Race Report: Ironman Coeur d’ Alene – June 21, 2009 Part 1: People

Race Report: Ironman Coeur d’ Alene – June 21, 2009
Ken Landolt (836)

Part 1: People
So here I sit with a lovely Belgian Ale, one week removed from my second Ironman finish wondering what to include. I’ll do my best not to have it all be about me but let’s face it, that will be difficult. Doing an Ironman is inherently selfish and I’ve been “me” focused for far too long.

Everyone adjusts so I can be called an Ironman. Sara graciously and stoically handles the entire household while I prepare and grump about the little details. I’m dedicated and inspirational? Nope, that honor goes to Sara.

The boys don’t get it and who can blame them, they are young. They only know Dad is gone too much and he is grumpy when he is home. All they want is the human jungle gym to reopen for business.

The rest of our families and friends kindly give me a pass while I check out of normal human life and attempt to prepare my body for one very long day.

This goes on for nine months until I pack up my race gear, Sara packs up the entire family, and we all head West in a modern day Conestoga wagon Sara packed to perfection.

Out West I am blessed with more kind-hearted people. The people of Coeur d’ Alene truly embrace Ironman athletes. People in restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops and our campground welcome us to town, wish us luck and tell us where they will be volunteering on race day. It feels like the entire town is as focused on the event as I am.

As race day looms and I turn into a Class-A prick fretting over details, well-wishers come out of the woodwork. Friends and relatives drive 1,500 miles to watch and it feels like the entire Triathlon community takes time out of their busy schedule to phone or email encouragement. I can barely eke out a thank-you without my voice cracking as emotion wells up inside.

June 21st dawns sunny and cold. Sara and I listen to our traditional pre-race CD. Green Day finishes singing “I hope you have the time of your life” and the next thing I know I’m staring at the ½ mile buoy with 2,600 nervous racers and 10,000 spectators. Today my body will tell me to quit. My mind knows that can’t happen. Family and friends are watching and I need to deliver satisfaction 140.6 miles down the road. Anything less simply won’t do.

BOOM!!!!

Next: Part II: Places

photo credit: I designed our theme shirts---team BAMF. I think BAMF is a mindset vs. a bunch of swear words. During hard experiences you go there (think labor & delivery or Ironman.) And sometimes BAMF makes you smile and you need that during 140.6.

Ken's Finish! Race Report to Come

What You Want Most

"Don't give up what you want most for what you want at the moment."

-- Christie, WeightWatchers leader, Stoughton, Wis.

I love this statement and the ideas behind it. Currently it shapes my life choices in many ways, including:
- Food: I want to eat half the menu at El Taco Loco. But, I'm trying to lose weight and each food choice matters, so I'm going to pass, for now.
- Triathlon: I wasn't sure I wanted to run last night at 9:40 p.m. I went, knowing I needed the workout, and it was fabulous.

- Writing: I want to publish my manuscript via a traditional publisher. Therefore I read, write, rewrite and repeat.

- Parenting: When I'm tired, it's easy to ignore or let consistent discipline slide. But, we want to build boys of character, so as parents we press on with hope.

Have you figured out what you want most, what you're willing to sacrifice for in order to achieve or become? Must you know where you're going to know what you want? Have you defined triathlon and/or other life goals or is goal setting a waste? Let's take a look:

Cecil Murphy, writing craft panelist on The Christian Writers View 2 & author of over 100 books, doesn't set goals. Instead he focuses on the present, he shared in a past TWV2 discussion. "I do what I can do now," he wrote. "That attitude keeps me open to the future; it prevents me from wailing over what I didn't do."

Part of time management and goal setting involves defining what you aren't going to do. Rachelle Gardner, literary agent with WordServe Literary, specifically doesn't scrapbook, garden or follow basic laundry guidelines in order to do what she loves most. Find more time management tips from Rachelle & 33 of her many readers here.

And, if you're a triathlete, the word Kona may mean something to you. Mary:IronMatron wants to qualify for the Ford Ironman World Championships (Kona) before she turns 43.

