Ironman Coeur d'Alene - TriathlonFull Ironman

I started just about as far to the right as I could in an attempt to stay out of the crowds. It actually worked! The cannon went off and I just walked into the water, letting the fastest guys take off ahead of me. As soon as I was deep enough I took off swimming and actually had pretty clear water for the first 400-500 yards. There was occasional jostling but really nothing compared to other IM swims I've had. I naturally drift slightly to the left when I'm swimming so in starting way right I didn't have so do hardly any sighting until nearly at the first turn buoy. By the time I got there, I was still about 25 yards wide of it and sailed around without any trouble. The second turn buoy I was a little closer and had a little more crowd but not too bad. Hit the halfway point at 35 minutes and was feeling really good. That lasted about 100 yards into the second loop when the waves started to get pretty crazy. The wind chop got pretty serious on the second loop and for some reason I was in a bigger crowd than the first loop. The first turn buoy wasn't bad but things started to get pretty bound up on the second one. From there on in it was more of a struggle to find open water than any other time in the swim. Pretty weird since it usually opens up more then. The wind chop was good coming back into the beach though as you could kind of surf the waves and gain some time. Hit the beach, looked at my watch, and was really happy. Just a few seconds off my IM PR but that was a salt water swim in mirror smooth water at IM Florida so I'll claim this as my best IM swim ever.

Nothing.

Jogged up the beach and found a wetsuit stripper. Laid down, suit shucked, and started to get up when the guy next to me decided to swing his arms around like a crazy man and nailed me right in the side of the head! No harm really but I was a bit mystified by whatever it was he figured he was doing. Ran to my bag and headed into the tent. Found a chair right away and got my feet dried off, shoes on, helmet on, old sock arm warmers on, and out the door. Was pretty slow in here for some reason and not sure why but no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Speed up a bit.

I knew this was going to be a long ride for me, based on the training rides I'd done on the course. I'm not a good climber so the long hills on this new course are really a challenge for me. There was a lot of talk when the course change was announced that this course would be faster given that it was less technical. Before the race my opinion was the only people who thought that were those who hadn't ridden it and race day seemed to back that up. As mentioned by others, the bike splits were significantly slower overall than on the previous course.
I started out feeling pretty good but trying to stay mellow and keep my HR under control. I must have sucked down a lot more lake water than I thought though as I had to pee no more than 4 or 5 miles into the bike. At the risk of TMI, it's a good thing I can pee on the bike because I had to go 7 times in the first 35 miles! Not the best scenario. Got out to Higgen's Point and back into town and started feeling good and warmed up, even though it was still a bit on the chilly side and spitting a few drops of rain. The first long climb I just stayed mellow and then pushed a little on the following downhill. Ate my second Uncrustable on the flats after the first climb, kept drinking Coke that I'd brought with me and the stuff from the aid stations, and taking 2 Endurolytes every 45-60 minutes. Endured the climbs out to the turn-around and started to push a little more on the way back into town. Got to the halfway point somewhere around 2:58 or so and was feeling pretty good. Stopped briefly at SN to pick up another bottle of coke and more Uncrustables. Back through town where I was again amazed at the crowds! The crowd at IMCDA is always great but this was the biggest crowd I think I've ever seen here. Just before the first long climb on the second loop my skewer came loose for some weird reason. Took me probably 5 or more minutes to get the wheel aligned and everything tightened up good again. Spent a little extra time making sure everything was right as I didn't want it coming loose again at 40+ MPH on a downhill. I had planned on the second loop being slower than the first, just because I'm not a climber and the hills take a lot out of me. The head winds out to the turn-around were getting a little stiffer but then the wind died about the time I hit the turn-around and so no help on the way back into town. Got rid of the disposable arm warmers at the last aid station before the turn and started enjoying the sushine. The last long climb at about mile 103 really hurts and I tried to just take it easy and spin up but at 218 lbs there's really no taking it easy on the hills! Got back to T2 and was happy to get off the bike feeling relatively good.

Not much other than not have mechanical issues.

This was a really slow T2 for me. The last IM I did this in 2:50. I did have to put on compression socks so that took extra time. I also ate an Uncrustable and got slathered with sunscreen so it all added up to a very slow T2.

Speed up.

Well, here is where the wheels fell off. Actually, looking at my Garmin a week later, the first 4 miles I was exactly where I wanted to be and I was feeling good. About a 10:30 pace and felt like I could go a long way like this. Unfortunately about mile 4 my left IT band decided to seize up. I'd felt it just a little on the bike but it really wasn't an issue then. But it really started hurting with a vengence and I had to start walking. I tried to run every mile or so but couldn't get 10 steps without pretty severe pain so I made up my mind that I would just finish out the race by walking. Now, when you've trained your body to run and suddenly you tell it to walk 20+ miles, it's not going to be happy with you! This really hurt! Much worse than running would have I'm sure. The upside was that I got to enjoy the aid stations a lot more and chat with a few people doing the race since I wasn't concentrating on running. Got back into town and saw my family and friends which was awesome! Since I wasn't going to set any records I took the time to stop and say hi and high five lots of folks. I can't say enough how great it was to see my kids out there and to get big smiles and hugs from my grandkids! Spent a couple minutes with Lisa, telling her sorry, but it was going to be a long wait for me to get back into town to the finish. She's such a huge support though. She just encouraged me, more hugs and a kiss, and off for the second loop. Still tried to run every so often but no go. So, just tried to walk as fast as possible, which by the way, was still painful! About mile 22 some friends from work came by on bikes and rode alongside for awhile which helped take my mind off my legs. Then at mile 24 my brother and another friend found me and they walked back into town with me until I turned on to Sherman Ave. Saw lots of friends and family on the way down Sherman so stopped and got more hugs and high fives. Tried to run some more but still couldn't until I came to the finish chute. Then by some miracle I could slowly run the length of the chute, getting high fives from that awesome crowd and finding Lisa near the end and getting a finish kiss. Heard Mike Reilly call my name as a 4 time IM finisher and was done!

Not have my IT band seize up.

Got caught by a co-worker which was nice and slowly walked over to get my finish picture taken. Met up with family and visited for a minute then Lisa and I slowly made our way to the med tent to just sit down for a bit and visit with my co-workers. Stayed there for about 15 minutes, got some pictures taken, then slowly made my way back out to see my kids and grandkids.


Getting old!


Obviously I didn't have the race I wanted due to the knee issue. However, in retrospect, I got to enjoy this one as much or more than any other since I was able to take the time to visit with family and friends during the run. Seeing my kids and grandkids and getting big smiles and hugs from my grandkids was absolutely priceless. I'm still reliving those moments more than a week later and getting misty eyed just thinking about them. So, even though I finished roughly 2 1/2 hours later than I'd planned, it was still an awesome day and I have no complaints.
I know I'm biased but IMCDA is just a fantastic race. The town embraces the event wholeheartedly and the atmosphere is electric. Great volunteers too, without whom we could never race. I love this race and will continue to volunteer in the med tent over the next 5 years. I swore off doing another IM race after this one and still am pretty convinced this was my last one. That may change in the next year or two, especially if my son or brother decide to do one and I can race with them. We'll see. For now, sprints, Olys, and an occasional 1/2 IM will do just fine thank you!