So I promised an Ironman Lake Placid race report so here it goes (with what little internet connectivity I have). I am still a little confused on my final finish time. It is showing 11:37 and change, but it is only showing my first swim loop. I certainly did 2 swim loops and my sister Alexandra Kraham Willhite who was updating you all said my total 2.4 mile swim time was 1:07. so adding that to the 11:37, I would have been 12:10ish. Anyway.... The high peaks region of the Adirondacks is absolutely stunning. What a setting for an Ironman race. It truly is Gods country. I hope all of you can one day see the great state in which I grew up, and not just NYC. We got to town on Friday morning, got checked in, and settled in to our accommodations in Wilmington, NY where Whiteface Mtn is. Bike check and gear check on Saturday went smooth, until I got home and saw my socks laying on the ground. Thankfully, that was a good thing because it poured down rain that night, and I didnt seal up my gear bags so they would have been wet. Thanks to the advice of my amazing coach Michelle LeBlanc, I put my socks in zip-locks the next morning and headed to transition. Where we had stayed was the last 16 miles of the bike course with the long climb back to town. So I remembered land marks from the few trips to town we took. I was zoned in. The rain was still coming down which was the only thing giving me anxiety. I got to transition fairly early and found a stash of porta-cans that hadnt been used. WINNER!! Even though my entire family was coming, I left my dry clothes and things in the dry clothes bag and hung it on the rack so I didnt have to schlep it to the swim start in hopes that I would find everyone. It was a cool morning but not so much so that I was uncomfortable. I did slip on the bottom of my wetsuit to give me some added warmth. I started my warmup as advised then went looking for my family in the spot we had picked the day before. No one was there :(. I happened to bump into a few JSC guys and an unaffiliated woman from Houston, so the banter was welcomed to keep my mind off of what was ahead. Shortly after, I did hear the famous Kraham family whistle from Rich Kraham and Sally Lappies Kraham. It was nice to hang out with them while I waited. All of a sudden there was a mad rush to the swim start to get staged for the safe swim initiative. I went back to the other spot to find my wife Colette Gaithe Kraham and kids and my mom Socorro Kraham but again they were not there. I had to make my way to the swim start. I pushed my way through to the time slot in which I thought I would swim (1:01-1:10) which apparently I nailed (swim of 1:07). I had a comforting conversation with a few people was we slowly walked to the water through the swim start arch. I let a bunch of people run past me into the water. They did not influence me as I stayed calm and slowly got to waist deep before I dove in. By now, the large thunder heads started moving in. I was praying that the rain would hold off until the run. There was some space between my little group and the group that went in front of us so there wasnt the typical beating each other up at the start. I found a nice line right over the under water cable so I didnt really have to site at all, well for that time being. I quickly came up to the group in front of me even though I was swimming at a very comfortable pace. It was nice being wetsuit legal in a lake in July. Now the beating commenced so I worked my way inside the buoy line to avoid much of the commotion. I drafted off of a guy most of the first stretch, then came the turn buoy. What chaos ensued. I thought I was going to lose my watch and my timing chip. I got clear as the next turn buoy was coming quickly. I decided on the way back, that I was stay a bit wider to avoid the bunching over the under water cable. I was still very comfortable and was very pleased with how I felt. Final turn buoy before hitting the beach for lap two. I got punched, yes punched by a guy who seemed to be unhappy with some of us at that buoy. I walked out of the water and walked right back in for lap two. Lap two I decided to stay wide again to avoid congestion. Even though I was keeping a nice easy pace, I was still passing a bunch of people. I was wondering if I should slow it down. I kept with the same pace, made the turn for home. About half way down the final stretch, I sited and said is that a wall of water in front of me?. The rain had started lashing down. I made it out of the second loop before the thunder and lightning. I had trouble getting out of my wetsuit, but it was ok, It gave me time to breathe. I stood up, ran about 100 yards and stopped to say hi and kiss everyone in Team Kraham! I jogged the half mile or so to transition, grabbed my bag and hoped it was sort of dry. I was forever thankful for my mother convincing me to buy gloves the day before. I would have been miserable without them. I put on arm warmers and the gloves and headed to go get my bike. To my surprise, Dean Rowe, and old friend from Chatham was the person who handed me my bike. That was awesome to have your bike handed to you from someone you know. Peter Nelson Jr, also from Chatham and was working transition shouted to me as well. The rain was coming down so hard at this point. Right out of transition you have a steep and quick descent to the main bike course. I was flooring my brakes to the point in which I thought I was going to start a skid. People kept saying that you have a nice 10 mile descent to the to town of Keene out of LP, but they forgot to mention the nice 2 - 3 mile climb to get out of town. I was on my last gear and thinking, am I really going to be able to do this if I have that big climb back to town? Now the thunder and lightning started. Some of which were hitting very close. I prayed it would pass quickly. I got to the first descent, and when I say descent Texas people, this is the kind with the trucks use low