Ironman Coeur d'Alene - TriathlonFull Ironman

This was a tough swim. It was a mass start and I started towards the back on the far right side. The first lap was the usual mass chaos of an Iroman swim. I was lucky and only caught one foot to the face. The first turn bouy was crowded and I was able to get through it. The second one I missed and went probably 75 yards past it. The waves were so big I couldn't see the bouy's in the water. Sighting was really difficult. On the second lap I was able to get more onto the bouy lines so it helped some with sighting. However, by this time the wind had kicked up and the waves were even bigger. I think my back is sore from getting bent backwards by some of the waves.

Overall, I thought I did fairly well for the swim. It was a mass start in rough conditions. The only thing I would do is swim more in open water before the race.

Had a decent T1. The wetsuit strippers got my suit off quickly. Since it was so cold I wanted to ride with arm warmers on and it took a while to get those onto my wet arms. Once they were on I stopped off and got loaded up with sunscreen, since it was still sunny out.

Put on my arm warmers as I head towards my bike rather than doing it in transition

This was tough. I took it easy on the first loop. When we came out of transition I held back and let everybody pass me up as I wanted to conserve for the second loop and the run. It was tough to let everybody fly by me. Throughout the first loop I was doing well with alternating between drinking Infinit, water, and gels. When we turned to head back into town to begin the second loop is when I felt the wind. It was strong. When we got back to the start of the second loop I was still feeling pretty good.

I hit the special needs around mile 63ish. I stopped for a few minutes to reload fluids and gels. I also started to eat a Cliff bar as I wanted some solid food. I've never tasted anything so good. I then also stopped at the mile 66 aid station as I had to go really bad and just couldn't make myself pee on my bike. I was probably in there for 90 seconds. After that I felt great and started the climb back into town to head out to the hills.

I won't lie. The hills on the second loop were tough. There was a lot of wind and the hills just kept coming. Once I hit the turn around on Ohio Match Road I knew I only had another 20 miles and I was done. I made the turn back onto Government Highway to head back into town and the wind was unbelievable. I was peddling hard and it felt like I was hardly moving. I got back into town and headed towards transition. When I hopped off my bike I was surprised at how well my legs felt. I had no cramping or issues. The year before at IMKY I about died due to cramps in my legs. I was really happy.

Ride more. Ride hills more. Ride in the wind more.

Felt good. Gave my bike to the bike person to put back. Jogged in my bike shoes to T2. Got my run bag. Put on my running shoes and hat and took off. I skipped the sunscreen as the storm was coming in and it was cloudy. I also ran with my arm warmers on as it was freezing.

Not much. Was happy with my time.

Were to begin on this one. I started out running and was feeling really good, but even with running 10 minute miles I was cold. I would sweat, but the wind would rip through me and I was freezing. I stopped once at mile 5 to take care of business and this caused me to have a 13 minute mile, but I felt better after that. Around mile 6 I started to take in chicken broth. Not because I needed the salt, but I needed the warmth. By now it had started raining and the wind picked up even more. It was miserable out there. I was also starting to chafe under my arms from the rain. I walked up the big hill at the turn around at mile 7 and then ran back into town. I saw my wife at mile 12.5 and dispatched her on a mission to find me body glide. Meanwhile at each aid station since mile 6 I was hitting Gatorade, water and chicken broth with the occasional gel.

I hit my special my special needs bag at mile 14 and put on my long sleeve shirt. It was a life savior. I still felt pretty good and was running. I saw my wife around mile 15 and put on the body glide she got me and it was immediate relief. I was now also taking in Coke with the water, Gatorade, and soup. I was able to run until mile 18 and then had to walk some. I also grabbed one of those silver milar blankets and mile 18 and wrapped myself in it. I alternated running and walking between mile 18 and the turnaround point at mile 21 (I did walk up the big ass hill at the turn around). From mile 22 on I was able to run/shuffle all the way back into town. When I turned onto Sherman and could see and hear the finish line all the pain went away and I was able to run. I think I ran an 8 minute mile for the last mile. As I got closer to the finish I was high fiving the crowd I saw my wife in the bleachers and she was filming me coming through. I waved to her and then heard the magic words from Mike "Matt Baker You Are An IRONMAN".

Need to run more and run hills. I wished I would have cut out a few sections of walking as I could have gone under 13 hours if I have done that. I was only 48 seconds off from going sub 13. Next time.

After I got through the shoot they wrapped me in another mylar blanket and gave me my shirt, hat, medal, etc... I got my finishers picture done and couldn't stop shaking. I was so cold. My wife had brought me a jacket and running pants. I put those on right away. All I wanted to do was get out of the elements and back into the hotel to warmup. We got my bike, bags, etc... and headed back into the hotel.


The weather was rough. With the cold and the wind it hampered me some on my bike and run. I also just need to continue to train and get fitter.


What can I say about this race. Ironman knows how to do a race. The city of Coeur d'Alene comes out in droves to cheer and volunteer. There were people cheering all along the bike and run course. Those volunteers are amazing. For the run they were standing against the lake in pouring rain, high winds and cold helping us out. You couldn't ask for more. If you want to do an early Ironman, I would highly recommend you do IMCDA.

I am happy that I went 3 hours and 9 seconds faster than Kentucky. I thought this was a much harder course than Kentucky. Although, you have to deal with the heat in Kentucky the bike course is more forgiving and the run course is flat in Kentucky. I trained a lot more and a lot smarter for this race and it showed. I want to do another one next year, but I think I am going to take it off, as I owe my wife some time. I will most likely do another one in 2011, maybe a destination one (Brazil, France, etc...).