Kathy Morrisson's 1/2 Iron Race Report -Lake Stevens 2008

Karen Nolting and I have signed up together for so many races now, I do not know what the count is. It always starts with one of us emailing the other with a great idea of doing some race, it catches on like a really bad cold and the next thing I know one of us registers causing the other to follow suit. Since we do lots of our training together, we tend to do the same races as then we both get to experience the race after all that training.

So this January was no different. I cannot recall who started this one, nor is it important. I think it was around the same time we signed up for the Whidbey Marathon too. I spent the winter riding and running in the crazy winter weather and putting together a strong base for both a Marathon in March and a 1/2 Iron in July. I had my share of injuries and got to visit George at Kent East Hill PT. I ended up not able to swim or outdoor bike for a portion of the winter and even looked up if I could defer or transfer my 1/2 Ironman Race. I found out I could not, so decided to just train.

So on Saturday, I found myself in the Sport Mini-Van on my way to pick up Karen Nolting. Karen and I then drove to Renton to pick up our newest training partner Michelle Fjetland. We got lost trying to find Michelle's but that was all part of the adventure and my gas bill. The three of us then headed to Everett to our hotel and packet pick up location. At packet pick up, you must attend a meeting regarding the rules and the course. This is the first time the three of us had attended such a meeting and the head referee did a great job in scaring us into being rule abiding triathletes.

We hooked up with Kristine Kloepfer, Patty Swedberg and Tammy Magnuson and headed out to the transition area to rack our bikes. Then off to a very enjoyable evening at the Olive Garden for dinner.

Karen, Michelle and I stayed at the Holiday Inn together in Everett. We prepared all our gear and hopped into bed by 9PM. Unfortunately going to bed early does not mean you will sleep and the night seemed to just wear on as I watched the digital clock by the bed move minute by minute. I was very thankful for 4 AM when we got up and it was finally race day.

I was very happy to finally be at race day. I had some expectations of what I wanted to do in the 1/2, but had narrowed it down to enjoying my day. I feel a lot of pressure to do well at races so I decided having fun might alleviate some of that pressure. I had been swimming approximately 1.2 miles in Lake Morton at 30-32 minutes, I had rode the course in 3:02 and I figured after all that I could hold a 2 hour half marathon. So my rough time goal was 5:30.

While preparing my transition area, I see Oscar Miller. He spent the winter bike riding with the Thursday group and even joined us for a couple trips to Lake Stevens. If you do not know this RTBer- you need to meet him. Great Guy. Heard he was teaching animal noises to the crowd while waiting on us. Soon after I see my Uncle Al. He has participated in countless marathons, triathlons etc... and has always been a big supporter of my athletic activities.

It is finally time to race, wetsuits are on and I am standing with a group of fellow 35-39 year old women waiting for our turn to jump off the dock to tread water until it is our turn to start. I also get a Go Kathy from Lisa Worthington from Team Fast. It was nice to get one more cheer before the big start. When I jump in, I realize the water is a great temperature (72 degrees) and there is no more time for thinking. It is go time (stole that from Brian G.). I know that there is a buoy line that you can follow but I do not mind sighting so I decide to site off the big buoys and not worry about the buoy line. I do see the buoy line some of the time but it is not my goal to stay with it so I am not worried when I do not see it. The swim seemed like a long way out and a long way back but I guess 1.2 miles in the water is a long way.

Coming into T1, I was my usual dizzy self. I got my wetsuit off and socks on and then decided I needed to sit down before heading out to get the spin out of my head. That mostly worked and I grabbed my bike and off I went. The course had changed from my pre-rides so I did not know what the beginning of the course was like. It ended up being rolling hills in the country- just fine for this hill loving girl. My first encounter with traffic was a motor home heading up a hill behind a long line of bikes. Bikers were going around it on the left side but I decided to wait it out. Lucky for me it turned off the road quickly and I caught those motor home passing bikers quickly.

I had this great nutrition plan all figured out. And it worked but I had some issues with my method. I had unwrapped my powerbar and put it on top of my gels in my bento box as I had decided I would start with it after the swim. I pulled it out and stuck to it was my gels and salt tablets. It cracked me up. I knocked all the extra stuff off and started eating. I think it took me a full loop to get that down but I also used the gels during the ride. I also had one gel that ripped too high so I could not use it and then another I squeezed all over my bento box while putting the top in the box. By the time I finished this ride I was a sticky mess (and I was stuck to aero bar a good part of the ride and had to pry my hand off to change gears).

Back on the ride, I kept my first loop at a reasonable but quick speed trying not to over do it so I could make a good second loop. When I came around to start my second loop I could hear Patty, Kristine, Uncle Al and Oscar yelling at me (in a nice cheering way). It was so good to hear and see them. I then switched out my water bottle for a gatorade. Never done that before but I had no problems. Then I was off on my second loop. The last time I rode Lake Stevens, I rode 2 loops and felt great the first and shortly into the second it started to feel really hard so my expectations where to have that happen again. So I started the second loop waiting for that tiredness and pain to hit... but it didn't. I felt great (tapers work) and just kept pushing and pedaling.

Coming in to T2 I was feeling a little chocked up. I had finished the ride without problems or pain. I also knew my husband and kids should be there to cheer and I was looking forward to hearing them. They were there so I was able to make it through T2 with no problems and a happy heart.

The run. My most favorite discipline but it is always so hard to do after a swim and bike. I guess I want to feel like I do when I do just a run race. It is not that way I guess. This course is made up of two loops which have a loop and an out and back in them so you go by the crowd many times during the race. I passed Patty, Oscar and Kristine's latter Kristine would be replaced by Tammy and her husband) corner first with boogers hanging out of my nose- which I pointed out to them because it was cracking me up. I also passed my family again and Uncle Al. Then it was off on a quiet first loop. I saw Joe Hafner on the way out who gave me a good positive go get 'em. Also saw the Hafner family out there cheering. At the out and back I got to see Karen Gardner, Michelle Fjetland and Karen Nolting. Boy it was good to see them. They looked so good too. I felt that the first full loop was hard and when I passed the cheering corner, I put out my lower lip in a pout. I felt like it was just time to stop. But with some cheering from my family and friends and a really big departing "Go Kathy" from Patty. I felt better. The second loop went better and again I got to see Karin, Michelle and Karen and we cheered for each other.

The finish was finally here and so is almost the end of my write up. Crossing the finishing line should be a touching moment but I think the race is the touching moment and the finish is a relief. I finished in 5:18.37 which put me 4th in my age division. My swim was 37:43, bike 2:54:30 and run 1:42.44. With this finish I had the opportunity to take a slot to go to 70.3 World's in Clearwater, Florida. And to top it off my buddies Michelle and Karen could go too. The story of us making up our minds could be an entire blog in itself. But I signed up, so it looks like I am training for another 1/2 this year. And of course a long story needs a good ending- Michelle and Karen are going too! YAHOO.

Nancy Larson's Ironman Race Report

What a journey this has been, I started this sport 5 years ago with Patty as my coach. I didn’t know how to swim, my bike was ok, and my run needed a lot work. She hung in there with me and created “Ironman”.

Swim: I was within 5 minute of my goal. I swam inside and outside the buoys to get clear water,” no such luck” I came around to the first big buoy, it was like a fish caught in a net, “Then out of no where, a huge man swam right over me and I was totally under the water. I found myself analyzing arms strokes and watching a gal get one of her Ocean seven bootie pulled off “she is going to be pissed”.” (Yes, I did spend some time under the water). Finally I surfaced,” wow!!! That was fun. I just love this combat swimming.

T1 Stripper ripped off my wetsuit in record time, this should be my best time, I have it all planed out. I will grab my bag from the volunteers and all I had to do is put on my shoes and helmet …I grab my bag from the volunteers, I ran around the men to women’s tent, I put my bag down and to my horror! It was not my bag! Damn it!!!! I had to go back for my bag, so goes, my well laid plan.

Bike: Bike was uneventful, “well, maybe a little”, I rode by Kristin and she was having heart rate problems, I told her to forget it, I was not looking at mine right now because it would scare me. I told myself I would keep a nice easy pace, like 17 miles per hour, until the wind kicked up, “there goes that thought”, I came down on one of the many, many, many hills, when the wind caught me and I did a "Mary Poppins"
Oh, my god! This is going to hurt”. But, to my surprise I came down like a well executed machine. Back on my way I went, wiping the sweat off my brow and fighting the wind all the way, I was in and out of my aero bars, cursing every minute and saying to myself, there goes your time , then I told myself quit whining your an Ironman!!! (Still, it doesn’t stop me from doing just a little whining)...All things considered, I was very happy with my time.

