Random Marker Guy
I arrived in Coeur d’Alene Wednesday night. My friends, Josh and Jen, invited me to stay at a rental house two miles away from the Ironman expo. It was a three-story “mansion”, with very creaky floors. It seemed like every step I took made a loud “CREEAAAKKK!!” I am a morning person so I woke everyone up at 4:30AM the first morning. Luckily, I brought extra earplugs to share with everyone. There were five rooms in the house, so my parents drove from Seattle to stay with us for the week, along with two other racers, Jen’s family, and some random body marking guy.
Our House
Arriving a few days in advance allowed me to settle in, grocery shop, and relax before the race. It was a beautiful house, until we realized we had to haul all our stuff up the gazillion stairs. Luckily, I had a room in the basement!
Thursday morning, I checked in and did a short 30-minute run along Sherman Avenue, the finishing stretch of the run course. Sherman is like the Mill Ave of Coeur d’Alene, full of restaurants, bars, and stores. The weather in CdA was very unpredictable. When I arrived Wednesday highs were in the high 80s; the next day, it was cold and rainy.
Thursday afternoon I walked around the Ironman expo testing out the “watt bike,” buying CdA gear, wearing “recovery legs”, and buying stuff that I really didn’t need. I love the Ironman expo more than a fat kid loves cake.
Winds were gusting 30+ mph by the water Friday and I had a 30-minute swim on my training plan. I met up with Dan Cadriel by the swim start. The chop was very hard to swim and sight in. It seemed liked every other breath I was just sucking down water. The cold water that I was worried about really wasn’t an issue. Water temperature was in the mid to upper 50s, but the water chop was now my biggest concern. I had never swam in choppy water conditions.
Saturday, I did a light ride and run with Dan. He has family who lives all over Coeur d’Alene so I met up with him at his parent’s house near Hayden Lake. We rode some of the hills near that area, which were sections of the actual race route. Special thanks to Dan for showing me around town. He raced Ironman Coeur d’Alene before and was able to answer all my questions about the race.
Prior to leaving AZ, I had a meeting with my coach and we discussed my race goals and strategy. I had trained harder for this Ironman than any of my others. The days leading up to the race I was getting anxious, but my body was tapering well and felt mentally and physically refreshed. I spent every night visualizing my race and going over the key points Nick and I talked about at our meeting. I recalled all my grueling training days, all the inspiring comments from my family, friends, and coworkers, all my successful races this season… and swimming with Linsey Corbin, the reigning Ironman Coeur d’alene champ, just days before the race. It was going to be a good day.
Elliot Kawaoka 
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