I signed up for Ironman Coeur d’Alene as a 3^rd choice Ironman distance race this year.  When Tina and I had planned to move to New Zealand, I was to do IMNZ.  I used IM Brazil as my backup when New Zealand fell through.  I couldn’t get in touch with the race organizers, so I decided to do IMCDA.  I hoped it would not be too popular with the Pro’s since it was late June, but I was wrong.  I had a 3 goals: 

1: Qualify to Hawaii (VERY LONG SHOT)

2: Top 10 Pro

3: 9 hours

I thought the 2^nd and 3^rd goal were achievable, but if I accomplished any of these, I would be very, very happy. 

I arrived at my homestay Thurs night and shared a finished basement with TJ Tollakson (eventual 2^nd place finisher and fellow Midwesterner!)

Race:

Swim goal: 55 or so minutes.

The lake was VERY choppy.  I knew I had a good swim in me, but I didn’t want to push it to hard since it was a long race.  If I found feet to follow, great, otherwise I’m happy going it alone.  I started next to Haley Cooper.  We chatted a bit and kept our nerves calm by doing so (I think she calmed me more than vice versa).  The cannon sounded, and I took off.  No matter how long the race or how much I hold back, I can’t seem to NOT lead the first 100m.  It’s an Ironman distance race, there’s no need to go out fast, but it was pretty cool to be in the lead. (Albeit, briefly)  The waves were coming straight at us heading out.   I didn’t push very hard, not wanting to waste energy in the chop, and swam alone.  At the turnaround for the 2^nd lap, the crowd was cheering, and that was pretty cool.  All the age groupers started 35 minutes after us, so that made for a LOT of cheering.  I loved it.

Finishing the swim, I exited the water in 7^th place at around 55min.  Perfect.  I was worried my time would be slower considering how easy I took the swim.  This time left me 5 minutes to complete both transitions with time to spare and complete my goals.  As I peeled off my wetsuit, I felt a cool air on my chest.  I realized I hadn’t put my tri suit all the way up!  I was praying that I remembered to put it on at all!  (Forgetting, would create a very uncomfortable bike)  Fortunately, it was there, and barely slowed my transition down. (thanks to all my ITU draft-legal race practice, where transitions are critical, I’m an expert at transitions)

Swim time: 56:43

Bike goal: 5 hours

I lost a place in transition and was rolling in 8^th place at the start of the bike.  If I could replay Wildflower I would end up top 10!  It was a bit chilly, so I opted to put on a long sleeve jersey to save my body from tiring from keeping itself warm.  (it was in the mid 50’s at the bike start).  My legs took a bit to feel “normal” and many people passed me.  I’m used to this, and was already chomping at the bit for the run.  The cool weather kept people from blowing up on the bike, so that worked to my disadvantage.  The course was not to my strengths.  Lots of rolling hills and a few short steep climbs did not work well for me.  (TJ told me over 6000 ft of climbing)  On the 2^nd lap, I had planned to go a bit harder if I felt good.  I was feeling OK, so I decided to maintain my pace.  Others had started to slow down, though.  This one girl was varying her pace a lot as I was about to pass her.  This was a sign she wasn’t feeling well and I reeled her in.  On a climb, when I thought she was done, I decided to pass.  There are many different rules to drafting.  They range from Pro-Ironman rules to draft-legal.  I have always been one to hate drafting when it’s illegal.  (I will never forget the downright cheating I saw many pro’s do at Ironman Florida in 2000)  (I also remember seeing a Pro get screwed in Hawaii in 2001 by a bad call)

As I was about to pass this girl, she stood up and put on a big effort.  I didn’t want to go into the red zone just to pass her, so I sat up.  I stayed way left of her the whole time until I was far enough behind her, never once being in close proximity to her.  A motorcycle pull up to me and I received the first drafting penalty of my entire life.  The official told me to go to the penalty tent at the next aid station and serve my penalty.  I was devastated.  The bike leg is my weakest, and 5 minutes was really going to hurt.  I pulled into a tent at the next aid station, and asked if this was the penalty tent.  They looked at me like I was from Mars.  I said “I guess not!” and took off, even more upset.  I now pushed the bike pretty hard, knowing I was already down 5 min from where I was.  I was really upset.  I put so much effort and training to have something stupid put it all in jeopardy.  I passed a few people and found a “real” penalty tent, where I served my time.  The people in the tent were cool, and I joked with them a bit and tried to make the most of a bad situation.  I left the tent feeling a little refreshed, which was good, because sometimes when you stop, your legs turn to lead.

