Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Official Thread (Page 36)

I hope that's not in the spot we're swimming in!  USGS says it is 55*

mallen4574 - 2012-05-25 1:45 PM I swam at Liberty Lake last night. It was 62. Felt great. I would love that temp on race day. Anybody racing this weekend? I plan becoming and Onionman this weekend in Walla Wall, Wa (a place so nice they named it twice)

Great name for a city! 

I'm running a half on Mon with a friend.  She is going to be sadly disappointed at how slow I am Mon after the wear & tear on my body from Sat & Sun's training!  It'll be fun, though.

I am feeling pretty tired as well, normal for this many days out though, means I am where I am supposed to be.  I am getting nervous as well especially reading about the bike course.  I have been training in 30-40km winds with gusts up to 60.....I am so tired of the wind already as many of you are.  I am training 13 hrs Sat/Sun between biking and running and then backing off.  Hard to believe we are almost there....

Paula

It was 55 a couple days ago but the wind has cooled it down the last couple days.  52.7 as we speak unfortunately.  Temps are forecasted for 60's, maybe even low 70's over the next week so it'll warm up to swimmable soon.  And the USGS temp reading is taken about 6 feet deep, 1/2 mile downstream from where the river runs out of the lake...or about a mile from City Beach where the swim start is.  Everyone's bit of useless trivia for the day!

This weekend and next weekend will be heavy for me too, but 2 weekends out I'm going camping for my birthday, so I figure that will be a good time to start tapering.  BBQ, beer, and some hiking!

4 weeks from tomorrow, anyone else getting excited?

Ahhh, a day off today and then peak week....yeeehawwww!!!!

I'll be heading to  CDA a couple weeks early to get my body acclimated from SE Asia sweltering heat to the Northern Idaho time zone/environment.  

I've got a Blue Seventy Helix and am concerned that the mesh arms will not keep me warm enough...I guess we'll find out.

One of the first items on my shopping list when I get to town will be to find a neoprene cap...any suggestions on where to find one there? 

Best of luck for those of us who still have a heavy week ahead of us!

I hear you.  20 mile run yesterday and another century ride in the mountains today.  Thought it would be cooler up there, but still 87 degrees at the finish.  Coeur d'Alene's got to be cooler, right?

One tough week left!

I found this thread about a week ago and it has taken me until now to catch up with all 45 pages.  Anyway thank you for all the course reports.  I found the thread because I was wondering if people thought the new bike course would be faster or slower than last year.  Anyway thanks all for the encouragement.  I decided I would ad to the encouragement.  I swam about a mile in lake CDA today (from the NIC dock to Independence point and back).  It was actually not as bad as I thought.  I hope it gets warmer but if it does not, know that it is doable.  I put hot water down my suit before getting in.  Then I hung out in the water for 2 minutes alternating between ducking under water and floating on my back (someone told me that helps you adapt).  Then I started swimming.  I told myself I was going to try to swim at least 200 yards and then see how it was.  My face was burning for the first 2 minutes, but then after that it really was not that bad once it kind of got numb.  My body never was cold.  I was wearing a neoprene hood and I think that is critical for me.  I got in about a month ago without a hood just to try out my new suit and was OK breast stroking but could not freestyle because I would get a brain freeze after 6 strokes.

By the way today was a rough swim with a fair amount of waves from the wind coming from the south right across the lake.  Once again even though it was harsh conditions, I am not a great swimmer and I am a weenie when it comes to cold water it was doable.  4 more weeks to enjoy the training.

So I was on what would have been my 2nd 100 plus ride on saturday when at mile 80 I ran over some glass and lost my back tube.  Problem was I was on my Zipps 404 FC that I was planning to use for IMCDA.  Guess what carbon fiber does when its hit asphalt. So not only did I miss my second 100 mile ride, I lost an expensive race wheel in the process. 

I hit the ground somewhere in the 22 to 25 mph range and slowed down very quickly once on the ground (lol!)  the road rash wasnt as bad as it could have been and the damge to the bike was repairable-except the wheel of course.

The only reason I am posting this was to share the amazing thought that went through my mind as I was walking back to a place I could get picked up:  So I lost a nice rear wheel that I wont be able to replace anytime soon (even with the crash replacement policy that Zipp has) and I lost a key workout day.  So what if I cross the finish line 10 minutes later than I could have with the Zipps.  So what if I might get to race day a little undertrained.  I am going to make it to the start line on a race that I have been dreaming of running for the last five years.

We are all this close to putting a fitting end to all the long hours and long miles.  We are all this close to doing something amazing.  Whats that quote-The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start. 

Thats where we are so let me just say train hard and be safe and I will see you on the start line!!!!

Sucks about your race wheel, but keep in mind that you did get 80 miles in, so you only lost 20% of your workout.  80 miles is still a solid ride and you will benefit from it.  It's also good that you didn't suffer any injuries that would prevent you from getting to the starting line.  Sounds like you aren't letting what happened get you down too much, and that's great.  I think maintaining a healthy perspective can be challenging for people like us who demand so much from ourselves.

Hope everyone had a great weekend of training!

Just wanted to pop in and wish you all good luck as you head into your last month before the race.  It was one of the great days of my life, and I hope that you have the same experience.

A couple of tips.

Go to the pasta dinner.  The food is mediocre & overpriced, but the stories are phenomenal.

Swim. The water will be cold.  Be prepared with neoprene cap and earplugs.  If you think that you will need armwarmers on the bike, put them on UNDER your wetsuit.  Sounds weird, but it will save you a couple of potentially frustrating minutes in T1.

The bike is hilly.  Don't attack the hills.  They didn't do anything to you and you still have to complete a marathon.  Cruise up the hills comfortably and continue that effort over the crest and down the first third of the downhill.  Several of the steepest climbs end with a slight uphill.  Ugh.  Be ready.  Preview the bike course.  Two of the turns are pretty technical and require some braking.  The rest you should be able to go through full speed ahead.

The run.  Set your pace so you won't have to slow down.  There are some hills.  Don't be afraid to walk them. Take some time to admire the lake as you run shoreside.  It is beautiful!

Finally, if you are not a candidate for Kona, YOU CANNOT TAKE LONG ENOUGH IN THE CHUTE!  Enjoy this time.  Slap hands. Kiss the girls. Find your loved ones and hug them. Raise your arms in glory and skip from side to side.  Do a cartwheel if you can.  THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!

For $20, I'll tell you where to go for free beer.

DITTO!!!  South Florida was a scorcher this weekend.  made the training very difficult. 

I'm using probikeexpress out of Boulder.  $300 for bike and gear bag transportation, and they'll pick up transition bags and your bike after the race for you.  Not sure where you are, but perhaps there is a company similar to this close by.  May want to check with a few of your local bike shops.