July 20, 2026 – Lake Placid, New York
Finish Time: 12:15:52 | First Ironman + WC Qualified
‘If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes’ – Mark Twain
Well, it’s official, I am now an Ironman. What a journey it was to get here, but no matter what was thrown at me (like hailstones and hills), I gave it my all and rolled with it – literally! Despite a nagging hip injury, crazy busy work and personal life, I made it to the start line. I could not have done it without the village of support around me and my amazing fiancée, who has been the most incredible partner and supporter since my first triathlon 2 years ago.
Pre-Race Vibes
Lake Placid is a stunning village on the edge of Mirror Lake, sitting high in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. Flying from Vancouver to Montreal with a 2-day exploration of Montreal before heading down on Thursday gave us plenty of time to relax, settle in and explore the beautiful area of Lake Placid. The whole village was buzzing with excitement, and the locals were incredibly welcoming, kind and friendly.
This race I had the awesome opportunity to race it alongside some friends I have made through my triathlon journey. It was great to have a group to discuss pre race planning with and to just explore and enjoy the experience! I really appreciated having them there and will definitely want to race with them again!
This race was a big question mark for me as I was still nursing my hip injury coming out of Elsinore a month prior and had only been able to do 2 weeks of race-specific training sessions before this race. So my goals for the race were simple… just finish.
The Swim – 01:10:04
Location: Mirror Lake
Temp: 24.2°C
Conditions: Wetsuit legal (barely), mid visibility
Learning from my previous races this season, I have gotten more confident at seeding myself and in this case, I put myself perfectly in the 1:00-1:10 group. The swim overall was pretty seamless, other than needing to do a goggle rinse halfway through the first loop. This was my first Aussie exit 2-loop race, which was interesting, but all in it was a good start to the race.
Swim win: Stayed calm and relaxed, didn’t sprint the Aussie exit to keep the HR level
Swim lesson: Remember to put anti-fog drops in goggles for longer swims
The Bike – 06:10:40
Course: Hilly
Weather: Biblical rains, wind, and sun
Nutrition: 100g carbs/hour
IM Lake Placid bike course is known for being both a tough course and unfortunately, I started having some funky GI issues once I got onto the bike and was struggling to get any liquids in, leading to 10 mins of lost time in the first lap trying to use a bathroom while soaking wet. I decided before the race to run 2.5l of liquids per loop + 1 gel 90. I am so glad I kept the gel as on the second loop I lost a full bottle I had just swapped going over the bridge and without the gel I would have lost a lot of my second loop nutrition.
The bike course is known for being a hilly course, but also for its insane descent called the Keene Descent. Now, on the best of days, it’s hair-raising and you are riding the brakes the whole descent. In wet conditions, it is practically suicidal. I managed both loops of the descent well; the first one was more pleasant than the second one, due to the wet roads.
Overall the bike was a tough course, made even tougher by the weather conditions, first time in a long time that I was looking forward to running instead of riding!
Bike win: Power numbers were good and HR was perfect
Bike lesson: Have backups for your backups of nutrition
The Run – 04:35:57
Conditions: Wet, Hilly, Humid
Going into the run I knew it would be a tough session. The course is a 2 loop marathon with basically some mega steep hills and very little flats. I had heard stories of River Road (where hope goes to die) and it lived up to its name. I went out of the gate a touch speedy but settled in around 3-4km in, the first loop felt good but I could tell it wasn’t going to maintain. Loop 2 was a slog, River Road was depressing, I struggled to get enough salt while constantly also needing to pee. I moved to a run between aids and walked the station’s strategy through loop 2, and while it got rough, and hills became walks I knew I was in the home stretch. Passing the last aid station I just gave it a final go and sprinted down to the finish line knowing soon I would become an Ironman.
My longest runs so far this year were my half marathons in my 70.3s, and I had managed a 1:15 easy run 2 weeks out from Placid. The plan was to use the time before the race to try and get my hip as strong as possible and then just see what happens. I was doing 2 physio sessions a week and noticing improvements which kept me positive going into the race.
Run win: Enough hydration, hip didn’t explode
Run lesson: More mileage and hill training
Reflections and Takeaways
What went well
• Kept HR steady with an overall avg of 140bpm (Zone 2-ish)
• Carb loading went well – though don’t want to see rice for a while now
• Swim went smoothly, longest nonstop to date
• Didn’t crash out on Keene Descent, TT handling is strong
• My run while not fast, didn’t destroy my hip
What needs work
• Continue to put in the work at the pool, would like to be around 1hr for next full
• Run fitness needs to be rebuilt post-injury
• Need to better dial in nutrition for the run
• More heat acclimation will be essential for next race
What’s Next
The Ironman World Championships in France this September!
Crazy to say it but I will be heading to Nice in a few short weeks to give it my all at the World Champs. It’s going to be a tough one but I can’t wait to be there. I got the time now to dial in my training, get my run stronger and get ready to crush the race.
Coming out of Placid I feel strong, my recovery has been smooth – even with the travel, and I am excited for the next race, no rest for the wicked.
Thanks for reading. See you in Nice.
MARK WOOD- You are an IRONMAN!!