2010 Ironman Coeur D'Alene Race Report

Nick Tuttle's 2010 Ironman Coeur D'Alene Race Report

If you know me, and chances are you do since you're reading this, you know how much I LOVE the sport of triathlon. I love it so much that I've made it a part of my career as I've served as a coach and race announcer for the past few years. With that being said, last year was one of the most frustrating years of my athletic life. After a difficult 2008 with two Ironmans resulting in one DNF and another were I barely finished the swim, I was really hoping everything would come together in 2009. My first sports hernia came in the spring of that year and I didn't go under the knife until summer. I was forced to scrap the year in terms of Ironman and focus my attention on 2010 by signing up a year in advance for Ironman Coeur D'Alene.

Rehab was going well and I was starting to get excited for 2010 as it got closer and closer. A few people knew early on in the year that I was starting to worry about another sports hernia on the opposite side of my body. I wasn't as painful as the first yet, but I hadn't started my Ironman build yet either and I was worried it would worsen. I went to see my doctor to get his take and he confirmed it was another sports hernia. I am a Kaiser member and this was an out of network physician, so you can imagine the red tape that had to be cut before I could actually get the surgery. At this point, being less than three months away from Ironman and having all of my pre-Ironman prep work done, I had a major decision to make. Get fixed and do what I can to get as fit as possible after recovering or chance it and get it fixed after the race. You can imagine the frustration. It would have been very easy to have gotten upset and discouraged at this point.

After speaking to some people that I really trust, I decided to go for the surgery as this thing wasn't going to just go away. I knew I would be laid up for two weeks and unable to do any type of real training, so I had to go out with a bang. So, the day before the surgery I went out for a long run in the East Bay that started as a 15 miler, evolved into a 20 miler and ended up being exactly 26.2 miles. A marathon. This one day of training served me huge on race day, as I'm about to detail.

Race Week

The reason why I explain my path in the last year plus is so you understand how fortunate I feel to have even gotten to the starting line of Ironman again. This time (and this was my fifth Ironman) I saw the entire experience as a gift, and not a right. With a reconstructed knee and two fixed sports hernias, my wife (Marissa) and I always say how lucky I am to be alive and competing in this era of sport. If this was just 50 years ago, my athletic career would have been done when I was 19 years old with a blow out knee. This helped me stay positive and to cherish every moment I have doing the sport I love. I knew I had to fit a ton in after my surgery to finish an Ironman, but the bottom line is that I had the opportunity to do so!

All of my training partners at Velo Sf, including my fellow coach and Ironman buddy Andrew McWhorter (we've done all 5 Ironmans together), know how much I had to cram for this race. In fact, I had my longest ride, run and swim inside of two weeks before the event! With just 10 weeks to go from being in severe pain on the couch to finishing an Ironman, a lot had to be fit in.

This meant that race week needed to be recovery focused, like no other. I needed to be a smart athlete. I don't have a coach, but I still use a lot of the principles that Matt Dixon taught me a few years back. For those of you who don't know Matt, the top two pro women finishers at IM CDA were his athletes. He knows his stuff and my one taper week went exactly as planned. I felt my legs getting stronger and stronger as the week progressed, although I was unsure I had done enough volume in each discipline.

I flew up Thursday night and sat next to my buddy Mirek on the plane. He's a Kona qualifing guy and we chatted a bit about strategy. He offered for my wife and I to stay at his wife's family cabin with him the night before the race. I accepted and this turned out being a big plus. We landed late and one of my best friends was waiting to pick me up at the Spokane Airport. My buddy Steve Rupe and his wife Tia put me up for two days in Spokane before I headed to Mirek's place on the lake. Steve and Tia bent over backwards for me. Steve drove me back and forth from CDA to Spokane, helping me get checked in, cleaned and tuned my bike, fed me (most of you know how pricey that can be :) and just dropped everything to be there for me. I can't thank them enough. Such great friends!

Marissa landed on Saturday midday in Spokane. Steve and I picked her up and drove out to CDA to drop off my bike. Steve even drove us to Mirek and Michelle's family cabin. That's where Nancy and Jeff Caputo did everything in their power to get this Ironman to the starting line fed and rested. A tasty home cooked meal is the key before an Ironman and they didn't disappoint. Thank you so much to the Caputo family!

At this point the night before the race, the good luck emails and texts were flying in. I can't thank you enough for all the love. I sat down and started my final race prep, including getting my race nutrition in order. I've done a ton of racing, so I have a pretty solid idea about what I need at this point. Thank you so much to Alyssa Berman and Clif Bar for getting me all the nutrition items I needed. It paid off huge!

Race Morning

After constantly checking the weather report all week, it looked like we were going to have a great day for racing. Temps maxing out around 80 and winds steady at 8-10 mph. After racing here in 2006 when temps were in the upper 90's, I was happy with this forecast. We woke up, had breakfast and drove the Caputo family truck to the lake. Marissa was able to get me very close and I had plenty of time to get situated. After I threw on my wetsuit and wished my pro friend Meredith Kessler good luck, I started to realize I was about to race an Ironman today. It sounds crazy, but the distance is so long and so hard to truly grasp, when it clicks it can be a bit overwhelming. I took a deep breath, kissed my wife and headed to the start.