T2: Got off my my bike ran to my bag in lightning speed, this time, I made sure it it was my bag.

Run: I ran out of the tent, and didn’t stop, I ran by Marty and George, my support staff and they proceed to inform me “I must run faster” my competitor was just ahead of me” (what! I thought I was running fast), I told them my legs are in control now; the rest of me is going for the ride.

I got so much encouragement, from my husband who put “ you must run faster” on the reader board (don’t you just love your support staff) and to Brad, when he saw me doing my 30 sec walk and he said to me, keep running, I yell back OK Brad, as I watch him walking away. And from Paul, you look good!! Keep going and so did he, and from Bill, Nancy- you look good but you need to eat something, what? Eat something. After that I didn’t think I stopped eating…thanks Bill!!! Those are thing that keeps you going. Because the last 6 miles of run are toughest of all

Ironman will underestimate past hardship and prepare you to minimize those to come. It makes dreams come true. You have what it takes to bridge aspiration into accomplishments. Crossing the finishing line embraces self: confidence, sacrifice and self worth. Finishing makes you your own hero.

To all of RTB teammates you are my heroes.

Karin Gardner's 1/2 Ironman Report

Many thanks for the cards, calls, emails, thoughts and prayers encouraging me on my recent half ironman quest at the Lake Stevens 70.3. I am so grateful for your support, and believe me, I drew on it all morning yesterday! Here’s a bit about the race.

Shortcut detail:

1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

5 hours, 34 minutes, 23 seconds

I’m not sure more perfect conditions exist for a half ironman than those we enjoyed on Sunday. Overcast skies, moderate humidity, not a drop of rain, and I doubt the temperature bumped up over 70 degrees. This meant flat water, safe riding, and comparatively little discomfort on the run for someone like me who is occasionally haunted by hydration issues.

So, with a few of the variables I couldn’t control already sorted out, I went into the race in good spirits.

Because the race start was seeded by age, my wave was among the last to hit the water (does getting older mean we swim slower? NO!!). I tried not to stress on the reality that there would be a lot of flotsam and jetsam out there to navigate around. The swim was a long rectangular 1.2 mile course, marked not only with large course/turn buoys, but also many smaller buoys to make it easy to stay where we belonged. I swam stroke for stroke with the legendary Tracy Orcutt (who I have admired from the distance for about a decade as one of the top athletes in the Seattle area) as we both swam under, over, and around the folks from the earlier waves who were out there doing their best. I finished the swim in just over 31 minutes; slow for me but at the top of my age group.

Into T1, I was very focused. It’s been years since I’ve done a race of this distance and a lot more stuff has to get into your pockets (snacks, ibuprofen, chapstick, bike repair gear) than one has to worry about in my more typical sprint. I also took the time to put on my lucky kiwi green socks. I hate having cold feet and the morning was still quite cool.

I was off and cycling happily in no time. The course has about a five mile “out” and then two rolling/hilly loops that cover the beautifully wooded Lake Stevens/Lake Roesiger area. The game of leapfrog continued. The race officials had warned us emphatically about drafting (you need to remain 3 full bike lengths behind the rear wheel of the guy ahead of you) and related penalties. I’ve been yellow carded in a past race for drafting and wanted to avoid that embarrassment this time around, which meant spending a lot of time in the passing lane on the first loop.

I felt strong on my bike and, other than all of the traffic, it was fun. There’s a huge hill at mile 20 (that repeats at mile 44 or so) which gave me the chance to test my mettle. It was great to see Bruce encouraging us at the top—both times!—reminding me to “finish that hill!” It’s a doozy, even for this little mountain goat.

We rolled back into Lake Stevens and I was on track—my goal had been to break 3 hours on the ride; I finished in 2:58. Despite this, I was out of the hunt for real, having been passed by a handful of women in my division on the bike course.

So, another pair of fresh socks, a quick comfort break (someone needs to figure out how to put flush toilets on the race course, PLEASE) and I was off on the run. I spotted Mike in the run out of T2, which gave me added encouragement and focus. At times like this, a friendly face in the crowd means everything.

The 13.1 mile run consisted of 2 loops of a figure 8 course that mostly rolls but has a few tough hills. I felt very relaxed during the first 6 miles or so, then the pressure of the day landed on me pretty hard. The design of the course allows you to see your friends and fellow competitors several times so you can gauge your progress and position. I am a weak runner (despite fairly targeted training) and had been nervous about the 13.1 mile distance. I did finish right on my goal time of 2 hours, though the last 3 miles were tough – my left knee has been tricky for the last two weeks and did not shut up throughout the last half hour or so of the race.

I finished a few minutes slower than my stretch goal time of 5:30. Even so, I am quite happy with my 5:34.23. I felt so lucky to be out there, to have been blessed with the time to prepare and the talent to participate in something this hard. I enjoyed seeing many friends (some of them new to the half iron distance) racing with such heart and performing so well. Thanks for supporting me through it all.

Ironman Canada 2009? See you there!

Ironman CDA 2008 Report: Bill Swedberg

There's nothing quite like the first few moments of an Ironman; before a screaming crowd, a thundering migration of neoprene mammals surge into the foaming dark waters. I am smiling as my face plunges into the jumble of arms, legs and rolling torsos. Everything is alive! Everything is in motion! I raise my head to gain sight of the first buoy and - WHAM! My head snaps back, I see stars and swallow lake as the throng behind crawls over my stationary frame. Somehow in the midst of thousands I have managed to face-plant the rear end of a "lifeguard's" surfboard only fifty yards offshore. My heart is racing and I hear cursing (I hope that's not me) as I gasp for breath. "What a great way to start an Ironman!" I think. Fortunately my cheek and goggles have taken most of the blow. I work to collect myself and find clear water, but there is none to be had. I work to go inside the buoy line (Brad Williams IM secret #97) but only manage to t-bone a kayak whose occupant merely points to the buoy line a whole 10 yards away. After two more such encounters I would abandon the infield altogether. In the back of my mind I realize if I were faster I might get clear, but as it were my swim would be remain a close quarter affair. At one point I find myself tucked within a group of swimmers all matching one another stroke-for-stroke, our rotation completely in sync. Things get so close I realize I am engaged in a session of neoprene spooning with strangers. They are all wearing blue caps. I do not like this… There is a wall of feet in front of me so I ease-off and swing wide to get past this rubbery mass of humanity. The rest of the swim would be more of the same. Never really finding a rhythm, my troubled shoulder would make lap 2 a challenge as well. I would be a few minutes off my normal pace - pretty much what my lack of training earned. I don't mean to sound whiney, in fact, by the time we are 200 yards from the beach I am encouraged by the roar of the crowd and hit the sand smiling just the same. I am so glad to be here! It's going to be a great day!

I rumble through wetsuit stripping without the experience of a romance novel (bummer) and make my way to the changing tent. One glance inside at the freshly-packed sardines and I decide to join a quickly gathering group opting for the grass just outside. In previous years my transitions have been, shall we say "leisurely," and I was delighted to make improvements here. On my way to the bike racks I came upon the first of many RTB jerseys. Seeing Cheryl (Iseberg) was a joy and after a quick hug we were both on our way.

As usual I am thrilled to be on my bike and the energy of the crowd served to charge my legs and spirit. I focused on my cadence and tried to race smart. Soon I would begin the endless feast of gels and Gatorade. Being larger than average (I slimmed down to a little under 200lbs) I tend to need a lot of calories. (I'm guessing Heather and I have very different nutrition plans.) Another thing about being on the husky side is how it affects my riding. I make good time on the flats and down-hills but tend to lag behind on the climbs. I would spend most of the day playing a back and forth game of leap frog with many riders. Happy to see the occasional flash of white, green and blue I was charged to know so many teammates were out on the course. Flash! There goes Brian! I'm sure he doesn't see me; he only sees me when he's having a bad day. It was obviously "Go time!" for this Kona-bound phenom!

Flash! There goes Patty! Dang she has nice legs! I wonder how her ride is going. It seems our paces are close. I have mixed feelings: I am Patty's biggest fan and always want to see her scorch the course. On the other hand, I want to do well and I've been chasing this girl for 21 years now (our anniversary weekend). As it turns out our bike splits are very close but she again wins with better training, skill, and good looks!

