NRGPT Athlete Ryan Cain had a great day in Lake Placid this year, nailing his race execution and leaving it all on the course for a nearly 40min PB in Lake Placid and a top 5 finish, congrats Ryan!
IRONMAN LAKE PLACID – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
After a very disappointing DNF at Ironman Texas, I circled July 28th and had my sights set on Ironman Lake Placid. I was determined to do everything in my power to ensure a better fate and result. Well, there were some trying times, but I can honestly say that my wife and I put everything into this race prep. It even took her driving out into the Quebec countryside in the pouring rain, when I was in the midst of a 200km ride and blew out my rear tire. I was freezing by the time she rescued me, but she made me change out the tire and finish the remaining 65km. 40+ degrees days, were greeted with 45km double run workouts. I met with uber swimmers Larry Hasson and Jamie Stephenson for multiple 4km open water swims, where I did everything in my power to stay in their draft…like I said, I left no stone unturned.
Fast forward to race week and my taper was going great! Legs were bouncing back and the masterful plan from NRGPT head coach Nigel Gray was working perfectly. I felt rested and sharp. I knew what needed to be done come race day.
I knew that I needed to have a breakthrough swim in order to kick start my day. The plan was to start out slightly less aggressive than I had in previous races, but still hard enough to make a good pack. I got into a group and swam comfortably for about 2/3s of lap one. When I felt like the leaders slowed slightly I pulled out and went around and got into open water; shortly after I opened a gap. I then swam the rest of that first lap and the second lap solo. I just tried to stay relaxed, long and lean. It went well and set me up for a great day. Lap 1 was 26:50 and lap 2 was marginally slower in 27:40 for a total of 54:30, 7th PRO out of the water.
I was really excited after my best swim in an Ironman, a little boy who was volunteering in transition told me that I was only 7 minutes behind the really fast swimmer. I assumed that was Andy Potts and I thought to myself, 7 minutes isn’t that bad! The plan was to start easy and build into my ride. Ironman is so much about managing your energy expenditure and saving something for the run. Again I had a great race plan that I stuck to perfectly. I have never executed a race plan quite as well as I did this past Sunday and it paid off. I started easy and let my average power drift slightly during the climbs out of town (260watts) but never went above my ceiling of 290, then it dropped on the descent down Keene, back to the low end of about 230 watts. I then held steady across the flats and the out and back, focusing on nutrition and power, letting my average come back up to the middle range of about 240 watts. I was basically alone for this entire stretch and had no idea where I was in the race. As I climbed through the Gorge and the Bears, my average power rose back to the upper end at about 250 watts. Take that exact script and multiply it by 2 and that was my second lap. The only change was that it felt only marginally harder the second time around, likely due to the wind. I ended up riding 2:27 for the first 90km with an average power of 247 and then second loop was only 4 minutes slower with an average power of 246.
One of the interesting things was that I wasn’t losing any ground to the front group of riders; we were riding about the same pace. I was even gaining a little ground on a few of the top guys and that’s when I really started to believe that a top 5 finish was a possibility. I just tried to focus on the now, staying present in what I was doing, what I could control, knowing that the race really doesn’t start until the run. Another great sign of what was to come was when I was riding from the base of Keene to Jay. I felt super flat but I stayed focused on my nutrition, drew on some strength from all those solo rides in the rain or tough ass intervals and successfully weathered that storm.
In a race like Ironman, it’s inevitable that things are not always going to go according to plan, but knowing that those moments are coming and having a plan to deal with them is the key. For me, once I hit Jay to Ausable Forks on the out and back, my storm had passed and my power output was awesome! I was flying and felt the best I’ve ever felt on my bike! I continually was looking down and seeing 260, 270, 280 watts and my perceived exertion was low. Again I stuck to the plan and backed off slightly, even though I was gaining ground on the leaders. I just knew I needed to manage my efforts and save it for the run.
