The morning of June 24th, 2007 was crystal clear and calm when I awoke around 4:30 am. It was a perfect day for a race and even though it was early, I was ready to go. This was my first Ironman competition. A triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile open water swim, 112 mile bike ride, and the a full marathon (26.2 miles) run.

I have been a runner and cyclist for years and felt fairly comfortable with those portions of the race. A year earlier I could barely swim a lap in the pool so the swim was a bit more daunting of a task. Arriving at the Couer d'Alene race site it was in a buzz. There were 2,200 athletes getting there last minute preperations ready. We had clothes to drop off, bikes to get the last preperations ready for and wetsuits to get on. Not to mention all the officials, volunteers and spectators there to encourage us along the way. Jsut being there was a adrenaline rush. Upon arriving at the lake it was not hard to notice that our calm morning had disappeared during the drive. The lake a a brisk wind coming off of it and the water was full of 2 foot swells and white caps. Not your ideal swimming conditions, especially for a novice like me. Nonetheless I got my wetsuit on and proceded down to the beach where the mass start takes place. If you have never seen this spectacle, you should, it is amazing to watch the rush of 2000+ athletes run into the water and begin their swim. For us the conditions were so bad that the race director actually gave us the option of not doing the swim and just doing a duathlon. Even though some opted out, I did not spend the previous 6 month training and learning to swim to back out now. So down on the sand we went. Standing down on the sand the adrenaline was pulsing through my veins and my heart was beating like the race already began. The gun went off and people started charging into the water everywhere.

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