Ironman # 12 Coeur D'Alene Idaho

IM Coeur D'Alene Idaho,

This will be a blog with more pictures than words... it was a weekend about the family.  If the kids wanted to hike, we hiked.  If they wanted to swim, we swam.  If then wanted ice cream, we got ice cream... I think you get the picture.  When I got home from Germany, I was exhausted.  I tried to remain in good spirits and be as present as possible with Sunny and the kids.  The travel is hard and coming home is also hard.  It is tough to explain, but with the heavy load on my body, all I want to do is lay down.  But... in the same breath, when I am home, all I want to do is play with my kids and spend time with Sunny.... this is tough!

We geared up as a family and headed out the door to Idaho.  I am grateful that my kids travel well, so the 11 hour drive didn't scare me.  The kids were perfect and even my very hyper son Quinn did great.  Thanks Apple for your "touch".

Love these kids!!

We pulled into Idaho and headed straight to check-in to get it out of the way.  Everyone stayed in the car and I ran through the expo with 10 minutes to spare before they shut down things for the day.  We headed to Randy's house (my Idaho host) to get all settled in.  Randy is a super nice guy and had set up all the sleepong bags and pillows for the kids in a special area making them feel super special.  Sunny and I had our own room.  The house was beautiful and Randy was a super host.  We ate some dinner and then settled in for the NBA finals, where Miami ended up kicking the crap out of OKC to cement the title.  YES!  What a great way to finish the day and unwind from a long day of travel.

Our house for the weekend- Thanks Randy!

Randy, James, Sunny Jo Mama

Friday June 22 -2012

The whole family slept in today.  Sunny went for a morning run as I got things ready for my race.  Upon Sunny's return, she said she found a perfect kickin' trail for the family.  I wanted to get out for my pre race swim, bike and run early so I could spend the rest of the day with the family.  I biked around the town and the did a quick run to get the blood moving from the last race and the long car ride.  Coach Sonja had set up a group swim with all her athletes and invited me to come along.  The water was FREEZING.  It takes a good 90 seconds of your face burning from the cold before it adjusts.  A key on race morning will be to jump in and keep your head down and just swim.  Don't pull up or you will get run over!   I am glad I did the swim as it prepared me a little for Sundays swim start.  I also met up with Robert from First Endurance who is doing his first Ironman in many years.

It is Rameek from my first race in Naples!

Robert from First Endurance

Me and coach Sonja

At the Rudy Project booth with Heath and Kona inspired winner!

After my morning workouts I headed back to the house for a quick lunch and then it was off to the trails for a family hike.  It was the perfect hike for our little people, not too steep and not too long.  Here are some shot of the mini adventure.....

Lucy, Dolly, Quinn, Sunny, Daisy and Lily

James and Quinn

James and a ray of Sunshine

Lily,Lucy, Dolly, Quinn, and Daisy

Found a cool hut!

Taking a break in the shade - Fruit Snacks!

Crazy face time.

Sippy and a walking stick

After the hike we went to Target where the kids could spend their hard earned allowances in the dollar section.  They have been great at saving their money for these trips.  They help mom around the house and save up for anything special they want.  Sometimes the things they chose to spend their money shocks me... but it is their money.  We headed to the park to play on the swings and get out some additional energy before we head to Spokane for a BBQ with my brother-in-laws brother, Ben Light and family.

Swing little man.

Dolly loves to swing

I'm already too cool to hold on...look at me!

These girls can climb - Lucy

Lily.

Ice Cream after the park!

We had a great time at Ben Lights house for a BBQ and met a great couple there.  Bodie and Katie were there and had lots of questions for both Sunny and me.  Bodie is new to the sport of triathlon and has signed up to do Ironman Coeur D'Alene in 2013.  The kids had fun playing with new kids and we had some good relaxing time with the adults!  Thank you Lights and Wilson's for taking good care of us with in your State.

Sunny, James, Bodie and Katie

Saturday June 23, 2012

The day before the race should always be mild with as much time spent off your feet as possible..... but I had the family with me and we had beach on the schedule today, so off we went.  I was meeting the Coeur D'Alene press by the water for an interview and picture for the paper on Sunday morning.  I didn't realize it at the time, but my story landed front and center of the front page - what an honor.  They titled the article "Meet Mr. Ironman" Oh boy!!  You can click on the link below to read the article.

http://m.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_61c9492e-ab87-54db-87e5-362ccf0793a3.html

While the kids played in the freezing cold water, I wandered around and went and chatted with Jeremy at the Altra booth.  While I was there, I ran into an athlete of mine... Mr Peter Vidmar.... Olympic Gold medalist in Gymnastics.  His son was here to get redemption from a few difficulties he had during Ironman St George.   Good luck little Vidmar!!!

