IMCDA Race Report~~ Gotta get that Metal!!!

What can I say about Ironman Coeur D Alene Idaho? Well to start, "it is a beautiful course", what that really means, it is a tough ass course!!!

I should really start by giving props to everyone out there that made it to the finish line that day.
Especially my beautiful and amazing MARY! She once again killed it out there. Smiling all day long and ending with an almost 7 minute personal best race time, on by far the toughest Ironman couse she has ever done. She is a ROCK STAR!!!!!!!!!

Now for my day.

As Mary and I stood on the beach counting down to the swim start, I was determined to give it all out there, especially on the swim , which I sometimes feel like I let myself get to comfortable, instead of getting out of my comfort zone and going for it.
The cannon went off and 2000 of us ran into the balmy 59 degree water to start the first of two loops equaling 2.4 miles. On the way out I could see Mary next to me for about 200 or so meters and then it got conjested and it was all about survival. All in all I felt like I swam really well, it wasn't my fastest clocking, but based on the chop and the slower than usual times for even the top pros I guess I can't complain much, not to mention I still had about 9 hours still ahead of me, after a 1:08 swim time. I flew into the changing tent and off to get my bike.
I was feeling pretty good about myself throught the first loop of the the two loop bike course, averaging 21 mph for the first loop. As I started the 2nd loop I noticed the wind conditions had changed and not for the better. I felt ok through about mile 75 or so and then just about ended my day after taking a sharp down hill corner to fast and running off course and up the side of a big hill. Al was good with the bike and off I went, but within about 15 minutes my right need started aching something terrible, and this became problematic as there where lots of hills still to be climbed. Also at this point I heard a noise, looked back and it was the remaining two hours of my bike nutrition falling and rolling down one of those big ass hills. SHIT!!! I am not going back down to get it, I will just go with plan B, use powerbars. (That decision would come back to bite me in the ass later) So I finished up the bike in 5:35, 10 minutes slower than Ironman Arizona 10weeks ago, but on a MUCH tougher course, so not bad!
I did some real fast and not fully accurate math, and reasoned that i needed to run sub 3:15 to get that Kona slot. I decided to go for it!! I would either run 3:15 or I would blow up and run 4:15. I did't care what my time was if I couldn't go fast enough to qualify. In otherwords in my mind 10:15:00 was what I needed to finish at, 10:25:00 was no better than 10:52:00.
So off I went flying by hundreds of people, and feeling great, (I hit the half at 1:37:02) that is until about the 14 mile mark when I started to feel a little off, but I gathered myslef and pushed on. Once again at about 18miles It all came to a head. Come to find out, that last bottle I lost on the bike was vital, and my stomach had not been absorbing anything I had put into it from mile 90 of the bike to mile 18 of the run, so i had gotten basically zero calories, zero sodium, and very little water. Even though i had put it into my mouth, my stomach did nothing with any of it. So two big problems, 1-no power left, 2-Horrible bloating and stomach cramps.
So there I sat at mile 18 or so, for almost 21minutes, trying to get my stomach to work again, and when the EMT started talking like she was going to pull me from the course I jumped up and started running again, no way in hell I wasn't getting that metal at the finish line. So I put one foot in front of the other and was actually alot better, not 100%, but at least I was able to keep about a 8:30 or so pace most of the way to the final turn, as usual when you finally see that finish line everything feels better, and I was able to pick up the pace and pass 3 more guys in the last half mile, running the last mile at 7:04 pace, and having that metal placed around my neck felt just as good as every other race I have done!!! Even if I did end up short of my goal, with a 10:52:00 finish, by far my slowest Ironman ever, but I will sit down and dissect the day and take the positives and negatives out of the day and move forward

Thanks to all the well wishers and I will be back, look out Ironman Arizona in NOVEMBER!!!

T- Minus...???

