Ironman Coeur d' Alene
It was a most fabulous day! Coeur d' Alene, Id. is an idyllic lake front town filled with little houses, white picket fences and window boxes overflowing with petunias. The dominant downtown feature is The Coeur d' Alene Resort, an upscale high rise hotel and marina.
Bordering the downtown core and the resort is the city park and, aptly named, City Beach. In the beautiful, tree filled city park is the Ironman Village, the bike and the run transitions. City Beach runs the length of the park and is the location of the Ironman swim.
I had arranged to meet up with a member of my cycling club for an open water swim, since we would both be in Cd'A to watch Ironman. The public swim area is roped off and runs the length of City Beach. We were able to swim down and back, approx. 300 meters each way, along the rope. My total swim was somewhere between 1000-1200 meters. And, believe it or not... it was ENJOYABLE!
I was so glad that we had decided to meet, because I would have never gone swimming by myself. Each time I swim in open water, I become more and more comfortable with it. I'm still not totally comfortable when I see big dark shadows on the bottom, but I just keep swimming to get away from them.
My biggest challenge now is to learn to slow down! Just like when I run, I start out way too fast, and have to stop and catch my breath after 200 meters! I'll never get through a mile long Olympic swim That Way! I need to learn to pace myself. I reached swimming nirvana only once, while in my local pool. Now I need to figure out how to transfer that feeling to the lake. I've been corresponding with another bike club member that also wants to swim, so between the two gals, I may get in two open water swims a week! If I could get my swim down, then I only need to learn to bike and run! LOL! :)
On to Ironman! After the swim, I hiked back to the car to drop off the wetsuit and pick up cell phone, $$, etc. Then off to Ironman Village for a shopping trip! :) Ironman had a tent filled with merchandise and Inside Out Sports also had a huge tent filled to the rafters with tri gear. Oh My God! I'm in Triathlon Heaven!
I've been hoping to come across a tri top, so I can quit wearing my swim suit with tri shorts and a sleeveless bike jersey. Hey, it works, but I think a sport specific top would perform better. I saw several tops that I thought would work but none had a built in bra. (Sorry guys) I wonder if I need a built in bra or if a sports bra would work? What do you other gals wear? I didn't want to buy something that wouldn't serve my purpose.
I did go on a little shopping spree and was able to buy some things that I was not able to find elsewhere. My goggles have just started the annoying habit of fogging, so I found some anti-fog stuff. Yea! I was probably the only person in the 95 degree heat that bought neoprene cycling shoe toe warmers that day. (I've wanted some of those ever since I started cycling!) Lets see... I bought a really cool water bottle to fit between my aero bars and a pair of tri shorts that were deeply discounted. Being very pleased with my purchases, I went out to watch the race!
After swimming, I had seen the leaders go through T1 and start the marathon. When I took up my position the second time, Joanna Zeiger had just completed 13.1 miles and was headed back out for the second half of her run. The age grouper behind her was just starting his run. I happen to be standing next to the Chief Of Police during this time and SHE told me that there were cyclists that were just starting the second loop of the bike course! It was unlikely these folks made the time cut off.
In the end, Joanna Zeiger, a 44 year old mother of two over came several years of severe back pain to win her first Ironman! Her finishing time, which included a new women's course record, was 9:31:07! Not bad considering the punishing heat!
Second place went to Heather Gollnick who was 5:32 behind the winner.
Third place was Kate Major at 10:11 behind the winner.
Cd'A was slated as a Women's Only Pro Race. This meant that the prize money went only to pro women. I believe there were two male pro racers in Cd'A, but they raced along with the age groupers. Lake Placid New York will be the Men's Only Pro Race for 2006.
This is my second year attending Ironman Cd'A. If you ever have a chance to attend an Ironman event, I highly recommend it! The music, the party, the 2200 athletes, the bikes, Mike Reilly... ain't nothing else like it!
Bordering the downtown core and the resort is the city park and, aptly named, City Beach. In the beautiful, tree filled city park is the Ironman Village, the bike and the run transitions. City Beach runs the length of the park and is the location of the Ironman swim.