"So I'm going there. And soon. A lot of life is like that: you must decide you're going to get something, and then act as if it's yours to have," she wrote on a recent post "The Chase, The Pass, The Line."

Questions for you:
What do you want most?
What have you given up to get there?

What distracts you from getting what you want most?

photo credit-my breakfast. It's easy to be good with fruit like this.

Land of the Lost Training: In Theaters Now

Rotten Tomatoes gives Land of the Lost 27%. Thoughts on this Will Ferrell flick?

As a triathlete have you trained in the Land of the Lost?

#3 Land of the Lost Training.
Series: Things I Wish I Knew as a New Triathlete.

As a child of the '70s I happily began Saturday mornings eating a bowl of Lucky Charms and watching The Land of the Lost reruns.

In this popular TV series, two kids and their dad warp into an alternate pocket universe complete with dinosaurs, time doorways, crystal matrixes and the hissing Sleestak, a lizard-like creature.
Looking back, I now see how bad LOTL was. As a child I loved watching that little yellow raft tumble downstream. And the Sleestaks' hiss and slow-motion stalk was scary, not lame. Now, I see the horrible blue-screen special effects and wonder how I totally missed that as a kid?

It took me years to discover similar flaws in my triathlon training. Basically as a new triathlete I was stuck in the muck. I trained in the Land of the Lost, a cardio nowhere zone. In case you've yet to tune in, here's what I mean.

As a new triathlete, I swam, biked and ran. Good. But my workouts were random and sluggish. Not good. I could do Land of the Lost cardio all day. But without intensity and purpose, I'd make few improvements as a triathlete.

Intensity is key to training, writes Joe Friel in The Triathlete's Training Bible. "Pay close attention to the intensity of training," he writes. "If you get this part wrong, it doesn't matter what else you may be doing right." Too often triathletes get wrapped up in mileage. While volume is important, focus on what you do with the miles.

Stuck in TLOL? Doing the same mindless workouts? You're in good company. Even 2x world-champion triathlete Normann Stadler admits he's trained for a decade without structure. Now Stadler is working with Carmichael Training Systems to perfect his training, hoping for a third Ford Ironman World Championship title.

Fortunately, Kona champs and first-time triathletes can all access the following resources:
- Learn how to setup a heart-rate based training plan in Joel Friel's free chapter . Look at goals, limiters, race dates and training objectives. And Friel's new edition of The Triathlete's Training Bible promises to make athletes smarter, stronger and faster.
- Active.com's Gale Bernhardt shares a free article on training intensity, heart-rate and perceived exertion.
- Find triathlon training plans and more at: active.com, beginnertriathlete.com, Triathlon Club of San Diego, Trifuel & Tri-Newbies Online.
- You'll also find newsletters and downloads at Carmichael Training Systems.
- Also check out active.com articles Tri-Training Investment Principles for the Upcoming Season and Planning for Perfection- Nail your early-season peak.

Tip for new triathletes: Don't train in The Land of the Lost. Going through the motions won't get you back home as a triathlete. You'll be forever stuck in a timewarp, total Sleestak bait.

Land of the Lost hits the big screen this summer. View its trailer and Superbowl commercial at http://www.landofthelost.net/.

Triathlon is a rewarding sport for people of all ages and abilities. 2009 is your year to taste triathlon. As a triathlete, you'll surprise yourself as you face fears and set personal bests. You'll be more confident, have more energy and smile more often. People will be drawn to that difference. Triathlon is a rewarding sport for people of all ages and abilities, wearing underwear while cycling is optional. Sleestak sightings rare.

Check out Why You Can series:
Common excuses:1-I have no time. 2-I can't afford it. 3-I'm too old. 4-I'm afraid. 5-I'm not an athlete.

Series: Things I Wish I Knew As a New Triathlete:
#1 My swimsuit was see-through.
#2 Go Commando

#3 Land of the Lost Training
#4 Chopper, sic'em, Boy!
#5 I Ate the Bunny
#6 Training Buddies Rock

And visit me in active.com's triathlon community. Come say hello, I'm a volunteer moderator!

photo credit: free wallpaper from http://www.landofthelost.net/