Ironman Coeur d' Alene 2007

Recap and Pictures

Todd Poole, You are an Ironman!

On Sunday,June 24, 2007 at 10:33 p.m., my past 18 months of training finally paid off as I heard those famous words echo through the air as Mike Reilly announced “Todd Poole, You are an Ironman.”  Twelve months ago, three insignificant consonants began haunting my mind as my wife and kids were witness to my DNF at the 15 mile mark of the run at Ironman Coeur d’Alene ‘06.  Dehydration and dizziness had won. To add insult to injury, Sheila seeing me looking good as I began the run, purchased a finishers jersey as a present for the finish line. This jersey would end up being a training tool to push me on through tough times. Failing to complete my goal rose to the top of my painful memories list.  Everyday the remembrance of the race brought sorrow and disappointment.  No one really knows how tough it was to daily remember failing to complete something that I had strived so hard for.

My race day morning was to begin at 4:30 a.m. but at 4:00 my eyes popped open to see Sheila fully dressed and ready to go. She was so nervous herself that at 3 a.m. she could not sleep and began getting ready. This being my second attempt at this venue, confidence and calmness were strong allies. I was very prepared both mentally and physically. I arrived at the transition area about 5:45 a.m. to find it was a chilly 47 degrees with 15 mile per hour winds. The forecast was for a high of 72 degrees with 5 to 7 mph winds throughout the day. This would be a far cry from the 94 degree temperature a year ago. About 6:30 am I squeezed into my wet suit and and neoprene cap. With the race being a beach mass start like last year, I started far right of the crowd to keep from being beaten and bumped. My plan was to swim at an angle to the the turn buoy. As the gun sounded, 57 people decided not to start the race due to such challenging waves and wind. I slowly walked to the water and began my challenge. This water was extremely choppy with 2 foot swells. Having a wet suit increases your confidence in any swim. Slow and steady, riding each wave to the top, I concentrated on clean, deep breaths of air. The swim was much more crowded than last year and I found myself struggling to have an open area to swim in. Many people crowded my space and forced me left or right or to drop back to keep from problems. As I approached the first turn buoy, chaos abounded. People were freaking out calling for help. The rescue boats were busy pulling 4 to 6 people from the water as I tried to get through the flailing crowd. After circling the farthermost buoy, the return trip to shore was fast as I rode the tide in. Upon completion of the first lap my watch showed 51 minutes. Out of the water, through the exit chute and back in for the second lap I went. As I began, a surprise appeared from below. I swam directly over a female scuba diver sitting on the bottom of the lake watching the race. The second lap was less stressful and not as crowded. Through the exit chute I headed for T1. Two wetsuit peelers awaited my arrival and quickly removed my wetsuit. Grabbing my bag, into the changing tent I went. My new Headblade jersey, a fresh pair of shorts, and my bike awaited. I had completed the swim in 1 hour and 48 minutes and was on track with a 12.50 T1 time. I walked my bike to the mount line and headed on my way.

I had pre-driven the new hilly course and decided to set my bike computer on average miles per hour instead of distance or time. The ride toward the town of Hayden was short steep rolling hills. At the top of each, a fast downhill for recovery was nice. As I climbed one long hill, a distraction appeared. A large doe leaped across the road in two large bounds. A little farther ahead, Nancy a customer of mine's daughter appeared holding a "Go Todd!" sign. I was very surprised to see her on the route. Reaching the turn around point of the lap, things were still on track. I was riding with Joshua Weil and John Malpass taking turns passing each other. I would out-climb them and they would out-descend me. Returning to town was flat and windy. As I approached the end of the first lap everything felt great. The temperature had reached 72 degrees and was excellent. At the 62 mile mark, special needs bags were handed out. Mine had a coke and more Hammer gels. Continuing on steady and smooth, I climbed the hills once again. My focus was staying in heart rate range as the miles clicked away. Nancy was once again at both ends of the road waving her sign. As I finished the hills and returned to town my bike average was still at 15.5 mph. I rode past Sheila and Jared smiling as I proudly crossed the dismount line. Into T2 and the changing tent again, for my running clothes. I was now about 3 minutes ahead of my projected time and felt good about the progress. Out of the tent, and straight to the ladies for a little sun block before I begin my 26 mile test. I felt very good and was expecting a strong run. As I started out, caution was in my mind due to last years nausea problem. I began with a 2 minute run and a 2 minute walk followed by 4 and 2 and then 6 and 2. I felt good. I came upon Sheila and Jared about the 11 mile mark. I could see their concern and puzzled face. Is everything okay?, Sheila asked. They had calculated me being there about 10 minutes earlier and feared for the worst. "I'm good", I replied to ease their minds and continued on. Almost to the half way point where I fell apart last year and all is well. I ran and walked the first 13.1 miles keeping a 12 minute average which was my personal goal.

