Ironman Coeur d’Alene 21st June 2009

I had company for the first time on my way to an Ironman, my husband, Jeff. Usually he arrives a few days later but this time he decided to come earlier. He no doubt was wondering what he had done when I realized that our first flight was on a pencil and we were seated together…..he knew when the pilot announced that there would be SOME turbulence due to summer THUNDERstorms that his hand and or leg would at some stage be crushed by my hand!!!.....and being the good wife I am…didn’t let him downJ

We made it to CDA in one piece and were greeted by our wonderful home stay Sue Hutter. Her husband Mike with their kids Chloe and Peter were at home with food prepared for us and cupboards full to the brim! In the back fridge was beer for Jeff and Mike to ‘bond ‘with…so everyone was happy.

The weather forecast was not good for the time leading up to and including race day. We all watched it like hawks, hoping it would go up a few degrees to the late 60’s at least and clear skies. It had been cold and windy everyday with scattered showers.

Race day was cold and windy. A low of 45 and high of 55= in degrees Celsius that is – bloody freezing! It was warmer in the choppy lake than it was outside.

I was thankful for my friend Kim getting me back into ocean swimming a few weeks before as it definitely helped swimming in the wind chopped lake. The waves pounded us as we headed out and across and then coming back in you were pushed then sucked back, then pushed again. It added a bit of fun to it as it reminded me of being back in Australia, swimming out into waves as a kid and getting hammered by the waves which we thought was great fun ( except for the sand in the crutch of your swimmers from being dumped into the sand so many times!).

I used the wetsuit strippers to get out of my wetsuit then bolted for the change tent coming second out of the water. With my bag full of different clothing options due to the weather forecast I decided to put on my arm warmers and leave the thermal shirt in the bag.

Once on the bike I was so happy I had put my arm warmers on as it was the only thing keeping me warm. I couldn’t feel my legs for the first 30miles or so which made it hard to pedal properly. Away from the water it was slightly warmer but not by much.

The hilly course was lined with spectators cheering on all the athletes and waving signs about. I was grateful not to have any deer jump out in front of me on any of the downhill as one had done when training there a couple of months earlier.

Towards the end of the bike I was in 3rd and couldn’t wait to get off my Wilier Crono and into my Saucony racing flats as I thought it might be a bit warmer running!

I kept my arm warmers on, snotty and all from the water dripping from my nose due to the icy conditions….a lovely picture I know. My mum would have handed me a hankie if she were there!

I felt great running and just let my legs do their own thing. It was warmer except when I automatically threw a cup of water over my face and head. Note to self, don’t do that again! I made up a lot of time in the first lap or so on the run and was in 2nd place but the last five miles or so I started to tighten up and lost a bit of the time I had made up earlier and could not make my way up to first.

As I was running I could see Jeff, Pete and Mike screaming around on their bikes and I had to laugh as they reminded of little kids and the Rat Pack. One minute I would see them at the top of Higgins Point then a few minutes later coming out of a side street. I think Mike knew a few short cuts!

I saw glimpses of my old racing form coming back which was a good sign but had hoped to go about 15-20mins faster than I did.

Within 10mins of finishing I had changed into Saucony tights, track pants, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and my thick hooded jacket before I went hypothermic. Just a helpful note- it is extremely hard to get into tights after an Ironman race and using a space blanket as a dressing room…..our mother’s would be horrified!

After drug testing Jeff and I finally made it home before the down pour started. Mike had the fire on and heating going whilst he had cooked up a feast of hash browns ( which I drowned in ketchup and a sprinkling of salt), chicken/rice/broth soup and Elk mince in gravy ( once again with ketchup on top). After a little of each, I had a break as my stomach wasn’t feeling that great. When it did, I finished it off with ice cream - Caramel Caribou, Take the Cake and Cookie Dough! I was stuffed in more ways than one and we stayed up and chatted and waited for the rest of the clan to make their way home.

I will sit down with my coach and go over every aspect of the race and make plans for training and racing between now and Kona.

