IRONMAN Couer D’Alene was about the experience, and enjoying one of the most brutal race days in IRONMAN history.

Was CDA (Subjectively) the Toughest? A Breakdown…

I have gone back and forth several times as to which has been the most epic and tough IM (so far) to finish. Was it IRONMAN St. George 2012 with the 30% DNF rate, complete impossibility of sighting on the swim course, terrible 40 mph  windstorm on the bike resulting in an extra hour and a half and feeling quite sure I wouldn’t be able to make it. Highlights included fantasizing about crashing out so I could have a good enough reason to stop, primary source of hydration being red bull for at least two hours, or the Doh discovery that I am among those people who are extraordinarily sensitive to altitude? That was an amazing one! But I have to say that the looking back on it I have a much fonder memory of it than I did immediately after. That was the IRONMAN that I vowed that if I was to continue participating in IM I had to keep my head in the game at all times as I never know where I was in relation to the competition.

Also in the running for toughest finish for me was Kona 2012. I was ecstatic to have qualified for the first time in 2011 and in the best shape of my life. Unfortunately summer and fall of 2012 were plague with an pneumonia like illness that made the ten week leadup to race day basically the lamest excuse for a ‘training cycle’ ever. So when I hit the course I knew it was going to be a long day. The race began by ingested enough salt water to to cause issues and ended up with many moments of wanting to stop on both the bike and then run. Of course the memory of the experience and having both John and my parents there as well as friends and the energy of the whole place is second to none.

The third was the sin of underestimation that culminated in the amazing Challenge Roth. Last year was the first year I have had an injury that affected my racing and training for a long period of time. Having of course signed up for a calendar of races not anticipating this injury including an overseas trip with 40 of my bffs to Germany I was hoping to be able to finish at any cost. I anticipated the run would be a challenge and that I may have to even resort to walking for a good portion. What i didn’t anticipate was the affect of what I can only now describe as jet lag. The feeling not on mile 100 but on mile 1 of the bike that you had absolutely no adrenaline, no desire to be participating and could barely stay awake to pedal. Even describing it now it doesn’t sound like a huge deal but I realized that this phenom is not a mind over matter one. That was a tough and long finish as well but the memory of being at the Tour and having an unbeatable experience with friends makes it tough to beat that trip!

 

Pre-Race

 

Enough to get three people through IRONMAN?

Even if my body wasn’t ready to go my awesome Podium Multisports Felt IA4 and our whole houses’ worth of EFS Liquidshot certainly were!

 

 

Over time I have begun to take the approach that if I sign up for a big race I usually just do it no matter how my training has gone. Although my goal of course is to continue to improve long term, it’s also my goal to experience as many big races as I can for myself and to pass on knowledge to others. As a result some races are ‘race’ races some are ‘tourism’ races and some are crapshoots. Some of my best memories are these types of races that look like PWs on paper and CDA was no exception.

Back to the point. Time softens the memory of what those days actually felt like so it’s hard to give them a fair comparison. Even now a few weeks later I am remembering CDA as ‘ not that bad’ in terms of getting it done.  The trip was fun, our group was fun, and our supporters from ATC were beyond amazing on the course. All those things, plus the memory of having done the toughest CDA ever, made it an experience worth having in my book.

Awesome crew of ATC racers, ready for battle!

 

Race Day

To give a very short synopsis of how this originally was planned to be a racing race yet then ended up as a tourism race, I ended up on abx again two weeks prior to CDA. I felt like a gambler as I knew I would be pushing the time frame. The ailment which led to the rx then the abx themselves meant a complete lack of quality training post alcatraz. Basically I was just ‘exercising’ and probably as a result of the extra inflammation my shoulder flared up the worst it has since I’ve gotten RFA again. I had no expectations of race day magic, but I have felt horrible approaching races enough to know that sometimes the body repairs itself to rise to the occasion. That was not to happen on this day and I felt labored from the very first swim stroke and know full well that this would be an experience ironman

No problem, it would hurt but I could do it. I had a decent swim still coming out in the first lap ironically right next to Ted. Second loop I messed up my line a bit coming in and was a few minutes slower. Overall still sub 1:10 so I wasn’t unhappy. I knew the bike would be the struggle. From the first pedal stroke I knew the only way to survive would be to completely cover up power otherwise I would just get too upset and frustrated. I concentrated solely on keeping within the appropriate RPE range and a good cadence and attitude. My shoulder was already starting to give a bit after two hours but there was nothing to do but let it rest during the long climbs. It was already starting to get very hot during this time and so I entertained myself by trying to make conversation with others. I remembered on the St George climbs I was in agony wondering if I was the only one feeling like this and what had gone wrong. Not so today. I knew what I was in for and I was settling in for the haul. Anyways, most people I chatted up either ignored me or seemed very grim. I took that to mean that I was on the right track with my effort level!

