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 Swim
Comments: What can you say to describe the chaos of an IM mass swim start? It did seem like everyone was heeding the same instructions to "go to the outside". The middle where I was on the beach was empty, and everyone was crouded to either side. The start looked like a big V converging from the edges toward the bouys. The course was well marked. Small bouys every couple hundred yards in different colors for the outbound and inbound directions plus extra large orange bouys for the turn points. Near the bouys and at the turns there was always a crowd and frequent roadblocks, but on the plus side you never had to look far for a draft. What would you do differently?: Get closer to the water in the middle of the beach. I might haveactually avoided the crowd and stayed ahead of the pack.  Transition 1
Comments: I decided before the race that I wasn't going to stress the T-times on this race. The weather forcast was hot sun, so extra sunscreen was mandatory. I had bullfrog 45 sunblock in my T1 bag, and additionally got the Kinesys spray down by volunteers. What would you do differently?: Remember my ankle zippers before getting to the wetsuit strippers.  Bike
Comments: Man did it get hot. You could smell the pine trees baking in the sun, and it literally smelled like a sauna. In addition to my planned 7 aero-bottles of InfinIT I downed whatever extra H2O I could get my hands on and drink before the last minute bottle drop. Aid stations were phenomenal, the crowd support superb. If they'd let me do 2 more laps instead of running I'd have been all over it :) What would you do differently?: Let my HR get a little higher. On the 1st loop I tried to tone it back whenever I started cruising above 150. The second loop was easier wind-wise, but I was in a rhythm at the slower HR by then and it was harder to pick it back up. Transition 2
Comments: Bike runners are cool. Cold towels are cooler. A cold fuel belt in 95+ degree heat is a heaven send. Took even more time here to stretch, get re-sunscreened, change socks, and grease the toes. Volunteer support again was great. A guy offered to put my cooler in another bag and write my number on it rather than try to put it all back together. What would you do differently?: Stay in the tent. I don't like to run ;P  Run
Comments: At first it was ok. Everything was holding together for about the 1st 2 miles. The 3rd was a walk/run, then the walks got longer tand runs shorter. Then after the 1/4 point turnaround the IT Band really started aching. At that point I was safely inside the safety zone for walking hte rest of the course and still making the cutoff. All I had to do was get through the aches and pains and hot spots. I mostly stopped using my InfinIT since it was pretty unneeded at this pace. Water, a little infinIT, and a little cola at the end was all I had the rest of the night. I tried the chicken broth, but it was so much less palatable than the stuff I had. What would you do differently?: Don't get injured a month before the race. Do more long-distance-run-after-bike bricks during base. Don't listen to the runners and just doing short-run-after-long-bike bricks. Post race
Warm down: Got to the finish, perfectly lucid and happy as a clam. My wife was there, and Flyboy finished right behind me. Walking was getting to be a bit of a problem, so I skipped the post-race amenities, and had my wife go gather the bike and stuff. I did opt for the Monday morning 1hour massage after a shower and a good sleep. After that I could walk normally again. What limited your ability to perform faster: Heat, wind, strained foot and IT Band less than 1 month before race day...the usual :) Event comments: Coeur d'Alene, You are AMAZING! The people, both volunteers and spectators are 100% behind this race. I can't believe the support they give to the 2200 athletes and their firends and families who take over their town every year. You can feel the love from everyone from the moment you step into town till you leave. The course is beautiful. The weather superb (heat excepted), and the water clean and cool. You won't find a better all around great place to do your 1st IronMan. Profile Album Last updated: 2006-01-17 12:00 AM
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United States
USAT
95F / 35C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1665/2227
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 115/140
On wednesday I drove the bike course. Thursday I swam the course loop, and later in the day I checked out my bike by riding the parts of the course that were challenging or confusing. This was a big confidence boost since the course looked harder than it was, and I knew what to expect.
2 days before was carbo load day (pasta for lunch and dinner).
The day before was all about logistics, getting bags and bike to the dropoff, making sure things fit into my bags, getting drink mix in bottles and ready to fill race morning. I ate around 5:30PM so as to be...uh rid of...my dinner before the race the next morning. We went to bed around 7:30, and slept suprizingly well.
Race morning I was up at 4AM filling bottles. I put my fuel belt for the run along with a couple of ice packs and ice in a mini cooler that fit into my bike-to-run bag. Took the bottles, cooler, wetsuit, goggles, chip, bike pump, etc. to the transition area to get things prepped and checked. After that it was just don the wetsuit, put my morning cloths in the dry clothes bag, and head to the start.
With 140 miles to go, warmup is just wasted energy.