Last weekend I was in Coeur d’ Alene Idaho to watch a full Ironman triathlon. This consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride then finished up with a marathon. While watching an event like this is amazing, we were there specifically to cheer on Sara, Bo, Chelsie & John. Of that group Sara was the only first timer, the other three had completed the race in the past.
This was the first time I have seen Coeur d’ Alene in the summer months, its beautiful. We had a cabin about 30 minutes out of town that was right on the lake. The confines of the cabin were cozy with 8+ people staying there but it was always enjoyable. Most of the nights it was Sara, her parents & brother, Harmony, Gretchen, Karen & Amy. It turned out to be a laugh a minute and everyone stayed very light hearted about the upcoming race.
Thursday I was able to swim in the lake. The cold water was a little painful on my hip compared to the pool but I’m sure that will subside as time goes on. That evening we hung out at the cain & caught up with everyone.
Friday morning we headed into town so Sara could swim the course and get her first taste of the event. When I saw the swim course I kept my true reaction to myself…I’ll just say its looooong and to swim 2.4 miles it required two loops. We met up with Bo, Chelsie & John for the first time down at the swim course. After everyone get a dip in the lake they went to pick up their registration packets and Harmony and I went through the expo checking out the exhibitors. This may be a good time to mention how ROUGH the lake was. Our cabin was on a protected inlet and was pretty calm, the swim course however was another story…pretty much while caps.
Friday evening the meat eaters in the group & Harmony went to a true Idaho steak house. This place came highly recommended & I could see why. I ordered the smallest steak on the menu and had plenty of leftovers for Saturdays lunch. It may have been the best steak I have had, Harmony (the veggie of steak house group) overdosed on mushrooms.
Saturday we headed back into town to get Sara’s bike and other gear set up. The total number of competitors was 2200+, we weren’t alone down there thats for sure. It looked like the town had been taken over by carbon fiber bikes with disk wheels.
Saturday evening Andy hosted dinner at his home just west of Coeur d’ Alene. There were a ton of people there, Sara was going to have one of the biggest cheering section. This came complete with t-shirts commemorating the event. On the front of the t-shirt was a tribute to the race day motivational tool…THE COW BELL! Saturday evening was an early one, Sunday was going to start at 4am.
4 am came quick Sunday morning, Sara looked confident. She had been dedicated to training for this race and it showed come race day. We were all impressed with how calm, cool & collected she was. (It may have been a different story on the inside but she wasn’t showing it) We got to ground zero a little after 5, two hours till the starting gun. It was windy and the water was the roughest it had been all week. The athletes all carried themselves a little different, some looked like deer in head lights and others looked like it was just another day of training.
As it turns out the Coast Guard suggested that the option be given for competitors to sit the swim out but still get to bike & run due to the conditions. From what I understand this is a first in Ironman races but the conditions were that ugly. Very few people took that option, the starting gun went off and the pandemonium began. Seeing 2200 people hit the lake at once is a sight. This included people swimming back to shore after heading out only a couple hundred yards. From shore it looked bad but the stories from the swimmers made it sound even worse than it looked. The swim is one of Sara’s strongest areas and she showed it finishing 2.4 miles in an hour & twenty minutes. Bo & Chelsie also had great swim times.
Next was the bike portion of the race, I thought this what the most exciting part to watch. It was amazing to see the pro & elite athletes pulling up the hills in a hard gear and not looking taxed. Sara, Bo & Chelsie all had impressive split and average speeds on the bike. The first 30 or so miles they were all over 16 mph average. Even at that pace 112 miles takes a looooong time to ride. Many people think the bike is the key to a successful Ironman, you need to be fast but save yourself/legs for the final 26.2 miles on foot.
All three of the competitors we were watching came out of the bike looking strong. Summing up each persons marathon can be summed up like this; Sara, well trained, Chelsie, determined & Bo, blistered. All three of them finished the race with personal best times!
Watching the racers finish 14 to 17 hours after the swim started was amazing. These were mostly everyday people that took on incredible amounts of training & more important ridicules mental toughness.
The rest of the trip consisted of rest and driving.
Sara, Bo, Chelsie & John, amazing work, thanks for sharing it with us!
