Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Hello everyone!

Keith Kober and I both had a successful Ironman as we crossed the finish line at Coeur d’Alene Idaho on June 21st 2009 for our 3rd finish within 7 months on our 6 in 1 year Journey! Next on the docket is Lake Placid on July 26th then Louisville Kentucky on Aug 29th and wrapping up with Madison Wisconsin on Sept 13th. Got to meet up and hang with our good friend and fellow Ironman compeitior Andy Garrobo and his wife Mel from Colorado Springs. So we had some great friends and extended family to hang out with and have fun together. Andy is now known to all of us as the Love Guru! He crossed the finish strong as well at 15:10. Keith was a 15:00 and I brought in the rear at 15:36.

Here is my recap on the race itself:

The Swim 2.4 miles……..it sucked…..4 foot swells, white caps, cross currents…..toughest swim I have ever had

The Bike 112 miles……….my best split ever….and I crashed at mile 14 and had a chain mechanical issue at mile 91

The Run 26.2 miles ……….it totally %^$c …..45 degrees, whipping rain………made it to mile 20 before my nagging injury kicked in And had to walk it out the last 5 miles before I ran home…

Final recap……..injured my shoulder a bit from the crash……..leg is OK…….hoping my bike has no issues when it comes home so it can be ready for Lake Placid….

We are halfway through our quest and feeling pretty good all things considered. I want to THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR JOURNEY AND ALL THAT YOU MEAN TO ME. I really appreciate many of you that have stepped up to support us and our charities by going to http://www.lifeisnutz.com/ and purchasing our cool apparel.

My memories from this one I take are not having my wife by my side as she has walked through all of this with me and I thank her immensely for her support. She had a special sign made with a great picture of her and my kids cheering me on saying Go Kev/Dad We Love You!. I carried it over the finish line with me! Also missed having our mentor Joe Turcotte from Colorado Springs who without him Keith nor I would have been able to do any of these Ironmans. He is a master of the Ironman and will be competing in Ironman World Championships in Hawaii this October!! Keith’s family his son Jarrod who was awesome hanging out and being there for his Dad on Fathers Day was a great scene to see. He is also thinking about signing up someday. My great friend and biz partner Bill Beers who was incredible getting us in the right frame of mind and supporting us throughout the week and keeping tabs on us and sending updates out to many of you of our progress. He has been given the award of IronSherpa IM CDA! And also to new friends Bob and Nacy and their family for hosting a great BBQ meal which helped to fuel us along the race. Those of you who race know the 2 days of meals prior to a race day are crucial to the success of the race and they helped out big time. Their son in law and son both signed up for Ironman St George in May 2010 while we were there so there will be 5 of us competing together there next year! That’s just awesome! I met a new friend Ben Castro who finished his first Ironman in 10:57! He is an IronStud and his lovely girlfriend Staci both from Walnut Creek Cali were great to meet and I am so pleased to have new friends on the journey! Coouer d’Alene itself is a smaller city atmosphere with a great support of the race. The folks there are extremely friendly and the area is absolutely breathtaking. It’s a great place to visit if you get the chance and I would recommend staying at Coeur d’Alene Resort as that is the mecca of the city.

I know that some of my family and friends will get to Lake Placid and watch us there and I am wicked excited about that and know that will help as this will be the toughest test to date as the bike hills are somewhat intimidating…..

That’s enough for now

Talk to you all soon

Kevin :)
http://www.lifeisnutz.com/
Kevin@lifeisnutz.com