Dude is crazy!

Jeremy and the Iron Cowboy!

After getting the kids out of the water we headed to lunch with aspiring Ironman Jared Lees.  He has tried 2 times to finish the Iron distance prior to Coeur D'Alene, but with no success.  He too ran into troubles in St George (like many others did) and then again at Ironman Texas.  I offered to help him with only 6 weeks to get him ready for the race in Idaho.  With limited time, we covered as much ground as we could to get him ready.  He had some major nutrition issues so we worked on a solid game plan with First Endurance products.  I was bold and guaranteed his finish!! The rest of Saturday was spent back at the house just relaxing.

Take note that in this picture we are BOTH wearing finisher shirts.  Way to go Jared and HUGE congrats.  Well deserved!!!

Sunday June 24th

Ironman #12 - Coeur D'Alene Idaho

Sunny woke up nice and early with me and took me down to the race site then headed back to the house.  Ironman isn't the most spectator friendly sport especially with kids.  Ironman and kids = a really long poopy day for mom.  So, we always agree that they can sleep in, play all morning long then come support me during the marathon portion, where I would be able to stop for hugs and support.  The run is where I like the support anyways.  My face is in the water during the swim, we move pretty fast and cover a lot of ground on the bike, so the run is the best place for support!  I felt really calm and relaxed for this race and an Ironman on the weekend is becoming normal.  My body is adjusting to the stress and I have a pretty solid nutritional and pacing game plan in place.

SWIM START VIDEO - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lllv4gVSyI

The swim start was INSANE.  I have done a lot of mass start to this point and this one by far was the most violent.  There just wasn't any open space or free water.  Usually things thin out and get less hectic.  And at the very least things get spread out enough by the second lap to be less crazy.  Well, not in CDA!  It was a fight from the word "go" 'till I finally made it to transition.  It was by far the most aggressive swim I have ever swam....by far!!!  I had a rough experience in Canada last year, but it was just the first 400 meters.... this was all 3900!  It was a two loop swim and I was surprised with my swim time of 1:13:32!  We found out days later that a man had died in the water... I knew it was rough... see the story at the link below.

http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_cd5007ed-fb07-5d6a-95a5-bd8f33651da7.html

I won the fight!!!

I expected the bike to be freezing cold after coming out of that water.  I threw on arm warmers and a skull cap for the ride.  The wind had picked up on the second loop of the swim and was still present for the first stretch of the bike.  I was surprised and managed to stay warm.  My biggest concern was my feet, so I took extra time to put in my compression socks in transition.  I managed a really consistent bike ride and was really happy when I saw Jared out there still making progress.  The course was much hillier than I had expected, but the course really doesn't matter in Ironman racing.  We are all on the same course on the same day... what ever the course or condition is, you must stay within your limits, so it really doesn't matter.  The most important thing is to have a game plan and stick to it!

BANG!

I felt really good on the bike today and the time actually went by rather quickly.  I headed out on the run excited to see some friendly faces!  I threw on my cowboy hat and started down the road.  Within the first mile, I saw my biggest fans.  Sunny and all the kids were sitting there waiting to cheer me on.  I get all emotional when I see them, but I try not to show them that.  The run was a double loop along the lake.  The aid stations were well staffed with awesome volunteers and enthusiastic people.  It was amazing to me how many people had read the paper that day and recognized me out on the course.  I had a lot of fans in Idaho and lots of people cheering for the Iron Cowboy.  It was one of the more fun runs I have done this year.  It started to get a little hot, but for the most part the weather today was perfect.   I had a great race and finished in a solid time of 11:36:54.  It was a GREAT weekend with Sunny and the kids before I head out to Europe for my longest stretch of the year!  Europe here I come, ready or not!!

Greeted by my biggest fans!

Quinn would sprint out with a HUGE smile on his face.  Made my run worth it.

Loyal Cowboy supporters

Staying Steady

All the way to the finish!