IM Coeur d'Alene - Pre-race and swim

Ironman Coeur d’Alene marked a long and challenging day, but also one of the most rewarding!  It might be impossible for me to avoid clichés in this ‘report’, since thousands and thousands of people have previously competed or participated in IM events and we all share similar experiences of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 and running 26.2.  However, this is my little corner of the universe where I get to navel-gaze, so here’s my Ironman CDA story!  

(It's going to take a while and I decided to break it up, but I'll try to be some what succinct)

One of the many reasons that I chose IMCDA was for the location and the timing, both of which meant that we could include this event as a part of a great summer road trip.  I loved that idea - not making the race the only focus of a trip but rolling it into something else.  That said, when we left Pasadena fairly early Tuesday morning and drove up I-5, my thoughts were squarely focused on Ironman and that experience.  The drive up to Coeur d'Alene was not speedy as we stopped along the way - in Klamath Falls, OR and then Leavenworth, WA (the former was along the way but we did make a diversion to visit family friends in Leavenworth).

Scenes from the road in Klamath Falls, somewhere in Oregon, and Gus, clearly enjoying the trip.

We finally rolled into Coeur d'Alene on Thursday night, but could not fully appreciate the Ironman "scene" until Friday.  There were tons of pre-race activities, processes and requirements, and I was glad that we arrived Thursday night.  Even with that somewhat early arrival, I wouldn’t describe Friday and Saturday as “relaxing”, but I did try to take it easy and avoid too much unnecessary activity.  A friend gave me good advice beforehand – “Go to the expo on Friday and then avoid all the alpha-types for the rest of the weekend”.  I say that this was good advice because every time I saw some really bad-ass looking person with an I-dot tattoo, I would freak out a bit and question my sanity AND my ability.  

At the same time, I was so excited about the fact that this was finally, really happening - HOLY CRAP - this was it!  While much of the experience still felt (and feels) a bit dreamlike to me, there were moments of sharp clarity.  One of my major check-in moments was a practice swim on Friday morning.  It was grey, overcast, chilly and a bit damp, but I told myself that I *had* to get into the lake on Friday to test out the waters.  Signing up for this race, the swim leg made me pretty anxious because I knew that it could cold and rough.  I didn't spend tons of time in the water on Friday morning, but once I stepped into the lake, I knew that I could handle the water temps and that was a huge relief.  It was a choppy swim, but I still felt comfortable in the lake.  Okay, practice swim on Friday - check!

After that, much of the day seemed to be hurry-up-and-wait, but it gave us time to drink some coffee, check out the expo, for me to get some free ART (active release therapy), to check out the expo again, and finally to check into the race!

Ah - Ironman Village - like Disneyland for triathletes!

Gus - Looking a bit grumpy about everything.

Downtown Coeur d'Alene!

Obviously I can't compare this race venue to others, but I loved that the entire focus of the town, for this particular weekend, was Ironman.  We stayed at the Day's Inn which was very convenient, and it seemed as though the entire hotel was geared to Ironman participants and/or spectators, which I'm sure was true of other hotels too.

Saturday morning was more of the same - wake up, go for a short run, go for a short swim (choppy again), then do a short bike ride and then try to rest and relax for most of the day.  My parents also arrived on Saturday, and it was all new for them - they'd never experienced any triathlon before, and suddenly they found themselves in pre-Ironman race frenzy/craziness.  It was definitely an education for them (what's a transition?  Body marking? A gu? How much do some of these bikes cost?!).  With some anxiety, I dropped off my bike and my transition bags on Saturday afternoon. I worried that I had forgotten something, but I also felt lighter - mentally and physically - once I had taken SO MUCH GEAR to check in.  After an early dinner, I was in bed by 9:30 and excited about Sunday.

Race Day - The swim:

In the previous days, I latched onto the idea that I would sleep through my alarm and arrive at the race too late to participate, but that did not happen on Sunday morning - fortunately!  I did keep thinking to myself that it was so strange to be as calm as I was, but I decided that I'd just embrace the fact that I felt okay about tackling this event.  It was a gorgeous morning, which really helped my nerves, and having dropped most of my gear on Saturday, it was one of the easiest mornings I've experienced in my triathlon "career".  

Michael, my parents and I drove to town together, but I had to deal with a few things, so I went to the transition area on my own.  At that moment, entering that sea of bikes, I tried to take in the scene: the people who were milling around, the volunteers, the participants waiting in line, getting ready, talking, being quiet...  It was the moment when everything came into focus, and I felt a bit emotional, but in a really great way.  In my little transition area, the women were so positive - giving each other support, laughing and joking, talking about whether it was our first time or not (there were a lot of us first-timers!), and I did what I could to help out by letting someone borrow my bike pump.  I was out of the transition area well before the pros took off, meeting up with my parents and Michael to wait and wait and wait.

