IronCamp EastCoast Day One - Update

Cold. Wet. Hilly. Forecast for the weekend? 100% chance of being seriously challenged. Intermittent breaks of concentration, followed by possible loss of morale.

Lake Placid is in typical form for early June. We have done this camp for four years now, and only on one occaision was is sunny and warm. Otherwise, it has been a character-building, bike mechanic's nightmare of a weekend. 2006 appears to be headed in the same direction. Today was wet, about 54 degrees with minimal wind. As we all arrived late last night, we did one-loop of the course followed by a swim technique session / workout. There were no real issues to speak of, but the new folks are pretty humbled by the course. This will be my fourth time racing LP, and I am only now becoming comfortable with the rhythm of the 56-mile loop.

There are 9 campers up here this weekend, with 4 prepping for IM USA, 2 for Roth, 2 for Great Floridian and one for Canada+Hawaii. Once again, we have been fortuntate to get a great group of just really easy going, fun-loving folks. Everyone has different race day goals with one nine-hour dude and another guy hoping just to finish. This had us all over the course today, but with so many other folks up here to train, there weren't a lot of secluded parts of of the course. It's a busy weekend here in Placid, with at least one other camp in town and the local half/full marathon on Sunday. That makes for a lot of skinny people with shaved legs!

Anyway, here are a couple of key tips for racing placid that came out of our afternoon debrief session:

1. Do Not Go Hard On Loop One: There are plenty of places on this course to ride your brains out and end all hopes of a good marathon. Conservative pacing on loop one will ensure you have the energy to competently approach loop two. This will help you pass a lot of folks at the end of the ride...not to mention the run.
2. Set A Nutrition Plan...: With the weather so variable, it's really important to have a set plan for eating (drink X every 15 mins, eat Y every 30, etc.). Even more important, it is critical that you actually practice eating the stuff (can you hold that gel? reach that bottle? get those salt tabs?).
   
3. ...and Match Your Plan To The Course!: There are a lot of hills on the course, so make sure that you aren't trying to stuff a gel in your mouth as you climb a 6% grade! :) We worked a lot today on now only capturing the knowledge of the course, but also in applying it towards our actual race day plans. Something as simple as this not only gives you focus on race day -- a specific task to look forward to and execute upon -- but it can mean the difference between success and failure.

Tomorrow is a full 112 miles w/ an optional run. Then a late PM dip in Mirror Lake to check out the cables, etc.

Praying for dry weather,

Coach P