Garcia top local finisher, 9th overall

COEUR d'ALENE - Being from the surrounding area of Coeur d'Alene, the one thing you can prepare for when competing in the annual Ironman event is the course itself.

What you can't simulate is the record high 105-degree temperature that hit the area on Sunday afternoon.

Not an excuse - they're still Iron tough - but a little melted for sure.

Coeur d'Alene's Derek Garcia, who finished seventh in last year's event, finished ninth in 8 hours, 58 minutes and 55 seconds, just 58 seconds off his seventh-place finish in 2014.

"I knew from the get-go today that it was going to be important to temper the effort," said Garcia, who finished his fifth Ironman Coeur d'Alene. "Anytime you go just a little harder than you want to, you pay for it."

Coeur d'Alene's Brian Hadley - a Sandpoint High graduate - switched jobs over the course of the past year, and finished 140th overall in 11:07.16.

"It was a grinder today," Hadley said. "And we knew it was going to be one coming into the day by the forecast this week."

Hadley, who finished fourth overall in the 2011 Ironman Coeur d'Alene, said that Sunday's race was his final Ironman.

"Actually, I'm kind of done doing it," said Hadley, 43. "My job that I used to have (as a manager at Center Partners), I had more flexibility to train more. Now (as a marketing and media strategist), I'm working harder, and I like working harder and not being super intense about this and doing it anymore. It gives you a lot of respect for those that are doing it in the same constraints, but I'll officially say this is my last one."

Jenna Rings of Coeur d'Alene was the top local women's finisher, clocking in at 12:22.49.

Garcia, 30, was 28th after the 2.4-mile swim in 54:52, then jumped 20 spots after finishing the 112-mile bike in 4:47.07. He finished the 26.2-mile run in 3:12.07.

"Every race, there's something you can improve on," Garcia said. "Honestly, I struggled a little bit in the first part of the bike. I was struggling, but it wasn't the heat. I just didn't feel like I was firing on all cylinders. I started to come around at the end of the bike."

The heat, Garcia admitted, was a bit of the factor later in the day.

"It's just not a normal thing here," Garcia said. "I had to keep water on me all the time, and that's just not the case here."

Hadley said he had similar experiences with the weather in 2003 (80 degrees) and 2006 (85 degrees), but nothing like Sunday's blazing heat.

"It was pretty hot in 2003 and again in 2006," Hadley said. "But nothing like this. It was pretty similar, but I think I'm a little bigger than I was back then and I just didn't adjust to the weather very well."

Last week, it was announced that a half-Ironman with a distance of 70.3 miles will be held in Coeur d'Alene next June, in addition to the full event in August.

"I'm really glad the race is here," Hadley said. "I got a little choked up coming down the finish line because this race has meant a lot of me. I'm really glad it's here."

Of his future plans, Hadley said he'll continue to stay active, and maybe even consider the half-Ironman when that time comes.

"I might be a candidate for that for sure," Hadley said. "But I'm looking forward to long mountain bike rides and mixing it up with those now."