The second lap of the bike takes its usual toll on my legs, but I manage pretty well barreling into the headwind on the way back to town. Our RTB supporters were still out in force. It's so much fun to hear family and friends shout your name as you return from the 2^nd battle of the day!

Entering T2 I felt the normal mix of accomplishment and trepidation. Joe Hafner was there and managed to hustle me through with a wonderful mix of efficiency and encouragement! Thanks Joe! The beginning of the run was a little surreal but I eventually found my legs and managed to run (shuffle) most of the first lap. RTB racers were everywhere! Brian looked focused and on track, as did Phil, Ed, and Patty. Brad was his normal encouraging self. As it turns out he was busy plotting some wily, come-from behind strike at the finish line. I've often mused over the pseudo brother-sister relationship Brad and Patty enjoy. It looks like the sibling rivalry is apt to continue!

To this point I still hadn't seen anything of my buddy Rob Spero, and I was beginning to wonder how I might have missed him. Before long I crossed paths with Patti Anderson who shouted sad news: "Rob had crashed-out! He was in the hospital with broken ribs and separated shoulder!" My heart sank. Rob and I have been friends for more than 20 years. I know how hard he has worked for this day and how badly he wanted to see it through.

More teammates continue to appear: Kristin looks fresh and happy; Jim has enough energy to bark at me like a drill sergeant and Paul lopes along with the natural ease of an ultra-distance athlete. Paul catches me at the beginning of the 2^nd lap as my left knee was just beginning to fold. He was kind enough to walk with me for a short distance (always welcome company), before he galloped away to a great finish. I continue to mix run and walk together as best I can, but a knife-like pain in my knee continues to worsen. Jerry Thayer appears with a broad smile and we slap hands. Patti Anderson and I enjoy a walk and chat together for a while and Heather goes by with graceful ease. Cheryl looks to be in good spirits and the last teammate I see on my way to the finish is none-other than Nancy Larson. She looks strong, driven and happy. I suspected a trip to Kona might be in the cards; great job Nancy!!!

The last two miles through the neighborhood were painful at best. On a few occasions I ran simply to see if I might be able to run the finishing chute. Twice my knee buckled and I nearly went down. By the time I got around the last turn a volunteer shouted out "only 6 blocks to go!" I counted them down one-by-one, grateful the course planners were merciful in providing a gradual downhill to the finish. My time was slower than I had hoped (13:20) but still 30 minutes faster than my previous best. It was in fact a great day, and I am enthused to say I'll be back for another go at it next year!

Brad William's Ironman Report

There is nothing else quite like the morning of an IM race...looking into the faces of the racers as they mentally prepare for the day tells 2200+ stories...seeing my RTB teammates prior to the race start was inspiring...as Rob noted its not the destination but the journey and I know a great deal had gone into the journey for all. Off to the swim start...it is almost magical how I know I will see Dr. Spencer at the swim start every year, all I have to do is look over my shoulder...word is getting out about starting the swim just inside the buoys and it was great to see the familiar faces of team RTB...the swim was very comfortable this year and I swam most of it alone which was very relaxing...sorry I missed the RTB'ers in the wet suit strip but I'll watch closer next year...next is who will catch me first on the bike...along comes Dr. Spencer first with some great words of encouragement as he powerfully pulled through on his way to a solid bike split on a windy day...I want to note that I saw Rob during one of the overlap portions of the course on his bike looking good...Rob, you are my hero for getting right back on the horse and signing up for next year! Next came Twinkie powered Brian looking strong as he pulled along side during lap 2...he said he was feeling a little noise in his calf but based on the ease he pulled away he looked great to me...next I felt this little pat on my ass and I knew that it could only be the Big Daddy Ed Clarke...Ed being a man of few words made a couple of encouraging comments and went by looking fabulous...Ed always did love the wind...the rest of the way into town on the bike was all about staying aero and plowing through the wind...as I came off the bike my body was rebelling and it was pretty clear the run would be a challenge...Kelvin was waiting at the transition tent and lied by saying I looked great but I needed to hear that right then...next Patty came by about 5 miles into the run looking great and trying to spur me into a run or at least a fast walk but I sent her on her way...on the way back from the first turnaround, I began a long succession of hand slaps with the RTB teammates...what I didn't realize at the time was that it began to change my mindset and I started feeling better every time I saw someone...I noticed that slim Bill was closing on me and was looking strong...then Mr. Grove was galloping at a much faster pace than I...Heather was looking unbelievably strong and steady...Kristin had a big grin every time I saw her...Cheryl seemed to be enjoying every step each time I saw her...Jerry Thayer looked good and was running strong...Jim Hutter looked like the bionic man - at 60 years young he sets the standard that I should be able to do these things for 10 more years...and Nancy conveys an iron will and determination that is amazing...my friend Patti A. always inspires me...I know she will be back! Thanks to all of you as you gave me energy to negative split the marathon by over 30 minutes...actually I was running for my life trying to stay ahead of Bill, Paul and Heather...I had a flicker of hope that I would catch Patty but had written that off as I checked my watch and saw she had 18 minutes with about 5-6 miles to go...but thanks to Bill-Paul-Heather closing the gap I kept pushing through the last 6 miles...and then Christmas came early as I rounded the final turn for the finishing straight and there was Patty...should I just stay behind her? Should I sprint past? Once she saw me the decision was made and I had to go for it...it is my most memorable finish ever!

While my time was not great this year, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey with all of you and look forward to next year! Congratulations to all! I can't wait to see Brian and Nancy in Kona! -Brad

Cheryl Isberg's Ironman Report....

Kudo's to the Kona Kids and the best to Rob for a strong recovery.

I will try to keep mine short...

Swim: I was within one minute of my goal. I swam inside the buoy line and I think swam with every 6'2-6"5" male triathlete out there. All I saw was feet and hands. One latched onto me the first lap and gave me a really good
charlie horse in my left, previously Achilles severed calf. That left me
without a kick for the last lap and so the arms and shoulders had to pull out a miracle in order to get my swim time.

T1- The best part, with RTBer's there! Tammy Barnhart pulled my suit off in record time. The bad thing was it triggered the charlie horse again so I limped into a t1 tent. There was not a spot to be found there and there were so many people shivering that I was wondering how they would continue.

Bike - With my calf on the verge of ending my race I was very conservative
on the bike. Every time we hit a hill I could feel it ready to go again so
I had to sit back and just keep it easy. It didn't help that at mile 20 I
also had some cable tension issues and my climbing gear would not stay in gear and pop out while going up the hill. Not a great way to climb. I figured at some point my chain would explode and I would ride until it did. Dearest Kristin and I spent a good deal of time together and that was great. The wind got me coming back down into town on the first lap and I lost time there but all things considered, it was the best I could do on that day.

T2- Lickity split fast for me :) Another high note for the race :)

Run - I walked to the first stop just gathering myself and took a hit off my
new inhaler. This was my first event with an inhaler. I was so freaked
out in T2 because the lady couldn't find my inhaler in the bag - when she found it I was totally relieved. After refueling at the first mile I decided to try to focus and did the "I will run to each water stop and walk
through the water stop". I did that for about 15 miles - a clear record
for me and I felt much like Phil with feeling the best I ever have - I knew I was on time for a 5 hour marathon. My calf felt great, I felt great, Rob was giddy, and the world was perfect.

Then the big marathon door shut in my face and nearly broke my nose.

The feeling was immediate and everything hurt, ached, and I lost my breath. I started walking at 16. I couldn't figure it out was it fatigue, was it nutrition? I was counting calories in my head that I taken since starting the run and knew it wasn't that. Was it old age? Was is lack of fitness? Was it the inhaler? Huh, where was inhaler #2?(yes, I was suppose to use 2 of them) I located inhaler number 2 about mile 18 in the back of my shirt and took a hit. Nothing great happened but I felt a bit better but still couldn't run. At the mile 19 water stop, I chose Ironman Extra Value Meal #2 - Chicken Broth without the fries please. I knew immediately of my rookie mistake. I needed Sodium and usually switch to Chicken Broth around mile 10 of the marathon but didn't. I took in as much as I could and like magic within a few minutes I was running again. Not on the pace I was previously but these feet know the way back to the barn and ran the last 6 miles home.

So, I have 8 weeks to recover and then do the big "A" race in Canada. Lets hope I can figure out the inhalers, Sodium, find a new bike mechanic, and also figure out how to climb a couple mountain passes. Seems simple enough.

