CP's IM RACE REPORT
I arrived in Cda a week early so that I could get acclimated to the cold water. This was my biggest concern as I didnt know how my body would respond to mid 50's temps. The weather in Cda was amazing as it was over 80 degrees and sunny. It stays light till after 9 pm which keeps the days long and the nights short.
On Wednesday morning, I made my way down to the water with my wetsuit and watched several triathletes getting in and out of the water. People looked so cold getting out of the water and you could sense the nervousness in those that hadn't yet been in. It didn't help that a couple of local kids told me the water was cold!! Great, I thought!! It was plenty warm out but they were shivering and their lips were blue. I put on my wetsuit and tried to make some nervous conversation before I would take the plunge. I kept getting the same response that its not bad and is fine after the first 5 minutes. I walked to the waters edge to rinse out my goggles and the water was frigid. I took a few deep breathes, set my watch so that I could keep track of how long I would be in there, and too the plunge. The first thing I noticed was how cold my face was instantly! I just kept swimming and about 5 minutes later it didn't seem so bad. I was amazed at how I could swim pretty easily in this brutally cold water. I ended up swimming for 35 minutes and talked to other triathletes for awhile. Disaster 1 averted as I started to feel a lot better about completing my first ironman.
Throughout the week I had family (brother, mother, stepdad,) and Ann arrive so I was playing chauffeur and just trying to stay relaxed. My stomach was in knots the whole week leading up to the race. The one thing that surprised me was the logistics. I couldn't believe how much stuff I needed for race day! I had made lists ahead of time and went through them at least twice. I also had to adjust my clothing plan as a cold front came through on Thursday and dropped temps back into the 50's. I bought some neoprene socks for the swim and toe warmers for my cycling cleats. Both of these purchases would turn out to be money for the race.
I did one last swim on Saturday morning and caught my first ice cream headache. That didn't do well for the nerves, but I figured that my neoprene cap was too high on my forehead and also decided I would put some vasoline on my head to buffer the cold water. Both strategies turned out to work well for me on race day!
Fast forward to race morning:
The Swim:
I woke up at 3:45 to 43 degree temps and what looked to be a calm sunny day. After breakfast I gathered my bags and put on 3 layers of clothes to try to stay warm. My brother was kind enough to take me down to the start and stayed with me while I prepared my bike. I had to take off 2 layers to get body marked and man was that cold! I finished getting my bike ready, said thanks to my bro, then headed for the changing tent. I spent some time hanging out in there as I didn't want to change out of my warm clothes just then. About 6:15, I changed and headed towards the water to watch the pro start at 6:30. I had on my wetsuit, swim socks, ear plugs, and 3 swim caps and was still cold. After the pro's took off (and I was surprised by how few there were), the age groupers were told to move down to the start. There were 2,500 age groupers and they squeezed us into about a 50 yard section of beach. We were told to only go waist deep so I went in the water and dunked my face a few times to try and get passed any cold water headaches. The pro's came through on their second lap and the beach was completely full of age groupers. I decided to stay outside but near the front. I'm guessing the beach was about 20 deep. There were racers everywhere. I said good luck to my training partner and coaches wife, Wendy, and prepared for the cannon. I heard the boom and then we were off. I was only 2 deep so proceeded into the water to battle my way to the first turn buoy. The course was a long rectangle so we had a pretty straight half mile before the first turn. I was surprised by how much open water I had as most were heading to the inside. I stayed outside but had to deal with a few swimmers cutting across but tried to stay calm. As we neared the first buoy unlocked my head up to site and took in a full mouth of water. Man were my lungs burning and it caused me to stop swimming and cough a few times. I went right back to swimming and worked my way around the outside of the buoy. It was really hard to see the next buoy as we were looking directly into the sun and it was chaos in the water. I tried to ease back into my stroke and guess at where the next buoy was. I found myself too far outside so had to work my way back inside and lost some time. I made my way back to the beach feeling pretty good. I exited the water and calmly walked through the timing arch. I looked at the clock and it showed 39 mins, so I was right about where I thought i would be. I was definitely dizzy but just kept going. On the second lap, more clear water, but I was starting to notice that I couldn't straighten my fingers to grab water. It felt liken I was doing fist drill as no matter what I tried, I couldn't cup my hands. The second loop felt longer but with less people to battle, so it was a good loop for me. I exited the water and saw 1:22 and was happy with that considering the conditions. I was completely out of it at that point. I was in a fog and it was difficult to even walk, so I made my way slowly to my gear bag and stood in line for the changing tent. I was shivering when I entered the tent and just sat there for about 5 minutes to try and calm myself and get my composure. I had a hell of a time getting my socks off, then even harder effort in putting on my arm warmers. My fingers were locked in a half open position and even my jaw muscles froze up at some point. I must of looked like a stroke victim! I finally got some much needed help from a volunteer and was finally off to my bike. Only later did I learn that my transition time was a whopping 17 minutes! Oh well. Honestly, I think had I moved faster that the first hour on the bike would've been even more sketchy then it turned out to be. I'm glad that I took the time needed to gather myself and my faculties!
