I met Eric and Krisanne at Garage (not The Garage, just Garage) for dinner and pool, except we chatted so much we didn't play any pool!
I got some interesting reading recommendations: Botany of Desire, Cloud Atlas, Deep Survival, and Tipping Point. All sound very interesting! I have a backlog of books I already bought but haven't read, but I think I can squeeze a book or two in at the front of the line. I recently finished up Life of Pi and Freakonomics, and am currently reading Swimming to Antarctica. Freakonomics applies economic theory to various situations, and the logic is interesting to follow. I found the section on real estate to be particularly timely... but the book bogged down at the end with a huge analysis of the popularity of various boy's and girl's names. So far, Swimming to Antartica is very interesting, because to me, long distance swimming is a paticular kind of crazy: lengthy swims (8+ hours) in cold water (55 degrees or less) without a wetsuit - wow! Of course, long distance swimmers probably think triathletes are crazy. ;)
Eric asked me "What's next? What do you do after Ironman? Ultramarathons?" Ultramarathons are any running event longer than 31 miles, or an even 50 kilometers. I think I could do a 50K run, but then running is pretty harsh on feet, ankles, and knees. I joked that I would try adventure racing instead! Adventure racing involves map and compass navigation (using a GPS is cheating) to go from checkpoint to checkpoint. It also involves a variety of sports, from rock climbing, rapelling, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, and so forth. While there are short adventure races ("sprints"), many are 12+ hours or multi-day, and become exercises in sleep deprivation. This doesn't sound that fun to me, but perhaps there are "shorter" ones that would be OK.
Another problem with adventure racing is picking up a ton more gear for all the new sports that are involved!
I've also thought about an XTerra triathlon, which are off-road triathlons. Instead of biking on roads, it is biking on trails - i.e. mountain biking. Instead of road running, it is trail running. This sounds fun as far as mixing it up, but the problem is I'd need a mountain bike to do one. And biking is expensive enough as it is - I don't need to be getting a mountain bike just to do an XTerra tri. I might be able to borrow or rent one, however.
What is really in my future, as far as sports, is rest, and then a late season tri. With my aerobic base from ironman training, I will try some speedwork. This seems like the best thing to do.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
More Blog Entries
I packed up the car in about six trips back-and-forth (yes, I flipped out and packed far more gear than I really needed) and drove back to Kirkland. I listened to most of the audio book Fahrenheit 451, and lets just say Ray Bradbury makes a better author than narrator.
It rained yesterday and today in Coeur D'Alene, and I realize that I lucked out as far as weather. Rain during the bike portion would have made things far more difficult. It would have been colder and more miserable, more crashes and slips during hill descents, more flats, more blisters from having wet feet, etc.
Francesca wrote a blog entry about IMCdA, and so did Krisanne. Sunday was one of those days that went so well for me I want to relive it and keep the memory alive. :D
It rained yesterday and today in Coeur D'Alene, and I realize that I lucked out as far as weather. Rain during the bike portion would have made things far more difficult. It would have been colder and more miserable, more crashes and slips during hill descents, more flats, more blisters from having wet feet, etc.
Francesca wrote a blog entry about IMCdA, and so did Krisanne. Sunday was one of those days that went so well for me I want to relive it and keep the memory alive. :D
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Awards Banquet
After breakfast with my friends I went back to the expo area to pick up my finisher's certificate, official race results, and pictures. I wound up buying all my race photos and a horribly overpriced photo mat, falling victim to the need for more souvenirs. ;)
The race photos look OK - unfortunately the photographer caught me at the finish line with my eyes closed. I think when I crossed I heaved a sigh a relief and thus closed my eyes for a moment. I do have my eyes open for my other finisher's photo, and am wearing a toothy grin as well. The swim and bike photos came out pretty well. I was lucky my race number was visible for the swim, because there were stacks of hundreds of unidentified wetsuit pictures - arranged into sleeved and sleeveless piles with further categories by wetsuit brand name. A small crowd gathered to flip through the stacks, which is what I had to do for my run photo. I eventually found it and saw why it was in the unidentified section - my race number isn't visible. The run photo is a close up of me shortly after leaving transition, with white steaks of sunscreen visible, grimacing as though I were in pain. It isn't very flattering, and I must not have seen the photographer otherwise I could have at least tried to smile, because I didn't feel as bad as the picture looks!