Best to everyone who was out there - not just the athletes but those shouts
from the gallery from RTB'ers out there. My heart was filled at about mile
25 of the 2nd lap and then again about mile 70. The first was a lady about my age sitting in a lawn chair by herself and very quietly as she looked me directly in the eye she said "you are my hero" and the second was a guy sitting with about 5 empty lawn chairs with a boat in the back drop. He was asleep in a lawn chair with a beer between his legs....classic huh?

Paul Grove's Ironman Run Report....

The end of the saga...

In the last two years I have learned how to shuffle in a fairly quick and economical style. Unless I'm sprinting a short distance or running on totally fresh legs I don't have a high knee lift and high back kick like I used to. It was my brother in law that first pointed out that this should help prevent cramps and it does. My plan for the run (and entire day for that matter) was to be as economical as possible, even if that meant walking some of the hills. Throughout the run this would confuse RTB friends and family because they assumed that if I'm walking it must mean that I'm having problems and then their cheers would change in tone. That was not needed. I walk during most of my training runs and some of my marathons and usually finish those marathons in under four hours. Only a few times during the IM run did I really need to walk. But for the start of the run the out and back was flat so I started running gently. I saw Phil heading out for his second loop and made it a goal to catch him. First I set my watch to stopwatch mode and then I needed to get some vaseline from the aid station volunteers. I would hate to stain my new bike jersey with blood. I took some vaseline and gave the volunteers a big thank you. I always try to look directly at the volunteers and sincerely thank them with a smile. I did that all day long and I think that it improves my mood and gives me energy to continue. Or maybe not, but the volunteers and spectators do a great job in CDA.

I passed my family as I ran along the boardwalk. "Where's Bill?" I asked. They informed me that he was in front of me. I knew it! I had not seen him all day because he was so far ahead of me. "That means you need to run faster!" the guy next to my mom yelled. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up but really I was running my own race and nobody elses. I passed the first mile in about 9:30. I noticed that the weather this year was only warm unlike the scorching oven that we had two years ago.

I caught up to Phil on Lakeside Ave and thanked him for his advice in his "10 steps to kill the IM bike course" e-mail. So far my nutrition and pacing was working perfectly. He wasn't too chatty at this point (I really can't imagine why. Shouldn't everyone be willing to run and talk with you when they are on their fifteenth mile and you are on your second? Is that really too much to ask of your competitors? : ) I few minutes later Brian Guillian passed me. I didn’t even consider following him. He was running way too fast and attempting to chase down a Kona qualifier during the first three miles of your marathon isn't too smart. So he encouraged me for a few seconds and I told him he was doing great and then I was staring at the back of his taped up calf muscle.

Thinking about the marathon now, it seems like there really are not that many stronger runners who group up together to run. I saw a lot of people walking together, but among those running faster than 10 minute/mile everybody was by themselves. That is too bad because although I was feeling good, I would have been feeling better if I had found someone to help keep the pace.

Out on the Centennial Trail I saw Bill coming back towards town and he was looking good. He wasn't walking and he had a smile on his face. "Look at you. You are the man, Bill!" I shouted to him. I must have had a really good bike ride this year!

I walked the big hill at the turnaround. On the way up I started talking with another athlete and I found out that he was an ultrarunner too, so we talked about the differences between IM and ultras. There really aren't that many differences besides the obvious so the conversation was short. After we reached the bottom of the hill he needed to walk so I continued on by myself (or perhaps he just wanted me to shut up? I doubt it, he was talking more than me!)

So far, I was shuffling/running well and walking only small amounts. I was able to restart running after the breaks and really didn't have any problems with the marathon at this point. My stride was getting longer and slightly quicker, I think. My calf muscle did one quick hard twitch near mile 11 so I took a salt tablet and shortened my stride. The cramp never returned and the hampstring cramp from T1 was long gone too.

I ran back into town by myself watching for RTB spectators and other athletes and cheering for them when I saw them. Running downhill along Lakeside Ave into the city park I saw my family and they were still waving and cheering loudly. I decided that I should cheer and wave to them for a change. I was acting like a clown, but at that point I was having so much fun that I didn't care. I was feeling so good along that stretch (it's downhill) that I truly wished that the run was longer than 26.2 miles. I glanced at my watch near the transition area-2:03 for the first half. Very good.

I caught up to Bill and asked him about his day. The told me that he had a terrible swim and was almost knocked out by a surfboard. I knew that he must recovered and rode a great bike split, but he was wasn't talking about it and instead was concerned that he dropped his S caps and his quads were cramping. I offered him a tablet and he declined, not wanting to use mine. What a nice guy. I demanded that he take one since I had three left. He finally did. I hope it helped. He convinced me to start running and see how many people I could pass in the second half. I started running faster than earlier but still I was more concerned about my own race than anyone elses.

Before reaching the Centennnial Trail I saw Bri, whom I had met on Thursday at the RTB dinner, coming back into town. I stopped to walk and ask her about her race. She was cramping. I asked her is it too much salt or too much water? She wasn't sure. As I understand it, too much water more often results in cramps and too much salt causes nausea. So I gave her a salt tablet and wished her luck.

My own nutrition was going good at this point. I was using plain flavored gel that I had in my T2 bag and was drinking Gatoraide at nearly every aid station during the first loop. I took a couple oranges during the run too. During the second loop I started drinking cola and water instead of Gatoraide. My stomach started to ache around mile 19 but a quick stop at the port a potty helped. It didn't totally relieve the pain, but helped. It was not a major crisis and I was able to continue running. My legs were getting more heavy but still working good.

I was taking more walking breaks more often, but when I was running, I was running faster (at least it felt like it!) Near mile 23 I started to run more urgently hoping that my calves would not cramp. They were twiching again, but now I was out of S caps since I had taken my last one over an hour ago. I started looking at my watch trying to figure out what the race time was. I knew it was under 13 hours but I couldn't figure out the specific time. At mile 24 I saw Kristin running easily toward me. I asked her about her day. She was tired. That was it. "No nausea or cramps?" I asked. No, just tired. I knew she would make her goal time for the race.

A mile later I saw Bri headed out for her second loop. I stopped running and asked her about her race. She was cramping and having stomach issues. The only advice I could offer was "broth for cramps and cola and water for nausea". She was talking clearly and gave me a big high five with plenty of force which were good signs. I had no doubt that she would continue on.

I started to run as fast as I could. I thanked the volunteers as one informed me that it was just six blocks to the finish. I actually think it was less than that.

As I came down the finishers chute I used my arms and kept my head up to maintain form and sprinted as hard as I could. There was one guy still in front of me. "I'm gonna get that guy" "I want to catch that guy" I kept saying to myself. I was sprinting just like I did at the finish of the White River 50 last year. In that race I didn't quite catch the guy in front of me as he still beat me by a half step (we received the same time after 10+ hours of running). This time I did and ran hard through the finish line. The volunteers told me to slow down. The volunteers sit right at the finish line waiting for you. At 5 and 10k races they sit back knowing that you will sprint to the finish. I nearly tripped over a piece of metal that was supporting the bleachers.

I looked at my watch. It read 4:14 for the marathon, but officially my time was 4:15:06. I told the volunteers that were now holding me up that I didn't need medical and that I would be OK. The woman asked a few times because my eyes were closed and I was talking so softly. I was exhausted and NOW I wanted to puke. But I didn't. I couldn't believe that I finished the race in 12:35. I thought that I would come in near 13 hours. That proves that I really can't do math when I'm running. : )

I stayed at the finish line area for nearly three more hours walking around and watching people come in. Patty is right, the party really does get better later in the night.

This was probably my best race (running, biking, or tri) yet. I had a lot of fun prior to the race hanging out with friends. I met some great people. The race itself was as perfect as I could hope for. Some luck with the weather played a huge role in that. If the race had been just one week later we would have been miserable. the forcast said that it was 98 in Post Falls on June 28. Even the swim wasn't really that bad, although I'm ready to go back to the calm, peaceful waters of Lake Morton or Meridian.

As late as March of this year I was on the fence as to if I would even do this race. Then I committed but said that I would never do another one. But...I don't know. Maybe I will be back in 2010 or 2011. I hear Pentictin is a beautiful area. Perhaps I should do an event in Canada in a couple years?

Thanks to all those that encouraged me before, during, and after the race. The people at Ironman Couer d Alene really are awesome.

