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Race Report – Susan Farago (Race #1759) Ironman Coeur d’Alene, Idaho June 26, 2005
2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run
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Note: Race day report starts on p.4.
What do you get when you combine 25+ athletes/friends/family, a coach wearing feathers in his cowboy hat, and a state that boasts the best “potato recipes”?
You get Ironman Coeur d’Alene.
I never thought I’d use the word “fun” and “Ironman” in the same sentence but that’s exactly what Ironman Coeur d’Alene was – FUN! I actually signed up for IM Cd’A last summer, before I even did my first Ironman in Wisconsin last September. I chose IM Cd’A because of the beautiful venue, the low-hype feel (I prefer things that are a little off the beaten path), and hey…I love potatoes!
Leary and I arrived in Spokane, Washington on the Thursday before the race and drove 45 minutes to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The area was beautiful – tall green pines, hills and valleys, meandering streams, and deep blue lakes. I half expected to see Grizzly Adams walking alongside the road as we drove into Idaho.
Views of Coeur d’Alene and surrounding area.
We decided to go to race packet pickup, check out the transition area, and shop for IM Cd’A triathlon apparel (of course!) before heading to the Wolf Lodge Bed and Breakfast where we would be staying. We ran into several friends as we meandered through vendor booths and the transition area. Leary even got to talk to Tom Knoll, one of the “original” Ironman (IM) Hawaii participants at the first IM race in 1978.
View of park area – swim start just behind the orange roof building, Ironman Village and transition area in the distance behind the flag.
Jim and Leary in Ironman Village Diana, Cam, Susan in Ironman Village Tom Knoll (IM Hawaii-1978) and Leary
Since the swim start was next to Ironman village, I decided to get into the water and check things out. The one aspect of my race I hadn’t nailed down yet was “what to wear” during the swim. Before we left Austin, I heard rumors that the water temperature was 57 degrees. YIPES! That’s Alcatraz cold!! When we got to Cd’A I was relieved to hear that the water had warmed up to 62. We made our way down to the beach and Leary sat on the big cement steps that lined one edge of the swim area as I decided which wetsuit to wear. I opted for full coverage and I put on my long sleeved T1 wetsuit top and then my full Ironman sleeveless wetsuit over that. During one of the swim workouts the previous week Jamie made fun of me and my goofy wetsuit configuration. I can’t blame him. I once wore my wetsuit backwards during a swim workout because it was more comfortable that way (that was before I had lost 15lbs and my bust line J ). I hopped into the water and swam the buoy line that separated the swim area from the rest of the lake. The water was pretty clear and I could see the bottom approx 10 feet below. After a quick 15 minute swim, I got out and felt good about how the wetsuits fit and I was comfortable with the water temperature. The last piece of my Ironman race plan puzzle was complete. I now knew what to wear for the swim.
As we drove through Coeur d’Alene on our way to Wolf Lodge, the Ironman spirit had overtaken the town. There were Ironman flags, banners, posters, and signs on the streets and in window shops. Sidewalk cafes were filled with very athletic looking people and every now and then we would see someone out for a bike ride or jog – likely checking out the course or just keeping their muscles loose for the event to come.
Signs of “Ironman” throughout Coeur d’Alene
We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Moontime Tavern – they had FABULOUS burgers (yes, I put my vegetarian diet on hold and justified it with the fact that I “needed’ to make sure my protein stores were topped off for the race on Sunday J ). We also drove by Bates Motel (we didn’t see Norman though – ha!) and couldn’t imagine who would want to stay there – although Leary did want to check out their souvenir shop.
Moontime - Great burgers and beer! The Bates Motel – wonder if Norman was home (ha!)
We arrived at Wolf Lodge Bed and Breakfast and were welcomed by Neva – the hostess. We were shown to our room and then got a tour of the beautiful lodge, complete with library, movie room, bar area, and common room with a huge stone fireplace. We unloaded the car and decided to call it an early night.
Wolf Lodge and main “common/living” area.
Friday morning came and the sun rose at 4:45am – that’s right, 4:45am! We were glad we went to bed early the previous night because trying to sleep when the sun came up was like sleeping with a spotlight in your eyes! We got up and Leary began putting my bike together while I went in search of coffee. We ended up standing on the deck in the warm early morning sun, sipping coffee, and chatting with Henry (ironically who we met on the plane) and his parents, Sally and Fred. At 9:00am “breakfast was served”. We spent the next couple of hours eating, laughing, and just enjoying the beautiful scenery as we sat on the side deck overlooking the meadow. By early afternoon my bike was together and I had all my gear figured out for the race, including my ‘special needs’ bags. I went for a ride to test out my bike and Leary went for a run.
Leary “the bike mechanic”. Figuring out bike bag, run bag, special needs bags…TOO MANY BAGS!!!
We spent the rest of the day lounging around the bed and breakfast and just relaxing and enjoying ourselves. I was alarmingly calm considering I had a big race in a couple of days.