I attended a portion of the awards banquet, which was interesting. I probably wouldn't have gone except the printed results and finisher's certificates were in the same tent, off to the side. The race officials brought up the top five finishers in each age group for both men and women, and awarded plaques. The crowd cheered and when it was over, I grabbed my DVD and left.
My friend Kandi found something cool - she told me there was a picture of me on the bike, on the official website. I searched around with the photo album viewer, until I found it.
Other than that I took it easy. I visited the hotel pool to soak, aqua jog a bit, dip into the hot tub, and finish up soaking in the pool. Yesterday's cold water bath helped out and I may repeat that again tonight.
The race photos look OK - unfortunately the photographer caught me at the finish line with my eyes closed. I think when I crossed I heaved a sigh a relief and thus closed my eyes for a moment. I do have my eyes open for my other finisher's photo, and am wearing a toothy grin as well. The swim and bike photos came out pretty well. I was lucky my race number was visible for the swim, because there were stacks of hundreds of unidentified wetsuit pictures - arranged into sleeved and sleeveless piles with further categories by wetsuit brand name. A small crowd gathered to flip through the stacks, which is what I had to do for my run photo. I eventually found it and saw why it was in the unidentified section - my race number isn't visible. The run photo is a close up of me shortly after leaving transition, with white steaks of sunscreen visible, grimacing as though I were in pain. It isn't very flattering, and I must not have seen the photographer otherwise I could have at least tried to smile, because I didn't feel as bad as the picture looks!
I attended a portion of the awards banquet, which was interesting. I probably wouldn't have gone except the printed results and finisher's certificates were in the same tent, off to the side. The race officials brought up the top five finishers in each age group for both men and women, and awarded plaques. The crowd cheered and when it was over, I grabbed my DVD and left.
My friend Kandi found something cool - she told me there was a picture of me on the bike, on the official website. I searched around with the photo album viewer, until I found it.
Other than that I took it easy. I visited the hotel pool to soak, aqua jog a bit, dip into the hot tub, and finish up soaking in the pool. Yesterday's cold water bath helped out and I may repeat that again tonight.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Ironman Coeur D'Alene
I finished in 16:16:17! Woohoo!! I am an Ironman! :)
Before the Swim
The swim was the best part of my day. IMCdA is a beach start: the pros start in the water, while the rest of us line up on the beach. When the cannon goes off, everybody rushes in and starts churning. I'm sure it is quite a spectacle and I had a really good view of it. ;) I hit my goal of swimming under 1:30 (I did 1:28:33) so I exited the water very happy. I had a few of the expected water collisions but overall I was unharmed. IMCdA makes you get out of the water after one lap and cross a timing mat - this is a little annoying, but I liked the break. Plus, I was able to adjust the velcro strap on my wetsuit. It still bit me a little, but not as much for the second loop.
The bike was tough for me. I paced very conservatively: often I would catch up to somebody on hill, but then drop back as I decided to didn't want to invest the energy to complete the pass (sometimes it meant passing 3 or 4 others). I tried to keep my heart rate down. This got me to special needs at mile 62 feeling good, but by mile 85 or so, the second loop of hills really took it out of me. It was hot and windy, and for the last 30 miles I kept calculating what I needed to average to make the bike cutoff. If I could coast faster than that average, I did. I wound up stopping at every aid station to stretch, hit the porta-potty, and pick up some nutrition. My bike computer said my "ride" time was 7:35 so I evidently had another 45 minutes of these breaks as my clock time for the bike was 8:20:17. But, I needed every one of those stops.
