Hillary Biscay

Ironman Coeur d’Alene Race Report

Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 5 Comments

Although it was far from my best race, I wanted to provide a brief report of my experiences at Ironman Coeur d’Alene on Sunday. It was a day in which the lows prevailed over the highs, but because I believe there are many things to be gained from even the “worst” race results, I’ve challenged myself to reflect on thie experience in this light.

Hence I have for you today another list of highlights and lowlights:

Highlight: Having the privilege of standing on the Ironman Coeur d’Alene start line again.

Lowlight: A slow swim start, which seemed to have me clobbered by every man and his dog, and landed me much too close to the back of the pack.

Highlight: My TYR Hurricane wetsuit: for the first time ever, I have found a full suit that enables me to swim like I don’t have a wetsuit on—a huge bonus in sixty degree water. I was able to swim through the crowds and make my way to the front of our group without much trouble.

Lowlight: Wondering when we’d finally make it to shore at the end of just the first swim loop; the water was choppy, the pace was on, and that loop sure seemed long!

Highlight: Finding another gear to tap into during the final leg of the swim to bring me out of the water at the front of the women’s race, ahead of some very accomplished swimmers.

Lowlight: Paying for this effort for the first thirty miles of the bike ride, during which my legs seemed to be on strike.

Highlight: My legs grudgingly agreed to join the party about thirty miles into the ride.

Lowlight: Those first thirty miles had been so slow that the whole race had gone past me by this point.

Highlight: At least I was alone on an absolutely beautiful bike course, which reminds me very much of Ironman Wisconsin, except with some long, flat bits.

(Thanks to Steve Quinn for the fun run-shower pic and thanks to the CD’A spectators for the showers and the cheers!)

Lowlight: Blowing up halfway through the marathon after running the first half not much under two hours.

Highlight: My running situation declining to this point, in addition to my inconsistent performances over the past couple of months, has forced Coach and I to realize that we have a situation bigger than “run training” on our hands—something that we really need to look into with the help of a doctor or two.

Lowlight: What might have been the longest half marathon of my life, figuratively speaking. I must admit that after doing my best “fake it ‘til you make it” for the first 13.1 miles, during the last half marathon, all I wanted was for the misery to end; it was all I could do to will myself to keep moving forward while simulating a “running” motion.

Highlight: I eventually did make it to the finish line, with my resolutions intact: on a day when these had really been tested, I hadn’t walked and I had in fact finished. On this day, it didn’t earn me a paycheck , or even a top-10 finish; it was just an investment in the future, so that I will continue to not have those options to entertain when the going gets tough. Because I have learned that, on most days, unlike this one, the tough times will pass.

Another BIG Highlight: The continued support of my incredible sponsors, to whom I am very grateful: K-Swiss, PowerBar, TYR, ISM, Wilier, Zipp, CycleOps, and FSA.

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