From golf course to the Ironman course

Swimming, biking and running aren’t activities Troy Blood uses in his day job.

In fact, water is something a golf professional wants to avoid like the plague.

So why would a golf pro want to do an Ironman event?

“The winter is my down time and I’m always bored every winter,” Blood, 32, said. “So I thought ‘Why not start training?’ My eye doctor gave me some training schedules and I just took off with it.”

Blood is an assistant pro at The Club at Black Rock, located south of Coeur d’Alene overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene. A 1992 Coeur d’Alene High graduate, Blood had done the Coeur d’Alene Triathlon in 2005. But he had a curiosity. He wondered if he could do the much more intense Ironman, which includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mike bike ride and 26.2-mile run.

So Sunday morning, he’ll join about 2,200 others and jump in Lake Coeur d’Alene for the fifth annual Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene.

“I decided to take the plunge,” Blood said, pun intended. “Every year it’s been here I’ve watched the race. It looks like a lot of fun.”

He did the Onion Man Triathlon in Walla Walla last month as a tuneup. Since returning to his day job in mid-April, finding time to train and balance life with a wife and 2½-year old daughter has been difficult.

What it has meant is Blood has found himself doing training runs at 1 a.m. He started training back in November.

“I’d go out for a 90-minute run and get to bed at about 2:30 or 3,” Blood said.

When he returned to work this spring at Black Rock, he often rode his bike from his home near Avondale Golf Club in Hayden to Black Rock. He’s lost more than 30 pounds during his training.

Beyond hoping to finish, Blood does have one specific goal.

“If I finish in 13 hours or less I’ll be really happy,” he said. “I just want to go out and enjoy the whole deal. I’m going to try to pace myself. I figure if it’s a good experience I’ll give myself three years to try to go to Kona (in Hawaii where the World Championships are held).”

Many people who attempt an Ironman for the first time generally have past experience in one of the three disciplines. Not Blood.

“Most people have a background in something – swimming, biking or running,” Blood said. “I’m a golf pro. That’s it.”

Blood is looking forward to Sunday.

“The whole experience of Ironman isn’t really the day of the race,” he said. “It’s everything leading up to it. It’s one big journey until the end. You can’t talk anyone into doing an Ironman. It’s something you’ve got to want to do because it’s such brutal training.”