I woke up at 3:45 to 43 degree temps and what looked to be a calm sunny day. After breakfast I gathered my bags and put on 3 layers of clothes to try to stay warm. My brother was kind enough to take me down to the start and stayed with me while I prepared my bike. I had to take off 2 layers to get body marked and man was that cold! I finished getting my bike ready, said thanks to my bro, then headed for the changing tent. I spent some time hanging out in there as I didn't want to change out of my warm clothes just then. About 6:15, I changed and headed towards the water to watch the pro start at 6:30. I had on my wetsuit, swim socks, ear plugs, and 3 swim caps and was still cold. After the pro's took off (and I was surprised by how few there were), the age groupers were told to move down to the start. There were 2,500 age groupers and they squeezed us into about a 50 yard section of beach. We were told to only go waist deep so I went in the water and dunked my face a few times to try and get passed any cold water headaches. The pro's came through on their second lap and the beach was completely full of age groupers. I decided to stay outside but near the front. I'm guessing the beach was about 20 deep. There were racers everywhere. I said good luck to my training partner and coaches wife, Wendy, and prepared for the cannon. I heard the boom and then we were off. I was only 2 deep so proceeded into the water to battle my way to the first turn buoy. The course was a long rectangle so we had a pretty straight half mile before the first turn. I was surprised by how much open water I had as most were heading to the inside. I stayed outside but had to deal with a few swimmers cutting across but tried to stay calm. As we neared the first buoy unlocked my head up to site and took in a full mouth of water. Man were my lungs burning and it caused me to stop swimming and cough a few times. I went right back to swimming and worked my way around the outside of the buoy. It was really hard to see the next buoy as we were looking directly into the sun and it was chaos in the water. I tried to ease back into my stroke and guess at where the next buoy was. I found myself too far outside so had to work my way back inside and lost some time. I made my way back to the beach feeling pretty good. I exited the water and calmly walked through the timing arch. I looked at the clock and it showed 39 mins, so I was right about where I thought i would be. I was definitely dizzy but just kept going. On the second lap, more clear water, but I was starting to notice that I couldn't straighten my fingers to grab water. It felt liken I was doing fist drill as no matter what I tried, I couldn't cup my hands. The second loop felt longer but with less people to battle, so it was a good loop for me. I exited the water and saw 1:22 and was happy with that considering the conditions. I was completely out of it at that point. I was in a fog and it was difficult to even walk, so I made my way slowly to my gear bag and stood in line for the changing tent. I was shivering when I entered the tent and just sat there for about 5 minutes to try and calm myself and get my composure. I had a hell of a time getting my socks off, then even harder effort in putting on my arm warmers. My fingers were locked in a half open position and even my jaw muscles froze up at some point. I must of looked like a stroke victim! I finally got some much needed help from a volunteer and was finally off to my bike. Only later did I learn that my transition time was a whopping 17 minutes! Oh well. Honestly, I think had I moved faster that the first hour on the bike would've been even more sketchy then it turned out to be. I'm glad that I took the time needed to gather myself and my faculties!