I had arranged to meet up with a member of my cycling club for an open water swim, since we would both be in Cd'A to watch Ironman. The public swim area is roped off and runs the length of City Beach. We were able to swim down and back, approx. 300 meters each way, along the rope. My total swim was somewhere between 1000-1200 meters. And, believe it or not... it was ENJOYABLE!
I was so glad that we had decided to meet, because I would have never gone swimming by myself. Each time I swim in open water, I become more and more comfortable with it. I'm still not totally comfortable when I see big dark shadows on the bottom, but I just keep swimming to get away from them.
My biggest challenge now is to learn to slow down! Just like when I run, I start out way too fast, and have to stop and catch my breath after 200 meters! I'll never get through a mile long Olympic swim That Way! I need to learn to pace myself. I reached swimming nirvana only once, while in my local pool. Now I need to figure out how to transfer that feeling to the lake. I've been corresponding with another bike club member that also wants to swim, so between the two gals, I may get in two open water swims a week! If I could get my swim down, then I only need to learn to bike and run! LOL! :)
On to Ironman! After the swim, I hiked back to the car to drop off the wetsuit and pick up cell phone, $$, etc. Then off to Ironman Village for a shopping trip! :) Ironman had a tent filled with merchandise and Inside Out Sports also had a huge tent filled to the rafters with tri gear. Oh My God! I'm in Triathlon Heaven!
I've been hoping to come across a tri top, so I can quit wearing my swim suit with tri shorts and a sleeveless bike jersey. Hey, it works, but I think a sport specific top would perform better. I saw several tops that I thought would work but none had a built in bra. (Sorry guys) I wonder if I need a built in bra or if a sports bra would work? What do you other gals wear? I didn't want to buy something that wouldn't serve my purpose.
I did go on a little shopping spree and was able to buy some things that I was not able to find elsewhere. My goggles have just started the annoying habit of fogging, so I found some anti-fog stuff. Yea! I was probably the only person in the 95 degree heat that bought neoprene cycling shoe toe warmers that day. (I've wanted some of those ever since I started cycling!) Lets see... I bought a really cool water bottle to fit between my aero bars and a pair of tri shorts that were deeply discounted. Being very pleased with my purchases, I went out to watch the race!
After swimming, I had seen the leaders go through T1 and start the marathon. When I took up my position the second time, Joanna Zeiger had just completed 13.1 miles and was headed back out for the second half of her run. The age grouper behind her was just starting his run. I happen to be standing next to the Chief Of Police during this time and SHE told me that there were cyclists that were just starting the second loop of the bike course! It was unlikely these folks made the time cut off.In the end, Joanna Zeiger, a 44 year old mother of two over came several years of severe back pain to win her first Ironman! Her finishing time, which included a new women's course record, was 9:31:07! Not bad considering the punishing heat!Second place went to Heather Gollnick who was 5:32 behind the winner.Third place was Kate Major at 10:11 behind the winner.
Cd'A was slated as a Women's Only Pro Race. This meant that the prize money went only to pro women. I believe there were two male pro racers in Cd'A, but they raced along with the age groupers. Lake Placid New York will be the Men's Only Pro Race for 2006.
This is my second year attending Ironman Cd'A. If you ever have a chance to attend an Ironman event, I highly recommend it! The music, the party, the 2200 athletes, the bikes, Mike Reilly... ain't nothing else like it!
posted by Barb at 5:58 PM
2 Comments:
My tri top has a built in sports bra... thank god.
Zoot Tri fit Tank
My training buddy got the same one and she found it to be adequate support for her as well, and its much more critical for her, if you catch my drift.
nice work on the open water swim, Barb!
I think it's awesome you went and supported the athletes at the IM. That's so cool! Also very good experience.
When I swim in open water, usually it's too murky to see any shadows. Actually, I like NOT being able to see anything b/c you don't have to see what's down there. Except the creatures your imagination conjures up.
I have started doing my tris in tri shorts and a sleeveless tri top AND a sports bra. I find the built-in ones don't offer a whole lot of support. It all fits under my wetsuit, and it's nice not having to worry about any extra gear in the transition.
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