Ironman Lake Placid is done and dusted! In this episode we’re putting a bow on the IMLP journey for many of our athletes by covering the key insights we picked up on race day and immediately before and after. Topics include: avoiding panic training during race week, the importance of hiring a coach, why Ironman is so hard, how cool weather can be a major performance booster, dealing with torrential rain on race day, the importance of patience, infusing joy into your race experience, thoughts on the most helpful workouts and training experiences leading up to race day, carb loading do’s and don’ts, useful mantras, and a whole lot more. This episode is relevant for all long distance races, not just Placid. Check it out!

Insights from LP and other recent coaching/training

First, big congrats to all of our athletes! So many inspiring performances and even more insights…

Jim:

Ironman Lake Placid Race Observations

Pre-Race Observations

Recovery is king during race week.
This cannot be overstated: race week is all about shedding both chronic and acute fatigue. You cannot gain fitness during this time—only add unnecessary fatigue. I saw many athletes doing full course previews or going too hard on Friday and Saturday. Don’t do it!
Light movement is fine—examples include a 30-minute ride with a 15-minute run off the bike, or one day of an easy 1,000-yard swim.
Hire a coach.
It’s your best investment for Ironman and long-course racing. A good coach will keep you from making race-week mistakes, guide you with a tested nutrition plan, and ensure you're truly ready for race day.
Lake Placid is stunning.
This might sound obvious, but it’s not always the case—I’ve spent plenty of time there in terrible weather. This year, Friday and Saturday were perfect: cool, blue skies, crisp air. The combo of mountains and lakes in such a compact area makes it a recreational playground. A good day in Lake Placid will hook you for life.
If I were king for a day...
I’d reverse the bike course. It rides really well backward, with more trending downhills and just one major climb.
Bike course preview:
I rode most of the course on Saturday and was reminded just how challenging it is. I still believe the climb out of Upper Jay is the hardest on the course—it now comes just after mile 90 and is a long, grinding ascent.
Wilmington to Placid isn't as hard as I remembered.
Granted, I only did one loop. There’s more speed in that section than expected.
Thinking about doing this race next year?
You should plan at least one 7-hour Race Sim ride—ideally during your Week 3 Race Simulation Weekend.
Incredible stat:
The race is supported by 1,700 volunteers. That’s what makes it happen. The community support is off the charts.

Race Day Observations

General

Ironman is an incredibly hard beast.
Huge respect to everyone who finished. If it had been designed as a two-day event, it would still be tough—but the fact it’s packed into one day is just bonkers.
Cool weather = performance booster.
Race day was cool, and you could see the impact—many athletes were able to run more of the marathon than usual.
Best race strategy: Patience + fueling.
The best way to stretch your fitness is through discipline and smart nutrition.
There’s no substitute for big fitness.
Get as fit as you can—any way you can. That’s your best card to play on race day.
Don’t forget to smile.
Too many serious faces on race morning. Enjoy it!

Swim

Stay easy and relaxed.
Don't run to T1. A brisk walk helps bring your heart rate down and gets your mind centered.
If there are wetsuit peelers—use them! I saw athletes skip them, only to fumble with their wetsuits in the sand.

Bike

Pump your tires the day before and leave them.
Lower pressure is often better. I saw so many people with pumps—why? You just dropped off your bike 14 hours ago.

Check the Silca Tire Pressure Calculator.
“A bike pump will not save you.” If you need to pump every ride, you probably have a slow leak. Fix that during training.

You don’t need a fancy bike—just get aero.
Clip-on aero bars on a road bike can give you a big speed advantage.
Get a professional bike fit.
I saw too many awkward, inefficient setups. A proper fit adds comfort and speed, and can significantly improve your run performance.
Avoid full aero helmets with no vents.
Most years are hot, and those helmets cook your head. One of your main goals on the bike is thermoregulation—don’t sabotage that with an oven on your head.
(So many Rudy Project TT helmets with no vents...)
Plan and train for a 7-hour bike ride.
Don’t assume it will go faster.

