"Michael you are an Ironman.....oh those sweet words.
This will be a lengthy race report.
I didn't sleep well the night before the race which is pretty typical for me after big races (marathons and such). I was awake at about 3:30 on race morning having my final solid meal before a very long day.
I arrived at the start area to 20mph winds coming directly in to the beach with 1-2 foot waves and whitecaps.......oh my!
I got my race number marked on me and then went to do final prep on my bike. I then found a nice sheltered spot to stay out of the wind as it was still an hour and half till the starting gun. At this point I was beginning to rethink the whole thing.
6:30 and time got get suited up after wiggling myself into my suit I joined the throng of athletes shuffling towards the start line on the beach. As I was in line the shuffling an important announcement came across the PA system. Due to the conditions on the water and concerns by the life safety team they were giving people the options of doing a duathlon instead of the triathlon and skipping the swim although you wouldn't contend for the Kona slots or placement in your age group...... hell no!!!
I was well positioned about three rows back when the cannon went off signaling the start of mass chaos. The only way I can describe the swim is as the most violent sporting event I've ever experienced. Constantly getting kicked, hit, swam over and in the same turn doing all of this to others as well. As I approached the first turn bouy (which by the way is a long way from the beach) I found myself in what can only be described as a major traffic jam. I was 30 yards from the bouy which I had to make a left had turn around and I was treading water, moving forward a yard and treading water it was completely crazy. After the first turn things were a little better but still pretty violent. After the first lap of the swim (1.2 miles) you have to exit the water and run around some markers before heading back out for the second loop. All I could think is do I really have to go back in? I did and it wasn't so bad. I finished the swim in 1:15:24 in 589th place. My goal of completing the race in 9:30 were pretty much gone at this point.
I had a good transition from the swim to the bike in 4:03 and was glad to be on the bike. I had a lot of ground to make up and I didn't waste any time as I got out hot and started making up ground on all those good swimmers who frankly suck on the bike. I figure I passed 300 people in the first 15 miles and was flying up a long 3% grade hill at 25 mph. We came back through downtown Coeur d'Alene (CDA) and headed out towards Hayden lake and the "hills". Now I rode the course in late April but I don't remember the hills being so tough. They were tough. By my count there were 10 hills not necessarily long but there were steep and we got to do them all twice. They were made tougher by the fact that my cleat had come loose from my shoe and despite getting the bike wired earlier in the week I was having rear derailuer shifting problems in the low gears which made climbing even tougher. The good news was that after the last hill it's flat and slightly downhill back to CDA which was my strength although it was into that stiff 20mph headwind. I felt great after the first loop and headed out for the second loop still feeling good. The second loop on the hills were tough and I slowed a bit but finished strong. I ended the bike leg in 127th place in 5:27:35. I felt great making the transition to the run as I had done a great job of taking in fluids, electrolytes and calories during the bike. I had done such a good job I had to make a pit stop which slowed my transition from the bike to the run to 4:45.
Finally I was on to the run and feeling pretty good (well as good as your going to feel after 6:45 of violent swimming and hammering on the bike). I headed out on the course and began to get in my rhythm at this point I was really just hoping to finish around 10 hours and thought I still might have a shot at a Kona slot. The first few miles were great I was averaging 7:20/mile and rolling, things began to slow a little as I headed back towards CDA but I was still on pace for a 3:30 marathon at the halfway point. It was around mile 15 that the wheels began to come off and I began walking through the aid stations at every mile pretty much drinking and eating anything they would hand me gatorade, orange slices, gel, cookies, cola, water. I was a good customer at the all you can consume buffet. I would walk for a minute or two then begin the Ironman shuffle to the next aide station. Somewhere around mile 22 I got a second wind and began running at around 7:20 per mile again and running through the aid stations grabbing a cup of cola or gatorade.
As I passed the mile 25 marker I knew I was going to make it and I just dug down deep and the crowds really helped motivate me to keep going. As I came down the main drag I was pretty much by myself and I would raise my arms to get the crowd fired up it was great. Finally I crossed under the Ford archway with 100 yards to go to the finish line and began high fiving spectators as I ran down the chute and across the line to the announcement "Michael....you are an Ironman". I finished the run in 3:53:26 and finished in 174th place overall in a time of 10:45:13.
I was very happy to be done, satisfied with my time and proud of my accomplishment. Ironman pictues have been posted here.
Thanks to everyone for their support, well wishes and good vibes on race day it definitely helped me keep up my spirits while out on the course and complete the Ironman.
I competed in the Issaquah Triathlon this weekend to get my competitive fire going. There were about 850 competitors in the race. The sprint tri's aren't really my thing as they are too short for me to even get warmed up in any of the events.
The race is 1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 3 mile cross country style run. The race was sold out with 850 participants. I opted to start in the elite wave which was the right choice. I ended up finishing 17th overall in 1:07:37 and 3rd in my age group.
The swim was the typical chaos but overall it went really well I started to feel like I was getting in a rhythm in the last 50 yards (alot of good that was). There was a long transition (about 100 yards) from the water to the mat which marks the end of the swim. I had the 23rd fastest swim split on the day which wasn't too bad considering the only other sprint tri I've done I was the Beaver Lake Triathlon last summer for comparison I had the 175th fastest swim and there was half the number of competitors in that race so I've made significant strides in my swimming. It's still my weak event in my mind but I have a lot more confidence in my swimming than I did a year ago.
I had a quick transition from the swim to the bike and got out and rolling. My bike split wasn't as fast as I had hoped but it was still really good. I had the 10th fastest bike split on the day for the 15 mile ride with a time of 37:30 which as best I can tell is about a 24 mph average. This was slower than I had expected but I really didn't begin to fell comfortable until the last 2 miles. I was a bit ticked as the race was supposed to be a non drafting race (means you can't ride in a group which is more efficient and much faster). There was a group of 6 riders that were a minute back at the turnaround and they caught me in the next 3 miles which they wouldn't have had they not been drafting. I put them in their place by going to the front of the group and then putting about 10 seconds on them in the last 3 miles.
My transition from the bike to the run was a little rough. I had thought about taking my feet out of my shoes while they were still attached to the pedals so I could just run barefoot with my bike to the rack. I ended up not doing this because of the single file lane and speed bumps in the last 1/4 mile in the park. I ended up turning my ankle running across the uneven grass with my bike shoes. The rest of the transition went well.
I headed out on the run and quickly got into my running rhythm without a hitch. I passed a few runners early in the run but was tentative in the run as it was a cross country style course and every so often I'd come down funny on my twisted ankle and this hurt. Needless to say I didn't feel like I ran as fast as I could due to being tentative due to the ankle. I had two runners pass me in the final mile but overall it went well. I finished the 3 mile run with the 31st fastest time on the day in 18:44 which was 6:15 per mile. I felt fine at the finish and wasn't exhausted so I don't think I ran as hard as I could have.
I finished up the weekend with a 70 mile ride with lots of climbing and it was hot so that was good news. Three weeks to go till race day. One more week of hard training then I start my taper. I think I'm ready and now I start hoping for a cool day. The forecast for the next two weeks in CDA is mild tempeatures with highs in the 60's and low 70's which is just perfect but what that probably means is that it's going to heat up for race week. Till next week.........
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