I'm NOT dead: Ironman Recap

Standing in the sand of Coeur d'Alene's City Beach with 2,163 fellow Ironman competitors, the race clock showed 6:57am as I strategically took my place on the inside corner of the pack with three minutes to spare. Donning black full-length wetsuits and silly looking swim caps and goggles, I looked around and thought to myself "So this is what Ironman is like." As the official race gun fired off at 7:00am on the dot, we waddled into the water like a colony of penguins before diving into the sea. Our 2.4 mile swim consisted of two loops out into the lake around huge yellow and red inflated buoys. From the start, the lake was a turmoil of flailing arms and legs in an ocean of waves. (The swim start really is a phenomenal event to observe. I've included a link to the video that shows it at the end of the email) Too busy swimming on the defense to avoid being smacked in the face, I felt my wetsuit fill with water. Turns out the zipper on my wetsuit jacket (I have a two-piece wetsuit) had unzipped all the way, so I had been literally dragging the jacket the first 1/2 mile. The oncoming waves prevented the jacket from staying zipped. So I could either drag it the rest of the way or ditch it. I ditched it. I swam over to a kayaker patrolling the inside border, and tossed him my jacket, saying "It has my number in it, I'll find it later!" As I swam away, he hollered at me "But you'll lose your buoyancy!" He doesn't know me. Liberated from the drag, I felt so FREE that I made up time with my first loop clocking in at 38 minutes and my second loop at 41 mins, placing me in the top 25% of athletes as I ran out of the water, transitioning from the swim to the bike. Just off the sand, there was a slew of "Strippers" to greet me. The strippers grabbed my wetsuit as I laid on the ground and they stripped it off of me!

After toweling off and putting on my bike attire, I headed out onto the 112 mile bike course thinking "I'm going to be on my bike for as long as a normal work day." My goal time: 8 hours. At about mile 60, a passing cyclist slapped me on the butt!? It was my buddy Alexander Endo, who also was competing in (and CONQUERED) his first Ironman! Despite heavy side winds that actually shifted my bike on the pavement and threatening thunder storms, I finished the two loop course in 7 hours, 59 minutes...ahead of schedule! And ahead of the rain! :) Onto the run...

As I entered the transition area to receive my pre-packed bag of running gear, I was greeted by none other than my mom and dad, both Ironman volunteers! My mom had my bag in hand and escorted me into the change tent as I debriefed her on the days events thus far. Soon enough I was out the other side of the tent, running my first marathon and the last 26.2 mile leg of the race...let me repeat that, I was actually RUNNING!! My goal: 5 hours. I felt good the first 7.5 miles averaging 11-12 minute miles. Then the rain started and the temperature dropped to 52 degrees! Volunteers and fans began bundling up in down coats and stocking caps! I slowed down a bit, averaging 15 minute miles up until mile 22. With only 4.2 miles to go, the cold took its toll on me, as my knee froze up in pain. I opted not to stretch it, fearful that the muscle would SNAP and I wouldn't be able to finish at all.

Darkness settled in as I limped my way along the lake side trail. I met up with a few other gimps, two old guys from the midwest, and we chatted as we made our way along the desolate path. Not many fans cheering out in this part, and the stadium lights were sparse, leaving much of the trail in utter darkness, lit only by the glowsticks hanging around our necks. Four miles out, I was feeling tired and lonely, as dedicated family and friends had been amazingly present ALL ALONG THE ENTIRE BIKE AND RUN COURSE up until this stretch! It was amazing, I felt like I knew someone at every corner! As the weariness was sinking in, I heard a voice from behind shout "Hana!" Bewildered, I turned around, and somehow, my friend Sean had found me in the dark! When I didn't arrive at the finish line at my anticipated 10pm, Sean had backtracked along the run course, running to find me. He walked with me and lifted my spirits as we chatted, catching up on life. Two miles from the finish line, a posse of bikers approached me: it was my brother Ian, my pseudo-bro Michael Woods and his dad Bob Woods. Due to technical failure at several of the Ironman checkpoints, I had fallen off the radar at mile 22 for those tracking me online at the IRonman website. They weren't sure whether they had missed me at the finish line or if I had been one of the two hundred athletes who were unable to finish the race due to hypothermia, among other factors.

The last two miles, I limped along with Sean and the three bikers by my side. There was a random 80s dance party going on in the street about a mile out from the finish line, which built the excitement of the home stretch. Nothing compares to the moment I turned onto Sherman Avenue and caught my first glimpse of the FINISH LINE!! I just looked around me in disbelief, "So this is what Ironman is like!" My posse dispersed and the gimps and I limped along, as the main street began to fill with fans. The gimps called me the "Local Celebrity" because so many people had been cheering for me along the way. They wanted to finish with me, so we started jogging as best we could, making our way through the final stretch of grand stands, brightly lit and packed full of wildly cheering fans. There was music. There was ENERGY. There were hands outstretched, eagerly awaiting high fives as we ran by. I spotted my family and friends in the grand stands with a huge sign and as I crossed the finish line at 11:11pm...after 16 hours 11 minutes and 57 seconds of racing...the announcer exclaimed over the loudspeaker "Hana Truscott, from Coeur d'Alene, IDaho, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"

Happiness IS.

In closing, I cannot thank you enough for all of your support!!! Both on site, as well as phone calls, emails, and cards! Your support has been phenomenal and certainly made this first Ironman of mine an incredible one. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
As for the Charity Challenge, the grand total that you all donated to the Inland Northwest Chapter of the National MS Society in honor of Mrs. Whitcomb, is $1,215! (My goal was $1,000) PLUS, thanks to your generosity, the charity challenge sponsor will be donating an extra $750 to my organization, with a grand GRAND TOTAL of $1,965!!!!! WOO HOO!!! We did it! Thirty-six Ironmen participated in this charity challenge, and collectively we raised over $3 million for charity!! Incredible.

To catch a little glimpse of my day at the 2009 Ironman Coeur d'Alene, (including the swim start!), check out this short Featured Video: http://www.ironmancda.com/ (video is on the right hand side) Enjoy!

Woo Hoo!
Hana "Ironman" T