At Bike Special Needs
Here I am surrounded by gorgeous women... this Ironman thing doesn't seem so bad. ;)
On the bike course I saw my parents; Alexandra, Christina, Francesca, and Jen at special needs; Eric and Krisanne around mile 100. These were all really huge boosts!
Around Mile 100
I was very happy to get off the bike and start the run. I crept along at an 11 minute mile for 4 or 5 miles, but eventually I had to walk for a few minutes after each aid station. This was mostly to let my stomach settle a little after taking in some nutrition. I sampled everything, but mostly the chicken broth and water. As the night wore on my walking breaks got longer and longer - I was mentally alert (because I fell into "calculate what pace I needed to make the cutoff" mode) and felt good, all things considered, but my feet and knees were sore. By finishing so late I was able to run by glowstick, and see all the other ones ahead of me, especially in the out-and-back section along the lake. ;) Run time was 6:01:01.
"Only" a Marathon Left To Do...
Alexandra, Francesca, Jen, and Mike stationed themselves near the transition zone; my parents were a block away; Eric and Krisanne were two blocks past that; Christina and Greg drove out towards the turnaround along Lake Coeur D'Alene - so I wound up seeing friends and family quite often, which was enormous because I was starting to drag a bit on the run. Francesca walked with me for along the short turnaround from the transition zone to run special needs, and it was great talking to her and drawing on her IM finishing experience and overall huge enthusiasm!
My Amazing Cheering Section
The finish was great - despite being pretty beat, after crossing the line and hearing my name called as an Ironman and taking a bunch of pictures, I was buzzing with excitement. My parents and friends met me and we stood around and chatted for a bit, before I left to go back to the hotel and soak in a tub.
Goal Achieved!
I'm really thankful my friends drove out to cheer - it was a long day for them since I finished at 16:16. They made T-shirts and had pom-poms and I need to get copies of the pictures to upload. All the volunteers and spectators were great too - hearing somebody clapping and calling out your name is quite a boost as well.
So I got my finish and will probably go nuts at the merchandise tent. I've already purchased some stuff but there are always IMCdA logo arm warmers and I'm sure I'll see something else or order pictures. What the heck, I'm not sure I'm up for doing another one, so I'm gonna bask in this one. :)
Thanks to Krisanne and Francesca for these great photos!
Before the Swim
The swim was the best part of my day. IMCdA is a beach start: the pros start in the water, while the rest of us line up on the beach. When the cannon goes off, everybody rushes in and starts churning. I'm sure it is quite a spectacle and I had a really good view of it. ;) I hit my goal of swimming under 1:30 (I did 1:28:33) so I exited the water very happy. I had a few of the expected water collisions but overall I was unharmed. IMCdA makes you get out of the water after one lap and cross a timing mat - this is a little annoying, but I liked the break. Plus, I was able to adjust the velcro strap on my wetsuit. It still bit me a little, but not as much for the second loop.
The bike was tough for me. I paced very conservatively: often I would catch up to somebody on hill, but then drop back as I decided to didn't want to invest the energy to complete the pass (sometimes it meant passing 3 or 4 others). I tried to keep my heart rate down. This got me to special needs at mile 62 feeling good, but by mile 85 or so, the second loop of hills really took it out of me. It was hot and windy, and for the last 30 miles I kept calculating what I needed to average to make the bike cutoff. If I could coast faster than that average, I did. I wound up stopping at every aid station to stretch, hit the porta-potty, and pick up some nutrition. My bike computer said my "ride" time was 7:35 so I evidently had another 45 minutes of these breaks as my clock time for the bike was 8:20:17. But, I needed every one of those stops.
