First I have to explain how I got started on this journey. Last July, I went for a ride around the Timberman course in VT with some women who were doing that race in August (it is a half Ironman). After the ride, one of the women convinced me to sign up for Ironman Lake Placid. I had never done a half iron because I didn’t have the confidence but she was very convincing-I signed up for IMLP shortly afterwards. I thought that I could do sub-14 hour race. However, that changed when I met Liz, my teammate and training partner, who was coached by Jesse Kropelnicki. She started telling me her training schedule and noted that Jesse only takes serious athletes. "Well," I thought, "he wouldn't want to work with me then." However, Liz persisted and introduced me to Jesse. Jesse quickly saw something in me that I didn't. He said he wanted to work with me and in our first meeting, he outlined my goals which included an 11:40 IM!! I couldn’t believe that I could do that. I had only done one Olympic distance in the past. I was overweight and inexperienced but he saw my numbers up to that point and saw potential. As the race got closer he adjusted my goals: between 11:25 and 11:40. Although I was more confident in my abilities at this point, I thought for sure I’d be closer to the 11:40 end. At a BBQ the week before, my friend Shaun asked me my goal and I told him 11:40. He was really surprised and said “Wow, for your first??” I was too timid to tell him that this was the low end of my goal.

Pre-race:
I couldn’t believe how calm I was. Sure, there was some nervousness but I don’t think I was half as nervous as most people. Jesse had told me before another race “The race is already decided. Now you just have to execute it.” I believed this and was surprisingly calm. I had a few glitches-not having the right helmet, thinking that I lost my sunglasses, etc but for the most part, the pre-race prep went really well (except the torrential downpours in the days leading up to the race!)
I had many great supporters before the race which included fellow racers (Katy, Dave, Carrie, Andy, Grace and Tony), awesome friends and training partners: Liz, Meredith, and Nancy, and my mom and step-father. I couldn't ask for more!

My coach and I worked on my nutrition and fluid intake so it was down to a science. He instructed me on the pacing-most importantly, not to go too fast on the first loop of the bike and how to run the marathon.

Swim: (goal 1:15-1:20)
This is my least favorite event. I’m not a fast swimmer and I have a tough time keeping a straight line. Although there is that cable that runs the length of the loop, I didn't start near it because that’s where everyone else was. I started somewhere in the middle of the pack (not at the line but not standing on the shore), about ¾ of the way to the right. The gun went off so quickly and I was really surprised at how few people there were around me. I could actually swim a little. Sure, I got hit in the face and there were a couple of situations when a man’s pull landed right on my back and pushed me down, but for the most part, the swim was not as scary as I anticipated. I drafted a lot on the first loop but was able to swim on my own for much of the second loop (which is maybe why it was so much slower!)
Loop 1: 36:35
Loop 2: 39:02
(these numbers are according to my watch and may not add up to my official time below)
Swim time: 1:15:54
Overall Place: 1141/2208
Division Place: 40/71

T1: Everything went very smoothly- the volunteers were so awesomely helpful. It was great that a number of my friends were volunteering so could give me words of encouragement close up.
T1 time: 6:32

Bike: (goal 6:02-6:08)
I was warned not to go too fast on the first loop of the bike-especially on the first climb. I felt good and strong. I came up on my friend Tony who was smiling and enjoying his day so far. We chatted for a little while and he made fun of my aero helmet (I knew that was coming!). Tony had a good swim and was looking forward to a good ride. We crested the top of the hill and I told him that I would see him later (I had to show him how much faster I was on the downhill with the new helmet!) I cruised down and it was super fun and despite the fact there were a lot of people around, I reached a speed of 45 mph. After a few more hours, I caught up to Grace, Tony's fiancée (Grace and Tony have been my training partners for this race for the last 4-5 months so it was really great to see them out there). I told Grace that Tony lost his flask of gels but was quick to reassure her that he had stopped to get more from the aid stands. (I later worried that I shouldn't have mentioned it to Grace so that she wouldn't worry but sometimes on my brain doesn't fire on all cylinders when I'm training/racing).
The rest of the ride was uneventful except of course when I came across my family. My mother, stepfather, and two of my sisters and their families were there to cheer me on. They all drove up from Long Island and had matching shirts with supportive writing on them (except my brother-in-law's which said "Second sucks!" (Good thing I didn't come in second!)   My family had signs and yelled out that they loved me. They were so excited and I got so choked up, I got a stitch in my side.
I was disappointed in the time difference between my first and second loops, but I later learned that others had similar experiences due to the wind.
First loop: 2:59:56 (18.67 mph)
Second loop: 3:09:48 (17.70 mph)
Total 6:09:44 (18.18 mph)
Overall place: 643/2208
Division place: 9/71

T2:
Again I ran into a few friends who were volunteering who brought a smile to my face. I stopped at the bathroom-the first sign of some GI distress but nothing too major.
Time: 4:33

Run: (goal 8:15 min/mile with a 15 sec walk every two miles= 8.22 pace or 3:40 marathon).

I was so happy to be running. This was my strongest event and I felt confident that I could hold my goal pace for a while at least. My first mile was 7:00 minutes. Oops! I scolded myself about slowing down and did 7:15 the second mile. Damn it! I made a very conscious effort to bring down my pace to what seemed like I was walking. I managed to slow it down a little which was helped by the fact that I made my first of 4-5 more porta potty stops.
The run was awesome. The crowd was so encouraging and I comfortably passed a number of people who probably went out too fast on the bike. My coach's friend and fellow qt2systems coach, Tim Snow was there spectating and every time I passed him, he asked me how I was feeling. I knew he was calling Jesse and giving him an update each time which meant a lot to me.

I saw my family a few more times and at the 15 mile mark, my sister Joy and my 12-year-old niece Gina, and her friend ran along side me. My sister told me how proud she was of me and that she loved me. As an aside, my sister Joy and I used to have a difficult relationship growing up and that has changed a great deal over the last few years. When she told me that, I again began to cry. It really meant so much to me then as it does now (I'm tearing again as I write this!). She also said, "God, you're still running too fast for me to keep up with you!" which made me smile.

The last few miles were pretty tough but I was just happy that I could run the entire thing (except of course the 15 sec walk breaks). At mile 23, I came upon a woman who had her age rubbed off the back of her leg. Despite her attempts, I could make out a faint 2 and 6. Huh! She's in my AG. When I passed her, she decided to run along side me. We kept it up for a little while and I had thoughts of Mark Allen and Dave Scott racing in Kona. I really wanted top 10 in my AG and didn't want her to beat me. I ran a little faster and she dropped back but maintained a position right behind me. I was nervous because I thought she might stay there and then surprise me at the end. I kept pushing the pace faster and didn't stop at any of the water stops. When there was a half mile to go, I saw my friends Shaun and Dave. Shaun said "Oh my God, you're killing your goal!" I asked him "Where is she?" and turned to see she was right behind me. I thought it was now or never so I started sprinting to the finish. It's funny, I don't know where that came from but the crowd was very encouraging "Wow, Donna!" "Go, Donna!" You've got it, Donna!" My finisher's photo shows me coming across the finish at 11:25:59 with both feet in the air.
First loop: 1:50:13 (pace 8:24 min/mile)
Second loop: 1:59:04 (pace 9:05 min/mile)
Run time: 3:49:17 (8:45 min/miles)
Overall Place: 315/2208
Division Place: 2/71