The Bike:
I was pretty cold leaving T1, but headed out on my bike in hopes that I would warm up. The road was really crowded as it felt more like a bike race then a triathlon. I rode very conservative to make sure I didn't take anyone out as I was still shivering and had trouble handling my bike. The sun was up and the air was definitely warming. It also helped that I had on arm warmers underneath my long sleeve shirt under my jersey...yeah that's right, 3 layers to warm up!! I didn't really care so long that I could keep me from shivering. The first section is through town then out to a 10-mile out and back that is beautiful and runs right next to the lake. There is 1 climb (1/2 mile at 6% grade) that we had to deal with. The first 20 miles went by quickly as we turned North to head to the hills. I was actually looking forward to the hills as I knew they would warm me up. The spectators were lined up throughout town and on the way up to the hills and kept me smiling all the way through the course.
The Hills that never end!! Ok, so when I scouted this course earlier in the week, I noticed the hills looked short but steep and they seemed to go on for about 25 miles. I had no idea how long that would last!!! The first section is pretty short, steep and with some technical decents. The course weaves through Hayden Lake and is beautiful but challenging. This is when I first felt my left glute start to act up. I had tweaked it on a ride just the week before the race and was concerned it would give me trouble. I put my bike in an easy gear and just spun my way through these hills. I noticed people already struggling as I just pedaled right by. I suppose some of that had to do with my 1:22 swim followed by a 17 minute transition (ie. I was surrounded by slower riders), but it was good mentally to be passing so many athletes!! It kept my mind off my glute and allowed me to focus on keeping a nice pace (albeit conservative). We hit "The Wall" next and it was steep but didn't feel like it was anything different then some of the hills (i.e. Heartbreak Hill) here in Hawaii. I cruised up that and pushed on. The hills just kept coming and really didn't let up for another hour to hour and half. It was a very long ride and I knew the 2nd lap would be really challenging as we would hit those from miles 80 - 100. I finished the hills and headed on my trek back into town.
I felt good as I re-entered the town of Coeur d'Alene and the crowd was pumping us up as we rode by. I noted my first lap was 3:05, so I was on-time with my estimate of 6 hours. My nutrition was spot on and I was just concentrating on eating and drinking. I did notice that it warmed up quite a bit and actually took off my arm warmers. I also noticed that I was going through my gel at a faster rate then I anticipated, but drinking less, so I opted to stop at Special Needs to pick up my other flask. This proved to be a good move as I ran out of gel in the first flask around mile 90 - 95. While I felt good, it was tough mentally to think about riding another 56 mile loop and head back into those hills from HELL!! I made my way through town, to the out and back, and then turned North again to head to the hills. My glute was still acting up, but I tried to ignore it and just keep my pace conservative. I stretched it at Special Needs and it felt alright, so just pushed on. I chatted with a few other riders on the way back to Hayden Lake and that made the time & miles go by faster. I was getting concerned because I hadn't seen my support team yet. I though they would be in town, but I stumbled upon them on my way up to Hayden Lake. What was funny was they didn't see me, but I saw them and yelled out. They were all wearing a shirt with my picture on the front that said "Proud supporters of Craig Powers and his quest to be an Ironman. Keep moving Craig" It was a bright red shirt and pretty hilarious! I couldn't believe they had put a picture of me on the front (in color no doubt). They had all kinds of signs and seemed to be having a great time. It was a nice lift for me and I looked forward to seeing them again on my way back into town. Before I knew it, I was at mile 80 and back in the hills. The second round started pretty good, but then I had to stop and go to the bathroom. After I started back up, I noticed my bike making a weird noise, so I ended up stopping twice to try and figure it out. I never did and pushed on in hopes that it wasn't anything major. The noise eventually went away, so something must've been rubbing, but I swear that I couldn't figure it out!!