Bike time: 5:29:01

Run goal: 3 hours.

Coming into the end of the bike is always scary in an Ironman.  You have to hope your legs feel good enough to run.  Well mine did.  I clicked off the first mile in 6:49.  It didn’t feel hard, but I wanted to hold 7 min/mile.  I “slowed down” to a 6:47 for mile 2.  After that I found my rhythm and started rolling off 7:02-7:16 for the next few miles.  It was a two lap marathon, and I felt great going into the second lap.  I really enjoyed the unlimited cookies and coke at each aid station.  My lifelong craving was fulfilled!  At about mile 15, I had been racing for around 8.5 hours.  Your body can do some strange things at these times.  My groin started cramping up.  I thought to myself “Oh no, if there is one thing that’s going to keep me from finishing this race, it’s that.  My first two years of racing Pro in triathlons were plagued with groin injuries.  I had been fine for the last 2 years, but this REALLY scared me.  I backed off the pace, relaxed, took in some Gatorade, and hoped.  The muscle spasms and cramping went away, and I returned to my race pace.  At mile 20, my plan was to attack.  That mile marker was just before a steep hill and turnaround for home.  I hesitated.  I thought I might want to wait until the turnaround (approx mile 20.7) to hit it hard.  I knew my goals were pretty much out of reach and it would be hard to find motivation.  I then remembered all the work I had put in and wasn’t about to give up.  That’s when Jonnyraceday decided to come out and play!  I went HARD at exactly mile 20 and didn’t look back.  I carried my momentum up the hill, and at the turnaround I put it in another gear for the downhill.  I kept expecting to get tired at this pace, but I didn’t.  Instead I felt stronger and stronger.  It was incredible.  I’ve never felt this strong at the end of ANY marathon, let along during one of these races.  With about ½ a mile to go, I saw another pro just ahead of me.  Goosebumps stood up on the back of my neck, and I started my sprint right there.  I felt no pain.  The adrenaline was pumping so hard that I flew past him and pumped my fists as I crossed the finish line.  I was so happy to be done. 

Run time: 3:16:22

Total: 9:45:30

The weather immediately turned poor.  A light mist started falling, and the temperature fell.  A volunteer kept trying to put me in the medical tent.  I don’t know why because I felt fine.  When they asked me what I wanted, I replied “UNHEALTY FOOD!”  They misheard me and said “Oh, there’s plenty of bananas, powerbars, and fruit over there.”  (I found the pizza soon enough)

My time and place were not up to what I had hoped for, but anytime you finish one of these, you have to be excited.  If I took off the 5 minute penalty, my time would have been a 9:40.  That’s 2 minutes faster than my PR for an Ironman distance race.  You always have to be satisfied with a “new” PR.  I didn’t hit any of my goals.  Oh well.  It had been 8 years since last doing one of these, so I wanted to play it safe, and hope for the best.  I think I could have done much better on the bike had I trained a bit harder.  (more intensity  I had intense workouts, and plenty of volume, it’s just that my high volume workouts were not fast enough.  (This is just a theory)

Overall, I’m happy to be done with it.  I REALLY would have loved to go back to Hawaii, and I’m sad not to be.  I knew it was a long shot, but deep down, that was a big reason for doing this race.  I also hoped a great performance would help to get sponsors for next year… I’m not sure that will happen.  I need to find a decent job up in the mountains to continue doing this level of racing.  For now, I’ll focus on small local (inexpensive) races until I can make things work better.