Ironman Coeur d'Alene - Sunday 6/26/11 - Race Day! - RUN
Ahhh I was so glad to be off of that saddle and sitting on a folding chair if only for a moment. I unbuckled my bike shoes and slipped into my running shoes, fearing the onset of another cramp. The cramp never came, and I threw on my race belt and visor, and shuffled out of the tent and into the afternoon sunlight.
As I exited the Run Out area, I felt relatively strong and was running a 9 minute mile past all the spectators and best of all, my family and support crew. I trotted into town knowing that my pace would slow down, so I was ready to accept a 10 minute mile or so. Minutes later, I looked down at my Garmin wrist watch which indicated I was cruising at a 10:30 pace. What? Ok that's cool, I thought, I just have to keep it under 11. As I exited town and headed through frat house row, I looked again, and my Garmin read 11:30/mile. Oh man! Ok that's cool, I thought once again, I just have to keep it under 12. I played this game until my pace settled into a blistering 12 - 12:15 mile.
My strategy was simple: run to every water stop, then walk while hydrating and eating. I'm proud to say that I stuck to that plan with the exception walking part of same hill where I cramped on my bike. I crested that hill and headed to the turnaround point, which had a beautiful view of the lake. The sun was still up, and the road was well populated with runners and walkers moving at various speeds. As I headed back to town, I realized that the bottles in my fuel belt had rarely been touched and that I was lugging at least a pound of stuff around my waist. I was taking in PowerBar drink and cola at the water stops, with the occasional pretzel thrown in for substance.
At the halfway point, I tore off my fuel belt and tucked it into my special needs bag with the intention of retrieving it later. Needless to say, that's the last I saw of it. I ran down the main strip one more time and hit the turnaround there. I stopped to greet Alex and my mom, get some hugs and some energy to finish the second half of the marathon. Somewhere along the run back out, I started thinking about my father. I actually had a conversation with him, which resulted in me getting choked up, literally, enough so that I couldn't breathe. I told him to quit fooling around, and he told me to quit crying and get this thing done. I sucked it up, and continued on.
The sun was starting to drop, and at around mile 18, I made a friend as we came out of the water stop together. He was a Bostonian, a little older than me, and we shuffled along at the same pace. His name was Angelos, and we pushed each other mile after mile, never letting the other give up. The temptation to walk was strong, but he kept me honest. At one point, with about 7 miles left to go, I was so exhausted that I told him to go on ahead of me. The sun had fallen, and I was ready to join the walking dead on their way back to the city lights. He wouldn't have it. He said, "I already blew my time. We're going to finish this together. Come on let's go!". I ran beside him as we continued our crusade. I told him that he was a machine and that I was impressed by his tenacity. His response was "It hurts like hell, but I just run through the pain." And I knew that's exactly what I needed to do.
Less than three miles from the finish, we ran past fraternity row for one last time, glow sticks in hand. The roads twisted through the dark town as I struggled to stay on his tail. Two turns to go, and I hear my name being called by Sedonia and her parents! I get some hugs, and they charge Angelos with the responsibility of getting me across the finish line safely. We can hear the music, the crowds, and Mike Reilly, the "voice of Ironman". We make the final left turn onto Sherman avenue, and I was blown away by the spectacle that awaited us at the finish line. I told Angelos to go through first, but he insisted that I go ahead of him because I earned it (as if he didn't)! People were rooting for us every step of the way, screaming, shouting, and high-fiving!
The runner in front of me was zig-zagging through the gallery, getting high fives on each side. I zigged to the left and lo and behold, there was mom, Alex, and Phil in the grandstands, banging on the boards, reaching out to me! A few more steps, and I would be in place to do my thing. I've been through enough races and watched enough Ironman live feeds to know where the cameras would be, so I timed my victory actions carefully. After all, I had all day to think about it.
As soon as the light hit me, I kissed my fists and sent them pointing to the sky for my dad. Then I cradled my arms and rocked and invisible baby for Sophia, who had yet to be born. Then as I crossed the line, I performed a pose that is dear to me and the 2011 Ironteam; a really bad bodybuilding pose consisting of a bicep flex with the opposite arm pointing skyward. It has become my signature pose somehow. After that, I was all smiles as a volunteer grabbed me, wrapped me in a space blanket, placed a bottle of water in my hand, and threw a medal around my neck. I turned around to congratulate Angelos and thank him for pulling me through. He accepted no credit, and went on his way. Moments later, the same volunteer took everything but my medal and placed me in front of the Ironman finisher backdrop for my photo. Then she gave me everything back and pointed walked me to the finishers area, pointing to the massage tent and boxes of pizza, and congratulating me once more.
I was in shock as I stumbled towards the massage tent, but I could not remove the smile from my face. I went to the next available table and struggled to get onto it. The masseuse asked where I was sore. You can imagine what my response was. So he proceeded to work on every limb and told me to hydrate and take it easy for a few days. I left the tent, and bypassed all the boxes of pizza. I just was not hungry. I walked outside the finishers area to meet up with the family and take our post race group picture. We then headed back to the hotel where I took an ice bath, then crashed out.