Saturday was “drop off all your race stuff” day. So after another one of Neva’s wonderful breakfast’s and meeting Donna and Rich (Rich would be racing), we drove into town and dropped off my bike and transition bags. Then we went to the pre-race meeting at 2:00pm where we caught up with more team folks. After that we grabbed an early supper and then headed back to the B&B where we watched a movie before heading to bed.
Dropping off my bike in the transition area. Jen and I with “bike to run” bags.
** RACE DAY – Sunday, June 26 – 7:00am Race Start **
I was very glad I had averaged 10 hours of sleep Thursday and Friday night because I didn’t sleep a bit Saturday night. I would wake up panicked and think, “IS IT TIME TO GET UP?”, or “ARE WE LATE?”, or “DID I PACK THAT EXTRA BOTTLE OF CALORIES IN MY SPECIAL NEEDS BIKE BAG?” I finally told myself to knock it off and get some sleep but it was too late. Sunday morning came quickly and I felt like the walking dead. The fact that the sun was already up was annoying. I had my usual pre-race breakfast of a banana, instant oatmeal packet, and chocolate mint Zone bar, and I washed it all down with a bottle of orange Endurox – roughly 700 calories in all. To be quite honest it’s a pretty gross tasting breakfast but it has worked in the past so I haven’t bothered to change it.
Once we arrived in Cd’A, I was thankful of the extremely early sunrise because it was light out so no need to bring flashlights. I finalized last minute gear preparation in the transition area and then we waited. To me, the 30 minutes leading up to the race start is THE WORST part of the entire event (that and the first 5 minutes of the mass swim start). The anticipation is killer and my normally relaxed bladder was quite active resulting in 2 trips to the bathroom in the span of about 45 minutes. I overheard one guy refer to standing in the porta-potty lines as “un-carbo-loading” (ha!) While waiting in one of the potty lines, I took a minute to mentally review my race goals:
· Focus on being "steady and consistent" throughout all three events.
· Drink and eat, drink and eat!!!
·
Don’t
focus on time goals, but focus on having a solid race and feeling good.
I did come up with time estimates for friends and family (so they would know
when to look for me on the course or via ironmanlive.com). These were mostly
based on my Ironman Wisconsin times from last year:
2.4 mile swim - 1:10:00 (~ IM-WI)
Transition #1 - 0:08:00 (~ IM-WI)
112 mile bike - 6:00:00 (8 min faster than IM-WI)
Transition #2 - 0:06:00 (~ IM-WI)
26.2 mile run - 4:45:00 (15 min faster than IM-WI)
----------------------------
Total Time: 12:09:00
Special needs bags
dropped off race morning. A beautiful day for racing! I couldn’t wait
to see the 100 mile sign on the bike course!!!
We met up with a bunch of the gang and posed for a few pictures before getting into our wetsuits. Although it was a beautiful morning, the wetsuits helped keep us warm as the temperatures were only in the upper 50’s.
Texas Iron: Cam, Amy, Julie, Jamie, Susan, Cheryl, Chris, Jen, Vicki, Leary. Leary and I – ready to start the day!
I soon found myself down on the beach along with the other 1700+ athletes and the same thing always goes through my mind at this point, “What the heck am I doing here and who’s idea was this anyway?!” The national anthem was being sung by two high school girls and with my hand over my heart, I made my way to the very left edge of the swim start and lined myself up with the first orange buoy. The pro-triathlete men* were already out in the water while the rest of the athletes were on the beach. Nothing like knowing there are 1700 people about to breathe down your neck to keep your swim stroke up! I heard the announcer say something about the race starting in less than a minute. WHAT? Was that for the pro-men? Or all of us? No one really seemed to be moving or getting ready but something told me that warning was for all of us.
*This was the first race the Ironman organization decided to have a pro-men only purse. The pro-women will have their race in July at Ironman USA.
I reset the chronometer on my watch and hit the start button, I put on my goggles, and just as I was adjusting the strap, BANG!! the cannon went off. Before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself high-stepping it into the water and then I dove in and starting to swim like crazy! I thought my strategy of being on the inside “lane” was sneaky and smart….so did the 200 other people who seemed to be in front of me, behind me, and on top of me!!
Swim course, included a “run” where athletes got out of the water and crossed a timing mat prior to starting loop 2.
The first 10 minutes of the swim flat out sucked. I had difficulty catching my breath, the water was in a constant churn with black rubbered bodies all over the place, and at one point several people swam over the back of me, pushing me under. I finally got mad and started kicking and punching ANYTHING or ANYONE that came near me as I swam. Damn men! I knew they were men from the glimpses I would get of blue swim caps (women were given pink swim caps and there were by far fewer women in this race than men – women approx 30%, men approx 70%). Thoughts kept entering my mind like, “I should just get out of the water”, or “You know, I could just turn around and end the race right now and I think I would be OK with that”. Then the “other” side of my brain finally kicked in and it told me to quit complaining and to get out there and SWIM! So I did and soon after I finally settled into a rhythm and I was happy that I could breathe.
