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.