Images from Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Last Sunday, June 24th, was Ironman Coeur d'Alene, one of six Ironman races on the North American continent. It has become a popular alternative to Ironman Canada for western Canadians, due to its close proximity. (It's only a seven-hour drive from Calgary, shorter than driving to Penticton. The beer is way cheaper, too.)

So after my long ride Saturday, I jumped in the Jeep and headed south on Highway 22, to watch my friends/training buddies Kim and Derek race. The three of us trained together a lot in 2004, and we all qualified for Kona. Both were coming back after taking some time off from Ironman racing; they had trained hard all spring, and I wanted to be there for support, or torment them if it looked like they were slacking.

This would be my first Ironman as a spectator, and I was looking forward to having a front-row seat without the athlete stress. I had to get a long run in during the race, so I hooked up with Kim's boyfriend Kyle, a Calgary pro triathlete/fuel cell guru (that's what his bio says!). If you want to make a 2:20 run go by fast, do it while watching other people race. We ran along the lakeside out-and-back section of the bike course, and got to see the lead male pros in both directions, followed shortly by Kim, Derek and the other top age-groupers.

Later, after a delicious lunch and frosty cold beers, we set up inside the first mile of the run course to watch Tom Evans in the lead; and cheer for Kim, Derek and anybody else we knew, then headed for the finish line to see a lot of happy but exhausted triathletes completing their big day. I decided not to complain out loud about my sore feet.

Enjoy the pics. (Click to enlarge).

Row upon row of bikes await nervous athletes preparing for the swim in the chilly morning wind. For the first time in five years, athletes were not faced with debilitating heat. At right in the grey jacket and white hat is Mike Reilly, the Voice of Ironman, microphone in hand.


Over 2200 athletes enter the choppy water as the race begins. Several dozen had second thoughts after only a few minutes, and their race day was over early. Watching, I had one of those "Thank God I'm not racing" moments.



Victoria's Jasper Blake, Ironman Canada 2006 winner, powers up a slight incline on the way to the first of two out-of-town loops to Hayden Lake. He ran the third-fastest marathon, in 2:51, to finish fourth on the day.



A Flintstones-themed aid station along the lakefront portion of the run course. You can bet a picture like this will make an appearance on her wedding day.



Tom Evans of Penticon, in blue top and white hat, follows the Lead Male bike at the start of his second loop of the run course. He lead the race from early in the bike to mile 24 of the run. The age-grouper beside him is just starting his marathon, which really puts things in perspective!



Kyle encourages Kim by pretending he can't keep up to her. Kim went on to finish 11th overall female, against a very tough women's age group field.

Derek had a perfectly-paced race, finishing in an impressive 11:06, and winning the 55-59 age group for his efforts.

Meanwhile, back in Flintsones land, an aid station volunteer is about to meet an untimely end.

Kyle and race winner Victor Zyemtsev of the Ukraine discuss Victor's come-from-behind victory with less than two miles to go. Victor ran a 2:47 marathon to erase an eight-minute deficit off the bike. Kyle and Victor are teammates with Team Timex.

Interesting, indeed!

“May you live in interesting times.”
Ancient Chinese curse

It’s been a while since my last post, and for good reason: I haven’t had much good to talk about! Faced with both personal and physical challenges, the first few months of 2007 were truly forgettable. Under the physical category, I had to cancel out of the Boston Marathon due to a running injury that I just couldn’t shake. Just as that was responding to treatment, I had a bad bike crash caused by a loose dog. The damage: a punctured lung, grade three separation of my left shoulder, severely bruised ribs and a dozen abrasions. A serious case of deceleration trauma, complicated by asphalt poisoning.

Enough whining, though. I’ve adopted the Dogbert philosophy: “Life happens, deal with it!”

Fortunately the wounds are healing, after a couple of nights in hospital and several weeks of aggressive chiropractic treatment and physiotherapy (that will likely continue for months) by the great folks at Calgary Sports Therapy.

My original race plan is out the window, so the new plan is as follows:

The Desert Half, Osoyoos, BC, July 8th. A half-Ironman distance race, held in Canada’s only desert. The bike course consists of the toughest part of the Ironman Canada course - the legendary Richter Pass. Ridden over to Cawston, then back. Should be a good way to shake the rust off. This race serves as the Canadian long-course championships.

The Peach Classic, Penticton, BC, July 15th. An Olympic-distance race, which is the wrap-up event for the week-long Ironspirit training camp, which I will be attending in Penticton.

Ironman Canada, Penticton, BC, August 26th. The 25th anniversary of one of the most popular Ironman triathlons in the world.

(For a review of triathlon race distances, see “Triathlon Explained”, at right.)

With Ironman Canada just under ten weeks away, look for posts about the IMC course, my training and rehab, racing, of course; and some very cool run technique science called Gait Analysis.

Thanks for reading!