This is summary my wife sent out to all our friends to reassure them I was still alive!
Just wanted to give you an update on the Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2009! As the subject line implies, Trevor finished it, and not only did he finish, but he was actually smiling each time I saw him on the course! He prepared really well for this event and had a great nutrition plan in place. The race was on Sunday, 6/21, and began with the 2.4 mile swim at 7:00 am with a mass start, so imagine 2200 triathletes in black wetsuits all sprinting toward the lake at once…resembled bipedal seals on crack. CdA was expecting a storm to come through that day, but the weather was sunny for the swim. It was quite windy, though, which made the water fairly choppy…definitely more of a difficult swim than we were hoping for. They had to do two loops in the lake, which meant that after the first loop, they had to stand up and run in about a foot of water along the edge of the lake for 10 or so seconds before swimming again…harsh! I was able to stand in the water (it was a nice 65 degrees) to scream and cheer and shake a cowbell for him, which was great for me to a) support him, and b) see that he was alive. He completed the swim in 1:26:01.
Then he had to transition to his bike for the 112 mile ride. The ride was quite hilly, especially around Hayden Lake, so the first lap, the riders were smiling and giving the spectators thumbs up, and then the second lap, they were all just staring down at the ground (understandably)! Also, the clouds really started to come in about halfway through the ride, so the wind picked up and the temp dropped by about five degrees. The bike ride was also two loops, so his family and I were able to cheer him on from four different places throughout this part of the race. He completed the ride in 6:01:58. No flats, no crashes, and thank goodness, it had not started raining yet….that would have made for a dangerous and miserable ride.
He then had to transition to the run, which was a marathon (26.2 miles). At this point, the clouds had really grown, the wind increased, the temp dropped another seven degrees and it started pouring! For the run, they also had to do two loops, and whoever designed the run course should be flogged in the town square. At their turn around point (halfway through each loop), not only did it go along the lake where the wind was really whipping, but it was fully up hill for about a mile…brutal! Even the pros had their times affected by this course set up. It was so cold and wet at this point, the race officials began providing space blankets (bright silver square wraps that you put around the shoulders) to the runners, so it looked like a bunch of futuristic superman capes flying in the wind! Poor runners! Again, we were able to make it to about six different cheering points on the run, and made sure to switch up the accessories each time so he didn’t know what he was going to see (would it be sparkly pom poms, or glow stick bracelets and earrings, or more cowbell? Oh, the suspense for Trev!) He completed the run in 4:52:28, and he ran the entire time. He completed this marathon faster than he did the Portland Marathon last fall…amazing!
His overall finishing time was 12:30:28. I am immensely proud of his accomplishment. He is sore (there’s a shocker), but not injured in any way, or even that exhausted. He said that he felt strong during each part, but that he got super bored (true Trevor fashion!). Anyway, a big THANK YOU to all of you for your support during this time! It’s done!!!
My Hobby This Week 