At Bike Special Needs
Here I am surrounded by gorgeous women... this Ironman thing doesn't seem so bad. ;)
On the bike course I saw my parents; Alexandra, Christina, Francesca, and Jen at special needs; Eric and Krisanne around mile 100. These were all really huge boosts!
Around Mile 100
I was very happy to get off the bike and start the run. I crept along at an 11 minute mile for 4 or 5 miles, but eventually I had to walk for a few minutes after each aid station. This was mostly to let my stomach settle a little after taking in some nutrition. I sampled everything, but mostly the chicken broth and water. As the night wore on my walking breaks got longer and longer - I was mentally alert (because I fell into "calculate what pace I needed to make the cutoff" mode) and felt good, all things considered, but my feet and knees were sore. By finishing so late I was able to run by glowstick, and see all the other ones ahead of me, especially in the out-and-back section along the lake. ;) Run time was 6:01:01.
"Only" a Marathon Left To Do...
Alexandra, Francesca, Jen, and Mike stationed themselves near the transition zone; my parents were a block away; Eric and Krisanne were two blocks past that; Christina and Greg drove out towards the turnaround along Lake Coeur D'Alene - so I wound up seeing friends and family quite often, which was enormous because I was starting to drag a bit on the run. Francesca walked with me for along the short turnaround from the transition zone to run special needs, and it was great talking to her and drawing on her IM finishing experience and overall huge enthusiasm!
My Amazing Cheering Section
The finish was great - despite being pretty beat, after crossing the line and hearing my name called as an Ironman and taking a bunch of pictures, I was buzzing with excitement. My parents and friends met me and we stood around and chatted for a bit, before I left to go back to the hotel and soak in a tub.
Goal Achieved!
I'm really thankful my friends drove out to cheer - it was a long day for them since I finished at 16:16. They made T-shirts and had pom-poms and I need to get copies of the pictures to upload. All the volunteers and spectators were great too - hearing somebody clapping and calling out your name is quite a boost as well.
So I got my finish and will probably go nuts at the merchandise tent. I've already purchased some stuff but there are always IMCdA logo arm warmers and I'm sure I'll see something else or order pictures. What the heck, I'm not sure I'm up for doing another one, so I'm gonna bask in this one. :)
Thanks to Krisanne and Francesca for these great photos!
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Taking it Easy
Today was all about taking it easy, as easy as possible. After meeting for breakfast, I returned to my hotel to pack my swim-bike and bike-run transition bags. I double and triple checked everything, and wheeled my bike into the bike racks and dropped off my bags. Tomorrow morning I'll just need to drop off my special needs bags and show up with my swim gear...
My parents got into town and found me at the bike check-in. We wandered around a bit and I pointed out the swim course to them.
After more relaxing at the hotel, I met up with my friends for dinner at the Olive Garden. Unfortunately, the Olive Garden would only sit us in groups of six, so I decided to wait another hour and go to Chili's instead, since they could seat all of us. I absolutely didn't want to have people sit separately.
Dinner was enjoyable, we chatted about various things and they helped me keep my mind off the big event.
Dinner
Seated: Greg, Christina, Eric, Krisanne, me
Standing: Mike, Jen, Francesca, Alexandra
I need to get up early tomorrow, but I know I won't be able to fall asleep anytime soon. Still, I'll get in bed and read a bit and try to.
My parents got into town and found me at the bike check-in. We wandered around a bit and I pointed out the swim course to them.
After more relaxing at the hotel, I met up with my friends for dinner at the Olive Garden. Unfortunately, the Olive Garden would only sit us in groups of six, so I decided to wait another hour and go to Chili's instead, since they could seat all of us. I absolutely didn't want to have people sit separately.
Dinner was enjoyable, we chatted about various things and they helped me keep my mind off the big event.
Dinner
Seated: Greg, Christina, Eric, Krisanne, me
Standing: Mike, Jen, Francesca, Alexandra
I need to get up early tomorrow, but I know I won't be able to fall asleep anytime soon. Still, I'll get in bed and read a bit and try to.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Expo
I spent most of this day around the expo in City Park.