A few minutes later I “found feet” and drafted off of some big, burly guy. He plowed his way through the water and I coasted right behind in his slipstream. I could have swam faster but you know, at this point I really wasn’t in much of a hurry. I thought of my friend Betsy who actually ended up with someone’s toe in her mouth during the mass swim start at a race earlier this year so I made sure to keep my distance while drafting. Once again kudos to coach Jamie – he had us practice an “all out mass swim start” at one of our swim workouts at Barton Springs a week before the race. It helped me deal with the churn and lack of oxygen I was experiencing AND I knew that ultimately this discomfort would go away.
Listening to the Star Spangled Banner right before the mass swim start of 1700+ athletes in Coeur d’Alene Lake.
I would find out later that my friend Diana was having similar swim issues. Apparently there was some guy (of course) doing the breast stroke right in front of her at the start of the swim. She got so tired of his legs flying all over the place as he would whip kick that she swam up behind him and grabbed onto his legs, wrapping her arms around them to keep them together. Can you imagine swimming along and all of a sudden someone grabbing your legs? That cracked me up! This is one of the reasons I really like Diana – she’s bold and not afraid to say or do anything J I couldn’t blame her – the guy should have started in the back of the group rather than in the front.
While all this drama was going on IN the water, there was also drama happening on the beach. Leary would later tell me about “the woman who didn’t swim”. Right after the swim start as everyone was swimming away from the shore, one lone swimmer was heading back to shore. Once she reached shore she just sat on the beach looking out as the cloud of swimmers moved further and further out into the lake. The race director ran down to see what was going on. As he was talking to her she just kept shaking her head. He then motioned for one of the kayaks to come over and, with his arm around her, he seemed to coax her back into the water. She walked out about waist deep and just stared out into the lake.
Lone swimming coming back to shore. Race director with words of encouragement.
What seemed like an eternity passed as the crowd held their collective breath to see what she was going to do next. Slowly she started to shake her head again, and she turned around and walked back up to the beach. She sunk down into the sand and at that point her family and friends came running down the beach and encircled her with hugs. While we will never know exactly what happened, to me it sounded like her brain overruled her body. After all the training she likely did in preparation for the race, there was probably no doubt she could do the distance. But when mental barriers become seemingly insurmountable, ultimately the brain will “win”.
Meanwhile, back in the “blender”…the rest of the swim was (thankfully) rather uneventful. The first loop of the two loop swim was done before I knew it. I got out of the water, ran across the timing mat and passed about 100 athletes who seemed to be taking their own sweet time walking along the beach before getting back into the water. Not me, I wanted to get the swim DONE and get on with the bike (my favorite part of the day). I lost the “feet” I had for loop one and so I swam solo for awhile. I found more feet and drafted behind them. Other swimmers would try to crowd in and take the feet I was following but I used the old “shoulder bump” technique to push them out of the way (thanks again Jamie!). I wasn’t going to just give up “my feet”! As I rounded the last far buoy I knew I was in the home stretch so I started counting the smaller orange buoys that lead up to the shore and finish line. Three…four…five….I could see I was about 5 minutes away from the shore so I picked up the pace and came out of the water feeling great! As I crossed the timing mat I saw my time was 1:09 – well that’s 1 minute faster than Ironman Wisconsin last year. I ran up the beach and made my way into transition – one down, two to go.
Coming out of the swim and into transition. Myself and Chris Spencer (over my right shoulder) on our way to the changing tents.
I saw Chris Spencer in front of me after we grabbed our “swim to bike” bags. I nearly followed him into the men’s changing tent before a volunteer redirected me into the women’s changing tent. Honestly, it didn’t matter to me which changing tent I went into – that’s one of the beauties of triathlon – you lose ALL sense of modesty!
I did a quick change with the help of an awesome volunteer who did things like unbunch my socks, lay out my bike gear, and fix my race belt and number which had come undone. In 5 minutes I was dry, changed, and on my way to the bike course.
In transition, on my way to the bike course – 112 miles here I come!!
Bike course and elevation map.
The bike course was great! It had a little of everything, including a couple of relatively steep hills (nothing compared to some of the hills in Austin but enough to get your attention), a “no passing zone” over a single lane bridge, a loop around a greyhound race track, and a state border crossing since part of the bike route crossed into Washington. The first loop took just under three hours and I was averaging 19.3 miles per hour. I think the 42 mph descents helped that average J. The first loop was “interesting”. People were riding pretty aggressively speed-wise and it seemed to take nearly 2 hours before I got the sense that people around me were finally settling into a more consistent ride pace. There were cheering spectators along the bike course but nothing like Ironman Wisconsin. I only rang my bike bell a few times at the crowds and then decided it wasn’t worth it. Water hand-ups were every 10 miles which was GREAT! I drank, drank, drank! The course took us through winding back roads, into deep green woods with amazingly tall pine trees and fast descents, along farms and rural neighborhoods, parks with bike trails, and even into industrial and business areas with wonderfully smooth pavement – which my arms and rear-end appreciated after being on bumpy chip seal for miles at a stretch. We crossed into Washington and I rang my bell, and then shortly we returned to Idaho and I rang my bell again. I thought of Leary who always honks the car horn when we cross state lines.
