Archive for the ‘Ironman Couer D'Alene’ Category
Sure the training plan was 30 weeks, but the preperation was a lifetime. Granted, I was 33 years old the morning of race day. Therefor about 28 years of my lifetime were part of the experience leading up to the day but most likely had a negative effect on my fitness.
Anyway, this is about that one morning. The one day that I dreamed about for years and trained specifically for 30 weeks to achieve. That morning was my first Ironman. Ironman Coeur D’Alene 2009.
A nice thing about racing in Coeur D’alene is the fact that the sun rises early and sets late. So even though the start is early, the sun is already up and the day is bright. It made starting the day pretty easy. I still felt tired, but it was bright and there were thousands of other people up and about too. It actually felt more like 11:00am then 5:00am. Ofcourse, that could have just been positive nerves as well.
My wife, duaghter, and I arrived at the beach with my special needs bags and wetsuit ready to go. I immediately found a volunteer to take care of my markings. Number 714 on my arms and my age on my legs. I was ready to go.
Oh wait, drop the special needs bags off, put fresh nutrition on my bike, pump my tires, and then I was ready…
The start was not as crowded as I had imagined. Sure, it was crowded with 2,500+ people all jumping in the water at once. But I thought it was a suprisingly calm “chaotic” swim. The winds were pretty strong so the current was choppy, but it was a consistant chop. Easy to get in the groove or flow with. I consider the swim quite nice for anyone who has done atleast a couple open water swims.
I was aiming for a swim time fo about 1:12, given my Iron distance swim time of 1:09 in the Aurora reservoir back home only 5 days earlier. But the chop and crowds apparantly added a little more time than anticipated. Oh well, still a great swim. The water temp was in the mid 60’s and actually felt quite warm.
My only issue with the swim was the guy I was drafting on the final stretch went from a smooth freestyle stroke into a breastroke. His abrubt change into a frog kick cought me right in the nose! It hurt, it hurt alot. I think the chillish water helped sooth the pain. I learned quickly to stay away from that guy.
Out of the water in 1:20:14. I think I could do better, but let’s be honest. This was my first ironman and I am not qualifyeing for Kona (this year…) So who really cares if it took a little longer than I anticipated…
Out of the water, I didn’t know about the awesome volunteers that help with wetsuits and finding bags. It rocked! Transition at Ironman is like a full service, 5 star, accommodation. In a bit of a hurried voice I heard “714 (that was my name that day), lay down here, we’ll take care of your wetsuit” So I did, and they did. My wetsuit was off my legs and being handed to me. At the same time I hear volunteers hollaring “714″, they were getting my transition bag for me. The new yorker in me wanted to give them a tip, but the Ironman in me grabbed the bag, said a very appreciative thank you, and was on my way to change.
The weather was much colder and windier than expected, so in addition to my shoes and helmet, I slipped on some arm warmers and was on my way, being ushered towards the bikes. Lucky for me, I remembered exactly where my bike was. I ran towards it when I heard the best sound I could ever dream of hearing.
“Go Love!” “Your An IronMan Steve!” “Go Daddy GO!”
My support crew was right outside of the fence by my bike. Of course I diverted my course towards them rather than my bike. I wanted to tell them all about how great the swim was. But alas, a quick hello and a couple kisses and I was back to my bike. The volunteer at the bikes actually smirked and asked “you do remember your in a race?” He helped me find my bike and off I went.
The bike started off a little more windy than I had expected. In hindsight, the first jount is flat, but along the lake. OF COURSE IT WAS WINDY! Next time I’ll know.
The bike course in Coeur D’Alene is a beautiful and hilly course. Due to a strained calf muscle, I was not able to do a recon ride prior to the race and had to settle for a course preview in the car. There were not many steep climbs, rather long and steady climbs with a couple technical downhills.
Overall, not too bad. The unexpected part for me was the wind and cold. My goal on the bike turned into “get to the run before the rain starts”.
At the end of the first loop, we passed through town. It seemed everyone slowed down a little to enjoy the cheers as this was the first time in about 20 miles I had to use my brakes to avoid other riders. I was paying attention to see if my support crew was hanging out. To be honest, I did not expect to see them. With three kids in tow, it must be hard to hang out in one spot and think, ‘he should pass through here within the hour…’ And just hope they spot me. On the flip side, that is exactly why I chose to wear bright yellow. So I would stand out to my family in the sea of other triathletes.
Towards the end of town, I heard it again: “Go Love!” “Your An IronMan Steve!” “Go Daddy GO!”
On the bike, I can’t stop to say hello, but a quick wave and a smile was perfect. It was great to see them all. It made me feel incredible.