Yes the count down I have been trying not to do for the last couple of weeks has started. I figured if I acted like I wasn't counting the days to go then I would stay more focused on the here and now!!!
Guess what? That ended today. I officially started thinking about the days, hours, minutes to race morning? Probably because we leave tomorrow at like 6am for Idaho. 24hrs from this moment i should be @ the race site checking out the course, and dipping my big toe into the ice bath we are calling "the swim leg of the Ironman".
Not only will I not have access to any blogs or facebook or any other computer games, but frankly I wouldn't be apt to use them anyway over the next 5days. I have only one thing on my mind, and that is can I find those 11seconds?!
I have done everything I can do to keep myself together for this race, I feel like I have trained harder on the bike than ever before, my swim feels strong, and my secret weapon (the run), well lets just say I have used duct tape, stitches, rubber bands, and super glue to just keep myself and my achilles on the road. I know come about 6 1/2 hours into the race on sunday when I start my run, I will not feel anything and I will be thinking of only one thing... Kona baby!!!
Keep your fingers crosssed for Mary and I, and check back here next tuesday or wednesday to see if we survived!!!
GO MARY!!!!!! GO DAN!!!!!!!

You say its your birthday, its my birthday too!!

The most amazing thing happened today, I woke up 40 years old, and I am sure at least 11 seconds faster in the Ironman!!!

Yes when some people go buy themselves something expensive or even go out a drink themselve into a tizzy, I gave myself a birthday present of biking 40 miles for my age and then running 4 miles today. I know most people just look at me like they feel sorry for me, that is the best you could do for a gift? They just don't get it! It is an exciting thing because it allows me to be outside in 105 degree weather doing what I love. It also marks the last real bike ride before my next Ironman race. Mary and I took our bikes to the local shop to prepare them to be shipped tomorrow to Idaho for the big day next weekend. http://www.ironmancda.com/, come check us out online June 22nd!

Anyway, in addition to that I gave myself the gift of leaving work two hours early tonight so as to have a nice romantic dinner with my TRUE LOVE, (Mary). We couldn't go after work, because birthday or not, we have to be in bed by 8pm as usual!!!

In closing, I must say, I kinda have that feeling of "the cat that ate the mouse", the "I have a secret that know one else knows about", feeling.

Yes I am 40 now, and I must say, I really do feel different, I feel so much faster and stronger than I did yesterday. I can't wait to get to Idaho!!!!!!!!!! Even if the water temp is only 49 degrees...

Stay tuned!!!!!!!!

Loving the Taper & Turning 40 tomorrow!!

Wow! Slept in until after 6am two days in a row. It is nice to feel a little lazy and now it is actually part of your training cycle. Yesterday was 105 degrees here in the Valley of the Sun, but the real news was that it was snowing, and sticking in Idaho where Mary and I have our Ironman in 11days. I am so excited, I love extreme conditions!!!
Anyway, yesterday Mary and I did I nice little hour or so spin on the bike, I needed to test out one of my sets of race wheels, and then we headed out to One of the few lakes here in the desert for an open water swim in our race day gear. After two nice loops around the bay (30mins) we wher out of those damn wetsuits and headed for lunch. So refreshing to have in two workouts and be showered and at lunch before 11:30a.m.
We are getting dangerously close now. Our bikes get shipped friday!! Hope I have everything ready to crush that bike course!!! I will be 40years young tomorrow, and my gift to myself is my last bike/run brick before heading to Coeur d' Alene for the big day!!! Fingers crossed, I will be in Kona in Oct.

Bike/Run Brick Naked!!!