Rob Spero's Ironman Report... OUCH!

OK, so last and least, I'll add my congratulations to all of you for
not only attempting this event, but for finishing it in one form or
another. And a special congrats to the two KONA Grads. All that
training, just to get to do it again. But man, after this past spring
here in the Northwest, doing it in Kona is a great reward for the
freezing days on the bike, early morning swims and wonderfully wet
runs. Way to go to both Brian and Nancy!

And thanks to all of you who have sent me best wishes for a speedy
recovery. I appreciate the thoughts as I've sat here in a drug induced
haze this past week, wondering over and over, just what the hell
happened and how I ended up with an all expense paid trip to the
wonderful Kooteni County Hospital. More on that later.

So there we are, Bill, Patty A. and I standing at the start line of the
swim, far to the left and near the back. Perfect start to watch the
swim begin and not get run over in the malstrom that is about to
happen. I'll admit that there was a moment when the 12 year old was
singing the National Anthem and the crowd was silent, standing next to
my friends, that personal reflection caused me to get a bit choked up.
Thinking back on the training that had gone into getting to this point,
the encouragement from Patty and especially Bill, the early morning
swims in the pool, the runs in the rain and the rides in the same, as
well as the amount of money spent to get ready (ok, pilot side of me
talking here), I must confess that I was momentarily overcome.
Then...I realized my wet suit was too tight and I was really just
choking. Looking out at the water, I admit I was surprised when the
cannon went off, about 15 feet away. Damn, and I had been planning on
saving that "warm water" for later in the swim. No bother. Off into
the pond. Concentrate on getting my heart rate down and breathing
under control. Just swim my pace. Why can't I breath? Man is my
heart racing. OK, this I've been told is normal. It is? 100 yards
into the swim and I'm fatigued. Say what? Then I realized that my wet
suit had shifted and I needed to let in water to adjust it. My swim
goal was to finish. I used each buoy as my next marker. Did you know
there were 7 yellow buoy's out and 8 orange ones back in? I named each
one as I went by. Lap one went as expected, just getting into the
swing of things and not using up all my energy. Out of the water,
through the timing arch and it was great seeing my wife, daughter,
Emily & Justin screaming for me. Slightly behind my time, but feeling
ok. Lap two was much the same, except I was into unfamiliar territory,
now going farther than ever before for me in the swim. But I held my
pace and even when the chop came up, felt good about finishing. Out of
the water, up the beach, getting ready to lose my wet suit to the
"puller" when I realized, I forgot to tie my bathing suit. With Bill's
warning ringing in my ears about their vigor in helping, I managed to
lose just the wet suit. Through transition and out to look for the
bike. One of the benefits of being late out of the water is not having
to look very hard for the bike. It kinda stands out.

So the first 30 minutes on the bike was used just getting heart rate,
cadence and breathing under control. Nothing but water. I saw Patty
A. go by on the other side of the road and benched marked her as my
target to catch. Out to Higgens Point, made the turn and wham, right into the wind. Excuse me, but who ordered this? No worries, down in
the drops, feeling good. Started the vitals intake. First of Rob's
points to remember: use only stuff you've trained your body to take.
I had a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem made up. After a third of that, I
realized this wasn't helping the stomach adjust. Back through town
feeling good and seeing the Pro's go by the other side. Man, are they
fast. George A screams at me as I go by I'm 25 minutes behind Patty so
I'm looking good in that. Up the road and towards the hills. No
biggie as I know there is a feed zone between here and there where I
can tank up.

Here's where my day when wrong, coming into the second support area.
First off, it caught me by surprise, so I was too fast into it. I dumped my one bottle and tried to grab two bottles of sport drink, before I realized I was still too fast. So I sat up, applied a little brake. (Remember Patty, just two fingers) and leaned out to grab a bottle. The next 1.2 nano seconds ruined my day. Thinking back, it probably was a combination of trying to slow too quickly with the front brake, leaning out to my right to grab a bottle which moved the bike to the left, front wheel goes right, fingers tighten on brake and all hell breaks loose. I don't think I went head over bars, but more of a pivot into mother earth, or father asphalt. Rob's second point to remember, speed hurts. At least I did it in front of a lot of people.
The support staff there is great. They were on me like a flash. First
guy id himself as an EMT and we went from there. My thoughts were, 1.
How embarrassing. 2. I need to get up and back on the bike. 3. Why is
the world spinning the wrong way? 4. OK, maybe a minute to catch my
breath, then back on the bike. 5. Why am I still laying here if I want
to get on the bike? 6. Gee, I don't remember this extra lump on my
shoulder. 7. OK, this sucks! And so ended my first Ironman.

Like I said, the support staff was great. They had the ambulance there
in a minute. The two paramedics in the back both had been kayak
support staff for the swim. (Bill, she apologized for hitting you with
her boat.) The hospital was a hoot. I wasn't even the first (nor
last) one there from the race.
>
So the upshot of all of this was a stage 3 shoulder separation, torn >ligaments, 3 fractured ribs and a bruised lung. Not bad for a year of training. The good news is so far, no surgery, coughing and sneezing
have taken on a completely religion experience for me, I get to spend
more time soon with George Anderson, and I didn't even rip my kit, so
it's not all bad. (And a personal best of 3.5 hours for my first
Ironman!)

I'm on the mend, have already signed up for next years race, looking at
this as having been a great opportunity to build on my base for next
year. I am really in awe of all of you who attempted this race, no
matter whether you finished, set a personal best, crawled across the
finish line or looked like an Olympic champion. You set your goal and
hopefully made it. As I've been told, it's not the destination, but
the journey to get there that counts and is what you remember. So I'll
see you all on this years journey to next years race. Hopefully sooner
rather than later. (George?) Best wishes,

Rob

Jim Hutter's Ironman Report... and maybe his last???

Congratulations Brian and Nancy and everyone who competed. I had a blast and even finished in the top 10 in my age group. Of course at my age there were only 24 participants but that is beside the point.

Lowlight was the start of the swim. At the first buoy I found myself unable to breathe. I swam over to a kayak thinking holy crap I have been training for 30 weeks and this is how it ends. Another guy was also hanging onto the kayak and he explained that my breathing difficulties were a result of my body not yet being adjusted to the cold water and to hang on to the kayak, breathe deeply, and relax for a couple of minutes. I took his advice and had no further problems during the swim except for the hand to hand combat at the each turnaround. Got frog kicked a few times in the old kisser.

The bike was grueling but I took it very easy the first loop and picked it up the second loop and probably passed 30 bikers during the final 15 miles. I probably took it too easy the first loop but who knows. It feels good to finish strong at least. Not a sterling time but those hills are brutal and I am not exactly mister hill climber.

The run felt great and Joe, the team swim coach, assisted me in the transition area. Nice guy. I ran the first 15 miles only walking through each aid station. I couldn’t really believe I was feeling that good. The rest of the way I walked a little and but mostly jogged. Got passed by Kristin Anderson and ran with her for a time until I realized that I couldn’t keep up with the youngster without losing my cookies.

Now for the grand finale. I am running down the finish line high fiving everybody and looking for my family. With 10 yards to go my toe caught on a fold on the carpet and I went flying into the air landing on my butt about 3 feet from the finish line. How embarrassing. Sunglasses flew off my head and everyone is asking me if I was okay. I was fine except for my bruised ego but tried to make the best of it by laying on my back and pointing both fingers to the heavens which resulted in a big cheer from the adoring crowd. I then got up and walked across the finish line. What a fantastic way to go out as I am 99% sure that I have done my last Ironman and will now turn to shorter distances where my current level of fitness may be an advantage in the 60 to 64 age group. Eight is enough and the old knees are breaking down.

By the way, never did figure out how to pee properly in that skin suit. I think we need to have a seminar on that.

Rob, get well quickly!

Paul Grove's Ironman Bike Report....

The saga continues....

.....I was concerned about my cramped hamstring but it really was more of just a small twitch. I have cramped during other ultra events but still recovered and had a good race so I wasn't too panicked at this point.

My T1 times are generally slow and this one was no different. I received help from a volunteer who dumped out my bag. I slipped on a pair of padded bike shorts over my tri shorts. I had vasaline that I was going to use to totally cover my feet (Kristin told me that Patty S. gave her that advice) but I decided not to since I was using SOS brand socks which give me no blister problems at all. I usually don't blister during road marathons anyway. I decided not to put arm warmers in my bag since I thought it would be a warm day, even though the start of the bike might be chilly. I got sunscreen on my arms but not my legs and briskly walked to my bike. It wasn't all by itself but I was able to find it anyway. : ) I mounted the bike and started out slowly.

