Ironman CDA 2008

Here is my delayed race report from Ironman Coeur d'alene (IM CDA). I suppose it's not as delayed as 2007's race report since I never wrote one as I thought I would never forget such a memorable day and here I am a year later, forgetting some of the details of ironman 2007. Here goes.

The short and sweet of the drama behind IM CDA this year was the water temperature. Lake CDA has had abnormal amounts of flooding this year from the large volumes of snow that we have received even up until two weeks before IM. Yes, two weeks! Unbelievable. This not only messed up the water temperature, but I put partial blame on not getting in the training rides that I needed to put in to get a better time for this year. Ultimately though, we all know that if I wanted to train more, I would have, I just had other things going on with trying to graduate college and get married on the weekends surrounding Ironman.

The day of the race came and they announced that the water temperature was 59.5 degrees. A part of me wondered if they made that up since if it reached 60 degrees then there would be a lot of people who had bought booties and hoodies that would not be legal to swim in at 60 degrees. Regardless, the water temperature was, in my opinion, perfect.

I was not as nervous this year as I was last year thankfully. There is still that excited nervousness of never knowing what the day will bring, but it was good to be mingling in transition, talking to the people that I know, and some that I don't, just getting ready for the day. Stephanie and I were racked at the bike rack fairly close to each other this year and so we got our stuff together and then she headed to the bathroom and I to the dry clothes area to put on copious amounts of body glide and my wet suit. I found my friend Eric there putting on his wetsuit and we chatted about our goals for the day, his being to finish and mine to also finish. Good goals I suppose. I didn't have high hopes for the day, just finishing once again would be fantastic enough and knowing that I didn't put nearly the training in for this year as I did for last, I knew my time wasn't going to be fantastic. I suited up and then they announced that the transition area was going to be closed. I'm pretty sure my heart started beating a little bit faster once again. I left transition without Stephanie, not knowing where she was, but knowing that we had both planned to start by our favorite tree and that I would run into her there. It's a great feeling to be the athlete at an Ironman and to walk down the sidewalk where friends and loved ones are standing there with signs and smiles eagerly awaiting the race to begin. Everyone has a story getting to the starting line of Ironman and it's very inspiring to see all of the people out there.

So the gun went off at 7 a.m. for us age-groupers and we were off. The water was refreshing, but not nearly as cold as I thought it would be. I was thankful for my hoodie and booties, but didn't get really that cold during the swim like I thought I might. I was not as timid this year swimming on the buoy line once I got past the third buoy. This was partially by mistake as the people I ended up swimming next to kept pushing me that direction. I had a little bit of panic as I realized that once I got to the turn at the end I could easily get swam over. I was basically swimming in the middle of two guys the entire first stretch of the swim who both would hit me in the head every time their arms came over for a stroke. It was 'bam bam' into my head the entire time. I didn't want to drop back and be kicked by them, but I didn't want to waste my energy and swim past them, so I put up for this for awhile, missing the strokes when I could, but continually being hit in the head for most of the first stretch. The turn on the buoy line was just as crowded as I thought it would be and it was a stand still with my head out of the water with the current pushing us around the corner. Once we got around the corner it was a mad scramble to keep from being pushed under the water and yet stay enough above to not get hit in the face. The first lap was fine I was right on target to hit my swim time from the year before. The second lap I swam the entirety on the buoy line and I could actually feel the current of everyone swimming around me. It was much nicer than last year when you were fighting for your life to stay above the three foot waves that were crashing in towards you. The second lap went fairly smooth with only being kicked in the chest once that took my breath away and being hit in the head one time fairly hard that got me out of rhythm. As I neared the last turn for the swim I looked at my watch and thought, "If I kick a little bit more, I could beat my time from last year." I pushed it a little bit more and felt pretty good when I got out onto the beach again.

Estimated swim time: 1:30:00
Actual Swim time: 1:23:56

Transition was fun. I had two friends who were peeling wet suits and I ran up the hill to the grassy area and looked around for them. I found them and said something obscene like, "Strip me baby!" and they replied with likewise obscene comments. It was nice to see them. Then I grabbed my T1 bag and ran to the changing tent. The men's tent was full to overflowing and I had to actually run around a large group of men who were changing on the grass. Stupid boys. Not only do they get the close tent, we also have to run around them. The women's tent was likewise overflowing with people and I sat on the grass, put my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses on and left. Coming out of T1 I saw people I knew, I can't honestly remember if it was my family or Stephanie's family, but either way, I was glad to see people who cheered for me.

T1 time: 6:03

The first loop of the bike was phenomenal. I PR'd it for me coming around 2 hours and 58 minutes for the 56 miles. Towards the end of the first loop I started to get nauseous and wasn't able to get any kind of calories in. I felt like I wanted to puke, but knew that if that started it was all over for me. I didn't want to lose any of the calories that I had taken in already. I got to special needs and ate a few bites of sandwich and some of my V8 and then was off again on the bike. Long story short, my stomach started to settle down and I started feeling a bit better. By the time I got to the last few miles of the ride I felt like I could ride all day again. The most notable thing for me on the bike this year was when the guy in front of me started, what I thought was choking on his water, but it wasn't water. He started puking right in front of me on the bike. I quickly passed him to prevent getting caught in the over spray and needless to say, I didn't see him on the run. I hope he ended up being okay.

Estimated bike time: 7:30:00
Actual Bike time: 7:05:32

T2: I left my shoes on my bike again (Yay!) which seems pointless when I have the bike time that I did, but it doesn't matter. I didn't want to run in them anyway. My legs were bit stiff coming off the bike, but I got into the change tent, put on my shoes, sunglasses, and visor and was ready to go. The lady helping me was so nice and helpful as she pulled out my enduralytes in the Eclipse gum container and asked, "Do you want your gum?" I smiled and said, "Yes please." Silly, nice lady. A little sunscreen and I was out of transition, not before I was told that I have delicate skin though. Strange, very strange. I'm not sure I like compliments like that from a complete stranger rubbing me down.

T2: 2:48

Let me start out the run portion by saying I have never walked so much in my life. It sucked. I got out on the run and all I could think about was getting past the first mile so that I could walk. I was tired. This is where the lack of training really started hitting me. My first 13.1 miles was okay. It looked as though I could beat my time from last year if I really pushed myself, but I didn't have it in me to push myself. I don't know if it was lack of motivation or just plain detraining that I can blame, but I didn't have it. I was tired. The run was pretty uneventful. I saw my friends Stephanie and Brian and both of them looked great out there. Very happy and encouraging (as I was walking). The Boltons came out to cheer us on too which is always much appreciated. It's the people that we know who are out there cheering specifically for us that really gets us through. I saw my sister-in-laws family out there a lot this year and that was very encouraging. There were definitely times when I wished that no one out there knew me. That they didn't know how much I was walking or how unmotivated I was feeling on the run. Where my competitive edge would usually kick in, it didn't this year. I was happy to finish at least and be an IM X2. Madison met me at the finish line and we crossed together which was wonderful. Many thanks to my aunt and cousins for coming out and watching her all day and to my parents for coming in the morning to see me off for the swim and bike. I can't express what it's like to see people that you know throughout the day. It's great.

Finish time: 14:05:29

Ten minutes slower than last year. It was faster than I thought it would be, but slower than I had hoped. I'm just glad that I once again finished. Will I be doing it again next year? Nope. I don't want to race a mediocre race again and if I don't know if I can get the training in, I don't see the point in spending the money on it. I'll definitely do Ironman again, but not until my life is a little bit more settled. At least for a harder course IM. Maybe a flat course....perhaps FL? We'll see. Texas isn't the best training grounds.