Letter from Sarah

Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Hello -- Just a quick note to say I did it! I completed Ironman Coeur d'Alene last Sunday 6/27 and it was a really super fabulous day. My parents flew out from Massachusetts to support me in addition to my Aunt Susan and Uncle George and my friends Candi, Cara, Kainoa and Chris who came up from Seattle. We had perfect weather - nice calm 66 degree water in the morning, sunny skies, low wind, and a daytime high of 83 or so.

The swim was hard because I seeded myself incorrectly and had to wrestle my way through walls of people treading water for the first 500 yards. And I got kicked in the eye, jaw, and all that stuff you hear about everyone beating the tar out of everyone else in Ironman swims definitely held true.

The bike was great. I felt really good, ate and drank a lot, and held a pace that I figured was sufficiently peppy but not enough to kill my legs for the marathon. My parents and aunt and uncle had their own little race in the car chasing me down on the bike course so they could pop up at various places out in the middle of nowhere and cheer for me. They were so awesome - I'll never forget how totally and utterly ecstatic their voices and faces were when I rode by.

The run started out kind of bad with GI distress that resulted in several lengthy bathroom stops but I drank some Coke at each aid station and my stomach finally settled down. I kept a steady intake of salt tabs all day so I fortunately didn't have any cramping. My only goal for the run had been to run the whole thing except for the aid stations and I did that successfully.

All in all, it went much better than I had mentally prepared myself for. My semi-pipe-dream goal was to break 14 hours and I beat that by 38 minutes. I was so totally happy with how the day went. It couldn't have been better! Thank you again to my awesome support peeps - Susan, George, Mom, Daddy, Candi, Cara, Kainoa, and Chris. It made such a huge difference having you guys there - I can't express how much your support meant to me -- and not just race day, but for the whole eight months prior. Thank you and I love you!

Here are my results. See you all soon I hope!

Total Time: 13:22:39
Division Place: 48/116
2.4 mi Swim: 1:23:59
112 mi Bike: 6:38:59
26.2 mi Run: 5:10:45