Starting slow in a tri, especially an IM, is tough because the crowd is always cheering you on telling you to go faster. That's great for them since they don't have to cover 138 miles of ground but spinning my legs too fast after a cold water swim can lead to cramps. Did I mention I was nervous about cramping? The bike to run transition gets all the glory, but the swim to bike is tough too. Fortunately my legs were not too cold (no goose bumps) and the weather looked great.

I started thinking about my nutrition and a great e-mail that Dr Spencer sent out to RTB IM athletes a couple weeks ago:

*start out slow and race in a bubble, not being concerned if other athletes are passing you in the early miles and not being concerned where your friends are. Ride your own ride.

*Don't eat gels or sports drink for 30 minutes after the swim, water only. Then stick to your nutrition plan.

Ah yes, pacing and the nutrition plan. The bike sets up the run so I knew that if I failed on pacing or nutrition during the bike I would have a painful 26.2 mile walk ahead of me. The out and back to Higgins Point is so crowded that I was riding slow whether I wanted to or not. That is a mixed blessing. I had to hold back, but I didn't want to draft and the insane number of bikes made the ride dangerous. As I was getting close to a slower rider in front of me I started to wonder how slow I could ride the first loop, or entire 112 miles and still achieve my target time for the day. That is the burning question in long distance triathlon. How much do you hold back on the bike? If I hold back and then have a great run, then I will have a great day. If I hold back but then still blow up during the run, then I'll be angry that I didn't ride faster. I had more immediate concerns however: the draft marshal was now next to me "Three bike lengths!" the lady shouted. I waved my hand and nodded. She caught me fair but there were so many of us I felt like it was impossible to get much room. Five miles into my bike ride and I already have a drafting warning. Oops. The only thing more crowded than the first five miles of an IM bike leg is the first 1.2 miles of an IM swim. Perhaps I shouldn't admit this but this would not be the only infraction that I, or people around me, committed throughout the day.

This year I was using more liquid nutrition, with almost no water, just sports drink, and taking a concentrated salt tablet every hour. I did have half a PB and J sandwich and some Fig Newtons (thank you Fig Newtons, they are perfect cycling food!) this year but it was much less than in the past and I ate nearly all of my solid food in the first half of the ride then switched to sports drink and gel. In 2005 I ate PB and J sandwichs and water almost exclusively and that was too much solids. The stomach pain during the run was horrible. I later found out about a medical condition known as "intestinal angina" which is just as unpleasant as it sounds. Basically solid food can't be digested easily when you are bent at the waist on your bike, so it just sits in your stomach. My lack of salt intake might have also contributed to digestive problems. At the time this confused me because solid food worked well during training rides and half IM events. I learned the lesson that the IM triathlon is a whole new beast and what works during training and shorter events does not always work during IM.

I was wearing two watches this year and no HR monitor. One was a countdown timer set at 20 minutes and the other was just showing the time of day. I wanted to eat or drink something every 20 minutes. Since the race started at 7am I could figure my approximate race time from the time of day. At least during the bike I could. It was likely that during the run I would become too dazed and confused to do any math but I would deal with that later.

Once back into town I really enjoyed the crowds. They always make IM special and this year RTB had a huge cheering section spread out in different areas. They really are a boost when you need it.

When I reached the hills in Hyden I thanked myself, and Benny, for selecting a compact front crankset. I was spinning up the hills and even on the flats my cadence was much quicker than it would have been with my old gears. The effort was feeling easy yet I was sure that I was moving at a good pace. I didn't know exactly what my speed was since I was riding with no odometer or speedometer. Just me, my bike, and my two 20 dollar Timex watches. Yes, one was an ironman watch and the other was an expedition complete with a compass for navigation (which thankfully I didn't need!).

Many athletes claim that this bike course is tougher than the old one. Nonsense. Upriver Dr. and Riverview Dr. (I think I have those names correct), both of which were 8% grade and more than a half mile long, are gone from the course. Yes, the current course has lots of rollers but so did the old course. On Memorial Day weekend Heather said that this course is like riding out to Enumclaw from Kent Easthill. I agree. It's a mixed course and that makes it really fun.

Half way through the first loop I approached a corner that was really crowded with bike traffic. All the riders sat up, slowed way down, and took the corner wide. I'm not sure why but I got on the drops of my road bike and instead of following the crowd, I turned sharply near the cones and accelerated out of the turn passing the entire group. Oh how much fun that was! From that point on, the corners, and uphills to a lesser extent, was when I would make a pass. You always have a advantage over the other athletes near you, you just need to figure out what that advantage is. Maybe you train on the course everyday. Maybe you ride longer, steeper hills than what is on this course. Or maybe you ride a road racing bike that corners better than a time trial bike. The corners would be my advantage. Thank you race orgainizers for sweeping gravel from the road as turns and gravel are not a good combination.... I also saw people up out of their aero bars on English Point RD and other twisty technical sections. I decided that if the road was slightly downhill and technical, why not get on the drops and ride aggressive to make up time on the other riders?

I generally pass people on the uphills and his race was no different. Many of them passed me going back down the hills but I clearly was moving up in the field. The people that I rode the first loop with were nowhere to be found on the second loop. I know a few of the them were ahead but most had dropped back. I suspect that I rode the second loop the same pace as my first loop (perhaps even faster). I really was feeling good although I did have to increase my effort near mile 90.

The crowded bike course gave the event more of a road race feel to it, and that has it's positives and negatives. While I enjoyed passing large number of cyclists on the turns and technical roads, I also saw a lot of rule violations. Passing on the right side because a rider was in the middle of the lane blocking. Passing on the yellow line because two riders were riding in the middle of the lane blocking. I passed in between two riders at one point since I didn't want to go over the yellow line. Another time I had one rider blocking the middle of the lane and then another rider in front of him that was riding properly on the right side. I should have just gone around both at once or yelled at the guy blocking to get out of the way but...I decided to pass the first rider on the right, then squeeze in between both of them passing the next rider on the left. That's a good way to get road rash but it worked this time. I remember two years ago when I was riding in the non timed Mt Shasta Summit Century ride, a woman on a road bike passed me on the right on the shoulder of the road in the gravel. And she did it very well, I might add. Thankfully I didn't see any of that at IM.

And speaking of people doing things well, the volunteers did a great job. I only missed a gel once and that was my fault. I also sprayed a kid with Gatoraide. One of the stations had a soccer net set up with a target taped to the top crossbar. So I flung my half full yet still open bottle of Gatoraide at it. I missed the target but drenched the young volunteer with sticky sports drink.

'Where is Bill Swedberg?', I started wondering. I was hoping to catch up to him but he rides a bike quite well and makes it a habit to zip past me on the downhills and then maintain that led on the flats. I vividly remember him putting the hammer down on Government Way during our Memorial Day ride. All I could do was turn to the rider next to me and moan about how "he said he was going to take it easy going back into town!" Still I didn't see him at the start of the race, but I did see Patty. Certainly she would have said something if he wasn’t racing.

The last ten miles I decided to allow some people to pass me and start stretching some muscles. I had only gotten out of the saddle two or three times all ride. I knew that I had achieved my goal time for the bike ride. Actually I was quite sure that I rode faster than planned, but I looked at my watch and was unable to do the math to figure out exactly what my time was. : )

I pulled into T2 feeling very fresh. I grabbed a cup of water from Kelvin, who was volunteering. Another volunteer helped me with my bag. He looked at the orange hand cleaner that I had packed. "I dropped my chain out there and that works great to clean hands with," I explained. As I headed out of the tent I stopped to get sunscreen put on my legs. I chatted with the volunteers as my family started jeering me to get going. I heard Isaiah yell "quit talking and start running". Yes, I love my family and when they get older the kids will understand the importance of a fast transition.

I took a few shuffling steps across the timing mat and already I knew that this marathon would be much different than two years ago.

Patty Swedberg's Ironman Race Report and shameless sponsor plugs

This was my 5th Ironman, and I’ve come to have a great fondness for the race. I’m grateful to be able to participate in it at all and to do it with such great teammates and friends and family around. I went into this one a bit behind where I’d like to have been training-wise, but was determined to get as much as I could out of my Brian Guillan-sized body. Brian and I had determined a few days before the race that except for my higher percentage of body fat (which I refuse to disclose) and bigger feet (also not disclosing), we are essentially the same athlete. How he qualified for Kona and I did not is a complete mystery to me. Nancy Larson qualified too. They are my heroes.