The Wall x2 As I finished the first section of hills, we hit the wall and it was quite entertaining. I felt good as I had kept the pace conservative, but clearly alot of athletes were struggling. I actually watched one guy go off the road and fall over about half way up the hill. As I rode by, I commented that he almost saved it (which he did) and he smiled and just nodded...He was in good spirits as everyone was struggling and pain is always more fun when everyone gets to experience it!! I couldn't help it, but I was just smiling and pedaling up the hill like it was a practice day. I know, I know, I should've pushed it harder, but I was concerned about my glute and that I wouldn't be able to run, so kept it easy. It was really hard to keep the pace that easy, but I just convinced myself this was the right thing to do. Besides, I was still passing people left and right...Ah, which brings me to this young lady that kept yo-yoing with me throughout the 2nd lap. She was horrible on her bike. I mean all over the road and I found myself just watching to see what she would do next. It became so comical that I found myself watching rather then racing!! In fact, she kept her bike in the big ring in the toughest gear almost the entire time. I was convinced that she would blow up, but she never did. In fact, I saw her on the run 3x and she was cruising!!! This girl must have the strongest legs in the world. I could not believe it!! It was great to keep my mind off the fact that we had been out there over 5 hours and still climbing rollers...
T2
I finally finished the 20+ miles of hills and really looked forward to heading back into town and seeing my family once again. I pumped my fists when I saw them and stuck out my tongue with a big smile as I was feeling good but tired of being on the bike at this point. I was almost at 6 hours, but didn't care as all I wanted to do was finish the ride with my glute intact so that I could run!! I pulled into the last out and back, put my bike in an easy gear and just tried to spin the lactic build up out of my legs. It was a great feeling to see the "Finished" sign and head into T2. By now the temps were close to the mid-60's and it was beautiful out. Perfect weather for a marathon I thought. I took one last sip of gel and pulled into T2. The handlers took my bike right away and I was off trotting to find my T2 bag and one last change of clothes. I found my bag and walked into the changing tent. This time I had full use of my hands and a really nice volunteer there to help me. One thing that I did notice was that I forgot to put a running shirt into my bag! I was thinking how is this possible as I went over my list about 5x since I packed it. Only later did I discover that I didn't have it on my list...duh!! Oh well, I wasn't going to let something small like this derail my great day. I just put on my long sleeve that I had underneath my jersey, put on some sunscreen, grabbed my nutrition, and thanked the volunteer for all of his help. I trotted out of the tent thrilled to be on the run portion of the very long day!!
The Run:
I really thought that I could run under 4 hours in this event. I started out around 8 minute pace and it felt pretty solid. Unfortunately, that only lasted about 6 miles. After I made it out of town, we had to double back over the bike course and run that 1/2 mile at 6% grade. That hill must've taken it out of me as my pace really slowed down. I guess the run course used to turn around at the top, but now they had us go down the backside about another 1 - 1.5 miles. This, in essence, added another long climb on the backside as you made your way back to town. It wasn't steep, but it was a killer on the 2nd loop. I didn't feel tired, as I was watching my pace drop out of the 8's and into the 9's. I kept wonder what the heck was going on, but just pushed through and headed back into town. I was passing alot of people so felt like I was going faster then my Garmin was telling me. I have a love/hate relationship with my Garmin and today I was definitely leaning towards the hate side!!! As I rolled into town, I found Ann and my family once again cheering and having a great time. I gave them a thumbs up and smile as i made it to the turn around. As I turned around, the road turned upward and we had to climb a bit to get out of town. It wasn't steep but I was tired. I looked at my brother, shook my head, and just stuck out my tongue like I was tired. He said later that he knew the 2nd lap would take alot longer, and boy did it ever. My first half was 1:55 which was alright considering my drop off in pace. I knew at that point that a sub-4 hour marathon was probably not going to happen. The next 6 miles were really tough. I walked every aid station and started to make deals with myself to run to get to each aid station. I also made a deal that i would walk the hill. It's amazing the ups & downs of an Ironman. I had heard and even experienced some of this in training, but nothing lasted 12 hours and had the duration/severity of this. I knew that I would rebound, so I just told myself to eat and keep going. My nutrition was still pretty good as I stayed on plan, so it was an energy thing. I just think that the cold swim and 1st hour shivering on the bike took it out of me!!
