Ironman Coeur d'Alene - TriathlonFull Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
United States
Ironman North America
27C / 81F
Sunny
Total Time = 12h 44m 9s
Overall Rank = 925/2262
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 31/118
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 3:30 a.m. Had a protein drink, 2 bagels and 2 Lindor truffles (exactly like every morning this week). Woke Trev, he slathered sunscreen on me twice (didn't work this time, though). We left early (4:45 a.m.)
Event warmup:

Trev dropped me at the special needs area and I put my bags in the right spot (I thought). Met my buddy Zach and his lovely wife, Brittany, at the Moose. Zach and I got numbered, and I showed him where to put the special needs bags and was able to get my warm up clothes bag from the bike special needs. Ooops. They had already pulled it and were going to send it to the right place. Yay, volunteers!!!

Got my bike special needs in the correct location, then went to fill my bike bottle. On the way, I saw Linsey Corbin again and told her that I hoped she would win the race. She was in great spirits, thanked me and said she would be cheering me on as well. :)

Had a bit of a freak because I didn't know about wheel extenders and changing tire. Got that sorted out quick. All good. Checked my tire, but didn't have pump. Back tire seemed a little less inflated than front, but so miniscule that it was probably my imagination.

Met up again with Zach, Brittany and Trevor and suited up. Had lots of time to get onto the beach this time. Saw the pros start.
Swim
  • 1h 18m 1s
  • 3862 meters
  • 02m 01s / 100 meters
Comments:

There wasn't any chop until you got out to the turn around. There were huge boat swells (larger than the wind swells from last year).

This was the roughest, nastiest swim, in terms of other swimmers, I've ever been in. The start was impossible to properly swim, so there was a little bit of dog paddle, a little breast stroke. I got hit in the head a dozen times and punched in the ribs 3 times, but felt that this was just par for the course.

My problem came up when I got kicked in the sternum 5 times, the second time was so hard, I had to work not to hyperventilate, and I wondered if I broke something. The charlie-horse I got in my right thigh only registered until after the first sternum kick. I must say though, that one fellow who gave me a good elbow in the ribs, looked horrified and apologize profusely. It helped me feel better. :)

I found it extremely hard to find the buoys this time. We started at a severe angle from the course and had to swim a diagonal line to meet the course properly. My sighting was terrible and I'm sure I swam a longer course. On the second lap, I was looking so hard for the 4th turn buoy that I didn't realize I was right on top of it.

Two of the 3 sternum kicks slowed me down a lot. I swallowed a lot of water (and burped a lot on the bike).
What would you do differently?:

Swim more than 5-6 times before the race and for longer than an average of 1/2 hour.
Transition 1
  • 08m 46s
Comments:

This was better than last year and about the same as Silverman. I was really disoriented getting into the tent. Also, I made a pit stop in the washroom. My T1 volunteer was awesome. I kept forgetting things I need, so she had to unpack my bag 3 times. She was super patient and extremely helpful.
What would you do differently?:

Not need to pee.
Bike
  • 6h 15m 28s
  • 180.25 kms
  • 28.80 km/hr
Comments:

I cut slightly over 30 minutes off my last year's bike time. I did not get enough biking in this year, though.

EXTREMELY pleased with my bike handling. I was one of the rare people that took hard corners in aero-position and used my brakes infrequently on the downhills. My max speed downhill was 66.5km/hr. I took downhills hard. I almost died on one downhill turn because there was a guy blocking me on the downhill. I skidded out bad at the turn and did everything I could to avoid the volunteers, which I did. Particularly pleased with my bike handling there. REALLY ticked off at the guy who was blocking and braking. If you can't handle the heat, get back in the line, buddy. He continued to block throughout the day. And he wasn't the only one. I took great pains to stay to the right when not passing. I was rare. VERY rare! Way too much drafting and blocking the entire race.
What would you do differently?:

Not go out so hard on first loop. Didn't make this mistake last year, but did go out a bit hard this year.

Pray to the weather gods to give me nicer weather during training. More interval training on the bike. More hard stuff. I need to start pushing on the bike. Go back to my former style of weight training for legs (and do more of it, again).
Transition 2
  • 06m 55s
Comments:

This could have been quicker. The volunteers were fantastic, again.
What would you do differently?:

Not change from jersey to tri top. Have tri top underneath or not wear different jersey. Totally vanity thing.
Run
  • 4h 54m 59s
  • 42.16 kms
  • 07m  min/km
Comments:

So, I totally broke the rule about not using new gear on race day and paid. It took me almost no time to realize that the new Ironman speed laces were a bad choice. My shoes were too tight and my left foot was hurting from the bike (same Morton's neuroma as at Silverman). It hurt so bad that I totally loosen my shoe off and had to remove it 3 times on the first half of the run to walk a few paces in my sock for my foot to feel better. I got some interesting looks.

I was extremely tired off of the bike this time. Mentally, I was pretty much going to walk the entire marathon. The first 5K were really not great and I ducked into 2 porta potties because I thought I had to pee. I wasted about 10 minutes sitting in porta johns not being able to pee. Arrgh!

Despite this equipment failure, I was most pleased with my marathon. I never imagined that I would run as much of it as I did, and finish as strong as I did. The last 600m down Sherman, I kicked it up so much, I passed 2 people.

I want to thank Mike from Seattle for pacing with me in the middle so perfectly. You really helped. I turned the corner on mile 17 where I went down from hypothermia (it was just at the end of the grassed area with the signs everyone makes to cheer people on) and thought "Not THIS year! I'm gonna make it." Felt good. :)

The volunteers and spectators (and even other competitors) were FANTASTIC! There was so much emotional support and cheering. The last stretch along Sherman was packed with people cheering me on by name. I almost started crying as my favourite finish line song (Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol) came to my mind.
What would you do differently?:

Not wear new speed laces. Be more wary of swollen feet for run. Continue the type of run training that I've been doing, especially the bricks. Training to run hard after biking long really taught me how to tough it out and pace.
Post race
Warm down:

My finish "catcher" was fantastic. She led me where I needed to go and was so gracious holding my stuff for me to get my picture. I got pizza and talked to another finisher and a volunteer who were eating.

Brittany allowed me to use her and Zach's hotel room to shower up after, which I really appreciated. I remembered to put a toothbrush in my warm clothes bag, which was great. I also put in 2 Lindor truffles as well. Good thing, I was super hungry and didn't get to a Taco Bell until 11:30 p.m.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough bike and swim training. Period. Really slacked on the swim training and couldn't bring myself to ride indoors as much as before Silverman. Bad weather in spring sucks.

Event comments:

Finishing this race as unfinished business was so important. I am really pleased with my final result.

I didn't stay to watch the end, but was too hungry.




Last updated: 2009-07-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:18:01 | 3862 meters | 02m 01s / 100meters
Age Group: 41/118
Overall: 995/2262
Performance: Below average
Suit: XTerra
Course: Rectangle - 2 loops out from beach
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 18C / 64F Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 08:46
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
06:15:28 | 180.25 kms | 28.80 km/hr
Age Group: 30/118
Overall: 965/2262
Performance: Good
Wind: Little with gusts
Course: Two loops - some out and back, some loop - hilly at back of course
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 06:55
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
04:54:59 | 42.16 kms | 07m  min/km
Age Group: 31/118
Overall: 925/2262
Performance: Good
Course: Two loop out and back along Coeur d'Alene Lake
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5