gear type descent, I was honestly a bit nervous. The rain was coming down so hard you couldnt really see because it was stinging your eyes (yes I left my sunglasses because of darkness). I again was flooring my breaks on the way down and still going close to 30 MPH. This one women, who told me she was from Vermont so this was nothing for her, was bombing the downhills. I was starting to shiver from the cold wind and rain. Second descent, longer and steeper but thankfully beautifully paved. I held my line and wasnt moving for any on your left shouts. I feared slipping out even though I lowered the air pressure in my tires. Now I was really cold and shivering but I made it to the town of Keene safely. Time to eat on the way to Jay I grabbed a PowerBar and my fluids and was thankful that I was peddling again in hopes of warming my body. Aside from the cold, I was feeling good, mentally ok as I passed the 10 then 20 mile mark. The bike course is no joke and can take you off of you game quickly. Made it to Jay and Ausable Forks before heading back and making the turn to Wilmington. Grabbed another PowerBar. Now I am 40 miles in and the rain has stopped - for now. Finished the PowerBar and one and a half of the bottles that I made myself and could carry. I prefer plain old Gatorade. I decided to grab some PowerBar Perform just to make sure I had enough fluids with me. I drank about half of that bottle and started feeling not so good. The turn from Jay to Wilmington is a killer. This climb was 2 miles of hurt. I again ran out of gears and just pressed on. I knew I had to conserve energy for the second loop. Once in Wilmington, I knew the last 12 miles were 90% uphill. They were not out of control climbs, but still put a hurting on you. I made it through in decent shape. Got to town and saw some of Team Kraham. That gave me a lift. Half way through the bike and already was secretly wishing I was on the run. This loop, the roads started drying so I took a more aggressive approach to the big descents. I am not sure what my top speed was, but it felt like 50 MPH. (Probably more like 35). Made it again to the stretch to Jay and had to eat, managed to get down 3/4s of a powerbar and that was it. From this point forward, I would only consume ONE gel for my solid nutrition. I couldnt even get in the aero position as my stomach hurt so much. I probably managed 15 of 56 miles in the aero position on loop two. The climbs were getting harder and harder AND the wind was in our face most all of the second loop. It was at our backs on the descents when we didnt need it. That added insult to injury. I trudged on and knew that when I got to town, I would see my family. Made it in and high fived the family on my way to T2. Started out on the run and was mentally in a good spot knowing I only had the marathon left. Dean Rowe and Peter Nelson spotted me coming out of T2 and shouted words of encouragement. Right out of T2 there is a major downhill. It put a world of hurt on my thighs. Made it out to the ski jumps and was wondering how I was going to get my calories so that I do not look like that poor girl way back when in Kona that was crawling to the finish line. I decided on Coca-Cola, water and ice at each aid station and to try bananas and oranges. I managed my first oranges at mile 6. Coke never tasted so good in my life. Coming back to town, you have two very steep and long (for Texas standards) climbs. I ran them both on the first loop. For the majority of loop one, I ran. At mile 5 and 8 and at two aid stations I did walk. Now back in town, it gave me a renewed energy with the large crowds. My stomach was on fire though. Made the turn from the oval out to the lake and there was Team Kraham. They were on the opposite side so I ran over to them, handed them all of my gels and watch (stopped working) and hugged and kissed them all. Same thing as I came back around. They really lifted my spirits. I was telling them that I am never doing this again and that for the first time in my life, that I WISHED I could puke. Second loop of the run was more like a 50-50 run walk. I decided to walk all of the hills (even the rinky dinky ones) and conserve energy since I was not taking in many calories. The original goal was aid station to aid station but that quickly changed. I asked a gentleman on the side of the road what time it was. It was just after 6pm. I knew I was on pace to break my very loose goal of finishing between 12 and 13 hours. I managed to start drinking the perform drink at mile 20 so that helped with the cramps I felt coming on. I walked those last two big hills coming to town. When I saw my family again, I started picking up the pace and ran the final 4 miles of the run. I told them I was about to be an Ironman and I got the chills, but the good kind of chills, not the you are dehydrated type. They headed into the oval to see my finish. My feet were killing me with every step, but I kept telling myself that there are so many people out there that would give to be in my position, so I used that as inspiration. I was coming back to town and again saw Ann Tela Young who was a God send to my family. Absolutely amazing. I gave her a big smile and rushed into the Olympic speed skating oval. I easily spotted my family on the hill near the finish line in their bright yellow Team Kraham shirts. I was clearly getting emotional because of the support they gave me throughout this entire journey. As I came around that speed skating turn to see the finish chute, I put both hands in the air and ran what felt like a 4:00 pace (even though I said I was going to savor the moment). Right then, I heard Mike Riley, voice of Ironman say. Bryan Kraham from Houston, TX, YOU...ARE...AN IRONMAN!!! What an amazing experience. Thank you to all of my supporters. Thank you to my family for being a rock.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:38:43 +0000
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