Weekend at Placid Part II

As we completed our ride last Saturday afternoon, athletes were in various stages of elation and pain. This is a difficult course and to conquer it you must know how to ride it. Pure endurance strength and speed are no match for someone who knows how to ride this beast.

When I got the call from Pelee, who was 5 miles out and shitting himself, I hopped into the car and began a rescue mission. It was a new nutritional attempt gone bad, and for Pelee's defense this is not his first Ironman. This guys handles pain so when a rescue call comes, I run.

In the meantime Firecracker.... who is 22 year old Sarah... got off her bike feeling obnoxiously tight. Her hips, her back..... I advised her that since Mosseman was next weekend to wait 10 minutes before deciding on a 30 minute post ride run we had scheduled.

So I rescue Pelee and return to the parking lot. Bill informs me that Sarah in fact did sit down for a moment. El Magnifico (Rolando) told her to take it easy, let's go get some Ben and Jerry's...

And then it happened. Reportedly Sarah took a deep breathe, stood up and cried out...

"I AM NOT A WUSS". She walked to the end of the parking lot and she began to run. Awesome.

Later that night we had a terrific dinner and a lot of laughs at Erie's... a pasta joint on the Lake. and my wonderful athletes appeased me with an evening coffee at Starbucks afterwards.

The mood was good. The biggest part of the weekend was behind us. Each group had developed their own war cry. But that's what happens when you train long with people. The little things become funny. Screaming that you aren't a wuss becomes extra hilarious and Pelee shitting himself becomes the laugh of the century.

I call those "Movie Moments"

Saturday morning we awoke to overcast skies and light mist. I was elated because this whole weekend gave everyone a chance to experience the lack of a trend in Adirondack weather patterns.

I ran with Jackie and Sarah. I instructed everyone of the plan "Run 10 minutes and walk 1" to which I was greeted with idiotic looks. Everyone looked at each other. Are you really going to do that? "You will all do that."

And to my group and a few others I added that the last 10 minutes of each hour we would run hard. Eyes rolled. Then we began.

The hard thing about running on Sunday morning is that everyone in the world is eating pancakes and bacon... Sarah's nose caught the smell of bacon. That gave birth to us screaming "BACON" randomly throughout the run.

It was agreed that the run course was equally as gorgeous as the bike course. Following the plan we walked 1 minute every 10 and we picked it up the last 10 of each hour. Passing one another on the course I got shouts of "This walking thing rocks Mary!"

Would I steer you wrong guys?

Rain began to fall at the end of our run and we timed it so we'd finish in the Olympic Oval, where the Ironman finish happens. And we ran it hard.

I could see it, I could hear it and I could smell it. I am ready. I am so very ready.

The weekend culminated with breakfast at the Downtown Diner, with eggs and pancakes and everything we could eat. Delirious smiles were worn on every one's faces. We came, we conquered. We learned so very much not just about ourselves, but one another.

Thanks for stopping by.

:-) Mary Eggers