7 or 8 of us were riding together and we were just coming out of an industrial park when a spectator’s dog ran out into the road. We all saw it and slowed down. The first 2-3 people made it by the dog. But just as the two people in front of me were approaching the dog, the dog did a last minute zig and got hit by a guy on his bike. The whole thing was horrifying to see!! The dog let out a yelp and got up and kept running but the guy ended up flipping over his handlebars. I heard him scream out in pain and/or anger as I passed him. I looked back to see what had happened and he was sitting on the ground, holding his shoulder. I sped up as I saw two policemen on mountain bikes ahead. I hollered “CYCLIST DOWN! CYCLIST DOWN!” and motioned behind me. They took off and at that point I knew the guy would be in good hands. I was quite shaken for the next several miles as the scene of the dog getting hit kept replaying over and over in my mind. Ugg!
Soon we came upon the no passing zone as we rode across a bridge that was under repair. They laid big sheets of plywood for the cyclists to ride on and you could see that the bridge surface was all torn up underneath. It felt like I was riding on a rickety, old stage or platform that was about five feet wide. Yipes! Once across the bridge I headed back towards town. As I came into Coeur d’Alene the crowds had grown considerably larger since earlier that morning and the cyclists were greeted with cheers and whoops from everyone as we rode by to start the second loop. I was really happy to see Leary and I smiled and waved as I rode by.
Coming in to downtown Cd’A. Riding along Cd’A Lake on the 7 mile out and back.
The second part of the bike loop began with a 7 mile “out and back” and lead us through downtown again before we started the bigger loop that would take us to Washington (and the 2 climbs, and the greyhound dog race track, and the no passing bridge) and back.
As I headed out to do the second 7 mile out and back, I just couldn’t stand it any longer…all the water handups finally caught up with me and I had to go to the bathroom…NOW! So I abruptly pulled over, leaned my bike up against what looked like a generator on the road shoulder, trotted down into the ditch just outside a fancy-schmancy resort entrance, and went to the bathroom. While I didn’t have toilet paper, I also didn’t have a waiting line either (like I would have at the porta-potties). A volunteer was standing on the road and she just looked at me as I dropped my bike and headed into the ditch. “I can’t hold it anymore!!” I hollered to her as I disappeared into the shrubbery. I had attempted to “go on my bike” for the past 8 miles but just couldn’t relax enough. I had no problem peeing up a storm when I was in the swim, but just couldn’t do it on the bike. Plus I didn’t think it would look that couth to pee “on the fly” while riding through downtown Cd’A in front of all the spectators.
With THAT out of the way, I headed towards the turnaround and the bike special needs bags area. I was happy to go sailing by the special needs people as I decided I didn’t need anything from my bag. At IM Wisconsin I must have dawdled around for 10 minutes when I stopped for my special needs bag so this time I made sure I had everything on my bike so I wouldn’t need to stop. I did have a back-up bottle of calories in my bag just in case I lost my bottle on the ride (water bottles can fly out of bike bottle cages if you hit a hard bump), but I didn’t need it.
I flew through downtown Cd’A again and saw Leary – yeay!! I checked my time and knew I was doing well on the bike so I told myself to take it easier on the second loop. But then I would start to speed up and have to tell myself, “take it easy, take it easy…slow down a bit”. I was already mentally preparing for the upcoming run. My second bike segment took a little over 3 hours with an average of 18.4 mph. The only excitement on the second loop was that it rained a little bit but not enough to really get us wet. Throughout the bike ride I saw Jen and Chris, and it was great seeing them out there as we cheered each other on.
Coming through Cd’A after the 14 mile shorter loop to start the second longer loop (I’m on the right).
Mile 90 came and I decided I was ready to be done with the bike course and off my bike seat. I picked up the tempo and before I knew it, I saw the 100 mile marker. I remembered posing for the picture with the 100 mile marker sign that morning before the race start and thought to myself, “Well, here I am!” I continued my increased tempo and rode into the outskirts of downtown Coeur d’Alene. I had been behind the same guy for the past 8-10 miles and he would be way ahead of me and then I’d catch him on an uphill, then he’d pull away on the flats again. I decided to catch him in these last few miles so I sped up and as I passed him I said, “COME ON! Let’s finish this thing!!!!” He looked stunned at first and then he decided to take me up on my challenge. He passed me and was really flying which was all the incentive I needed to keep up with him (keeping the 3 bike length minimum of course). I started to undo my bike shoes and had both feet out of and on top of my shoes as we cruised into the bike finish chute. He slowed way down to unclip his shoes and I sailed right by him doing my flying dismount (which is MUCH more impressive than watching me try to do a flying bike mount – which looks like an elephant trying to get on a tricycle).
