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Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2006 |
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One positive outcome from Ironman
New Zealand was that, because it was for the most part canceled, it
allowed us the opportunity to race in one of Ironman North America’s events
for free – these were events that were already full, sometimes a year in
advance! We accepted the generous offer and looked through all the events
available to us: IM Lake Placid, IM Florida, IM Wisconsin, IM Arizona and IM
Coeur d’Alene. We chose the latter because of the technical nature of the
course and also how it fit within our busy race schedule. Truthfully, we
would probably not have entered any of these races in favor of ironmans in
other countries but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. The event
would be on June 25th, three weeks after Honu - which was two
weeks after After some good results at We arrived the Wednesday before the Sunday race with plenty of
time to review the course, rest and fine tune our race and nutrition plans.
However, we were surprised by the frigid lake temps (reportedly around 57
degF) in combination to the forecasted weekend high air temps (95 degF on
race day). Double swim caps and lots of fluids were added to our plans. We
would also have some friends participating in the race so it would be fun
seeing familiar faces during the long day: |
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The course would be a two-lap affair for the swim, bike and
run: |
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The Swim |
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The day started off to be quite challenging when Sherwick had
his wetsuit ripped open by one of the 4400+ flailing arms during the mass
swim start. It wasn’t until he was running up the beach after the first lap
that he discovered the cause of his rather slow split: a water-logged suit.
He quickly fixed it before diving in for a much better second lap. Jami,
starting far off to the right, had to deal with fewer masses of bodies in
exchange for a longer swim! |
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The Bike |
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The bike started off with a short out-and-back (previewing part
of the run course) followed by several miles of technical climbs and
descents. We would later find out that one athlete had a rather nasty crash
resulting in a few broken bones and a trip to the hospital. The course then
transitioned onto a bike path with even a lap around the local dog race
track! We then finished with several windy, long and flat sections. Then onto
the 2nd lap! Mysteriously, hills appeared to grow steeper and flat
sections longer which resulted in much slower paces the second time around -
we were both glad to get the bike over. |
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Jami on the bike |
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The Run |
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The run was actually not too difficult as far as marathons go,
but when followed by a 112-mile bike, all ironman marathons are tough! The
run started out with a short out-and-back along the lake front around the
finish line and then meandered through residential streets before leading to
a 3-mile out-and-back along the lake again. The good news was that Sherwick
did not have ANY major cramping or nutritional issues thanks to a switch to Gookinaid performance drink and
spreading out his electrolyte schedule. The bad news was that he would slow
down some 2 minutes-per-mile! Jami would have difficulty as she battled with
heat exhaustion. |
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Sherwick on the run |
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Our finishes were an hour and a half slower than our usual
times and reconfirmed our belief that ironman, similar to motorcycle
racing, is serious stuff and deserves 100% commitment and dedication in order
to be competitive. We will not attempt to simultaneously do both in the
future! The rest of 2006 will be devoted to moto! Overall, we had a great experience. |
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Enjoy the ride –- Team JaS Special thanks to: |