At this point, I tried to break the remaining miles into manageable pieces. Thinking that I still had roughly 12 miles to run was overwhelming, so I figured that I had 2 10k's left. I remember Raul (my 1st triathlon coach) state that it's only 4 10k's at the end of an Ironman and somehow that made it seem possible...Have no idea why, but it worked. I saw my coach, Eric, on his last lap heading into town and he managed a smile and thumbs up, but I could tell he was hurting too!! I started pushing myself to just get to mile 18. For some reason, I knew that once I got there, that I would finish! Again, there was no real logic at this point, but I had to try and convince myself as I was putting in 10 minute miles. As I walked the aid stations and that long, long hill, I noticed that my feet hurt. However, when I ran, they didn't hurt. How is that possible? It was actually harder to walk then run. In fact, I was beginning to feel like I was forgetting how to walk. I asked another guy that was running/walking my pace and he was experiencing the same thing. Amazing how your body really starts to break down and you forget just basic movements!!
Once I hit mile 18 and finished the long hill, I ran down the backside and through the aid stations. One aid station had all the volunteers dressed up as pirates and the em-cee was yelling that they had "Grog, Grub, and Wenches...you can take all the Grog & Grub, but not the Wenches" Cracked me up as I needed a good laugh. There was also a group playing bagpipes at the top of the hill, which helped along the way!! I wasn't expecting that on the run!! The miles were going really slow at this point and I didn't think that I would ever get off this section of the course. As I walked the final aid station on this road, I took in some pretzels. This proved to be a bad idea, even though they tasted great, as my mouth was so dry that I ended up inhaling them rather then eating them. I swear that I blew out pretzel over the next mile running. I had to laugh at myself as I remember doing this as a kid!! As I finished and turned to get off this never-ending road, I saw my training partner (and true Iron Woman) Wendy. She had broken her arm 4 weeks prior and was running a good pace. I just routed her on and it gave me strength to push past mile 22 and head into town. As I entered the town streets, there were several big college parties where people were drinking, jamming music, and just having a blast. It was great to give them a fist pump and smile as they all cheered and toasted me as I ran by!! I kept thinking that I looked forward to a beer after this damn long race!!
I finally made it to the split in the road (mile 24) where you went left for the finish or right for the 2nd lap. I was thrilled to go left and the volunteer said "Doesn't it feel great to be heading left to finish" That was the understatement of the day. I picked up my pace as I heard the crowd and noticed that I was back under 9 minutes for the first time since about mile 6. The crowd was amazing as the course took me down the main street of the town. Spectators were lined on both sides of the street for about a mile. It was like the finishing chute was miles long. I waved, smiled, pump my fists, cheered, cried, and experienced every emotion practically as I made my way towards that finish line. The same finish line that I'd dreamed about for the past 6 months while training my butt off. At about 20 yards out, I saw Ann and my family jumping up and down!! I slowed, pointed at each of them with both hands, and made my way to the finish line. All my emotions were pouring out and I was just trying to stay somewhat composed. I finally heard Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) say
CRAIG POWERS from Hawaii, You are an IRONMAN!!!
It was amazing to hear those words and I was caught at the finish by 2 wonderful volunteers that held me up, took off my timing chip, gave me water, and took me to get my finisher photo.
In the end, it was an AMAZING experience and a huge accomplishment in my life. All those training hours and miles really paid off as I never had a doubt that I would finish on that day!! Thank you to all of my great family and friends, who supported me throughout training. In particular, Ann, Brian, Mom, and Jim for making the trek all the way to Northern Idaho to stress out for 12 hours while I tried to finish this EPIC Journey. A shout out to my friend Jason who was my inspiration for completing my first Ironman. You are the MAN!!!! Also, to my friend Colleen who had conquered Cda as her first IM in years past and helped me along the way. To my many training partners that kept me focused along the way!! And finally, to my coach Eric and swim coach Chad, for all of the effort in teaching me what it takes to be an Ironman!!
I'm signing off now on this blog. I sure hope you have enjoyed reading and experiencing this amazing time in my life. This journey has brought me new confidence that I had been lacking and a bright outlook on my future ahead. Much love and Thank you!!!