Run

The best runners looked smooth and rhythmic.
Many triathletes run tight. Your challenge of the week, every week: work on fluid, rhythmic run form.
Consider changing into dry clothes for the run, especially if it rained on the bike.
12–13 minute miles are common at Ironman Lake Placid.
Keep moving forward.
You’ll be amazed how much ground you can cover.
I spoke with several of our athletes on the run, looking them in the eyes.
In those moments, everything is stripped away. What looks back at you is truth, soul, and connection. This is no ordinary space—it’s rare air.
This is part of what draws us to big races and epic adventures:
We go there to find out who we are.

Katie:

Conversation with an athlete about how an “over-distance” swim, bike, and/or run (or time on feet adventure) prior to training is helpful from a mindset perspective.

“I wish I had known what it was like to see my bike computer roll over from 100 to 101, 110, 112 miles before race day.”
W4 Race Sim my athletes did a century, though in the past I have had people do the full 112 distance.
Even more useful for me before my first Placid prep were adventures like the Coast Ride (600 miles over 5 days with every day over 100) and the Dartmouth Fifty

Then you can use the mantra: “I’ve moved my body for a whole lot longer than this before”

I probably wouldn’t recommend doing these during the specific prep phase, but folding them into life as part of your “I want to do an Ironman in X number of years” is useful
Some ideas:

Massive bike ride (something like 200 on 100 or even a 120 mile ride or back-to-back centuries+)
Big adventure day in the mountains that takes 12+ hours (to get used to moving your body for that long)

Note: What I DON’T think you need to do is run a road marathon. Different sport from IM marathon and will be a ‘shorter’ / different intensity zone day. Do it if you want to for other reasons, but not to build IM specific confidence. This athlete specifically said 18 mile long run in the Placid build was enough, and I agree (because the difference between 18, 22, 24, 26 is negligible at the end of IM).

Big OWS adventure (5000 yards? We once did 50 x 100 on 1:40 in the pool or could do 100 x 100 if you are crazy)
Open to others!
Broader point: the best IM preps are a multi-year project!

Not overdoing it on the carb loading by radically changing everything about your diet the day before race.

Athlete taking about day before race: “I think I did not eat nearly enough in an effort to “carb load”, so rather than (e.g.,) having a bacon egg and cheese, I just had two plain bagels in town because i was trying to avoid protein and fat in favor of carbs. By the time I got home, I felt like crap. Had a headache, was hot, and was worried I had come down with a fever and wouldn’t be able to race”
Luckily rallied with a more normal dinner, but
My approach to carb loading is usually more conservative: sip sports drink instead of plain water or plain electrolytes throughout the day, choose carb-y snacks like pretzels or candy instead of protein/fatty snacks, but stick to generally regular schedule of meals and snacks (minus a ton of fat/fiber)

E.g. I usually eat oatmeal with PB for pre race and pre workout breakfast, but when carb loading I would do some extra oats and a little less PB.

Insight on going ‘external’ vs. ‘internal’ on race day:

One of my athletes talked about how in a race setting she loves to engage with other racers because going fully external is a better place than fully internal (where your brain may be telling you a story that will not help your performance).
Making a friend, making other people smile/laugh, etc. is a great way to harness energy – and something that isn’t often available to you on race sims
Specifically would ask racers around her “who wants to run up this hill with me?” and would get a huge crowd going up the hill together
Goes back to values like community, joy, etc.
We need more people like this on the race course!!

Importance of flexibility with fueling:

The fuel you loved in training may not settle on race day
Even coke may not settle on race day! E.g. if it is too carbonated
For one of my athletes, oranges and pretzels became the move when nothing else worked - and that is great!
What not to do: just stop fueling because you think nothing is going to work. You need to keep trying until you find something that works

General PSA: everyone hates their race photos! Fitness is a feeling!

Some athlete mantras I loved:

“the best bike is one i can run off of”
“my fastest day is one where I run the whole marathon”
“i am in no rush”
“it doesn’t have to be pretty is just has to be done”

Challenge of the week:

Katie: Post race, give yourself a week of “permission to be super lazy!” and turn off the athlete brain. You might actually enjoy it!

Jim: Clean up your bike post race. Get off all that sweat, bodily fluids, sticky gels and carb drink.

Gear pick of the week:

Katie: Salomon Adv Skin 12L pack, which we have recommended before – for spectating as well as adventuring/racing!

Jim: Gear for spectators: Binoculars.