6th Ironman title – officially I am an Ironman Lake Placid, New York, USA.
Date: 24th July 2022.
It was my toughest race.
Pre Race Situation
After Everest on May 15, I did not get much time to prepare for the 6th Ironman race. It is not advisable to do such a huge race just after 50 days of climbing Mt. Everest. But I had little choice. It was put on to me as a rescheduled race of 2021, which was canceled due to Covid.
Ironman Training
Had to squeeze 3 months of training into 15 days. The eagerness to train harder and longer got me into knee injury. I tore one of my hamstring muscles and that started hurting my knees. I was not even able to walk. The last 5 days no training to rest the knee.
IVY League Trip
The trip was more important for my daughters than myself. As 11 of the top IVY League universities were near to the race. And I wanted them to spend a day with each one of them. See the campus, talk to students, and meet the professors. We went to universities like Harvard, MIT, Yale, Cornell, Brown, etc.
Lake Placid – The Beautiful Lake Town
After flying to New York, we rented a SUV to move around. We spent 2 days in the most beautiful place in the East of the USA, at Lake Placid. The lakes with mountains around them and the weather, the restaurants, the AIRBNB old bungalow we stayed in, were magical. My wife and kids helped with a lot of massage and knee treatment so I can walk around. Once I started walking around, I went kayaking with my daughters. That changed my feeling, and I dropped the idea of quitting the race.
The Best Swim Course: 1Hour: 40Min
On the race day my wife Anita, dropped me at the swim start with lot of blessings. This is the best lake to swim in for an Ironman race. I could see the clear water bottom even at the middle of the lake. I enjoyed the swim and did one of my best timings, 1 hour 40 minutes for 4 KM Swim.
The 180 KM, 6625 ft Elevation Gain – Scenic Cycling Course: 7Hour:18Min
After swimming I took it very coolly for the cycling part. The bike course is hilly with 6,625 ft of elevation gain. And that makes it tough, but the scenic bike route makes the race so beautiful that you forget your tough cycle route. I could finish the 180km bike route in 7 hours and 18 minutes. 9 hours for cycling and swimming is a very respectable time, so I got excited about a good race time, even with 10 days of preparation.
42KM, 1022 ft elevation – Marathon at the end: 6Hour:58Min
I took a lot of time to change, put a lot of pain lotions on my knees, took a bath, and then changed to a running dress. I started running very nicely, around 7 minutes a kilometer. My daughter Aroha, who is in the high school cross country team, joined me as my motivator. It was fun running with her. Around 6 KM I started getting cramps and all of a sudden, the knee pain was back with full potency. I had to stop and start walking. The moment I start running again, the pain would increase progressively. I do not wear any watch or gadget in any races so that my focus is only to enjoy the race. But now with so much pain the fun was over. But my daughter came to my rescue. She calculated at what speed I can walk per minute to finish the race before time. Even with a broken shoulder bone after an accident in Ironman Canada, I could finish the race easier than with a painful knee. I walked the rest of the race at 10 min a kilometer and finished the marathon in 5 hours 58 minutes. Must Finish what you Started – Madichala. Thanks to my daughter Aroha. For the first time in life, after the race I fainted with exertion and dehydration. But I was very happy I finished it with a lot of family support.