I can't thank my ironwifey with child for her support during yet another iron training season. Big thanks to my mother and nephew enough for being out there to support me along with the spirit of my dad. I also could not have done it without IronPhil, who helped me with all my gear and even drew an ice bath for me! All of my Ironteammates' support also played a key part in my success here. I would definitely recommend this M-Dot race to anyone. But which M-Dot will be my next?
As I exited the Run Out area, I felt relatively strong and was running a 9 minute mile past all the spectators and best of all, my family and support crew. I trotted into town knowing that my pace would slow down, so I was ready to accept a 10 minute mile or so. Minutes later, I looked down at my Garmin wrist watch which indicated I was cruising at a 10:30 pace. What? Ok that's cool, I thought, I just have to keep it under 11. As I exited town and headed through frat house row, I looked again, and my Garmin read 11:30/mile. Oh man! Ok that's cool, I thought once again, I just have to keep it under 12. I played this game until my pace settled into a blistering 12 - 12:15 mile.
My strategy was simple: run to every water stop, then walk while hydrating and eating. I'm proud to say that I stuck to that plan with the exception walking part of same hill where I cramped on my bike. I crested that hill and headed to the turnaround point, which had a beautiful view of the lake. The sun was still up, and the road was well populated with runners and walkers moving at various speeds. As I headed back to town, I realized that the bottles in my fuel belt had rarely been touched and that I was lugging at least a pound of stuff around my waist. I was taking in PowerBar drink and cola at the water stops, with the occasional pretzel thrown in for substance.
At the halfway point, I tore off my fuel belt and tucked it into my special needs bag with the intention of retrieving it later. Needless to say, that's the last I saw of it. I ran down the main strip one more time and hit the turnaround there. I stopped to greet Alex and my mom, get some hugs and some energy to finish the second half of the marathon. Somewhere along the run back out, I started thinking about my father. I actually had a conversation with him, which resulted in me getting choked up, literally, enough so that I couldn't breathe. I told him to quit fooling around, and he told me to quit crying and get this thing done. I sucked it up, and continued on.
The sun was starting to drop, and at around mile 18, I made a friend as we came out of the water stop together. He was a Bostonian, a little older than me, and we shuffled along at the same pace. His name was Angelos, and we pushed each other mile after mile, never letting the other give up. The temptation to walk was strong, but he kept me honest. At one point, with about 7 miles left to go, I was so exhausted that I told him to go on ahead of me. The sun had fallen, and I was ready to join the walking dead on their way back to the city lights. He wouldn't have it. He said, "I already blew my time. We're going to finish this together. Come on let's go!". I ran beside him as we continued our crusade. I told him that he was a machine and that I was impressed by his tenacity. His response was "It hurts like hell, but I just run through the pain." And I knew that's exactly what I needed to do.
Less than three miles from the finish, we ran past fraternity row for one last time, glow sticks in hand. The roads twisted through the dark town as I struggled to stay on his tail. Two turns to go, and I hear my name being called by Sedonia and her parents! I get some hugs, and they charge Angelos with the responsibility of getting me across the finish line safely. We can hear the music, the crowds, and Mike Reilly, the "voice of Ironman". We make the final left turn onto Sherman avenue, and I was blown away by the spectacle that awaited us at the finish line. I told Angelos to go through first, but he insisted that I go ahead of him because I earned it (as if he didn't)! People were rooting for us every step of the way, screaming, shouting, and high-fiving!
The runner in front of me was zig-zagging through the gallery, getting high fives on each side. I zigged to the left and lo and behold, there was mom, Alex, and Phil in the grandstands, banging on the boards, reaching out to me! A few more steps, and I would be in place to do my thing. I've been through enough races and watched enough Ironman live feeds to know where the cameras would be, so I timed my victory actions carefully. After all, I had all day to think about it.
As soon as the light hit me, I kissed my fists and sent them pointing to the sky for my dad. Then I cradled my arms and rocked and invisible baby for Sophia, who had yet to be born. Then as I crossed the line, I performed a pose that is dear to me and the 2011 Ironteam; a really bad bodybuilding pose consisting of a bicep flex with the opposite arm pointing skyward. It has become my signature pose somehow. After that, I was all smiles as a volunteer grabbed me, wrapped me in a space blanket, placed a bottle of water in my hand, and threw a medal around my neck. I turned around to congratulate Angelos and thank him for pulling me through. He accepted no credit, and went on his way. Moments later, the same volunteer took everything but my medal and placed me in front of the Ironman finisher backdrop for my photo. Then she gave me everything back and pointed walked me to the finishers area, pointing to the massage tent and boxes of pizza, and congratulating me once more.
I was in shock as I stumbled towards the massage tent, but I could not remove the smile from my face. I went to the next available table and struggled to get onto it. The masseuse asked where I was sore. You can imagine what my response was. So he proceeded to work on every limb and told me to hydrate and take it easy for a few days. I left the tent, and bypassed all the boxes of pizza. I just was not hungry. I walked outside the finishers area to meet up with the family and take our post race group picture. We then headed back to the hotel where I took an ice bath, then crashed out.
I can't thank my ironwifey with child for her support during yet another iron training season. Big thanks to my mother and nephew enough for being out there to support me along with the spirit of my dad. I also could not have done it without IronPhil, who helped me with all my gear and even drew an ice bath for me! All of my Ironteammates' support also played a key part in my success here. I would definitely recommend this M-Dot race to anyone. But which M-Dot will be my next?
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