I love our traditional team BBQ on Thursday night (sponsored by Kent Easthill Physical Therapy). Great things happen there. Strategies are discussed, war stories told… With Marty Larson’s BBQ'd ribs for inspiration, (THANKS MARTY!!!) Patti Anderson formulated a great plan for opening a red-neck spa out of a double-wide after the race. Ed & Christine Clarke had some great suggestions there….something about hot massage rocks in a crock pot and cold drinks…Never really thought of Ed at a red-neck spa, but the image appeals to me.

I think I saw just about everybody on the team before the race started on Sunday morning. Felt flooded with silly emotion just seeing Bill and my friends and teammates getting ready. I wanted to hug just about everybody that I got my hands on…..did that. I typically try and hang around Brad at the start of the swim. Usually calm and cool, he is quite enthusiastic at the beginning of those races and it is infectious. He escaped my radar, though, dang it, and was replaced by my twin brother, Brian, (13 years younger) who had tipped me off that he would be on my feet at the start. Knowing Brian could have a wickedly fast day and chose my feet at the beginning made me very happy, so I happily went along. We stood on the beach until it got very close to 7, then moved down to where the big kids are.

I absolutely LOVE the start of those Ironman swims – my favorite part of triathlon by far. For a person that likes to be in close contact with people, there is no finer moment, really. Arms and legs and heads everywhere. I’m not afraid of getting hit, and not afraid to let my somewhat manly arms land on some guy’s head…There’s no danger of offending the big confident boys that hang around in that pack and it is FREEING. I thought often of Brian, hoping he was still right there, or better, that he’d found faster feet to follow!

Out of the water I looked hopefully at the clock. I have swam a 1:00:xx 3 times at these races and wanted to see :50-anything SOOOOoooo badly….. Nope. 1:00:55. Dang it dang it dang it!!
Off to the wetsuit strippers – I actually did STOP for a second and look for an RTBer – I knew they were out there! But I didn’t hear nor see them in that moment so went with another very competent stripper….

The rest of the day was filled with seeing our RTB spectators and family members out on the course. Emily (our daughter!), Justin, Julie, George, Amanda, Morgan, Allison, Angela, Shaun, Teresa, Jen, Julie, Patti, Amy, Toby, Suzie, Tracy, Marty, ……on and on…. Emily waved pictures of our heads on sticks and had some GREAT posters on the course…… She is hysterical and makes me laugh out loud when I’m out there. Missed Benny, though. He is known for sleeping in the grass on the run course next to his bike and empty Zips Burger bags or heckling people.


My ride felt good. I took the first loop conservatively, letting the other 40-44 women pass me, confidently assuming I’d crank it up and pass many of them on the 2nd lap like I did last year. Never saw most of them again…. More time on the Computrainer (not a sponsor, too bad) may have helped there… but I did see almost every single RTB athlete many times (except for Rob!!! Get well, Rob!!) Bill looked FANTASTIC and was gaining on me.

My ride – 6:12….11 minutes slower than last year’s time, but a dandy effort, I think! I was never really discouraged or bored or in any type is distress. My nutrition worked great. It was a great ride for me mentally and the best I could do that day, I think.

My run – 5:12. I saw that coming…didn’t really deserve a better run split. But I have resolved to not go to Ironman again until I can do considerably better job on that marathon. My legs came apart with about 8 miles to go, but I ran further than I have before – well into the 2nd loop…so there’s a small victory in that for me. I passed Brad at about mile 5 or 6…he was cramping badly and walking. I thought for a SPLIT second that it would be a nice thing to hang with him for awhile….but knew he wouldn’t have it and I was feeling too good to stop there anyhow. He offered selfless encouragement as a Hopeful picture flashed in my mind of cheering him across the finish line for the first time ever after I’d have the time to enjoy a nice meal with a glass of wine.

I saw all the RTB competitors from time to time on the run – we have FABULOUS looking athletes out there. I couldn’t believe how fresh they looked!!! (Why don’t I look like that? EVER??) My handsome Ironman husband, Bill, would flash me a smile at every turn, and I thought for awhile how nice it would be to cross the finish line with him!! Maybe I would wait for him – he wasn’t that far behind! I could rest up a little on the grass! Or the pavement. Or in the back of that truck as it headed back toward town! Naw…. Would rather try and beat him while I still have the chance!!! I think he’ll be really hard to beat next time. (Love you honey!)

For the last couple of miles, while walking it in with another athlete, Kris, I’d look occasionally over my shoulder for Brad. Was he gaining time? My head couldn’t do any math anymore but I kept looking. Not there…..not there….not there again….. Brad has that admirable yet annoying ability to hurt, though, (right, Julie??) and is fiercely competitive. I figured if he was close, my plan was in trouble. Keep looking, Patty….

With 6 blocks to go, Kris’s coach showed up and provided a distraction. I forgot to keep looking…….and we started running for the finish line. (Why do people do that??? Walk for miles and insist on running across the finish line? It seems so deceptive to me!!) But I ran anyway and prayed for an end to it already and forgot to turn around.



With about a block to go, the inevitable happened and there was Brad…passing me. There would be no meal or wine, and there was no sprint finish in me….no Arnie Maish elbow to his ribs…only the disappointing sight of the back of Brad's jersey and the big red F5 Logo crossing the line a full 7 seconds ahead. Well done, Brad. :)

Congratulations everybody – I’m proud to be your teammate.

No race in 2009 for me…but 2010 might be fun! I'll be studying up about the run...

Paul Grove's Ironman Swim Report....

The Swim



I was nervous about the swim this year. Not so much the chaos of the swim just the fact that I did very little swim training last year since I only did one sprint distance race and my longest swim this year was 58 minutes. My best time for the IMCDA swim was 1:34 so 58 minutes really isn't long enough. But I reminded myself that the swim reallly was the easiest part of the race two years ago. Would it still be? I also was nervous about very rough water that was experienced by racers last year. And what if my calves cramp? Would that be the end of my day? I still have some problems with calf cramps thanks to this race two years ago.



I stood on the beach and looked at the crowd. I was at the back of the crowd and just a little to the right of center. There were many people to the right of me and actually they looked like they were lined up with the boats that watch the race. They would have to go to the left at an extreme angle to get on course. That would be a serious problem.... I chatted with another guy who said that a slow swim is his strategy for finding his bike in T1. Ha, Ha, but I had to agree that my bike is usually sitting alone when I get out of the water.



The gun went off and we wished each other well and have a good race, see you out on the bike, etc. And "please don't kick me as you pass me in the water," I added. We walked down to the water. I was slightly nervous not terrified. I was less nervous now than I was when setting up my gear an hour earlier. The swim start was just like I remember it: very crowded with a few people on my legs and me on the legs of other swimmers. I breathed to the right and ducked to avoid a woman's arm. That happened last time too. With reflexes like that I should consider boxing. Two years ago I said that the IM swim (and the run for different reasons) are a little like a boxing match: you know someone's going to get beat up, you just hope it's not you or one of your friends.



I had to do quite a bit of head up swimming at this point to avoid the other swimmers. We really weren't going anywhere though. It was like the start of a huge running race. You don't run, you walk. I didn't want to have my head out of the water because obviously you can't swim very fast, and I can feel the strain on my back and hamstrings when I tread water or try to breaststroke in a wetsuit for too long. I didn't want my legs to get tight. If my hamstrings cramp it will be a very long day. At the team dinner on Thursday night I mentioned that I don't sight straight ahead, just left and right. Let me clarify that just a bit. I do look ahead but I don't sight off of the horizon. I do bilateral breathing so I can watch to the left and see the buoys and crowd and when I breathe to the right I see how many people are near me. If the majority of the crowd is on my left and nobody is on my right then I'm probably swimming toward the Spokane River and I need to move to the left. Also I can tell how many people are around me based on how violent the water under me is. Even though I wear earplugs, I can hear and feel the crowd if I'm near the bouys. If it's peaceful and feels like I'm swimming in Five Mile Lake then I need to go left. Just like the mosh pit at a rock concert, it gets more violent the closer to the center you get. Now that I'm older and wiser, I stay out of the mosh pit at rock concerts, but I still haven't learned to stay out of mass start swims.