At the 14 mile mark, my special needs bag with a long sleeve shirt waited. Tying it around my waist, to be used later, I ran on. As darkness approached and clouds rolled in, a chill soon filled the air around the 20 mile mark. As I slipped on my shirt, the last bit of energy in my body was used. The fact was, there would be no more running, just walking. Time to persevere and suck it up. With only 5 miles left, my mind was getting tired along with everything else in my body. This was the wall you hit during a marathon except it follows 14 hours of exercise instead of 3. I came upon Erika and Rick walking and talking in the dark. Their only rule to be a part of the group was not to talk about the run, anything else but the run. I really enjoyed having someone to take my mind off the task at hand. Neither of the three of us could think very clearly and it became funny to try and calculate when we would cross the finish line. At about 24, it was so dark we could not see the road we walked on. Rick was complaining about the darkness as Erika pointed out that he was so tired that he had not taken the sunglasses from off his eyes. We got a good laugh from that. The last 1.2 miles seemed to take forever. We reached the final left hand turn as Rick stated the finish line was just a short jog away. We began a slow easy run. As I approached the finish line, my only thought was listening intensely for Mike Reilly's voice. In the dark, cold Idaho night I began to hear the most anticipated PA announcement of the past two year, "Anthony Poole, age 43, Monroe, Louisiana, "You are an Ironman." I cannot express the emotion of what hearing those words meant. From failure to success, in 15 hours and 33 minutes I had revenged my own self to complete Ironman Coeur d' Alene 2007. As I reached the line, Jared came from the crowd and ran with me through the chute. It was a great time to share such an experience between the two of us. I did live again to erase those three insignificant consonants "DNF" which had haunted me the past 12 months. Special thanks to Tim who met me at the finish chute and helped me to the exit. I would have fallen on my face without his shoulder to lean on. Every volunteer at the event gets my utmost respect and gratitude.

Last, but first in my book, I have the most awesome wife who puts up with my insanity daily. Special thanks to Sheila for allowing me the time to train and race as I do. I know it cuts into family time but she is supportive and helpful with everything I do. Sheila and Jared awoke early and stayed up late race day to help ensure I had a successful Ironman. They worked as hard as I did getting from place to place and waiting to see me pass by, while worrying about how I felt and how I was doing. Thank you family.

 

Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2007

Name                         Anthony Todd Poole
Bib Number               1337
Age                             43

          Swim               Bike               Run               Overall          Position
         1:48:21           7:25:56           5:58:18           15:33:36            1856

Race Leg                                   Distance                  Pace          Position
Total Swim                        2.4 mi. (1:48:21)       2:51/100m       1988

First Bike Segment:               34 mi. (2:08:57)        15:82 mph
Second Bike Segment:          56 mi. (3:48:44)        14:69 mph
Final Bike Segment:              22 mi  (1:28:15)        14:96 mph
Total Bike:                        112 mi. (7:25:56)       15:07 mph       1881

Total Run                          26.2 mi (5:58:18)       13:40/mile       1856

Transition                                                                                       Time
T1: Swim to Bike                                                                        12:50
T2: Bike to Run                                                                             8:11