plans are just that - plans, and not necessarily what happens in reality. I guess due to adrenalin and the excitement of the time, my heart rate would drift into the low Z3 range for extended periods, particularly when I pushing up a roller. I tried to keep my enthusiasm under control and kept telling myself that I must fully recover during the long downhill into Keane.
The downhill section was a real blast. My Cervelo P3 with a HED Superlight disc wheel on the back was absolutely screaming and I noticed that with no pedalling I was passing alot of people. Very honestly, this bike is almost as fast as you can get one. I will never be able to outcycle this bike. Any improvements from here on out will have to be to the "engine", not the bike. Although the roads were closed one way, I noticed alot of people hugging the right-most of the lane and not taking a more direct line down the incline. I know that as a courtesy we stay to the right of the lane to let others pass, but some people (I think) were taking that a bit too literally and losing valuable time and momentum braking before dangerously pulling out to pass.
After the downhill section, there is a nice mostly flat section from Keane to Jay (about 15 or so kilometers). Here I really focussed on getting some food into my stomach and getting my heart rate up to the desired range (Z2). I had the desire to hammer the flat here, but instead spinned away happily at 28kph preferring to keep some strength in my legs for the climb back into Lake Placid.
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