Just a little teaser update from the Ironman last weekend so that the Gilmour Girl in Memphis stops giving me a hard time (thanks for keeping me honest, Laura!):
Despite the fact that I have been doing triathlons for 10 years now, the 2010 Ironman Coeur d'Alene was my first stab at the full ironman distance. It was a good day and I'm pretty pleased with the effort considering my long-distance rookie status. I was 4th out of the water, 4th off the bike, then wound up 9th female at the finish in a time of 10 hours, 7 minutes, 15 seconds. Obviously there is room for improvement, especially on the run segment, but it was a solid effort. The feeling of running along Sherman Avenue to the finish line was overwhelming, with the crowd cheering and sticking their hands out over the barriers for high-fives the whole way down. My first marathon in Chicago is the only other race that I've experienced that level of exhilaration running down the finishing stretch. Coeur d'Alene is a picture-perfect setting for this kind of race and the citizens really seem to embrace the whole event. I can definitely say that this is one of my all-time favorite races and I'd love to come back in future years and have another crack at the podium.
I have a few very special people to thank for their support at this race: my AWESOME host family, Sandy and Tom Vas Dias, for opening their home and supplying me with treats from their Sweetwater Bakery; my dear friend Tim Johnson for explaining the finer points of Ironman transitioning and providing encouragement on the run; Rebecca England, client and photographer extraordinaire who flew up just to cheer me on; and of course, Albert for making the long solo drive up from Salt Lake and then putting up with my incessant moaning about swollen ankles on the way back home. Thank you also to all the other people from Utah who were up there and cheered me by name, and to the friends and family who sent kind messages of encouragement and positive energy on race day. Your support really does give me wings!
Now back to boxing things up for the big move tomorrow. (!) More details, race and house pics to follow as soon as we have the internet set up in our new house.
