Photo by Angela.
Lake Placid holds a special place in our heart for several different reasons. Ironman Lake Placid was Karel's first Ironman in 2013 and our first Ironman together. It was the first Ironman that I participated in after my dad was diagnosed with cancer and had undergone extensive spinal surgery due to the cancer spreading to his spine. Karel had his only DNF in Lake Placid in 2015 when he went into the race with a torn plantar. Karel has raced IMLP 4 times and I have raced 3 times. We decided to move to Greenville after 2013 IMLP as we fell in the love with the mountains. Lastly, we made the long drive to Lake Placid three times so that we could bring Campy with us. This recent trip was a bit emotional as Friday was the one-year since we said good bye to Campy.
Karel was supposed to race Lake Placid this year but he has had some complications after two knee surgeries (meniscus trims) so he deferred to 2026. Since we had 9 athletes racing, we decided to make the trip to support our athletes. And this time we would make new memories with Sunny.
Tuesday
We started our long 16 hour drive early on Tuesday morning. We made a stop in DC to stay with our athlete Morgan. We had a nice pizza dinner with several of our DC athletes. Sunny enjoyed playing with Morgan's dogs (Cheddar and Gossip).
Wednesday
We finished the drive on Wednesday morning (we left before 6am and arrived around 3:30pm) and checked into our Airbnb at the Snowshoe Lodge. During our drive, I ordered some groceries from Hannaford online (Instacart) and they were delivered in the evening. This location was perfect as it was only a ~1/2 mile walk to the lake and right on the run course. After we unloaded our stuff, we walked to Mirror Lake and was joined by our professional athletes Yannick and Katie for an open water swim. Since Karel and I don't leave Sunny alone when we travel, we took turns. I swam a loop (1.2 miles) and then Karel swam a loop. After the swim we all ate dinner at the brewery across the lake.
Thursday
On Thursday morning, I left around 7am for a ride on the IMLP bike course (53.5 miles from our Airbnb). I enjoyed riding the Keene descent on my road bike and enjoying the scenery on the course. Lake Placid is incredibly beautiful and although the weather can be unpredictable, the weather was warm and humid. After my ride, I went for a 2.7 mile/22 min run. While I was out, Karel worked on a few of our athletes bikes and got some work done. He also went on a long walk with Sunny and stopped by the Blueberry bakery. He then went out for a MTB ride on the Lussi and Logger trails. Karel is getting ready for his 2nd Breck Epic MTB stage race. He was really disappointed in the trails on Thursday as they were not well maintained. He was able to ride for 2.5 hours and after his ride he went for a 4.5 mile, 31 min run. In the afternoon, we went for another swim at Mirror Lake. The water was warm so we wore our swim skins every time we swam. Our athlete Yannick watched Sunny in his camper van as we swam as it was raining (lightly) and Sunny does not like the rain).
Friday
On Friday morning, we set up a meet up with our athletes at the lake. We all swam a loop. Since it rained overnight, Karel waited until it dried out before heading out for his ride. After the swim I went for a 9.2 mile, 1:12 run on the run course. Since Karel left for his ride after I swam, our athletes Katie and Yannick offered to watch Sunny while I ran as Katie needed to get some work done on her computer and she misses her pups (Sunny is the replacement :) I ran on Hwy 86 (reversing the bike course) to River road and then followed the run course back into town. After I returned, I walked with Katie to the pro meeting and then continued on with our walk in downtown with Sunny. Karel went out for a 4 hour, 30 mile MTB ride at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg (the out and back of the bike course). He was hopeful that this would be a good area to ride as it's the home of the UCI mountain bike race in Placid but once again he was not thrilled with the riding. He was still able to get in a long ride. In the evening, we had a pizza party at our athlete's house and enjoyed chatting with all of our athletes racing.
Sunny is in the process of becoming a certified therapy dog so we did some practice with his vest on in the town.
Saturday
In the morning, Karel went for a run (1:34, 12.2 miles) and I hung out with Sunny and got some work done. While Karle was running, Sunny and I walked to downtown and picked up bagels. After Karel returned, it was my turn to ride. I was really looking forward to my ride on the Whiteface Memorial Highway. Anytime I do a new route, especially a climb, I always do some research first. My friend Carley from Gville told me about the climb and she told me I would really enjoy it. She was right! The 40 mile ride took me 2:43 and had 4700 feet of climbing. The climb is 8 miles, gains 3600 feet and averages 8%. There is a toll booth after a few miles and it costs $15 for cyclists to continue to the top. There were a few cyclists climbing and descending as I was riding. It got cooler as I got to the top (I brought arm warmers and gloves and a mylar sheet for my chest). My goal was to complete the climb under 1:10 and I did it in 1:09. The views at the top were incredible. Because the climb didn't have any significant turns, the descend was fast! I maxed my speed at 50 mph! When I got back, I went for a 31 min, 4 mile run. After I returned home, Karel drove to the Flume Trail system and he said this was his favorite trail of the three. It was flown and fun. He rode for 1:48. As Karel was riding, I walked with Sunny to the transition area with Katie as she checked in her bike. In the evening (around 6pm), Karel and I went to Mirror Lake for one last swim. Karel went first and then he picked up dinner and walked back with Sunny and then I went for a swim. It was very peaceful as there weren't many people swimming (maybe 3 others and not athletes racing).
Sunday - race day!
I got up at 5am and Katie came over shortly after. We walked to the transition area and I helped her out with her special needs bags and holding her stuff as she warmed up. Karel met us near the water a little after 6am. Sunny was a very good boy and did great all day with the crowds, music, loud noises, rain (not his favorite!) and long day. We had a great time cheering for our 9 athletes. We loved seeing Bruce - the oldest athlete in the race - complete the swim, bike and 7 miles of the run. Incredible at the age of 75 and his first Ironman! There was rain for a good part of the day (on and off) but thankfully all of our athletes completed the bike and made it to the finish. Our athlete Angela hung out with us (she was watching her partner Kevin race) and after the race, we had a few of our athletes come to our place to tell us about their race experience. We love Lake Placid!
Monday/Tuesday
On Monday morning, we packed up our place. Karel went for a run (5 miles, 40 min) and when he came back, I went for a run (50 min, 6.4). It's so easy to train in Placid as it's just so beautiful. We left in the late morning and started our long drive home. We stayed in Pennsylvania with one of our athletes to help break up the drive. We arrived home on Tuesday around 3pm. After unpacking, we went to Furman and did an easy 2400 yard swim in the evening. Sunny told us that he really enjoyed his trip and he is looking forward to more race/train-cations. Congrats to our athletes and everyone who raced!