On that day, the bike was my weakest leg by far. Next Ironman it will be my strongest leg, but that is next year. All was going well on the bike untill about mile 70, then my legs started to hurt. My left knee started to feel a pull, a pain I have not felt since I tore my IT band in 2004. My first thought regarding this injury was “what the!!!! where did this come from??” Then I adjusted my posture so it was most comfortable and kept moving forward. “Keep moving forward”, that’s the name of the game.
Then, my right foot started acting up. The foot pain is one that came up in training quite a bit and was a big unknown for me come race day. When this pain starts, it hurts. It hurts to the point that I can not push down on my pedals, It is a very strange sensation in that as soon as I am off the bike, it vanishes. I am going in for a bike fit soon, hopefully we can get to the bottom of it.
Nursing these pains led my quads to feel like they were on fire too. My strategy of breezing through the bike and saving my legs for the run was fading away. Now my strategy was turning into get through the bike and deal with the run when you get there. I kept telling myself, these were bike specific pains, I will still feel great on the run. (I partially believed myself. I had to..)
The volunteers and fans out on the bike course were awesome! Even though I was in pain, they made the day and the course so much fun! I don’t think the smile ever left my face.
Next time into town marked the final miles of the bike. Once again, my crew was there cheering me on. I don’t what I was happier about, seeing my family out there supporting me, or the idea that I was about to get off my bike.
In transition 2, the service was excellent again. I dismounted my bike, crossed the dismount line and somebody took my bike so I didn’t have to worry about it. I was again ushered to the changing tent and handed my transition bag.
In the changing tent, volunteers were there to help change shoes, massage out cramps, organize gear. It was pretty cool. I didn’t want to spend too much time in there as the bike already took me a full hour longer than I expected. That’s right, an HOUR LONGER than my target. Winds, cold, and strange pains led to the slow time. But again, I am not going to Kona this year, so really, I didn’t care. I was still out there to have fun.
My goal now was to run the Marathon in 4:30. I put on my running shoes and at the last minute decided to wrap my jacket aroung my waist, that storm was still threatening us all.
As I left transition, guess who I saw again? My family was right there at the start of the run. Now I truly fealt awesome. I was done with the Bike and on my feet. My legs fealt ok, not great, but ok. I was ready for the marathon.
My strategy was to run the race with an average pace of 9:30/mile. I started off the first six miles with a target pace of 10:00/mile to get in the groove and loosen my legs. The strategy worked great, six miles down and I fealt ready to run. So I upped my pace to a 9:30/mile.
About 30 minutes into the run, the rain started and I was thrilled to have my jacket. It was cold, but certainly manageable. The run course is an out and back X2, which leaves 4 opportunities to see family and friends. I just could not believe they all stayed outside in the cold rain to chear me on! They ROCK!
On one pass, my daughter ran out to me with her arms up, I immediately scooped her up for a super hug and gave my wife a kiss. I believe in life it is important to stop and enjoy the things you love, even if it is halfway through the marathon portion of an Ironman. This moment may have taken 15 seconds off my time, but in reality it re-energized me to finish this thing.
The run actually felt fine, as expected my legs were in a bit of pain. But this is Ironman, it is not supposed to be comfortable. I ran through most of it, and walked the aid stations. As it got colder, I started to craving the warm chicken broth at each aid station.
I ran it one mile at a time, some miles were faster than others, and a few were very slow.
Over the course of the run, aches and pains came and went. One thing that stayed constant was the ear to ear grin I had. Knowing in a short time I would see the finish line and hear those words “Steve Cogger, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN”
As I turned the final bend and saw the chute to the finish I got another surge of energy and picked up the pace. I attempted to space out the guy in front of me with the guy behind me so we could all hear our names and enjoy our moment.
As I enetered the final chute I saw my family in the bleachers, still braving the cold and wind (and now dark) to be with me as I crossed the finish line. I blew some kisses and absorbed the moment as best I could. My family is awesome!
I am a big fan of team blaze and respect what John Blaze accomplished. One thing I was not expecting was the guy 20 feet in front of me to slow down to a walk as he approached the finsh, lie down, and roll through the finish. Again, respect to John Blaze, but I nearly tripped right over this guy as I crossed the finish line.
So, rather than a photo of me with my arms raised victouriously crossing my first ironman finish line, I am hopping over some guys feet.
After that little hop, I got my medal, finishers hat and shirt and photo.
Grabbed a couple slices of pizza and found my family. My two year old daughter said “Daddy, you a ionman” and then asked for my Pizza, which I gladly gave her a bite of.
This is me finding my bike at Transition 1 during Ironman CDA. My support crew was waiting for me by my bike so I of course stopped to say a quick hello.
Apparently, I was having too much fun at this point in the race. Notice the volunteer who helped me find my bike. He told me I was having entirely too much fun for being in a race. To me, that is what it is all about. Fun, fitness, and healthy challenges.
I may not be fast, but did you notice all the other (and very expensive tri) bikes still in transition as I am pulling out. Makes my think my swim time wasn’t so bad….