Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Official Thread (Page 5)

There are multiple hot tubs set up right outside the changing tent post-wetsuit peel if you need to use one.

Count me in with both feet.

Hey Doug . . . I'm there!

Right now, I'm trying to focus on a couple half IM's, a century, and other races which are on the calendar, although it's hard not to think about CDA every single day. 

I can't wait!

Right now I'm training for a mid-October marathon.
Last 2 week of October will be no swim, no bike, and no run weeks.
November I will do some off-season training (weights and core with a little S/B/R).
December I will start to ramp up the S/B/R a little (Prep).
12/26/2009 IMCDA base building will start.

I'm just gonna copy you.

Oh hi all.  I am in as well.  I hadn't thought to look for the thread yet.  And hello to familiar people, we shall have fun or else!  This will be my 2nd IM and hopefully I can pick up the pace a bit.  I finally have a place to swim in the winter that is not 100 miles away,  as of tonight, so that gives me a free 8 hours each week to train yay (swimspa in the home).  Now to figure out how to swim faster. 

As far as training goes I am run focused with a 30k trail run in October, probably a 30k trail run in November and then a full mary in January.  A run focused winter last year really helped me on my first IM run this year (Vineman).  

I was no where near ready to look for housing.... so I guess that is something that I will need to look into as well.  

So I will be run/swim focused until February and then I will maintain my run and swim base and work heavily on bike for the remaining 4 months.  I should probably throw a HIM in late April or early May.  So much to do.  I bearly have my running races figured out for fall/winter.  

The swim start should be, um interesting.  I have never done a mass start of more than 350 or so people, although the Boise 70.3 and the Vineman (in a narrow river) did have some bumping.  

I have been really excited about my training in that my run speed is finally picking up for shorter distances (5-8 miles)  has gone from around 8:30 to 9:00 down to  7:30 -8:00 pace.

Anyway hopefully I can pick up the speed and avoid some of the little practical issues from the first IM.  Some day I will do a Triathlon with a single transition area.... so  much easier.   

Kendra, a few thoughts for you (and other first timers):

1 - You still have 9 months to go, think about something else for a while (still workout but don't stress about calling it IM training).

2 - Most would agree that a strong core will help.  There is a lot of debate about if weight training will help.  I lift weights in the winter (high rep, low weights) but give it up in the spring when I start riding outdoors.

3 - In general doing a little bit everyday is better than doing to much and getting injured.  This is true for swimming, biking, running, and core/strength work.  If you alway get injured when you start core training then you are most likely doing it wrong or doing too much.  Assuming that your form is correct, take whatever you have been doing in the past only do about a quarter (of less) of that.  Slowly, slowly, slowly build up from there.  It's real cool to say that you do 200 situps a day, but if you cann't do anything else for weeks after that then what's the point.

4 - Aerobars.  My experiance is that adding aerobars to a road bike will help you go 1 to 2 mph faster.  Also my wrist and arms get tired riding a traditional road bike, aerobars really do give your arms a break.  For me, aerobars are the most comfortable place to ride once they are set up correctly.

5 - Training logs.  If you are not keeping a training log then start now!  In IM training there will be days that suck and everything goes wrong.  You will wonder if you will ever be ready.  It is nice to be able to look back and see how far you have come with your training.  Your training log is also very usefull when it comes time to figure our your race day plan.  The BT logs are also a good way to get to know other people who are racing.  Half the fun of race week is meeting people that you have gotten to know online thru the BT logs and race forums.

Hope this helped.  See you in June.

I've been thinking about the swim a lot lately.  I've done a bunch of open water swimming, but the stories of washing machines and people getting kicked is definitely looming in the back of my mind.  I'm stoked to start training though, it's less than 9 months out!!!

Yes, you need aerobars.  And your body needs to get used to riding in aero.  Riding more will help the neck soreness.  Don't stress, just prepare your body, calm your mind and enjoy it all. 

In my one IM back in 2008 I was fearing the swim start as well. I found that it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. Don't get me wrong, there was bumping, kicking, lots of contact, etc... but not what I had made it to be. I knew I was a 1:30 swimmer so I just stayed back at the cannon and took a slow walk to the water. I have started toward the front of smaller races and found it worse. Don't let it get to you too much. Be prepared, but don't stress.