In the morning I took advantage of the Gatorade Bag Check - an area in City Park where Gatorade reps would watch a bag of your items (clothes) while you swam. I wanted to find out what the water temperature was like, and get in a brief swim, so I checked my items and headed to the lake, where there was a short course of buoys marking a rectangular swim (well, three sides of a rectangle). I waded out into the water and started, pleasantly surprised to find the water warmer than I had expected. The lake was much clearer than lakes I'm used to - I could see the bottom which was around 20 feet deep! Overall, with the clear water and pleasant temperature, I think the swim will be quite nice. Afterwards, I talked to two other athletes who had a few questions about the swim course. I think they thought that was the actual course, but I told them it was far too short, the current marking was just for swim warmups.
I wandered through the expo again, stopping to pick up pamphlets and product samples, and yes, I got a few more IMCdA logo items. ;) I listened to parts of two speaker's panels, where pros held a Q&A session. The first speaker was Chris Legh, who talked at length on salt and electrolyte intake. He was the unfortunate victim of dehydration at IM Hawaii one year, which hospitalized him. He's also had trouble with cramping, so he participated in studies which found he was just losing far more than the normal amount of electrolytes through sweat - so now, he's upped his salt/eletrolyte intake for events in hot and humid conditions. Next up were a group of four pros who answered questions about their training; however all were quite cagey apparently not wanting to reveal too much info to their competitors!
It is getting more exciting here, just wandering around. I find my eye drawn to everyone's wrists, looking for the silver bracelet I am wearing.
Later in the afternoon Jen and Alexandra arrived, so I met up with them for dinner at the Dockside, a restaurant in the Coeur D'Alene Resort. It was great to see them, as I've been mostly keeping to myself these past few days. We walked around afterwards, wandering a few blocks and stopping at a candy store. Back at City Park, we noticed the swim course appeared to be fully marked with yellow and orange buoys.
We returned to their hotel and played Killer Bunnies. Now I am a fan of board games and card games, so I really liked Killer Bunnies after only playing it once. It is up there with Illuminati for wackiness and entertainment. Mike and Francesca arrived and we all hung out for a bit before I left to get to sleep.
In the morning I took advantage of the Gatorade Bag Check - an area in City Park where Gatorade reps would watch a bag of your items (clothes) while you swam. I wanted to find out what the water temperature was like, and get in a brief swim, so I checked my items and headed to the lake, where there was a short course of buoys marking a rectangular swim (well, three sides of a rectangle). I waded out into the water and started, pleasantly surprised to find the water warmer than I had expected. The lake was much clearer than lakes I'm used to - I could see the bottom which was around 20 feet deep! Overall, with the clear water and pleasant temperature, I think the swim will be quite nice. Afterwards, I talked to two other athletes who had a few questions about the swim course. I think they thought that was the actual course, but I told them it was far too short, the current marking was just for swim warmups.
I wandered through the expo again, stopping to pick up pamphlets and product samples, and yes, I got a few more IMCdA logo items. ;) I listened to parts of two speaker's panels, where pros held a Q&A session. The first speaker was Chris Legh, who talked at length on salt and electrolyte intake. He was the unfortunate victim of dehydration at IM Hawaii one year, which hospitalized him. He's also had trouble with cramping, so he participated in studies which found he was just losing far more than the normal amount of electrolytes through sweat - so now, he's upped his salt/eletrolyte intake for events in hot and humid conditions. Next up were a group of four pros who answered questions about their training; however all were quite cagey apparently not wanting to reveal too much info to their competitors!
It is getting more exciting here, just wandering around. I find my eye drawn to everyone's wrists, looking for the silver bracelet I am wearing.
