I am an IRONMAN!

My goal of becoming an Ironman has finally come to an end. I successfully completed my first Ironman at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on June 24, 2007. You couldn’t ask for a more scenic course than the Coeur d’Alene Ironman. The north Idaho scenery also came with a good share of hills on the challenging bike course. Despite not doing any hill training on the bike, I did well on the bike. My run was also better than I had expected. I had planned on a slight sub 4 hour marathon and thought I was being optimistic with this goal. In the end I ran a 3:45 marathon.

I arrived in Coeur d’Alene (CdA) on Wednesday the 20th. It wasn’t long after I got there that the higher altitude got to me. I struggled with a headache Wed evening and even woke up on Thursday with the same headache. It wasn’t until after a quick 30 minute run Thursday morning that my headache went away.

My biggest worry in the weeks leading up to CdA Ironman was the lake water temperature. I was concerned that my sleeveless wetsuit would not be enough to keep me warm from the cold 60 degree lake water. I checked lake temperature and weather on a daily basis in hopes that it might warm up just enough to make me feel at ease. I tried doing searches on the net on how much cold water the body could withstand. I read articles about triathletes in the San Francisco swimming in sub 60 degree water without a wetsuit and stating that they would not do this again.

I decided to calm my fears Friday morning by going out for a swim in the lake at 7 a.m. (the same time that the Ironman starts). I used two swim caps and covered my ears well to protect them from the cold water. Once I got in the lake and started swimming, the water temperature didn’t even phase me. I felt much better that I’d be able to handle the water temperature on Ironman Sunday. I managed to swim close to one loop of the swim course (I cut the corners).

I picked up my bike at the Bike Transport tent. What a relief knowing that no reassembly or disassembly was required! Tried out my bike for about 4 miles and figured it was in good shape for Ironman Sunday. Saturday was a complete rest day. I also dropped off my bike and transition bags at the T1 and T2 areas.

I couldn’t figure out what the “special needs” bags were used for on the bike and run. I finally asked someone and figured that I didn’t really need these bags. I had two new good bike tires on my bike, 2 tubes, 3 CO2 cartridges and plastic patch repair kit. I had never had more than one flat on training rides.

Ironman Sunday started off as one of the coldest days of my entire trip. 53 degree F was the outside temp with an 11-12 mph wind coming from the east. The wind caused the lake water to be very choppy and the option was given for triathletes to skip out on the swim and just do the bike – run. Very few takers took this option.

I listened to one last song on my MP3 player before going to the swim start. Had to be a good song – The Deftones, Change In the House of Flies would do it. Gave me just the adrenaline rush I needed to motivate me to “do this thing”.

I settled in on the swim start pretty close to the back. I would normally do some kind of warm up but, it was so cold I really didn’t want to get in the water, get cold, get out of the water and wait for the canon to go off.

The start canon goes off and I hit the water without ever thinking about the water temperature. For weeks before the Ironman, I went around worrying about water temperature and my entire swim I never even thought about it being cold. My concern shifted to finishing the swim before the cut off time. I probably did breast stroke for about 50% of the first lap – more than I would have liked to. The entire swim course was well monitored by boaters, kayakers, and even divers. I could see divers underwater at times watching the swimmers go by.

I finished my first loop in about 53 minutes. I was so happy to finish my first loop. As I came out of the water, I started waving my arms to signal my family it was picture time. They never saw me but the volunteers did. It was funny because as I was coming out of the water for my first loop, the Pros were coming out of the water for their final loop so they quickly grabbed me and shoved me off to the side to start the second loop. I guess it was photo time for the pros too and they didn’t want me around for it. At the awards ceremony the next day while they showed the race highlights, I could see my self in the background coming out of the water waving my arms, while the pros are coming out.

I finished the swim in 1:48. My second loop was even slower - no waving my hands this time. I was 1985th person out of the water. I quickly got my wet suit peeled and grabbed my transition bag. My transition was kind of slow at 8:20. If I were to do this again, I wouldn’t change my triathlon shorts.

I really enjoyed the bike ride. I really didn’t experience too much pain, except for my back a little. I stretched quite a bit while on the bike. The scenery is just breath taking and the residents along the course were great at coming out and supporting the bikers. After the fact now, I can say that I probably could have gone a little bit faster. I can say this because every article I read on first timer Ironman plans it said to take it easy on the bike just to have enough energy for the run. I think I might have taken it a little too easy. Some hills were very tough, but I don’t think there were too many. My plan on the bike was to use as much momentum on the down hills to take me up the next hill. This worked pretty well. It was amazing how many bikers I passed at the start of an up hill using my momentum/speed from the previous down hill.

My goal on the bike was to average about 19 mph. Between having to stop 3 times to go pee and trying not to kill myself on the hills, I wasn’t able to get my goal time on the bike.  It also didn’t help that a few miles into the bike, my odometer/speedometer stopped working. I really should have covered it to protect it from the moisture over the previous night. It would come in and out over the bike course, but it was pretty much useless for bike average.

I managed a 6:07 on the bike. I came off the bike still feeling pretty strong. I started stretching my calves and hamstrings while on the bike for about the last half mile. This seems to help in getting my legs ready for the pounding.

On the run, it took me about a mile before I got my running legs. My first mile was about 9:30 pace. I walked a little and took plenty of liquids in for the first half mile. Once I got my rhythm, I settled into my race pace of about 8:25 pace. I can also say now after the fact that I could have gone faster, but on race day, I think I gave it all I had.

Coming into the finish, I slowed down a little to try to separate my self from a group of guys that were in front of me. I wanted to make sure I could break the tape at the finish for the finish photo. Always try to muster enough energy for a smile at the finish.

I finished sub 12 hour for my first Ironman - 11:53:19.

I am an Ironman!