Team Member: Louis Kirchner

Race Name: Ironman Coeur d’Alene

Race Date: 6/27/2010

Race Placement/Time/Qualification: 11:06:40, 26th of 161 in Age Group

Tell us about your race (limit 500 words)…: This was my first go at the Ironman distance, so I really didn’t know what to expect. My only goals were to finish and race smart.

The water was pretty cold, but I didn’t seem to notice it when the cannon went off. I didn’t get out of the gate fast enough and got run over by a lot of people taking it out to fast. Nothing like swimming on top of and being swum on top of by 2300 people – got a bit flustered but pulled it together after 500m or so when things started to spread out. I got into a good relaxed rhythm and came in under an hour in 81st over all.

Took my time in T1 – didn’t want to forget anything. Early on in the bike I was cold, took a while to get comfortable. Everyone else took off and they were hammering, I knew I had to let them go – even though I could probably ride with them, it would not bode well for the run. I rode very conservative the first half and built a little more speed in the 2nd half, but still with the marathon in mind. I negative split the bike by a few minutes I think. The bike course at this race is gorgeous! The middle portion of each lap was very hilly and challenging.

Hit T2 in 450th place, and was probably even higher than that after lap one on the bike. I started to reel the hammerheads in during lap 2 on the bike. I felt surprisingly great after the ride. I was 5:55 with a 19 mph avg. Took my time again in T2 and set out on the marathon hoping to at least hold it together for something in the 4 to 4:30 range. Turned the half way point just under 2 hours and 9 minute miles were feeling very comfortable for the first half, so the second half I tried to build toward 8:30′s. Ended up negative splitting the marathon as well and finished up with a 3:56 marathon for a total time of 11:06:40 and 301st place over-all, and 26th in my AG. Passing 150 on the run is quite a change for me – usually I’m the hammer on the bike, then hanging on for dear life on the run.

I was totally pumped to make it through the entire thing feeling great. The training, nutrition, and pacing all went even better than I could have hoped for. Coach Jen really set me up perfectly to nail this one! The weather was perfect and the course was lined with spectators and volunteers, not to mention the scenery was amazing.

Still smiling at mile 16 on the run, didn’t expect that!