Now that I have your attention!
It is 13 days from Ironman CDA, and as unsure about my health as i was just 2 days ago, I am now very confident. Saturday I did a faster paced 13 miler as part of my taper, and the achilles actually didn't suck!! The real test though was to be sunday, because running on back to back days for the last three weeks has been are REAL problem. Mary and I awoke later than normal (6:20a.m.) man is it nice to sleep in. We where to do about a 4hr bike at higher heart rate, followed by a 30 minute run also at a higher intensity. Mary and I did a warm up of about an hour until we got out into the Indian Res. where we could really cut loose and not have to worry about cars. At that point I did the next 2:45:00 at 22-23 mph. It felt sooooo good to be flying again instead of crawling up another mountain, which is all we have been doing for about 8 weeks. We arrived home within about 5 or so minutes of each other and Mary was off on her run just as I was pulling in the drive, she was look sexy as usual, so my goal was change fast and take off after her. I was to try to catch her by the time we got back home. 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back. When I exited the neighborhood she was already about 1.25 miles ahead of me, and amazingly enough my Achilles stopped hurting within about .25 of a mile, so I figured I would push it a little harder and try to catch her, but when we passed each other, (Mary coming back, and me still 1 mile behind her with only 1.25 miles for her to get home I decided to ease up a little, no way to catch her even at my fastest pace, and I was enjoying running pain free for the first time in about three weeks, so why hurry. I rolled in about 4 minute behind as Mary was still stretching (and still after 5hrs in 102 degree temps, look at as beautiful as if she just got out of the shower), what a lucky man I am. Fingers crossed i will wake up Monday and my Achilles will still be attached!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Duct tape it!!

That is exactly what I am doing, trying to keep my achilles together day by day, trying to get through the terrible pain when running knowing that i am one more day closer to race day where I can just give it to myself and not worry about being able to run again the next day or the day after that. This is what I used to look like without injuries.

I will get back there, only ??? is when.

Survival in the Mountains

Well, I survivded a weekend of racing at 6500 ft of elevation, and camping in a tent with my girls
(Mary & Meg).
We had a beautiful, and actually quite easy drive up to Show Low, Az on friday a.m., the only real hitch in the getty up being Meg getting a little white faced from riding in the back seat of the car on very hilly roads. A little pit stop to change to the front seat and to get some dramamine, ( I tried to tell Mary before we left to give her some) and everything was peachy again.
We arrived around 10am after a three hour tour, and went to work setting up camp. 1hr later we where swimming in the 54 degree lake for a shake out swim before the race. We went followed that up with the typical packet pick up thing and then a little get together with the Phoenix Tri Club for Pasta and all the fixins, (especially Marys famous mint/chocalate brownies) and we where headed to bed by 8pm for a 4:10 a.m. wake up call.
Race morning went as planned in transistion by 5:10 a.m. all set up and ready to answer the bell at 6:30 to start the 1.2 mile swim. (not my best swim) exited the water at 33:00 minutes, oh well, gotta go hammer the bike. because of my achilles injury for the last three weeks, my plan was to go hard on the bike and just be smart on the run. "Dan this is not your "A" race".
After a very brutal bike leg with LOTS of climbing and more than your fair share of cross winds,
I dismounted with a respectable 2:41:00 split, considering that the course was long and ended up measuring 58.1 mile and not 56, I was fairly happy, only being passed by two people the entire ride. And with that off I went on the run, telling myself just take it easy and don't push it beyond about 80%. Right out of transition I heard a scream of "GO DADDY", and that always helps pick up your spirits. Lets just say I am glad that I wasn't trying to race the run leg, it was yet again very hilly. I still was only passed for good by one person the entire run, I so wanted to run him down, but stuck to my plan. BE SMART DAN!!! So I just stayed with him from mile 6 all the way to mile 12. At that point we where passing people that had went to hard early and we had run ourselves into the top 10 for sure. I told him to drop the hammer and go for it, seeing he was only 26 I wasn't really competing with him (Jesse) on that day. After one last mile of mostly down hill, with one last climb (the killer that most people have to walk up), I was through the Finish line and greated with my finishers metal (by Megan) who had volunteered the entire hot, sunny day over 6 straight hours. Mary was quickly at my side to take care of me post race. If you haven't seen me after a race, especially one at 6500ft, I generally need a little aid. Mary took care of me with water and popsicles for the next half hour or so. THANKS BABE!!!
I finished up with the 6th fastest run time even after all that, 1:38:00, not a very fast run time for me, but considering the day I was just glad to be done and with an 8th place finish overall!!
See you again next year Show Low!!!