A Family Affair - The Masarek's Tackle IRONMAN Lake Placid

I had the rare privilege to share my Lake Placid Ironman experience with my 18-year old son Jared. We were the only father and son participants in the race, out of 2,600 total athletes.

Jared and I arrived in Lake Placid on Thursday to get settled in. On Friday, we attended the Athletes meeting, and the excitement really began. Jared and the only other 18-year old in the race, were called up on stage in front of about 5,000 athletes and families, since they were the youngest participants in the race. It was really funny because Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman for the last ten years, interviewed Jared and got him to announce that he was going to beat my time from last year by two hours - this meant that he had committed to a 12:40 time in front of 5,000 people. Throughout the weekend, Jared must have had 100 separate people remind him of his time commitment. This was lots of fun because it personalized the experience for both of us. Rather than being anonymous competitors out of a huge field of athletes, we were the father and son tandem whose son was committed to beating his dad with a time of 12:40.

The weather on race day was beautiful - hot and sunny but not as bad as it had been in the few days leading up to the race. Jared and I hung out together in the water waiting for the start of the race. I gave him a last minute hug and off we went. I didn't see him again for almost 12 hours. I finished the swim in 1:24, about 4 minutes slower than last year, mostly because I swam so wide to avoid the masses. Jared swam a 1:08 and went right down the buoy line. On the bike, I had problems early in the race. My legs started cramping at only 35 miles, and then, I fell. It was the first time I had fallen in almost ten years, and it contributed to a very tough day. Fighting those leg cramps, I feared I might not finish in time for the bike cutoff. Jared's bike, on the other hand, was very strong. He went out too fast, going more than 21mph for the first third of the race. He finished the bike course in 6:28, but his average speed slowed greatly as the race progressed. In hindsight, he knows he would have been much better off to go slower earlier because he would have had a better marathon. Nonetheless, he ran a 4:38 marathon and finished in an overall time of 12:34:55, outstanding for his first Ironman. Jared and I had the special opportunity to run a couple miles of the run course together. It was his second lap and my first, but it was a thrill to be doing it together. He ultimately beat dad by more than three hours, but all that mattered was that I got to hug Jared at the finish line since we were both Ironmen! It was an amazing experience and we're already thinking about the next Ironman to do together.

Watch the IRONMAN video featuring Alan and Jared