The timing mat let out a loud BEEEEEEEPPP as I crossed it. I checked my watch – 5 hours 56 minutes on the bike – YES!!! I cracked 6 hours!! I handed my bike to a race volunteer and ran back into transition to get ready for the run. A quick change into my running shoes and shorts and I was off like a shot. I got slathered down with sunscreen from two volunteers (bless their hearts!!) and as I ran across the timing mat I immediately saw Leary. So I stopped. He said, “What are you doing? Keep going?” I informed him that at this point in the race I was officially in no hurry after spending nearly 6 hours on the bike I could take a minute to stretch, get a drink, and give him a smooch – which is exactly what I did! J
Here I come, like a shot out of transition!!!! Oh wait…there’s Leary! I think I’ll stop….
…and stretch… …and blow my nose…. …and get some more water….
My mantra for the run was very simple, “Keep running”. I didn’t care what my pace was but this was the moment for my big goal for the race – to run the entire run course. I had mentally fallen apart at IM Wisconsin at mile 6 and by the time I hit mile 13 it was all I could do to keep going. I ended up walking on and off from mile 15-22 and I felt miserable. I didn’t want that to happen again. But I was excited about this run course and the air temperature was perfect – low 80’s.
Run course and elevation map.
Once I left Leary I headed out on the one mile out and back before starting the bigger 12 mile loop. We ran on a paved foot path along the lake and it was beautiful and very shady. There was a water/aid station comprised of women in brightly colored outfits (sort of like moo-moos), rainbow clown wigs, and they were singing and dancing to the tunes of “We are Family” and “YMCA” to name a few. It was a riot!! I thanked them for being out there because it really gave the athletes energy! About a mile into the run we crossed another timing mat at the turn-around point (which would also end up being the turn-around point for mile 13 – half way through the run). Two women volunteers were cheering the athletes on and as I approached they yelled, “GIRL POWER!!” They stuck out their hands and we high-fived as I ran by. Hey, no matter how tired I am, I’m always up for a little female empowerment! J
On my way out to do the first 12 mile loop, I ran by Leary again and waved. Now it was time to settle in…”keep running, keep running”. I would feel myself start to speed up and then I’d tell myself to slow down. It was hard to keep the pace slow and steady as I ran through downtown Cd’A with all the spectators cheering and yelling, “Go TEAM!!”, or “Way to go Susan – looking strong!!” All athletes had their names on their race numbers so people could see your name and cheer you on personally. It was really nice at first but got a little annoying around mile 10 when by this time I had heard my name yelled a bazillion times. I rounded a corner where a group of people were sitting on the cement curbs and I overheard one of the women say to another, “Look at her, she just keeps going, like a machine.” I looked around and realized I was the only athlete on that corner so she was talking about me. I thought about that for quite awhile, “…like a machine”. I guess it’s true. Put one foot in front of the other and just keep going.
Early part of the run – no idea what I was doing with the hand signal!
The first 13 miles flew by and I was actually enjoying myself. The run course meandered through some neighborhoods and then came out onto another paved footpath that followed the lakeshore. I stopped at every water/aid station, one every mile, to get water, have an orange wedge, or get a wet sponge to wipe my face and arms off. I had Clifshot and Endurox with me as my source of calories and would consume 1-2 ounces at every water stop. I was also taking one salt tablet (electrolytes) about every other hour and that seemed to be working well. I was staying on top of my calories and was happy about that. Another secret plan I had was to watch my mood. As long as I stayed in good spirits that was an indicator that I had enough calories. So far, everything was going according to plan and I was averaging a very comfortable 10:30 min/mile pace – and I was still running!!
I saw Jamie out on the course several times and he would always holler “SUSAN!!!!” which cracked me up. I would stop and talk to him, all the while jogging in place, and give him updates of how I was doing or ask him about other team members on the course. I also saw Donna, who was staying at the same B&B as us, and she would cheer and take photos as I ran by. It was great to see her out on the course! I ran by one guy who was laying alongside the running path with severe leg cramps. Myself and another guy stopped to see if he was OK and I was just about to dig out my salt tablets when the guy who also stopped whipped out a big bottle of them and dumped about 10 tablets into the guy’s hand. Geez – the guy was a veritable “running pharmacy”! It looked like the guy was going to be OK.
I found myself back up by the timing mat I had crossed at the start of the race and the women volunteers who yelled “GIRL POWER” earlier were nowhere to be found this time around. I ran past the run special needs area and motioned to the volunteer that I was stopping. A guy with a microphone yelled out my race number and a volunteer directed me to my bag. I took out a “fresh” flask of Endurox and swapped it out with the empty one I had in my flask holder around my waist. My socks were still dry so no need to change those out. I did, however, grab a fresh bandana to replace the wet bandana that was around my wrist. I also decided to make a quick stop at the porta-potty (this would be the second stop on the run) and with that I was good to go for the second 13 mile loop.
