Ironman Coeur d'Alene w/ youtube video

It was pointed out recently that there hasn't been a post on here since March....well, we've been busy and frankly life has been in the way.  There is a ton of things that should end up here, maybe you'll see a lot of it sometime soon....

We'll start with the most recent event - Sarah's Ironman triathlon at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  The race consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run.  It's incredible to watch, can't imagine doing it and the feeling when you finish.

The day starts early - I think Sarah and I were in Coeur d'Alene around 5:15 am or so, we were staying 30 miles or so away in Spokane, so we had to get moving.

Body Marking - Bib #, age, etc.

 After a final check, Sarah got on her wetsuit (it was definitely needed) and it might have been the last time I saw her smile until around 8:30 pm.

The swim starts with a 'rolling start' - it took the nearly 3,000 athletes eleven minutes to make it through the start line.  It was a two-loop, out and back swim --- again, totaling 2.4 miles.  

Swim Start

Water temperature was 62-63 degrees (Sarah might correct me, trust me, she knows) and believe me, it was cold to the touch.  Two brave or idiotic males did the swim wearing only a Speedo....

The entire swim happens right in front of you, making it easy to watch and look for your athletes finish.

After the swim, they transition to bike with the help of volunteers who peel the wetsuit off you - the nightly news called it the 'banana peel'.

Start of the 112-mile bike

It was windy race day, causing problems for the swim (lots of big waves) and the bike.  You can ask Sarah about her bike, but most or all of the people that I talked to said the bike was rough.  Most people had the look of relief as they finished the bike, glad to be done.

Bike finish

After you finish the long bike ride, who wants to run a marathon?  Well....that's what you do in this race.

Run start

Weather that day had everything; sun, wind, clouds, low temperatures, temps in the 70s and rain during the run.  Standing in the finishing chute was fun, the looks on the athletes faces as they were  almost done was fantastic.  It was loud - yelling, cheering, clapping, etc.  Every finisher was told as they neared the finish line:  You are an Iron Man.

Sarah - You Are an Iron Man.

It was a fantastic scene to take in, maybe not run the race, but the scenery was nice.  Here's a panorama of the beach area (that dark line on the right?  That's were almost 3,000 athletes left the water after the swim.  The picture was taken at least 4 hours after the swim).

If you want to see what it's like on race day, I recommend you check out the youtube video 2014 IRONMAN Coeur D'Alene: Race Day.