Athletes prep for Ironman
Thousands expected at Coeur d’Alene triathlon
The first year John Miller attempted Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene, he dropped out after half the 2.4-mile swim, thinking his time was too slow to make the deadline. But he returned the following year, then took on Ironman races in Wisconsin and in British Columbia.
This year, he’s back in Coeur d’Alene and expects to finish the swim in the same amount of time it took him to complete half of it four years ago. The 60-year-old Coeur d’Alene attorney trains hard for six months of the year, trading a social life of wining and dining for a circle of friends made up of other athletes, massage therapists and sports doctors.
“I love beer. I love beer,” Miller said. “And I don’t drink beer from October to June. My son will be meeting me at the finish line with an ice cold Black Butte (Porter). Six miles out from the finish line, I will be thinking about that Black Butte, whether it gets poured over my head or down my stomach.”
On June 27, Miller will be one of an estimated 2,500 people from 49 states, one U.S. territory and 30 countries who will attack the eighth annual Coeur d’Alene endurance race. It includes the swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene, a 112-mile bike ride, then a marathon.
Some 3,000 volunteers will do everything from rubbing sunscreen on athletes to distributing water to providing medical aid. About 10,000 spectators and the companions of out-of-town athletes will contribute to the estimated $10 million spent in the region, through hotel stays, food and beverage purchases and other expenditures.
Miller is one of 125 athletes from Coeur d’Alene and 300 from the Inland Northwest. Race director Mac Cavasar, also a four-time Ironman finisher from Coeur d’Alene, said the increased fitness of local people has been one of the race’s greatest impacts.
“You see more cyclists. You see more people running. I think we’ve gotten a bigger, better awareness of being physical,” said Cavasar, who is 59 and completed his first Ironman at age 50.
However, Cavasar said, the Ironman lifestyle also can wreak havoc on families or couples when everyone is not on board with the tough training schedule. In the six months before a race, training becomes a part-time job, gobbling up about 20 hours a week, Miller said.
Some competitors view Ironman as a one-time goal; others adopt it as a lifestyle. And, said Cavasar, “it’s a very selfish lifestyle.” Cavasar said he waited until his two daughters were grown before he attempted the race. Miller, who was divorced with two grown children before he did Ironman, put it this way: “I have no one to answer to but my dog.”
The race starts at 6:25 a.m. for the elite athletes and 7 a.m. for everyone else. Athletes compete for a total prize purse of $50,000 and 72 qualifying spots in the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October. Competitors have 17 hours to finish.
Cavasar said much of the attention is focused on the elite athletes, but the people who stick with it and finish at midnight deserve their T-shirt and medal. “Those guys that come in at midnight, those guys are athletes. They have the internal fortitude,” Cavasar said. “You have to look at those folks and say, ‘You really deserve a round of applause.’”
Connie Price, of Hayden, is one of those folks. In April 2006, she had gastric bypass surgery and six months later had lost 130 pounds – shrinking her former 259-pound frame down to 129 by October 2006.
One year after her surgery, she ran the Coeur d’Alene Marathon. The second year, she ran three marathons and one half- marathon. The third year, last year, she did her first Ironman in 16:36. She had been told she likely wouldn’t be able to compete in endurance races, because of her surgery.
“I proved them all wrong,” the 39-year-old mother of five said. Now she feels “the possibilities are endless. I feel I’m never going to let anybody tell me I can’t do anything. If they do, I’m going to prove that I can. I feel really empowered that I can set a huge goal and accomplish it.”
Before she embarked upon training for Ironman, she sat down with her family and talked about what it would entail, namely hours of training. Her children and husband told her to go for it, she said.
Price said she minimizes the impact by getting up at 3 a.m. so she’s done with half her training before her children wake up. Her husband has provided emotional and logistical support, she said – for example, by trailing her in the car when she does solo bike rides.
Price’s determination and achievement have also rubbed off on her family. When her son was 10, he ran his first full marathon, then ran three marathons the following year. Her teenage daughter and 41-year-old sister will compete in their first sprint triathlons this year. Her 7- and 8-year old sons asked if, when they’re 9, they can run marathons too.
“They’re so proud of that,” Price said. “They love to say, ‘My mom’s an Ironman.’”