Shortly after I started running again, I saw a woman in front of me not exactly running “straight”. She was wobbling from side to side and just as I realized something wasn’t quite right, a race volunteer ran by me to grab onto this woman’s arm. I ran up and caught her other arm and we walked her over to a stone ledge where we sat down. The volunteer was radio-ing for medical help and I immediately started shoving salt tablets into the woman’s mouth. She didn’t have any water so I started yelling for water and out of nowhere someone handed me a water bottle. I put it in the woman’s hand and said, “DRINK! DRINK!!” She was definitely bonking – her body was shutting down. She looked at me but didn’t see me. It was very scary. I sat with her for about a minute and she slowly turned to me and in a very weak voice said, “Go…you have to go…you’re racing…”. I told her I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew she was going to be OK and besides, it felt pretty good to sit down after I had been running for 13+ miles. By now the volunteer was off the radio and medical help was coming down the running path. I handed the woman the rest of my salt tablets and told her to hang on to them. She started to get tears in her eyes and I reminded her that she would be OK. I stood up and got out of the way just as the medics arrived. I thought about this woman for the next several miles and came to realize that no matter how much I was hurting in this or any race I had done in the past, I had never, not once, gotten to the point of my body shutting down (thankfully).
I made my way through the crowds of downtown Cd’A and heard the announcer say, “Henry Reed, you are an Ironman!” Henry was one of the people staying at our B&B and I was so happy for him. I wasn’t sure what time it was but I knew if he was finishing now that he had an extremely fast race – somewhere between 9 and 10 hours. I would later find out that he placed in his age group and ended up qualifying for Hawaii! Amazing! I would look forward to hearing about his race at the breakfast table the next morning. In the mean time, I still had 12 more miles to crank out before my day was done.
I continued through the meandering neighborhoods, past the group of crazy spectators who were blasting the Rocky theme song in front of their house, past the multitude of hoses and sprinklers people had out for the athletes to run through, and finally the right hand turn that would take me out along the lake. Just before I got to the lake there were tons of banners/signs along a quarter mile stretch of road that friends/family of athletes had made and put out there as encouragement for the runners. The signs said things like “Go Dad!! Your #1” and “Run Mary Run – We Love You!!!” and “Come on Mike – We have beer for you at the finish line!” They were amusing and inspirational to read.
On the run course I saw lots of teammates – Chris and Jen, and then Julie. Julie and I gave each other the double middle finger (the “new” team sign inspired by the Texas Roller girls roller derby) and yelled “WAY TO GO!!!” as we ran past opposite each other. I laughed out loud and wondered if we offended any of the spectators – and then decided, “Who cares!” I also saw Diana, Amy, and Cam as well. Everyone was looking good. This felt like a training workout!
Running through downtown Coeur d’Alene. Second loop of the run, ~ mile 16 just before the turn around.
Mile 18 came and I was still feeling alright. As I ran along the lake, I heard a car horn over my left shoulder…beep, beep, beeeeeeep! I thought, “Who is the idiot honking their horn like that? It’s annoying!!!” I turned around and saw Leary honking and waving as he drove past me. Oops! Thanks Woob!!!! He was waiting for me at the turn-around point and when I finally made it up the short, steep climb I stopped for a smooch and he said, “Meet ya at the finish line!”
Just before I finished the long stretch along the shoreline I could tell I was getting tired and my mood was changing from positive to neutral. I decided to forgo any more Clifshot or Endurox and switched to coke and chicken broth at the aid stations, along with water. After the first few aid stations, I could feel the coke kick in and my energy level and mood was improving but I could tell that my muscles were getting very tired. I made my way back through the neighborhoods, past the Rocky theme music, and I saw Leary one more time. Geez, he was all over the place! It was great!!! I saw Jim and Jamie right after Leary and they were whooping and hollering as I ran up to them. Jamie exclaimed, “Looks like you have a shot at finishing sub-12 hours!” My response was, “Oh sh*t, you want me to start hurrying NOW?” While I had been keeping an eye on my overall time, I stuck with my mantra of “slow and easy…just keep running” for the past four and a half hours. Now all of a sudden with two miles to go I have to start racing? What the heck! I did a rough calculation in my head and with 2.2 miles left to go and my average pace up to this point being somewhere around a 10:45 minute/mile (including aid stations), I was on track to finish sub-12 hours if I kept my pace and didn’t putz around at the water stops or stop for the bathroom or chit chat with anyone else along the course. And that’s exactly what I did…I focused on the finish line and the finish line only.
15 minutes later I made one of the final turns and saw the one word I was longing for all day – it was spray painted in blue on the road – it said, “ë Finishers “. YEAY – that’s ME!!! I moved over into that lane and was secretly thankful that I was not one of the many runners coming towards me who were heading out on their second or even first loop of the run. I turned left onto Sherman Avenue and could see the tons of spectators lining the roads with the finish line about six blocks away. There weren’t really any other runners in front of or behind me so I decided to pick up the pace and use gravity and the downhill slope to help propel me towards the finish line. As I ran, people were cheering and yelling and clapping. Kids were sticking their hands out and I would high-five them as I ran past. The opening to the finish line got narrower and narrower as more and more people lined the streets – I felt like Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France! It was so cool!!!!! This was what all the months of training and the one long day of racing boils down to – the last three minutes just before the finish line when you know that everyone is pulling for you and you’re about to hear those words that every Ironman triathlete lives for. Just before I got to the finish line I did a cartwheel (just like in IM Wisconsin) and the crowd went crazy with cheering and applause and laughter. I crossed the finish line and heard those words…
SUSAN FARAGO…YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!
