Ironman Coeur d'Alene - TriathlonFull Ironman

I started right at the waters edge in ankle deep water. At the cannon I went for it . . . and so did all the others. It took until the second bouy before I could put my head under and breathe like I needed to. After one lap I heard Mike Reilly announce the time at 38 minutes. I expected a swim time of 76-80 minutes and was shocked to find out later it was 90 minutes.

I'm not one to hang back so I would probably do it all the same. I did nothing bot ows for five weeks, much more then the other two IM's and my time was slower. Not sure what that says.

Tent was the typical beehive. So many people but I felt good knowing I was in the thick of things.

Nothing except put a small towel in T-1 bag to dry off my feet.

Always a scenic course. Locals out and cheering up a storm. Got hot the second lap with sweat dripping out of helmet. For most of the ride my lower back hurt and tightened up. I tried to stretch it as I rode but it just wouldn't give me a break.

Beats me. I guess I would work alot more on speed in hopes that it would help me maintain higher avg. speed. I was hoping for 16mph both laps, which in not alot to ask but I couldn't hold it coming back into town. In 2008 I didn't stop to use the portables and you know what that means. I didn't want that this year and did stop a few times which added to my time.

There were very few bags left in T-2 and I knew I was running late. The good side is that there was a volunteer to help me get things sorted out and cut down my T-2 time.

Nothing

Knowing I was behind where I wanted to be wa a downer but as I started running I noticed my legs felt good. Many passed be on the bike and I could only hope they were going to pay for it on the run. I used a Garmin 310XT and when I reached 152bpm I walked. This worked well and as I came back through town I began passing people left and right. I still ran/walked and when I ran I was under 10 per mile pace. "Great" I thought and had visions of a marathin time in the four hour range. When I got back out to the lake shore and the last 8-9 miles the wheels fell off. My lower back was really bothering me and now my hip flexors tightened. My left knee started to hurt and I walked more and ore. A guy with 68 on his calf passed me and that snapped me out of my pity party. I never gave up believing I could run as I saw in the body language of others and passed the old guy. Finally, the end was in site but I was so surprised to see my time was over sixteen hours. When I hit the tape I saw the other members of team So-Cal and they all congratulated me. My wife Carol was there to put the medal around my neck. Though I was slower 3 out of three IM finishes is nothing to be disappointed in.

Looking back, I believe I could have pushed through the pain and ran faster/longer.

Got a piece of pizza and collected my bike and bags.


My genetics I guess. I really don't know since I had more training for this one then the others.


If you want to do an IM this is the place to be.