Then I got to the swim start..... Well, the ocean looked fairly calm. OCEAN??? Isn't this a lake? What's with the whitecaps? So I stood there shivering in my wetsuit waiting to get in to the 60 degree water to warm up. Somewhere before the first turn I got tomahawked to the top of my head and thought I was about to black out. Luckily I was too busy gagging on all the water that slapped me across the face when I put my head up to clear my senses. I then swam very definsively and protected my face from some pretty aggressive people (I don't understand why - seriously why kick with all your might when you are in a huge pack nowhere near the front??).

Every now and then I found some space to swim but it always closed up pretty fast. On the second lap a couple of dudes kept swimming way off course and tried to force me with them. I had to keep stopping to let them cut in front of me and get myself on track.

I finally got done with the swim and saw 1:24. 1:24? Oh my - what happened? How am I going to make up the 10 minutes I just lost by not having an even mediocre swim for me?

The chop was brutal but I loved the feeling of it actually being Ironman day. You think/ dream of that day all year after you sign up and it was finally here.



I think I need to seed myself further up front and let the faster people get by me as I keep getting stuck behind slower people and don't want to bull through them.

I saw my family at the end of my row picking up my bike - surely a huge pick me up. My little kids get so excited at races and that gets me going.

Cool bike course, definitely harder course than last year but very fun. During some of the flat sections my HR was super low (120's) and my speed was in the mid 20's - YES! I kept myself in control and didn't go to hard the whole way. Even though I kept in control the last few climbs on the second lap I got out or the aero position which is my first sign that I am starting to get tired.

I was way back in the pack from my crappy swim so I couldn't get up to people that know how to ride. There were a bunch of people that would pass and then slow down, pass and slow down..... I always worry about drafting so this forced me to slow down to get out of their draft zone. Very surprised to see I was 333 overall bike split, really could have put the hammer down but didn't.

Saw my family and friends camped outside of a wine bar at the Hayden town line. Again a nice pick me up as we headed into the rolling section out of town and came back into town into the wind.

Sice it was cool I figured I could eat a little more than I planned. Next time I'll stick my plan better.

I almost dropped my bike at the dismount line. Luckily the volunteer was right there and caught it. I love my bike and it would have freaked me out if it hit the ground. Did I mention I love my bike???

Forgot to change my shorts. Let's just say they were a victim of being well hydrated and when the sun got to them on the run the smelled pretty yucky.

Got to the run feeling very good. My rule was to run to the next aid station and walk as much as needed once there but not to walk in between no matter what. I told myself to turn myself inside out if I had to but get to that next aid station. Ok. Why weren't the aid stations 1 mile apart??? First aid station was at about 1/3 of a mile, then one at 1.25 (or so) and then way, way to almost 3. So I ran too far without walking and also at too fast a pace. Just past mile 5 I got incredibly nauseaus and dizzy. If I ran I had to look for a place to puke until I got lightheaded enough to think I was going to fall over. So I walked, and walked..... At mile 14 the chicken soup appeared and that settled my stomach, then I added coke, and a few miles later I was running again.

It really sucks when (about mile 7) your hopes, dreams, plans for the year are all laying on the side of the road and you still have 19 more miles to go. I really wanted to just quit. I heard people telling each other just keep moving forward and you will be an Ironman. That just wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to run a good race - I wanted to run the marathon. After a little bit I realized I could still break 13 hours so I set that as my goal and got mad with it. That actually helped and I was able to mostly run from about mile 17 on.

During the real dark times, as I contemplated dropping out, I knew there would be a thread on BT with everyone watching, and I didn't want to let all the people who supported me over the years down. That was a very powerful motivator and that definitely kept me moving.

I love this race. Coeur d'Alene is a great town and incredible area. Each time I've been there I felt like this is how life should be. If you have the chance you should check it out.

I rarely saw any BTers this year. I saw Bryan the last few miles of the bike and then somewhere on the first lap of the run. He was looking great as I managed to look at him through one eye as I was feeling terrible. I also saw Doug a few times on the run. After I saw him the first time I kept waiting for him to pass me but that wasn't to be this year. I'm sure he will have plenty of chances to blow by me in the future. I saw Bonnie during my last mile being Bonnie - she was jogging along talking to somone at the side of the road telling him anyone can do it if they set their mind to it. I'm in awe of her attitude and wish I could have stayed to see her finish. How cool
was it when she got a standing ovation at the athlete dinner?

I missed my goal by 20 minutes but still beat my last year's time by 44 minutes. There was no second lap monkey spanking this time but that monkey will pay some day.

IMCDA 09??????