2009 IronMan Coeur d’Alene
By: Travis
Well, as everyone probably already knows I ended this race a
tad early with a DNF. That of course was
not in the plans and up to mile 10 of the run was not even a thought.
On Friday I was able to go out for a little swim and was a
bit concerned. The water was choppy and
cold (
Swim: I chose to wear
the neoprene cap that Dodd loaned me but not the booties. Once the swim started it honestly felt like I
was gliding on top of the water. The
wetsuit in addition to the hood made for some awesome flotation. I guess I seeded myself ok because I really
didn’t have any contact with anyone.
First loop was uneventful and when I hit the beach a guy yelled right in
my face “33 minutes”. Hmmm, either his
timing was off or this course is short.
Back in the water some bonehead decided that he wasn’t going to swim
straight so I spent the better part of the second loop trying to get away from
him. Every time I took a different angle
there were his feet. Finally I just
stopped and let him go for a ways before starting again. Got to the home stretch and made the last leg
with no problems.
Bike: Set out on the
bike with only my heart rate monitor and a mind set to not do anything
stupid. I was passed by loads of people
but kept my pace and stayed easy. The
first hour or so is pretty uneventful through town. Then we hit the hilly “lollipop”
section. The first downhill I was pretty
hesitant and feathered the breaks a little.
It seemed like fun to pick up some speed so from then on it was full
throttle aero position on every down hill.
I probably drove everyone around me crazy because after every downhill I
would ask someone what our top speed was going down hill. If I remember correctly I think my fastest
was 41 mph. I was really having a good
time so far. I was able to sit up on the
up hills and stretch, my heart rate was staying in control and I was eating/drinking on schedule.
Back into town to start the second loop I really couldn’t wait to get
back out on the hills. Right before getting back to the hilly section Lisa past me looking
really strong. We only met once
in the airport but it was nice to get a little hello from a familiar face. During the second loop, at about mile 81 I
was overcome with emotion to the point that I actually got choked up. I was on a steep uphill and I looked down at
that beautiful lake and the surrounding hills and just thought: 1. how lucky I
was to be healthy enough to be at that place at that moment; 2. that the people
who live here were so generous to be sitting out in their driveways cheering us
on throughout the entire day; and 3. that my wonderful wife would be somewhere
out on the course yelling my name when I came back into town. Right after this episode I had a little
mechanical issue. I had been having some
trouble shifting into the big ring and at about this point it felt like my
cable snapped. A couple of miles down
the road was an aid station so I stopped to check
things out. Luckily it wasn’t a snapped
cable but it just came loose from the derailleur. They had a set of allen
wrenches so I was able to tighten it up and be on my way.
Run: Now as most of
you know I’ve always been an historically horrible
runner. I had really put some time in
running with my heart rate monitor and thought as long as I kept it low I’d be
good. I got off the bike feeling good
and set off running; saw Kris in the first mile and went in for a quick
kiss. Up to this point the weather had
been cool, a little windy, and dry.
During the first seven miles it started to get really overcast and the
wind was whipping off the lake pretty strong.
At the mile 7 turnaround I still felt ok but it started to drizzle and
the temp dropped quite a bit. By mile 10
I was frozen to the bone and my knees were aching to the point where even
walking was chore. I made it to the mile
12 aid station where I promptly collapsed in to the arms of a volunteer (thanks
for the catch Ms. Lucy!). With the help
of a second volunteer they sat me down and covered me in those aluminum foil
things, which do not keep you warm at all.
I sat for about 10 minutes but every time I tried to stand up my knees
would give out. They took my temp and I
was down to 94 something degrees and pretty disoriented. They had called the medics who advised me to
go to the med tent. It was a pretty
tough decision to make. I had felt good
for almost half the run but realized I wouldn’t be able to keep my temps up and
my knees just were not working. One last
little funny bit; they had loaded me in the front seat of a mule and as the medic guy was driving me to the med
tent he took a curve at which point if he hadn’t grabbed by the neck I would
have rolled out of the vehicle. He had
to ask a random guy to hop in the back and hold me in place. We finally got to the med tent where they
covered me in blankets and put my hands in warm water (man that stung!!). After about thirty minutes I had someone call
Kris who came to collect me and load me in a hot shower for a good twenty
minutes.
I can’t say that I was ever sad for not being able to finish. As I told Kris, that bike ride alone, with
the wonderful views, the enthusiastic crowds, and the screaming downhills was
enough to have made the trip worth it.
Congrats to Jason and Lisa for having wonderful races. Thanks to Dodd for loaning me some gear and to everyone who wished me luck and followed my progress on line.
Trav