Pre-race fun!

In the cage - Transition!

Lake Coeur d'Alene

The calm before the suiting up.

Before the Male Pro start, we found a little patch where we could see the pro men and pro women start at 6:00 and 6:05.  It was fun to focus on something else and I even stayed around to watch Andy Potts exit the water from his first lap - jeez he's fast, but I finally suited up (wetsuit, earplugs, goggles, caps, not nearly enough body glide on my neck…), hugged everyone and headed to the swim start!

As people familiar with Ironman know, last year brought a new “swim start initiative” to some of the IM races, IMCDA 2013 being the inaugural event.  Instead of the mass, washing-machine start, it’s a wave start.  Everyone has his/her own opinion about this change, but after Sunday, I am a fan of the start.  In my opinion, the swim start was nearly as rough as some others that I’ve experienced, and I’m fine with that!  Yes, there was some contact, I did get kicked in the face once and hit on the head and grabbed, but there seemed to be plenty of room to maneuver.   Also, the CdA swim is one of the most straight-forward swims I’ve done – it’s a rectangle and, also as part of the swim initiative (I think), they have TONS of buoys which helps with sighting. 

In an ideal world, I had hoped for a sub-1:20 swim.  I knew that this was possible, but that it would depend on many things, mainly on the conditions of the swim.  Let’s just say that the lake conditions were less than ideal.  The lake was ‘warm’ in comparison to other years, but it was choppy, just like my Friday and Saturday practice swims were.  Thanks to these, the chop didn’t come as a surprise, fortunately, but whoa it was rough!  As I swam along, I figured that I could toss my “goal” time out the window, but I told myself that it was a long day and that this was only the beginning of that day, so I shouldn’t worry too much about it.  I kept these thoughts in mind as I swam along, sometimes passing people, finding that plenty of people passed me, but also cruising along behind people on occasion as I tried to save some energy by drafting a bit.  While the swim was rough and the waves knocked me around a bit, I felt comfortable in the water, even though I didn't feel fast.  I did, at one point, think to myself:  “If I ever do another one of these [you know, an ironman race], I will be a stronger swimmer because this sucks!”  As I finished the second loop and exited, I glanced at the clock and realized that I'd come in just under 1:30 - 1:27:35, to be exact.   

A bit off my 'goal time' but I decided that I would look at the bright side - it could have been worse.  I had survived the swim, I didn’t feel exhausted, and I had a new open water swim distance record for myself!  These were all positives, so now I'd move on to the bike!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene - I finished!

There is plenty more to say, but like Mike Reilly announced when I crossed the finish line last night, "Kristina Bell of Pasadena, CA - YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

Here I am - Happy and exhausted!

Training recap - Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Just a few more days of taper, and then race day - in less than one week!  I'm still not too restless or anxious, although I did wake up yesterday thinking "Holy shit, what if the date of the race is today and NOT next Sunday!".  I knew that was a ridiculous thought, but I opened up the ironman.com web page with some nervousness, afraid that I would see under the "Live" tab: Coeur d'Alene.  Ack!  Fortunately, that did not come to pass, it IS the 29th, so I will continue to wait.

I realize that Sunday is the BIG event, and perhaps it's premature to reflect on training before the race, but there is something of value to think about this process separate from race performance.  I don't know how race day will go, and while I did not have a flawless training program (what would that mean, anyway?), I would describe it as "solid" and consistent, especially in April and May.  I wish that I could say that I loved every moment of training, but that would be complete BS, because there were plenty of low points when I was tired, cranky, lonely or frustrated or some combination of all of those.  However, I did enjoy seeing or feeling myself get stronger in the pool, on the bike, on the run.  While this progress rarely followed a linear trajectory, having those "aha!" moments reinforced that my sense that the training was working and that I was moving towards this ironman goal.  There were also so many milestones, small and also more significant, that boosted my confidence along the way.  Even though I have a few "I wish that I had done X" thoughts (which maybe I'll enumerate just for fun), on the whole, I followed a consistent training plan and hit about 90% of my workouts.  That's an A- and is good enough for me!

