IM USA 2002 was in Lake Placid. Again, a beautiful location with it's lake swim and massive forests to run and bike through. The swim was my best time yet; the buoys were connected to a cable that was stretched about 5 feet under the water for the entire swim - just like having a lane line! It's good the swim was fast because the bike was tough. LOTS of hills and during the second 56 miles, rain and wind. As I'd learned before, I respected the three hills called "Baby Bear", "Mama Bear" and, you guessed it, "Papa Bear". It stayed stormy during the run over rolling hills and they even turned off the electricity at the finish line for awhile due to lightening. At the awards ceremony, they specifically recognized each individual who'd finished while the power was off. Nice touch.