Ironman Coeur d'Alene

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Ironman Coeur d'Alene - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
United States
Ironman North America
52F / 11C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 10h 30m 24s
Overall Rank = 178/2200
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 32/362
Pre-race routine:

Typical pre-race breakfast, nothing different. We were staying up at Lake Hayden (by the upper part of the bike course) so it was about a 15 min drive to the race site. Found a parking spot and walked about 5-6 blocks to the park. Planned on getting there at 5:30 and I was right on time. I had a very detailed list of todo's (I'm a list person) on my Blackberry and got right to it. Pumping tires was the frst on the list as if you don't find someone with a pump you have to get in line for one of the support pumps and that can take 15-20 minutes. Guy next to me who I met at the Cheah Challenge Century in May (he's from Alanta) had a pump and let me use it. Then off to get T bags set up. Then drop off bike special needs bag which they had all the way on the other side of the park and required walking alone the waterfront sidewalk. This sidewalk was VERY crowded and it took about 10 mins each way moving through like a herd of cattle. Now time for the morning potty break. There were at least 300 (not exagerating here) people in line so I went looking for another bathroom. I knew there were bathrooms on the other side of the park and headed that way. Of course there was a line but I got in it and waited. Pro start went....still in line, they they announced to start moving to the swim start. It was now 6:40 and I was still in line without wetsuit on. Finished bathroom and ran to get my wetsuit on. Found my parents and got my wetsuit on and headed back through the crowds. At 6:57 I stopped being polite and waiting for all of the non-racers moving through the crowd and just pushed my way through to the timing gate, which you had to walk over to register your chip into the race. Made my way over to the far left, inside the bouy line, got my goggles and hat on and 10 seconds later the cannon went off. Um, yeah, zero warmup. Not even any arm stretchs.
Event warmup:

nothing, see above.
Swim
  • 1h 02m 56s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 29s / 100 yards
Comments:

So no warmup and off I go. the wind was coming from the South, which is typical I understand, which means we were heading straight into the waves on the way out and with them on the way back. Going out was tough. About every 3-4 breaths a wave would come over my head just as I was inhailing and I would get a mouth full of water. I ended up swallowing a bunch of water on the first loop. I got much better at sensing the waves on the second and would just skip the breath when I could tell the wave was over my head, but the damage was done at that point. More on this later. The trip back to the beach on each lap was actually nice as I was riding the waves and I really stretched out my stroke and took advantage of the glide. This enabled me to bring my HR back down.
What would you do differently?:

Do some more rough water open water swims.
Transition 1
  • 03m 51s
Comments:

Ironman doesn't allow shoes clipped into bike in transition. wetsuit strippers took forever to get my suit off. I think I was laying on my back for about 15 seconds. I told them just to pull it off of my ankle. She kept trying to use her fingers to work it off. That's a tough volunteer job so I was nice. They had a shortage of volunters at some of the stations and this was evident in the T1 tent. It was self serve all the way. I had to put everything in my bag and even find a volunteer to hand it off to when I had it loaded with my wetsuit, cap and goggles. Resulted in a slow T1. I was hoping for a sub 3:00 T1.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Bike
  • 5h 40m 30s
  • 112 miles
  • 19.74 mile/hr
What would you do differently?:

Going to look into changing up my nutrition a little.
Transition 2
  • 01m 57s
Comments:

Was hoping for sub 2:00 T2 and did that so I am pleased with my T2.
What would you do differently?:

forgot to take off bike race belt and replace with run race belt and had to turn around (still in the tent) to swithch them out. Probably 5-6 seconds.
Run
  • 3h 41m 9s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

Mental toughness wasn't there for me today on this run. First races can be like that as you just are wasting mental energy trying to figure out what the course will throw at you and the conditions were doing the same. My ankle took my head out of the race on Saturday. I need to spend the day before the race without any surprises, and man was that a big one. Calories, or lack of, was the issue. I'm not sure why I couldn't get my gels in. I may need to do some experimenting with run fueling?
What would you do differently?:

ummm, run faster.
Post race
Warm down:

no trip to medical for IV's for me at this race. Usually it's a couple IV's. Got a massage and a couple pieces of pizza and went to take my bike to TBT.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