What I needed to do at this point was get away from the people hitting me from the left. Remember all the people on the beach lined up to the far right? Now they were swimming almost paralel to the beach in an attempt to get on course and slamming into me in the process. Two years ago I didn't have this big of a problem with the "right side swimmers" cutting in. I used to enjoy the chaos and adrenaline of the swim. This year I just found it frustrating and annoying. I resolved that I would never do this again.



I made my way around the turn bouys at the far end of the course. There was boat wake out here (there was in past years too) and I could taste the fuel in the water. Yuk. I rounded the second bouy and swallowed a full mouth of water. No chance to spit it out either. I did that two years ago in the exact same spot! I coughed and gaged but it was too late and the water was already down.



The last part of the first loop was still crowded but I did find some space to swim. But now the negative self talk started. I knew that IMCDA was the only ultra distance event that I have not been happy with. Both years that I did it I got crushed. A DNF in 2005 and in 2006 calf cramps and nutrition/stomach problems that caused more physical pain and agony than I had ever experienced (well, since the race in the previous year). I will never forget those two races. I have had fairly good midpack success at other run and bike ultra distance events but not IM. Why? The answer is simple I figured: the other events don't involve swimming and you can't be a poor swimmer and have a good IM race. This is going to be a very long day.



Just ahead of me a guy was on his back trying to do backstroke. But he wasn't doing backstroke he was doing some sort of a crazy forearm spinning thing. His shoulders weren't moving just his arms from the elbow down. It looked like he was doing a backstroke drill and going nowhere. And his bent leg kicking was splashing a lot of water in my face. This was really pissing me off. Last week Patty Anderson said that she won't swim in the back of the crowd because of all the people who can't swim straight. She was right and I now understood her point.



I finished the first loop and looked at my watch: 45 minutes. Wow. That is the same time as my first lap two years ago and much better than I thought it would be. Very nice. Maybe this swim isn't so bad after all.



The second lap was more spread out. I swam for about ten minutes then stuck my head out of the water. I said hello to the guy next to me and noticed that it was cloudy and darker than at the start of the race. My legs were a little tight and I could feel the groin muscle in my right leg. I don’t know if someone grabbed that leg but it was stiff. I wasn’t too tired but I started to daydream at this point.



Until I reached the first turn bouy, that is. I could feel the water get rougher and I looked up to see a kayak just a foot from my face. "Go to your left," he told me. I looked to the left and saw that I wasn’t that far from the bouys and I was still on the edge of the crowd. 'Dude you go to the right and get out of my way', I was thinking. 'I'm doing just fine thank you very much'. They pushed us all into a tight group and the violent crowded swim started again. Dang! There were so many surfboards and kayaks just a few feet away. They looked like alligators at a trout farm. One was even in the middle of the swim pack. I don't remember this many lifeguards two years ago, but it's good that they are there (at the edge of the pack that is. Kayaks in the middle of the pack create problems.) I wonder if this is because of the rough water last year, or have more swimmers been getting into trouble at IM events? Have there been any fatalities in the water in the last two years? Bill would later tell me about his mishap with a lifeguard on a surfboard.



On the return leg I started daydreaming again. I was tiring but still comfortable. I had my head down in the water and saw something strange looking flash in front of my face. My heartrate redlined in fear. I popped my head out of the water and realized that it was just my arms in my black wetsuit doing their usual stroke. I had been looking at churning water and black-clad arms and legs for so long that I was losing focus.



I exited the water tired but pleased: I swam a 1:35. I walked up the steps and to the first wetsuit peeler I saw. They had a tough time getting my wetsuit over my ankles since I only used lube on my neck and not my ankles, but they still did a good job. They stood me up and through no fault of theirs, my right hamstring cramped. Crap. This might be a very long and painful day.



*to be continued.....*

The Juicy Details of… My Life as a Stripper

By Patti Krebsbach (“pk” in the RTB world)



I had been waiting for him for almost an hour. He strolled up from the beach after a nice long swim. Moist droplets of water falling one by one off of his golden locks, gently rolling over his chiseled muscles.

He looks up and finds me among the sea of faces. Our eyes meet. He gives me the knowing look. I don’t know his name…he doesn’t know mine. I reach out to him. My hands touching his body in all the right places. I gently glide him to a bed of grass. Beaming rays of sun shining through the tree branches. The gentle wind softly whistling a song.

He is waiting in suspense for my next move. With no warning, I……STRIP THE WETSUIT OFF HIS BODY along with my partner Tammy Barnhart!!!!!!!

Tammy and I are “Strippers” (the wetsuit peeling kind) at the 2008 Ironman Coeur D’Alene Triathlon. “He” is Tom Evans of Penticton, BC who we gracefully assist on his way to a first place finish!!!!!

Tammy and I were lucky and honored for the chance to peel the first wetsuit in this year’s race. We were jumping up and down with excitement. It was so cool and even cooler that he went on to win!

In small groups, the racers start making their way towards T1. We were hoping to spot and peel as many RTBers as we could.

The first RTBer we saw was Brad Williams but were unable to get his attention. Next up was Phil “Pill Dispenser” Spencer and we weren’t about to lose out on a chance to strip him!!! Right on his heels was Patty Swedberg. We were able to get the attention of RTBers Brian Guillen, Kristin Anderson, Heather Nugent and Cheryl Iseberg and got their suits peeled in a flash.

Uh…Pill Dispenser. If you’re over 40 and trying to read a label…you’ll understand. lol

All of the sudden there were wetsuited bodies EVERYWHERE. One, two, sometimes three deep waiting to be stripped. Thank God for Body Glide. You could sure tell who used it. Some wetsuits peeled like bananas – others peeled like oranges!!!

There was one particular athlete that we stripped and next thing I know we had about 10 extra FEMALE hands trying to weasel their way in to help him. When he got up and took off for transition, I heard someone say “Holy cow, he was cute” followed by “You girls sure took your time with him”. Poor guy! Probably lost some serious T1 time there.

We also stripped the youngest male athlete. He laughed when I asked how it felt to have 4 middle age women ripping his clothes off.

It was nice to see the RTBers come out of the water strong and ready for T1. We were a little worried about Heather – she was shivering like crazy, but she had enough wits about her to know where she was and where she needed to go next!!! We sent her off to the change tent with confidence. It was definitely the teeny-tiny women that seemed to have the glazed-over incoherent look in their eyes that needed the 90 degree warming huts.




The highlight of the morning was meeting Sister Madonna Buder – triathlon legend, in the transition area before the start of the race. Tammy and I caught up to her for a quick hug and photo op. Google her if you get the chance – FASCINATING!!
Tammy’s sister Jenny and their friend Stacy came over from Kalispell to meet up with her and volunteer for the race. Working, laughing and having fun along side these three kept me in stitches. Do any RTBers remember getting a “Go get ‘em Tiger” out of Tammy?


Another cool thing about volunteering was making the local news the next morning. They did a segment on wetsuit peeling. We didn’t have a speaking part but Tammy and I are featured several times showing off our stripping moves.

I know from personal experience how cold the lake was this year. On Friday morning, I had the privilege of joining the RTB Iron athletes for a team swim. There are pictures on the RTB blog – but which make me appear to be an Ironman contender – however to steal a quote from Craig (friend of RTB) “I’m JV hanging out with Varsity”.

This was the case for the Friday team ride too. We rode along side Lake Coeur D’Alene up to Higgins Point. What a gorgeous ride. I enjoyed every minute of it - so much so that I rode it again Saturday with fellow RTBers – Patty M., Amy and Kelvin.

It was great to see other RTB spectators in CDA that I didn’t know where going to be there. I saw RTHers Angela, Shaun and Teresa. Later on ran into RTBers Jen and Julie. Gotta thank Jen for the Cowbell tip - “everyone deserves some cowbell”!! Even late in the race when I had that glazed-over spectator look, I could still muster up some cowbell.

RTBers Kelvin and Mathlete Joe volunteered in the transition area. They were able to get a good view on how the athletes were doing after the long bike ride. It was especially helpful when we were out on the bike course as Kelvin kept us up to date with text messages as RTBers made it through T2.

There is a lot of down time to watching an Ironman event however; there is also nothing else like it. The energy rises off the ground and keeps going as the clock continues to tick.

This was my second year watching Ironman CDA. One of the benefits of volunteering was having the opportunity to get a guaranteed slot to register for the 2009 Ironman race.

Maybe my third trip to Ironman CDA will be my charm to Ironman Glory. Stay tuned.