A cartwheel and then the finish line – YEAH!
Two volunteers appeared on either side of me, and I had a medical doctor standing in front of me staring into my eyes and asking me how I felt. I told him I was tired (duh!) but he could see I was coherent and doing OK so he let me pass without a trip to the medical tent. Did he not just see my cartwheel? Hello?!?!!!!!
Before I knew it I had a finisher’s medal around my neck, a finisher’s towel and shirt on my shoulder, and a backpack filled with cool stuff on one arm. Nothing like finishing an all day race then being loaded down with stuff like a pack mule! I was escorted over to the photo taking area and I was frantically looking around for Leary. I saw him and hollered for him to come over. We hugged, kissed, and then had our picture taken.
Tri-sherpa and #1 fan, Leary . I couldn’t have done it without him!
Leary immediately shoved an Endurox in my hand and commanded, “DRINK!” Great, just what I wanted…more sticky, sweet, syrupy, sports drink. I knew he was right and that what my body needed most right then was calories. Ironman races are all about managing caloric deficit because there is no way you can take in all the calories needed to cover what you expend in the time you need it. The stomach just can’t process calories that fast. Don’t take enough in and you end up bonking (like that woman did at mile 13 on the run), take in too much at once and your stomach cramps and then shuts down (resulting in no calories being processed which leads to bonking). The trick is to find the right amount of caloric intake to keep you moving and keep your stomach processing – and of course this varies from person to person. We saw they were giving out lots of food at the food tent, including pizza. Leary asked if I wanted some and the thought turned my stomach. I said, “Not now but in about 30 minutes I will.”
We walked (ok, I limped) down to the beach where it all began 12 hours earlier and I got in the cold water to soak my legs. It was shockingly cold but I knew it would help with recovery and reduce any swelling. We met up with two more Austin triathletes – Mark and JT. We chatted about the race and Leary kept on me to drink the Endurox. I was glad he did. He then proceeded to dial my parents on the cell phone and I talked to my Mom briefly to let her know that I was in one piece. Leary had been in touch with several people throughout the day to provide status updates on me and members of the team. There were a lot of people rooting in Austin for all of us racing and it was cool. I then talked to our good friend Dave. I gave him a quick update on the race and then asked how Ed’s race went (Ed raced the Buffalo Springs ½ Ironman the same day) – and it sounded like Ed had a great race too.
20 minutes later I was tired of being wet and I was hungry. I changed into some much appreciated dry clothes and we walked/limped over to the food tent. I was ready to eat! I checked my watch and it said I had burned roughly 9500 calories (based on my heart rate). I took in approximately 4,000 calories during the race so it looked like I had some making up to do! I had a few pieces of pizza, some fruit, and some water. Shortly after we sat down we saw Rich. He was wrapped in a tinfoil sheet/blanket (to keep warm) and was walking over towards us. He sat down and joined us for pizza. He asked if I would go get Donna – she was on the other side of the fence and didn’t think she could get in because the area was for “athletes only”. I took Rich’s finisher’s medal, one of the tinfoil blankets, and found Donna. I said, “Here, put these on and look tired. We’re going to smuggle you into the food area.” She gave me a panicked look. “I can’t do that! It’s against the rules!” I said, “Oh baloney, come on.” We walked around the far side of the food area and, with my arm around her, we “athletes” walked into the food area. She laughed and said, “I can’t believe we just did that! I told her that her and Leary were a lot alike – “follow the rules”. J As the four of us sat and ate pizza, a volunteer came over and asked us if he could get us anything to eat or drink. We asked for another round of water and Gatorade and he came back with bottles for us. THIS was a prime example of just how awesome the volunteers are at these races. Without them the races wouldn’t happen. Period.
We said our “good-byes” to Rich and Donna (knowing we would see them for breakfast at the B&B) and we went to gather up all my equipment, bags, and bike. We loaded up the car, which thankfully was parked close by and then we found a place to eat for supper. I had chicken fingers and they tasted FABULOUS! So much for my no oil and no meat diet! Around 11:30pm we left the restaurant and walked out to Sherman Avenue where athletes were still coming in – 30 minutes before the race cutoff at midnight. We cheered them on – many of them wearing glow sticks, reflective tape, or mini flashlights. I was hoping Cam had a good race and that she would be in by now. We would later find out that she was crossing the finish line a few blocks down from us at about the same time we were cheering on the remaining athletes.
What a day! It was a great race, I had a lot of fun, the athletes and volunteers were amazing, and I ran the entire run course!
The next day Neva outdid herself with a terrific breakfast. There were seven of us around the breakfast table, three of which were extremely hungry athletes! As we ate, we talked about the race, swapped race and spectator stories, and looked at the race results that Neva had printed out for each of us the night before. Then Neva brought a TV to the table and we watched the live coverage she had tape recorded for us the day before.