Later in the afternoon Jen and Alexandra arrived, so I met up with them for dinner at the Dockside, a restaurant in the Coeur D'Alene Resort. It was great to see them, as I've been mostly keeping to myself these past few days. We walked around afterwards, wandering a few blocks and stopping at a candy store. Back at City Park, we noticed the swim course appeared to be fully marked with yellow and orange buoys.
We returned to their hotel and played Killer Bunnies. Now I am a fan of board games and card games, so I really liked Killer Bunnies after only playing it once. It is up there with Illuminati for wackiness and entertainment. Mike and Francesca arrived and we all hung out for a bit before I left to get to sleep.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
IMCdA Packet Pick-up
I picked up my race packet at lunch, when the registration tent was comparatively empty. At most triathlons, I'm used to being handed the packet and then going off on my own. Here, I met with a registration volunteer one on one and we went through everything in the registration packet, one item at a time. To be fair, there is more info to cover for an Ironman.
The volunteer wrote my race number, 678, on a blue swim cap (pink for women) and let it dry. Ironman doesn't cut any corners - this swim cap is a nice silicone one with the IMCdA logo prominently displayed, instead of the usual cheaper blank latex (hair pulling) swim cap. I received two race numbers: one with my first name printed on it, and one with my last name printed on it. Since I have a race belt I'll just use one, probably my first name, the entire time. Also in the packet were several smaller stickers with my race number, for transition bags, special needs bags, bike, helmet, and dry clothes. There were a few more miscellaneous items: a bike check-out ticket, timing chip, wrist bracelet, and eight safety pins.
After covering a few more things and slipping in some papers labeled "Final Athlete Information", she fixed the wrist bracelet to me, and told me have my timing chip scanned. She also handed me my goody bag, which contained a few sample products, and several folded plastic bags - these are my transition and special needs bags.
Wristband
I think I'm allowed to keep wearing this wristband until the next IMNA event!
My chip scanned just fine, and I had an option of getting the usual red plastic timing chip strap, or paying $5 for neoprene one. Yeah... another little way to get more money, but what are you going to do? Like many others, I decided to get a neoprene one - at least it will be reusable and not potentially cut my skin if it is on too tight.
I wandered around the expo, half of the vendors were already set up. The gear tent was stocked and ready to go. Lots of last minute things for sale - pump adapters, bodyglide, gu, spare parts of all kinds, Ironman logo tires, and so forth. A person could spend a small fortune in the gear tent and adjacent merchandise tent. :)
The volunteer wrote my race number, 678, on a blue swim cap (pink for women) and let it dry. Ironman doesn't cut any corners - this swim cap is a nice silicone one with the IMCdA logo prominently displayed, instead of the usual cheaper blank latex (hair pulling) swim cap. I received two race numbers: one with my first name printed on it, and one with my last name printed on it. Since I have a race belt I'll just use one, probably my first name, the entire time. Also in the packet were several smaller stickers with my race number, for transition bags, special needs bags, bike, helmet, and dry clothes. There were a few more miscellaneous items: a bike check-out ticket, timing chip, wrist bracelet, and eight safety pins.
After covering a few more things and slipping in some papers labeled "Final Athlete Information", she fixed the wrist bracelet to me, and told me have my timing chip scanned. She also handed me my goody bag, which contained a few sample products, and several folded plastic bags - these are my transition and special needs bags.
Wristband
I think I'm allowed to keep wearing this wristband until the next IMNA event!
My chip scanned just fine, and I had an option of getting the usual red plastic timing chip strap, or paying $5 for neoprene one. Yeah... another little way to get more money, but what are you going to do? Like many others, I decided to get a neoprene one - at least it will be reusable and not potentially cut my skin if it is on too tight.
I wandered around the expo, half of the vendors were already set up. The gear tent was stocked and ready to go. Lots of last minute things for sale - pump adapters, bodyglide, gu, spare parts of all kinds, Ironman logo tires, and so forth. A person could spend a small fortune in the gear tent and adjacent merchandise tent. :)
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