lack of calories on the bike




Last updated: 2008-09-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:02:56 | 4224 yards | 01m 29s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/362
Overall: 133/2200
Performance: Average
Suit: QR Full
Course: I am listing this as high chop as for me it was. The only other race where the swim was rougher was Gulf Coast in 2008 (6' waves). 2 loops counter clockwise, short beach run over timing mat.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current: High
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:51
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off: 		No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
05:40:30 | 112 miles | 19.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 78/362
Overall: 352/2200
Performance: Average
In Ironman it's all about the bike, not just because it is the longest, but also becuase it is where you set up your run. I knew coming in that my nutritional plan needed modification. The low temperatures meant I wouldn't be drinking enough and therefore I woulnd't be getting those liquid calories. I made adjustments and packed more gels and bars. I started off fine and then about mile 20 my stomach started cramping. When I got on the bike my stomach was very bloated from the lake water I had taken in. I am guessing that upset things. I tried to get the calories in but things were getting ugly. I decided to switch over to water from GE and that helped, but made the caloric deficent even worst. I suplemented the lack of GE with salt tabs (1 per hr instead of the usual 3/hr I take while racing). All told I was about 3/4 of a bar and 4 gells short on calories at the end of the bike (about 600 calories).
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: 2 loops with a bunch of climbing miles 20-40 of loops. The slightly downhill section (about 8 miles) back to town should have been a nice section to spin and do some recovery from the climbing but the headwind made that some of the toughest section of the loop. My climbing was pretty good on both loops and I passed a bunch of folks. I probably burnt too many matches on the second loop in this section. The wind on the second loops was getting gusty and it was tough to stay in the bars on the downhills. At mile 100 I was really ready to get off of the bike. Hydration on the bike was very good as I peed 4 times. Dehydration wasn't an issue the whole day as I only remember sweating on a small section of the run downtown which was protected from the wind.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:57
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
03:41:09 | 26.2 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 33/362
Overall: 187/2200
Performance: Bad
Not happy with this run. The lack of calories on the bike caught up to me about mile 8. I couldn't turn my legs over and I couldn't even get my HR into zone 1. I finally stopped at mile 11 aid station and pitched a little tent and had two hand fulls of pretzles, some chicken broth, 2 cookies, and some water. I was going to see if I could keep it down. Started running again and did the same thing at mile 12 aid station. Started running again and I could tell that stuff, to my surprise, was starting to help. Ate a bunch more at mile 15 aid station, then again at 20, but this time just jogged through them. My ankle was hurting, but I told myself the night before I wasn't going to allow it to be an "out", so I just mentatlly shut off the nervers in my left foot. If I focus everything I have, I can do this. It is very weird but my whole left foot was numb (like if it were frozen), not just my ankle, so I guess it worked.
Course: 2 looper. The far section along the lake, about 5 miles out and back, was COLD! On the second lap it was raining over there with the wind coming off of the lake. I decided on Saturday that I was going to race in an Under Armor top, under my race top. I bought their new "baseball" line which is very thin and doesn't retain any moisture. I was worried about the rain on my exposed skin if it rained on the bike. That would pull my body temperature right down to the danger level. I was sure glad I was wearing that on the lake sections of the run. The folks who opted for just a Tri top were paying dearly over there and looked miserable, well more than usual on the IM run.
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2009-06-23 11:49 AM

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Alpharetta, GA
Subject: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

2009-06-23 12:12 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Veteran
225
10010025
Decatur GA
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Uh...Wow...awesome job! Congrat's!
2009-06-23 2:04 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Regular
79
252525
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Ditto! I really enjoyed watching the updates on you guys. Here is a picture I got of your finish. Sorry it isn't better quality but it is quick.

2009-06-23 2:17 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Expert
783
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Spokane, Washington
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Great job despite the tough conditions!
2009-06-23 2:23 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Master
1591
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San Diego, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Congrats on an awesome race. You pushed through the tough times for a great finish.
2009-06-23 2:33 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Pro
3705
20001000500100100
Vestavia Hills
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Wow ... great race - and awesome problem solving throughtout the day time in what turned out to be a series of adjustments on the fly.  The great thing about Ironman is that it takes that kind of flexibility to deal with the wild cards thrown at you throughout the day.  You handled that well.

2009-06-23 2:33 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Champion
9600
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Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Well done Brent and considering the conditions that was a very solid swim and run.

Edited by bryancd 2009-06-23 2:34 PM
2009-06-23 2:39 PM
in reply to: #2237699

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Veteran
119
100
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Great job out there Brent.  Way to stick with it.

2009-06-23 3:26 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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Master
1920
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Ann Arbor, MI
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Awesome job out there! Way to think your way through what mother nature was throwing at you!
2009-06-23 4:40 PM
in reply to: #2237121

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New user
10

Vancouver (not BC), Washington (not DC)
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Terrific job!  That was an amazing event.  Thanks for all the detail in your event report, that will help me get ready for 2010!!

2009-06-23 6:10 PM
in reply to: #2237121

Subject: ...
This user's post has been ignored.

2009-06-23 7:39 PM
in reply to: #2237121

Member
90
252525
Spokane
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Way to go out there!  Nice job changing plans when you needed to.  It was a tough day but you did great!

2009-06-23 8:23 PM
in reply to: #2237121

Regular
153
1002525
Soutwest Florida
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Awesome thinking on the run your times were still great rolled ankle and all not to add calorie problems. Sit down and eat that had to be hard as hell to get up and run.
2009-06-23 10:21 PM
in reply to: #2237121

Extreme Veteran
399
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Long Beach, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Great job Brent - way to just "turn off" that ankle - very cool - think you can mentor me on this technique - lol! Congrats!
2009-06-24 7:09 AM
in reply to: #2238592

Master
1432
100010010010010025
Woodstock
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
very impressive race!. Congrats on overcoming a lot on a long day, and having a very strong race.
2009-06-24 10:47 AM
in reply to: #2237121

Master
1376
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Chicago
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Great job out there.  The conditions were brutal and you dominated it. 

2009-06-24 11:45 AM
in reply to: #2239586

Master
2638
200050010025
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

We really enjoyed watching your race. : ) It was cool to hear the coping strategies for the ankle and the calorie deficit.  Thanks.

2009-06-24 2:56 PM
in reply to: #2237121

Elite
3658
200010005001002525
Roswell, GA
Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Great Race!

I'm impressed you were able to turn off the ankle. 

2009-06-29 3:05 PM
in reply to: #2237121


1

Subject: RE: Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Brent- good race report. I almost caught you @ the finish line   That's me in the background of the finish line photo.

Scott Whitney
M40-44AG, AG 33rd place.
Marietta, GA 30062
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