Ironman Coeur D’Alene 2010 Race report- part 2

What a beautiful place to race! I think CDA has got to be the most beautiful place I’ve ever raced. Additionally the town supports this race like no other. There were 3000 volunteers!! Everywhere you went there were local businesses with signs saying, “Welcome ironman athletes”. You never felt like you were intruding which is something I’ve felt before at big races.

The number 1 goal for this race was simple- execute my plan. Once you have trained properly for a race like this it really is all about how well can you carry out the plan on race day. How good are you at holding back the first loop of the bike when everyone is blowing by you? How good are you at drinking and eating a huge amount of fuel on the bike? How good are you at calculating how much fluid and electrolytes you still need at mile 90 of the bike? The answer to these questions often determines how far up the results you are.

Number 1 goal was accomplished! I nailed my execution at this race and couldn’t be happier. Outside of the execution plan my mission at this race was to get a Hawaii slot. I wanted it bad. However on race day none of that mattered- the goal was to nail my plan as closely as possible.

Swim – The CDA swim is known to be a tough swim. It’s a huge lake that can be very choppy with big swells not to mention cold. The first 20 minutes of the swim were the hardest of my whole day (with the exception of the last 3-4 miles of the run). It was quite choppy with big rolling swells but the main thing that made it very difficult was swimming with 2400 athletes at the same time. I just couldn’t get into a rhythm – I was getting kicked or bumped into or arms on top of your arms nonstop for the first 20 minutes. I just couldn’t get clear water. After about 3/4th of the way through the first lap things opened up a bit and the remainder of the swim wasn’t bad at all. When I got out of the swim and looked at my time- I was pretty surprised- 1:07. This was the second slowest I’ve ever swam in an ironman. My fastest was 1:01 in 2007 but I have done several 1:02-1:03 swims. I simply let it go and just stayed present and focused on executing the bike as best I could.

Bike-
I felt like a million bucks out on the bike. Started drinking immediately and was nailing my QT2 fueling plan (worth its weight in gold, without it I would not be going to Hawaii). The first lap I stayed below my zone 1 top (yes this was very conservative). I let people blow past me that first lap. I was riding easier than most of my training rides. Jesse and I agreed it was best to be extra conservative on the bike. By the end of the first lap people were no longer passing me. Second lap I held the same HR and also allowed an additional 5 beats on the hills. I was pulling people back left and right. Only one person passed me on the second loop. I was nailing my fueling, I felt strong, no stomach issues and no cramping. I want to point out that a few years ago I could not eat as much as I was doing here (400-450 calories an hour). Several years ago my gut would just shut down. Training with QT2 has shored up my aerobic system and I can go relatively fast at much lower heart rates than I used to – this REALLY helps digestion. I felt like I could eat a pizza out there on the bike!!! In the last few miles I was so looking forward to running (pretty sick right?). I really was – I knew my bike was conservative and I would need to throw down a solid marathon if I was going to get a Hawaii slot. Bike split- 5:17

Onto the run- by the end of the first mile- my legs felt amazing!!!! What!! I felt like I hadn’t even ridden. I tried to keep my HR down but it settled just above my zone 1 top hovering around 139/140 with the effort level feeling similar to the majority of my training runs (most of my training runs are run around 6:30-7 min pace). I looked down and see 6:40 pace and HR looks good- what!!! This isn’t happening. Yes it is. I was blowing by people left and right. My mile splits were around 6:50/6:55 the first half of the marathon with a few slower ones in the hills section. I simply felt great. I was nailing my fueling and hydration as well. Here’s where it gets interesting- at mile 22 (no one had passed me up to this point) I get passed by a guy – and he’s in my age group. You’ve got to be kidding me- I am not going out like that. I duke it out with this guy for a while but he got the better of me. I just tried to stay as steady as possible but he did get away. At mile 24 I get passed by another guy – and he’s in my age group!!!! You have got to be kidding me – let’s just make this as hard as possible. I dug deeper than I can remember over the last 2 miles- turned myself inside out and shook that guy. I stayed ahead of him to the line running myself into a Hawaii slot!!!! Run split 3:16 Overall time 9:47

Mission accomplished!

I am so happy to be heading to Hawaii in October. I couldn’t have done this without the support and understanding of my family and friends. Thank you. I am so lucky to be able to compete and train like this.

Ironman Coeur D Alene 2010 Report – Part 1 / What Kona means to me

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it just shadowed you everywhere? You just couldn’t shake it. Everything reminded you of it.

I couldn't shake how badly I have wanted to go to Ironman Hawaii. It haunted me. The H word was not even spoken in my house for fear of jinxing but rather referred to as the "special place”. When I would see the word Kona or Hawaii I would have a flash of how bad I wanted to qualify and I would quickly re-direct myself so as not to bring up bad feelings. As a kid I dreamed of being like Mark Allen and Pauli Kiuru (look him up if you don't know who he is - SIZU). After many years of doing shorter triathlons I began racing Ironmans in 2005. The last 5 years of ironman racing were littered with many disappointments and failed Kona attempts that came close to breaking my spirit. Why do I want this so bad? Kona is the only real world championship in our sport. It is the most competitive triathlon in the world. All other world championships in our sport do not even come close to the depth and quality of athletes that race on the big island. I wanted it bad. When people would ask, “oh have you raced Hawaii?” “Oh my cousin, brother, sister races it every year…” – you might as well stick a spear right through my heart. It is mind blowing how difficult it is to get to Kona.


In 2008 after having to walk half the marathon at Ironman Lake Placid (due to an injury), I was so upset I was ready to quit the sport. 2007 had been a DNF at LP. The morning after LP 2008 when I woke up next to Lindsay and looked in her eyes and saw how deeply upset she was, she was crying and couldn't believe how all the hard work I had done could just get washed away in the blink of an eye. Seeing her cry like this made a deep imprint on me and a motivation to succeed like I had never felt before. I wanted this for us. She wanted me to get there as much as I wanted to get there and this meant the world to me, I wanted us to get there. Most people don't realize how hard ironman training is on the spouse of the iron athlete. It is simply ridiculous. Our sport is very selfish there is no denying that - but it is a necessary evil to do well. Ironman racing requires a great deal of very difficult and time consuming training.

The last half mile of ironman CDA was just one of the most overwhelmingly emotional, satisfying and exhausted moments I've ever experienced. I started crying in the final stretch as I pumped my fists in personal victory. I knew I had gone as fast as I could on the day and the tears were in recognition of all I sacrificed to reach this one moment- all the times I had to miss out on hanging with family to train, missed out on beers with friends, and missed out on late night concerts. Once across the line I could hardly walk or stand up- they brought me to the med tent area where I proceeded to cry harder than I can remember. All the hard work, all the sacrifices I made to reach this moment. I did it. I just kept saying I did it. The volunteer at the med tent asked if I wanted to use her phone to call anyone. I immediately called Lindsay. We did it babe. We did it.