2025 marked my return to Ironman Lake Placid—exactly ten years after I first raced here in 2015. Back then, I was Race Age 40, my fourth season of racing. Now, at Race Age 50, I came back not just to finish—but to race. To see if I could beat my former self. To see if I could qualify for Kona. And this time? I believed I could. The Road Back to Lake Placid Leading into this race, I’d been training with TriDot for over two years and was finally seeing major gains—especially in my run. For the first time, I started thinking not just about finishing faster than 2015, but possibly finishing fast enough to qualify for Kona. I hired a coach, became a coach, and followed my training plan to the letter. I even attended a race rehearsal camp in Lake Placid a month before race day to get the lay of the land and build some confidence on the climbs. Race Week: The Journey North I started my drive on the Tuesday before race week. For camp I made this trip in two days and ended up with sw...