I was excited to avenge my lack of running in Texas and prove to myself that I can run under 3 hours for the marathon, even on a tough course like Placid. I had broken 3 hours at Ironman Florida last year, but it was by the smallest of margins (15 seconds) and I blew up and struggled coming in. I set out hoping to hold between 4:00-4:10/km, my opening km was 3:45 and felt effortless. I tried to dial it back and settled into a pace of about 4:05/km. I felt good for the first few kms, then as soon as I got out of town the wheels sort of fell off, but I kept rolling and pushing through this, stuck to my nutrition plan. Eventually it came around and I was into a great rhythm and I was really steady at 4:05-4:10/km. Unfortunately that didn’t last and I constantly fought the low points, again drawing on strength from previous experiences and training runs. I always stuck it out and kept pushing until the finish line. As I was coming back into town, I just kept telling myself get to the crowds, they’ll bring you home. Coming up the last long ass hill before rounding the famed Ottawa corner, I saw some family, friends and tons of fans. I just remember hearing a good friend, David Markin’s voice screaming that I was only 25sec behind 4th!! I so did not want to hear that, just getting home was quite the task at hand. I was focusing on holding pace looking to run 2:56. I eventually caught Balazs Csoke just before the turn around on Mirror Lake drive and I passed with whatever authority I had left. I got a gap of about 30m and was on the downhill to the finish. I thought this pace was going to be enough to hold him off but he caught back up to me right near the tennis courts. We ran shoulder to shoulder, stride for stride and just at the bottom of the hill, without much thought or calculation I went for it. I hit the gas pedal with what little energy I had left and it was an all out sprint to the line. Balazs being an ex-ITU athlete had a slightly better finishing kick then I did, as we rounded the bend on the storied Olympic Oval and he just narrowly beat me to the line. I crossed a second behind him and collapsed, I had left everything out there.
Are you kidding me, a sprint finish after nearly 9 hours of racing? I have replayed the tactics a few times in my head and I have no idea how else I could have played it. Perhaps I should have waited and not passed as early as I did, but ran on his hip; perhaps I should have passed later in the race in a full on sprint all the way to the line; perhaps I should have waited and let him make the first move and reacted to his… perhaps… perhaps… perhaps… But next time I am in a sprint finish at the end of an Ironman, I hope to be on the other side; I’ll play my cards differently.
My run was awesome and what I am most proud of! I had a breakthrough run on a super challenging course against some of the biggest names in the sport. It really struck home when someone asked me what it was like to outrun Andy Potts (race winner, 7th overall in Kona last year, 2x time Olympian, World Champ, etc, etc). Now I don’t know how hard Andy worked and he still won the race and beat me by 12 minutes, so I haven’t put too much thought into it, but it’s still freaking cool that I had the faster run split. Heck, I posted the 3rd fastest run on the day. But what’s even cooler for me is that I finished 5th overall, lost in a sprint finish to one of the 4 Kona qualifiers who were just minutes ahead, (meaning they are in the top 40 Ironman guys in the sport right now). I set a swim PB, broke 5 hours on the bike and ran a sub 3 hour marathon in the process of going 8:55 in Lake Placid! Seriously amazing, I could not be happier with my day!
This result is awesome and super cool for me, as it’s by far my best race, but I couldn’t have done it alone. I have a lot of people to thank and hopefully they can enjoy and celebrate this result with me. Thank you so much Bushtukah for always supporting me and helping me get some of the best gear. Trek for a ridiculously sweet Speed Concept equipped with Shimano Di2, HED for arguably the fastest disc wheel out there. Thanks to TYR for all my swim needs, The Freak Of Nature wetsuit made my swim. Thank you Saucony Canada for providing me with the best running shoes and race suit. PowerBar Canada for fueling every single swim, bike, run, recovery, you name it, they pretty much single handily got me through this. Rudy Project for my very stylish sunglasses and helmet, ISM saddles for keeping my bits comfy through 180kms and more so the 400km+ of riding each week in prep. SoleFit for my custom made carbon cycling orthotics, guaranteeing me that every ounce of energy I put out was transferred into moving me forward. Huge thanks to my coach Nigel Gray of NRGPT, for putting together a great training and race plan, for answering all of my stupid little questions and never letting me settle. Thanks to Doyle Homes, ScotiaMcLeod and Invesco for getting behind me, believing in what I am doing and helping me achieve these goals. The last and biggest thank you goes out to closest friends, my family and my wife! At the end of the day they are the glue and the ones that keep me sane, balanced, together, and moving forward. Thank you Lauren!!!
As always, if anyone has questions about my race or my experiences, please fire me an email. ryancain@hotmail.com