2022 Coeur d’Alene 70.3 Race Report
Author: Shawn Clark
View of the beach on the day we arrived
This was my 5th 70.3 race and one that I was really excited about doing! After seeing everyone’s experience doing the Full Ironman in Coeur d’Alene (2021) I had to do this race!
I had to overcome some obstacles to get here: being injured, hit by a car, and recovering from a PE! Getting back at it was always a struggle, but the amount of roadblocks that tried to stop me almost won out. After deciding not to cancel this race, we arrived on Wednesday June 22nd before the race. We flew into Spokane, WA and headed right to the Coeur d’Alene lake for a test swim.
Coeur d’Alene was very scenic and welcoming, albeit a little crowded for such a small town. I understand it is a popular tourist destination during this time of year. The area by the lake was really quiet, no triathletes anywhere to be seen on Wednesday afternoon. The water was cold and choppy (around 56 degrees). I did around 30 minutes of open water swimming followed by a 20 minute run with some strides to wake up the legs. It was actually really cool to arrive before everyone and see Ironman setting up for the race! Usually, when I arrive at a race everything is all ready to go!
Me walking along the beach about to do some open water swimming in the lake!
The day before the race (June 25th) I checked my bike into transition. I was once again lucky enough to get an end spot on the bike rack! The check in process was probably the easiest of any 70.3 race I’ve done. It was also made quicker because I had the AWA (all world athlete) status, which I guess comes with some perks, like better bike rack positions!
Excited to have a spot right on the end!
Leading up to the morning of the race, I was feeling amazing! I was totally ready to race and happy that I was feeling good enough to do so! This was probably the first race I’ve done where I felt excited, rather than anxious. I think having much more swim training/experience helped with that. I was always apprehensive about the swim, but now I was really looking forward to it. I had only started swimming 3 years prior and it felt like it took me about that long to become comfortable in the water! Another positive was that the water temp had increased to around 59-60 degrees! It was only a couple degree difference from Wednesday, but it made a huge difference in how the water felt! It was perfect temperature for a full sleeve wetsuit!
Waving to my wife, Gina, right before the race started!
I lined up in the 33 min swim time group. My only previous fastest time was over 35 minutes in St George, so I didn’t want to seed myself too aggressively until I had proven myself in a 70.3 swim first. So I just hung around the 33 min group until it was my turn to get in the water.
During the race, I had the best swim ever, in terms of how good I felt. I was easily passing people just doing my cruising pace! I could never pass people in a 70.3 swim before! My arms were turning over well and had little to no fatigue! The taper week Geoff set up for me had worked perfectly! My time (32:17 and 9th in my age group) was a PR for the swim, by a lot!
Making my way out of the water feeling very fresh!
I made my way to my bike and got my wetsuit off as fast as possible. The distance from the water exit to the bike racks was somewhat far so I had time to pull my wetsuit down and pull my wet trisuit up.
Once on the bike, I kept it relatively easy because there were a lot of hills and I didn't want to blow myself up. The first part of the bike course is relatively flat and goes along the picturesque lake shoreline, southeast of the transition area. You loop back and pass the transition area again before heading out down route 95. There on 95 is where the real hills are! Having driven the course the day before I knew what I was in for! There are definitely a couple tough climbs where you could easily blow yourself up if you got too ambitious on the bike! My Garmin Edge 1030 clocked it in as 2848 feet of elevation gain, which seemed accurate to me! I actually thought this course was harder than St George 70.3 based on how it is laid out. There is also a downhill section where you are not able to pass. This can be problematic, since a younger athlete made sure to gas it in front of me before the descent only to go slow through the whole no passing area!
I finished the bike in 2:29:56 and 4th in my age group. I should have pushed a little harder on the bike, but wanted to have a good run. I had an average wattage of 219 and weighed around 68 - 69 KG. I was happy with the results though, considering all the setback I had in the previous 8 months.
Crowds gathering around the transition area
Views on Rt 95
Once I got to the run, I felt some cramping in my legs, but I took 300 calories in the first 2 miles and got it to back off. In fact, I took in 1720 calories during the entire race! It seemed like a lot of calories, but I probably could have used a little more haha.
The run course is probably the best aspect of this race! It winds through the park and residential areas along the lake shore. There are some gradual hills as you make your way through the park and neighborhood with a longer gradual climb as you make your way down E Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive. It was also a little warmer on E Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive since there was less shade. The run course was two loops and around 300-400 feet of elevation gain, so relatively flat and fast!
The volunteers and crowds through the residential areas were amazing! Everyone was having a great time and ready to spray you down with their garden hoses if you wanted!
I felt consistent on the run. I based it mostly on feel and was happy with keeping the pace around a 7 min mile. I was trying to have a good run, but didn’t want to get greedy by pushing much harder than my abilities. I didn't really fade, feeling relatively strong throughout the entire run, and finished in 1:31:53, which was a PR for a half marathon in a 70.3 race distance!
Crossing the finish line!
Total time of 4:38:49! I got 7th in my Age Group of around 195 that started, and 55th overall out of around 2400 or so that started. I also qualified for the Ironman 70.3 world championships again! I am extremely grateful. Just imagine how well I would have done had things gone better the past 8 months!
Overall, Coeur d’Alene has been my favorite 70.3 race venue so far! The combination of the lake and scenic greenery made it great, but all the happy volunteers and spectators made it something special. After coming back from many obstacles this year, it was exactly what I needed to reinvigorate me with a newfound excitement for racing!
The End!