A BIG THANKS goes out to my coach Roch Frey, Matt Hoffman, PCH Sports, Saucony, Oakley, Wilier, Saris, Computrainer, B and L Bikes, Continental Tires, John Cobb Saddles, Profile for giving me some awesome bars to try and Orca for sending me a wetsuit to use. And of course to my hubby Jeff, friends and family for all your support.

DAYS AFTER THE RACE

MONDAY-

Monday afternoon was the CDA Badminton Championships in the backyard of the Hutter residence. After going through 5 racquets due to broken strings, Mike and I were the victors to Jeff and Pete. Mike had to cover most the court unless the shuttle cock came within one or two feet of me and if anything fast came, it was his! Pete dived for many a shots, looked good but didn’t do their score much good!

TUESDAY (75 temp)

I woke up and asked Sue if she minded if I join her in her morning walk around ‘the loop’ and she just hoped she didn’t go too slowly for me. Well, we took off at a rate of knots and I thought to myself, I will be alright once I warm up and get this bit of stiffness out and moving but she didn’t slow down. I found myself back in my childhood, trying to keep up with my mum as she did the food shopping and running errands. I would walk then run a bit to keep up and eventually just keeping the little running shuffle going to keep up so I didn’t get lost. It was the same with Sue! After the hilly 4mile loop we made it home and I collapsed on the lounge room floor for a couple of hours whilst Sue was full force into the gardening, Jeff went running around ‘the loop’ and  Chloe and Pete made their way from their beds.

Pete decided to take us on a hike called Mineral Ridge which was beautiful. It was about 3500ft to the top and overlooked the lake and mountains. Along the way Jeff, Chloe and Pete took it in turns for leading (as I was doing the shuffle run to keep up every now and then). The reason for taking turns was the person at the front at some stage would be ankle tapped, tripped, touched with a piece of grass on the back or told to look out for a snake. It was funny to watch. On the decent, the boys started to race as they thought I was trying to beat them to the bottom as I started to shuffle run. I was only doing this because I had gained so much momentum I couldn’t really stop. It ended up being a race down the mountain but not via the marked trail….through the bush, straight down! We all ended up down the bottom covered in a layer of dust with Pete flying down as he was already at the car, door open with drink in hand. This ended up at the famous local hamburger place, Hudson’s.

Sue had booked me a massage with local masseuse Rebecca= heaven for an hour. After this I managed to roll off the table and we met everyone down at the boat on the lake for an afternoon/sunset tour. Then to Moontime for a Mediterranean lamb burger and a shared brownie/ice cream dessert which ended up a spoon fight to get the good bits!

WEDNESDAY(86 temp)

After a few house chores and packing we headed to the lake for a day on the boat, knee boarding, skiing and tubing.

After brief instructions on how to deep water start on a kneeboard I was the first to have a go. Not listening too well to the instructions Chloe gave me, I nearly popped a shoulder and bicep trying to get up but once practiced a few times I was getting up pretty quickly and doing little jumps over the wake ( and nose diving a couple too!). Then everyone else had a turn, got the cobwebs off and we were all having a great time. Pete had to work so we dropped him off at the dock near his work then met Mike after he finished work. He drove this time I was on the kneeboard and tried his best to flip me off but I held on for dear life. I attempted a 360 but could only get half way. My arms were buggered and the tubing topped them off.

We stopped via Vertical Earth on the way home so Chloe could get her birthday present-a sweet cruiser. Within minutes of her getting it and having a quick ride in the store, Mike got a call that the house next door to theirs was on fire. We all ran out and got into the cars and flew home. The closer we got, you could see how thick and black the smoke billowing from the house was. We parked as close as we could and bolted to the house incase it had jumped to theirs. Fortunately the fire brigade had it well under control and contained…..not the sort of excitement anyone really wants but people were still out at 11pm watching them hammering boards to the windows and doors.

Not long after the fire was put out Jeff and Mike lit the BBQ and were cooking steaks and I put a salad together….probably not the best idea after a blaze but the steaks were good!