The Swim

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me how powerful an Ironman swim start can be. 2500 plus athletes primed and ready to go, all at once. So many stories...so much nervous energy. That's when it became real for me.

The canon sounded and we were off. I knew from experience and from the advice of my buddy Steve to stay as right as possible, to avoid getting caught up in the washing machine that is an Ironman start. I found open water very quickly and began lengthening my stroke. I kept telling myself to go easy the first lap and jam on the second. Another coach I had used to say go as hard as you can on the swim as you won't use those muscles again all day. The lake temp was 61, but without a hood I started to get a little chilly midway through the swim. I exited the first of two loops, got my game face on and jammed the second lap. The turn buoys were traffic jammed like you wouldn't believe, but I found my rhythm and before I knew it, 2.4 miles was behind me. I usually can't wait to finish the swim, but I felt good the second lap and I was enjoying myself.

Time: 1:13:56, 705th overall, 97/216 in the Men 30-34 age group

The Bike

After a quick change, I headed out for my 112 mile bike ride. It's a long ride and considering I hadn't ridden my bike outside since having surgery, I was a bit nervous about the distance. I went SUPER easy the first lap and this paid off on the second. My friend Lyss wants me to mention how many Clif Shots I used on the bike. All in all I ate 20 Clif shots on the bike and five energy bars. That totaled about 420 calories an hour. Just the right amount. That's a lot of Clif Shot, but my energy levels felt great! I saw Marissa, Steve and Tia all over the bike course. They knew exactly where to go out of town and that made a HUGE difference for me psychologically. Seeing a loved one that far away from town was incredible. The second loop I cruised by so many people who passed my early on. I struggled a bit the last 20 miles as I just didn't have enough bike fitness, but I was more worried about what this would do to my marathon. I gave up a couple of spots on the last part of the bike, but all in all it was a good ride. I was getting a bit nervous about the run though :)

Time:5:26:58, 202nd overall, 41/216 in age group (12 minute personal best)

The Run

Bike for show, run for dough. That's the most relevant expression in our sport. After spinning my legs out on the last part of the bike and trying to get some last minute calories in, I handed my bike off to one of the amazing volunteers and I headed into the changing tent. Ah, the T2 changing tent at IM CDA, my old friend. That's a tough place. You want to stay forever, but know the longer you're in their, the harder it is to leave. I chatted with another guy about how hard this whole deal is and how it never gets easier. I thought "A marathon...are you kidding me?". I was nicely toasted at that point and wasn't sure how this was going to play out.

Well, I guess all those long runs on tired legs in training paid off because within 200 yards I found my form and I was off. I broke the course down in my head before the race and had my strategy clearly mapped out. All I needed to do now was execute and to KEEP RUNNING! I had 8 Clif Gels on board and I used every last one by mile 20. I ran a 1:45 first half marathon and had hopes of running a second in the same time. That didn't happen as my lack on long run fitness started to show up just after the midway point. I did not crack though, I kept moving.

On the second half of the marathon I walked every aid station drinking Coke, slamming gels and taking umpteen sodium pills to fight off the cramps.I worked and I was able to run pretty fast in between aid stations. I saw my training buddies Andrew and Meredith out there battling for their lives, and I did the same. My Garmin GPS watch died at mile 23 and I had no idea what my pace was. The last time I saw Andrew he said "sub 10:40!". I said "I don't think so...maybe sub 11". I literally had no idea what was going on, but I knew I needed to get on my horse if I was going to PR. I ran through the final aid station, pushed hard up the final mini hill that felt like the Marin Headlands at that point and made the turn onto Sherman Ave where I could see the finish!

I entered the quarter mile stretch with another athlete. I put out my hand and said "give me some love, brother...we're finishing Ironman!". After a quick low five, I got my old college track legs back and cruised to the finishline. I know from working so many finishlines as an announcer what it takes to get the crowd pumped. There was a wall of spectators with tons of potential energy brimming just under the surface. My arms went up, the smile came out. The crowd went crazy! I remember thinking, this is a once in a lifetime deal. Take as many mental pictures as you can and feed off these guys energy!

I saw Steve, Tia, Andrew's wife Nicole and then Marissa in the sea of people. It was incredible. I couldn't stop smiling. It all came together and all my hard work had paid off! I raised my fists at the line, and forgot to even see what my time was. I looked back and saw 10:39 something. I said to the finish line volunteer "is that time right?!". She said it was and my smile grew even wider!

Time: 3:46:56, 161st overall, 27/216 in age group (8 minute personal best)

Total Time: 10:39:25, good for 179th overall and 36th in my age group. (Most importantly, a 40 minute Personal Best!)

I finished strong and like always, once I saw my wife, the water works came out. She is so supportive and so are all of my friends and family. I have such amazing people in my life and I am so fortunate to be able to do this sport. It is an amazing thing. Like I always say, it strips you to your core and it shows you who you really are. I am proud to say I am a man, an Ironman. I stepped up and answered the call that day. In four previous tries I had finished, but the race beat me. I won this time. I stayed within myself and stepped up to the plate, and for that I'm proud. Thank you to everyone in my life who had a part in this. I literally could not and would not do it without you. Thanks you and remember to enjoy this ride while you can because you don't know when it's gonna end.