As I've mentioned, signing up for this event back in August last year freaked me out so much that I wanted to throw up after I hit the 'send' button (not sure if it was the price tag or the idea that I was now committed to this IM thing).  Fortunately, I let things settle before my thoughts really turned to training.  The beginning of the school year, as usual, trashed any sort of training schedule that I might have followed, so I waited until October before I began to reestablish my base from the summer, and then in November, I committed more fully to swim/bike/run, but without a specific plan.  I also figured out my coaching/training situation for IM in November, which came as a huge relief, and I began working with Beth in December, but training was low-key until February.  Starting then was great, as I felt mentally ready and excited to be focused about training, even though I had to deal with a quad injury.  In a way, being out of my running game for a few weeks was a good experience.  I wanted to freak out, I often thought that I would be walking the entire marathon (and I still might), but I was able to focus on the swim and bike and I learned that you can maintain some run fitness on the elliptical.  I owe Beth and Dr. Choy, the ART guy here in Pasadena, many many thanks for their patience and for dealing with my crazy thoughts.  Okay, she dealt with my crazy doubts, and he kept working on my body and encouraging me to keep running a bit further and a bit further, until finally I was back at it!

It's strange to say that I had a favorite month of training, but I loved March - the volume went up, but it still felt manageable, plus I was running again which came as a huge relief and also a source of fun and enjoyment.  I probably went slightly overboard with events in March (I had the Desert Tri, the Solvang Metric Century, and the Malibu Canyon Half-Century), but each event was different and gave me more experience on the bike or swim/bike/running without much pressure - I gained confidence and built up endurance.  May was the month of the BIG BUILD, which logically would have been the greatest challenge, but I struggled more in April.  I think (know) that much of the struggle had to do with the training/work/life balance, plus Wildflower was looming and I didn't feel as strong as thought that I *should* be.  The struggles in April did reap dividends in May, as I felt stronger on the bike and stayed healthy for the longer runs that I had to put in.

Looking back, this has been such a positive experience, no matter what happens on Sunday.  First of all, I learned tons by working with a coach.  I'd never followed much of a specific plan for training, and I really enjoyed the structure and the variety that Beth built into my weekly or monthly schedule.  While I still had plenty of flexibility within the plan, it was a slow build that allowed me to stay healthy and get stronger and the variety ensured that I wasn't bored and that I didn't get injured.  Having a coach also made me feel accountable to my Training Peaks account (and maybe a bit obsessive).  Also, I did not talk a lot about IM training at work or socially or even with CalTri, the group with which I infrequently train - I really used Beth as my main source of information which kept out a lot of noise.  Finally, she was great about guiding me through being injured, plus the build, the peak weeks, and different races and events, and she has often been more confident about my abilities than I.

While there were many moments (especially in April and May), when I did not want to wake up at 5:00 am during the week for a swim or trainer ride or on a Saturday or Sunday for a long ride, I certainly feel that those early mornings have been worth it.  I often told myself that I alone made the choice to sign up for an ironman and I now had to do everything that I could to get to the start and finish line.  Somehow, this sort of reasoning worked for me and did, more often than not, motivate me.  Before my training really kicked in, I expected to be more social for my long rides, but I ended up riding the majority of them solo, which had its own benefits (like having to change tires on my own).  At times it was hard to be so much in my head, but that was another aspect of training that I enjoyed - the solitude of training which gave me time to think and just 'be'.  This wasn't the best year for me work-wise (not that it was a "bad" year, just not a great year), and I recognize that IM training often served as a refuge for me, a place where I could see progress and where I learned to push myself.

Despite the moments of "I-don't-want-to-get-up", I never felt that this training totally took over my life.  In May, Beth emailed me my schedule and said that I should tell Mike that I'd see him in July (she was joking!).  I know that I said 'no' to a lot of school/work commitments due to IM training (didn't go the musical for the first time in 9 years; missed a class retreat; skipped out on a pre-graduation happy hour...), but maintaining some sort of social life WAS a priority to me.  Nor did I give up alcohol or gluten.  I really took the attitude that this training was one aspect of my life, an interest that enriched my life and, in many ways, kept me physically and mentally sharp, but Ironman and triathlon certainly did not define my life.

So, with race day approaching, I will be happy to find myself at the start line with the sense that I trained and tapered well.  I know that anything can happen during a race, and I'm trying to steel myself for that, but I hope that I'll be able to remember the positives from training.  I think back on my first open water swim years ago when I almost hyperventilated, and this past week, I hit Hermosa Beach and Malibu for my final open water practice swims of the week, and just couldn't believe how amazing it was to swim in the Pacific Ocean.  As I swam, I took in the long expanse of water on one side and the beach on the other, the sun rising up..  I'll think about the great rides I've experienced (suffering and all) and the places that I've seen on my bike in the LA area and beyond, rides I would have never done without the pressure of the Ironman.  And how sweet it's been to stay healthy for the run.  I feel really lucky and grateful that I've had the experience to train - and now, it's almost time to race!