Thursday, August 22, 2013

Ironman 9 : CDA June 23, 2013

Many things happened between my last Ironman race in Arizona 2012 and CDA 2013.  The most important thing was that I joined Team in Training and the Greater LA Ironteam for my 5th season of fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  My 1st season with the Team was interrupted by my ACL tear and subsequent ACL reconstruction.  I realized my dream of becoming an Ironman at Louisville 2010 during my 2nd season with the Team.  I got bitten by the Ironman bug and completed Ironman #2-8 in seasons 3 and 4.  Now for season 5, I have CDA, Lake Tahoe, and Arizona.  
One highlight during the last 9 months was traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark and running the Copenhagen Marathon.  It rained the entire time and parts of the race was over cobblestones (ouch). However I will always cherish the memories of the cheering crowds and meeting runners from throughout Europe.  And Copenhagen was heaven for "foodies".
Another proud moment for me was running the Big Sur International Marathon and coming in 1st Place in the Corporate Relay Division.  The nerves and pressure I felt for this race, topped any Ironman race.  Again the beautiful scenery of Big Sur and the California Coast will be something I will always remember, as well as the camaraderie of our team.  I look forward to defending our title next year.
Running the Goofy Challenge at Disney World and going Coast to Coast and running Tinkerbell Half was another highlight I will cherish.  Sharing these events with family and loved ones made Disney Magical.
Now onto Ironman #9: Coeur d'Alene

I mentioned last year that Coeur d'Alene is like being in a National Park.  Gorgeous scenery, wildlife, and fresh mountain air.  This year the weather cooperated and the lake was warmer than 2012.  In 2012, I competed by myself.  This year, I had the majority of our Greater LA Ironteam competing with me, along with coaches along for support and guidance.  Our team took a bus tour of the bike course a couple days prior to the race.  I was able to share my experience from 2012.  We took a few swims prior to the race and I immediately noticed the water was cold, but tolerable.  Definitely warmer than 2012.  On to race day:

Swim: 1:38:39

I'm not a swimmer.  I swim once a week.  I know I need to focus on this in the future, but I keep putting it off.  That said, this year my time was 16 min faster than 2012.  The new "Swim Smart" initiative instituted a rolling start.  Swimmers seeded themselves according to pace.  I think this worked very well.  It made for a much more relaxed and enjoyable swim.  The warmer water also helped.  I did not have any problems with chop.  My first loop was 45 min.  Slight swim fatigue probably led to the slower 2nd loop. 

Bike: 6:32:20

This was 11 min faster.  I described the 2 loop course in my post last year.  CDA is definitely a challenging course.  I think it's more difficult than the IM Canada course in Penticton.  My main complaint is that going back into CDA on US 95, is a long descent which is interrupted by a "No Passing Zone". There is also a 2nd NP Zone as you exit the 95 and get back on NW Blvd.  I couldn't believe my bad luck that along both NP Zones, I had to hit the brakes due to slower cyclists.  This happened again on the 2nd loop of the bike course as well.  I notice that these "slower" cyclist stopped pedaling during these descents.  Unbelievable!
My favorite part of the bike course is of course going through the cheering crowds that lined the streets of downtown CDA which you hit out and back during each loop of this 2 loop course.  I saw my cheering section and felt energized each time.

Run: 4:43:20

This was about 5 min faster.  Not much to add.  I had foot pain in 2012.  This year, I was fine.  I saw teammates, cheering supporters, coaches all along the course.  Last year was a mental challenge. This year, the run was very enjoyable.  In hindsight I probably could have pushed harder to my "uncomfortable" zone.  I may have finished sub 13, but I probably would not have enjoyed the run as much.  The only regret was not paying attention to my Maui Jim Titanium sunglasses which I had placed on top of my cap.  I still had them in a photo taken by a coach at mile 23.  I noticed around mile 25 that they were missing.  By that point, I was not going backwards to look for them.  I continued to the finish line and high-fived my way across the finishing chute.  

Finish: 13:12:42

After a short recuperation, I collected my bike and gear bags.  Dropped them off.  Wiped down myself and changed into fresh clothes.  Grabbed a coffee and then returned to the finish line to cheer on my teammates as they finished their races.  We stayed until almost midnight to welcome the last of our teammates.  It was another special night to conclude a special day.  Kudos to the town of Coeur d'Alene.  Thank-you for welcoming and supporting us.  Perhaps one day, I will return for another edition of IM CDA.

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