The first loop was just over three hours which with my revised goals was great with me. It’s kind of a blur in terms of who I saw, but I know I got passed by Paul and Ed both hauling and it was great to see Adam encouraging everyone near the start and end of the loops. I guess I hadn’t lost all sense of competition because I remember being concerned about whether I had beat Ted out of the swim or not (he finally beat me!)

On the second loop, it was getting really hot though and while I like the heat, I already felt weakened and this was next level with Garmins recording just under 120 degrees. My shoulder was spasming pretty good and it was really tough to just keep moving forward. I even stopped completely to get sunscreen and to dump water on myself a couple of times. At the last aid station when I got a gatorade they said it was their last one and I felt worried for everyone that was still behind me. When I finally came in off the bike I saw many people walking that first hill out of transition and I thought there was no way I could do a complete additional lap if I was just starting it.

My profile pic the week of the race. Would I get fried (bunny) or be the dragon?

On the run I settled in jogging and it wasn’t too bad. I loved seeing the costumes from ATC! Michelle’s dino costume (I love dinos) was simply amazing, Tony’s devil suit was all in, and John’s gladiator costume was hot!  I know they and the rest of the cheer crew raised the spirits of hundreds of racers all day and night long. I settled in yogging slowly doing everything I could to keep my core temp and accepting any and all offers to be doused. The first several miles I ran with the fifth place pro woman who was one lap ahead of me. At the time I didn’t fully appreciate that she was running 9 minute miles because it didn’t feel hard at that point.. by my second lap I realized how impressive it was to still be running 9 minute miles! I was excited to see Sondra towards the hilly section. Her potato costume was bar non and she was very encouraging and I’m sure everyone out there appreciated her tireless efforts out there. She said was in 15th and though I hadn’t given a lot of thought on placing since I knew I was years behind after the bike, I tried to refocus on catching a few people if only to keep myself focused to move forward well for the remainder of the race.

 

They should definitely win some type of costume award!

No problem jogging very slowly up and down the first mountainous out and back. I did feel like my core temp was drifting up ever so slowly despite my best efforts. I had to take a few walk breaks to get it back down and even sit down to take the tape off my foot. I burned too high around mile 14 and stopped absorbing briefly and was doing a bit of dry heaving and an official in a golf cart saw me and stopped. He asked me if I wanted to sit down on the grass and think about what I wanted to do next. Man that sounded so great! But I started thinking if I did there was a good chance that I wouldn’t continue and I didn’t want to stop

After that interruption I was able to get back to a jog for the remainder of the ten miles. I saw our crew again and Sondra and explained that I was just trying to get to the finish.  Man it was great getting chased with her sprayer! I started to feel better and run faster and the temp dipped slightly late in the day and I had a bad moment where I accidentally poured base salt down my pants which was not a pleasant experience. The volunteer I saw next though, didn’t think it was weird at all that I asked her to pour a gallon of water down my pants! The last 6 or so miles were a blur but I remember it just seeming to take so long! I struck up a conversation with a few people and it helped to still keep my spirits high.

 

Each of the 12 racers had a personalized spectator sign mine featuring some of my favorite things.

 

All in all, we had a few people from our crew not finish, but everyone turned out okay health wise. The DNF rate for CDA was surprisingly low given the circumstances, but was clouded IMO by the high DNS rate (ostensibly people who saw the weather beforehand and said “this ain’t gotta happen!) I’ll give IRONMAN # 11 an 8 in terms of overall experience. I’ll refrain on on using any sort of performance measure for this one. All in all, I’ll say that I was the bunny in the above scenario but hopefully I’ll be the dragon next time! Looking forward to #12weeksallin and #18weeksallin coming up next!

 

Which race in your opinion has been the toughest to finish?