Training for Lake Placid IronMan 2009 started just shortly after returning home from Lake Placid IronMan in July of 2008.  ONE WHOLE year of training…can you believe it?  Looking back on the entire event and what it entailed, I am proud to say it is one of my greatest accomplishments! 

            I have been traveling to Lake Placid every summer since July of 2006, for IronMan.  In 2006 some friends and I made a random last minute trip to Lake Placid to support a dear friend and colleague in Chiropractic College that was competing, Josh Koleman.  Never having been to an event even close to this magnitude, I had NO idea what to expect.  The energy in that little town the week of IronMan is nothing anyone can explain – you have to experience it at least once in your lifetime, even if only to spectate!  Needless to say, I was hooked immediately.  Having only completed one sprint distance triathlon never wanting to swim again, and never running for more than 6 miles at once, this had to be something that I must cross of my “Bucket List” one day.  Who knew that day would be July 26^th, 2009! 

            The road to Iron Man Lake Placid 2009 was not easy, and I would have never made it without my support crew.  First and foremost I want to thank my family and friends for their support – though I am pretty sure they all thought I was crazy.  Mom, Dad, Grandma V, Grandma Sue, Marjie and Mike, Ellen, and Mike; thank you so much for taking the time to travel to Lake Placid and be there for me on race day.  Your encouragement and seeing you along the course cheering me on helped me to push forward when things got tough.    

            A special thanks go out to Dr. Ellen McNally, Mike Bingham, and John MacNamara. This is the least I can say to these three.  Not only is Ellen my colleague and best friend, she was my personal chiropractic, photographer, organizer and whatever else you could think of that week of the race.  She more than arose to occasional.  I can’t wait until next year, and then supporting her in 2011 when she competes. 

            Mike and John are actually patients of mine, and have become very dear friends along the way.  Mike also played the role as my trusty bike coach and mechanic.  He took me from never riding more than 30 miles casually before March 2009, to riding 100’s of miles through the spring and summer.  Rain or shine, wind or cold, hills or flat, he was always right there beside me, pushing me along.  I could not have completed that course (and all the hills) without him.

            John, being a Lake Placid IronMan veteran, was kind enough to take me under his wing.  His early morning swims at Farm Pond in Sherborn, MA, and encouragement gave me confidence that I would be able to complete the swim portion of the race.  I knew it was a good sign when we got up to Lake Placid and found out that our hotels rooms were across from each other.  I also attended the athlete’s dinner with him and his daughter, and he was even kind enough to help me the morning of the race and line up at the swim start with me!

            As one can imagine, with countless hours of training the past year, it takes a toll on the body.  There is no way I would have remained injury free for the most part without Dr. Weiss, Bernadette Lehmann, and Kim Propert-Griffin.  Weekly adjustments, ART and kinesio-taping from Dr. Weiss, massage therapy from Bernadette, and acupuncture by Kim helped to keep me mobile, healthy and like I said, pretty much pain free.  Don’t get me wrong, there were a few aches and pains a long the way.

            Special thanks go out to Rick Saviao (spell check), Noelle Sneider, and Marjie Bruchez for all the Tuesday night track workouts and laughs.  Marjie, thanks for the swim lessons as well.  Thanks to Sue and Mike Ericson, Wendy Casen-Akeson (from the Greater Framingham Running Club), and Victor Chapel for the long grueling road and trail runs to help me prepare – could not have done the miles without you!  Thanks to Jason Shea at APECS in Medway, and Clark Evans of Natick, for strength training me through the winter.  Thanks to Mario Fraioli at PR Running for keeping me in shoes.  Thanks to Marc, Andy, and Jeremy at Landrys’s for the purchase of my bike that I love and hate so much at the same time, and for the bike fit and tune ups.

 Encouraging words from triathletes (professional or not), Karen Smyers and Julie Jones Davenport, my boyfriend Steve Walters, and all of my patients helped to give me ALL the strength that I could do this.  Again, a tremendous thank you to ALL of my family, friends, and patients that supported me along this amazing and life changing journey.  I would not be a proud finisher of the 2009 Ford Lake Placid IronMan without you!

 

Dr. Victoria VanNederynen