Donna, Rich, myself, Sally, Henry, Fred, and Leary enjoying breakfast, Wolf-Lodge B&B style!
About an hour later, Leary and I headed in to Coeur d’Alene to meet the team and family/friends for the awards banquet and breakfast buffet at 11:30am. The weather had turned cold and rainy, a far cry from the ideal race conditions the day before. Jen and Diana won awards for their age groups and Jen also qualified for Ironman Hawaii!
Jen and her “Kona Certificate”. Diana with her spectacular 4th place finish!
Later that night a group of team members got together for a celebratory dinner. Tony’s brother was a chef and he prepared a special meal for us at the house several people were renting for the weekend. It was great to share stories, toast to a victorious and successful race, and of course…to eat an amazing and fabulous dinner!
Dinner at 10th and Mountain. “The Chef” at work. Connie and Kevin tag-teaming the wine.
Leary and I stayed at the B&B for the next few days, just relaxing and meandering around Coeur d’Alene. By Wednesday morning we were packed and driving to Spokane, Washington to catch our flight back to Austin. We got home late but were very happy to see our cat Fritz (who was covered in brambles from being outside for six days) and to sleep in our own bed. The next morning wasn’t quite the same. We had been spoiled at the B&B with Neva’s amazing breakfasts and realized it when we returned to our boring breakfast of toast and cereal.
For now I am enjoying my time off from training and catching up on the rest of the things I have let slide in lieu of training these past few months. What’s next? Ironman Hawaii! My goal? A repeat of Ironman Coeur d’Alene - to have fun and to run the entire run course. J
Thanks to all the all the teammates (and their friends/families) who made this race so much fun:
Jen, Jamie, Jim, Vicki, Julie, Cheryl, Amy, Chris, Stacy, Tony, Laurie, Denise, Kevin, Paul, Connie, Cam, Diana, and everyone ‘tuned in’ via ironmanlive.com.
And thanks to those who we met on our trip and we hope to keep in touch with:
Neva, Henry, Sally, Fred, Donna, Rich
RACE RESULTS
Age Group Results (35-39)
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|
Women AGE 35-39 - IM Coeur d'Alene |
26-Jun-05 |
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|
|
|
|
|
Rank |
Name |
RANK (S/B/R) |
Age |
Swim |
Bike |
Run |
Total |
|
1 |
220/264/104 |
35 |
1:01:46 |
5:38:54 |
3:30:06 |
10:17:17 |
|
|
2 |
184/183/139 |
37 |
1:01:11 |
5:33:05 |
3:49:53 |
10:29:00 |
|
|
3 |
299/237/156 |
36 |
1:04:04 |
5:33:01 |
3:50:10 |
10:33:49 |
|
|
4 |
217/336/199 |
38 |
1:01:45 |
5:47:17 |
3:51:43 |
10:44:40 |
|
|
5 |
509/402/211 |
39 |
1:07:50 |
5:44:47 |
3:48:40 |
10:47:23 |
|
|
6 |
932/512/232 |
35 |
1:14:59 |
5:45:39 |
3:45:24 |
10:52:00 |
|
|
7 |
441/493/305 |
35 |
1:06:31 |
5:50:56 |
4:00:49 |
11:07:59 |
|
|
8 |
672/353/316 |
36 |
1:10:36 |
5:38:31 |
4:15:30 |
11:10:58 |
|
|
9 |
554/528/355 |
36 |
1:08:33 |
5:54:35 |
4:12:25 |
11:20:40 |
|
|
10 |
348/726/427 |
39 |
1:05:03 |
6:14:33 |
4:03:18 |
11:34:27 |
|
|
11 |
395/632/455 |
39 |
1:05:51 |
6:05:46 |
4:18:23 |
11:40:37 |
|
|
12 |
464/500/510 |
38 |
1:07:12 |
5:51:34 |
4:41:59 |
11:48:41 |
|
|
13 |
723/701/526 |
39 |
1:11:36 |
6:07:51 |
4:22:57 |
11:51:14 |
|
|
14 |
597/569/540 |
35 |
1:09:16 |
5:56:17 |
4:40:18 |
11:53:57 |
|
|
15 |
199/617/564 |
39 |
1:01:34 |
6:10:55 |
4:39:08 |
11:56:33 |
103 participants – Women Age 35-39.
Detailed Results (Individual)
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|
|
|
|
SWIM |
- 2.4 Mi |
|
|
T1 |
Bike |
-112 Mi |
|
|
T2 |
Run |
- 26.2 Mi |
|
|
|
Position |
Time |
Name |
Plc/Tot |
Race# |
Cat |
Overall |
Time |
100/m |
|
Cat |
Overall |
Time |
Mi/Hr |
|
Cat |
Overall |
Time |
Min/Mi |
|
541 |
11:53:57 |
SUSAN FARAGO |
14/103 |
1759 |
21 |
598 |
1:09:16 |
1:50 |
5:22 |
13 |
596 |
5:56:18 |
18.9 |
2:45 |
26 |
654 |
4:40:18 |
10:42 |