Ironman: Old man versus the kids

When my youngest daughter signed up for Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene this summer, I was looking forward to cheering for her.  

Then my oldest son said he planned to register for the June 22 race. I was looking forward to cheering for him, too. 

Then, I thought about it. 

I no longer wanted to be rooting from the sidelines. I wanted to be alongside my kids in the race.

So I registered. 

I am excited, and yet, I also have reservations about swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 and running 13.1. The primary concern is I don’t do a lot of swimming or biking, which explains why I am slow at both. 

And the bike course, which heads south of Coeur d’Alene on U.S. 95., is primarily up and down hills, which honestly, are a nightmare for me. I consider this a brutal bike course, more difficult then the old Ironman course in Hayden. As I’ve aged, I’ve gotten weaker. And if you’re not ready for the biking segment, it destroys your run. 

Still, it could be an epic day. Racing with son and daughter is an opportunity not to be missed. Something always remembered. Perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime moment. A day to be treasured and reflected on with love.

But truth be told, there is something a little more at stake. Well, perhaps more of a thought. A hope somewhere deep inside. Some might call it a miracle. Some might call it the nonsense of a dreamer.

That would be winning. 

Not the race.  

Just beating my kids. 

Now, odds are that won’t happen. I have them by 25 years and counting. They are good athletes. But I think I can be reasonably close on the swim. The bike ride is my Achilles' heel. I expect both will crush me by an hour or so. I might make up a little ground on the run, but I could lose a lot of ground, too.

So, if that’s the case, where does this fantasy of an upset of the century come from? Any chance it might become reality?

My kids would laugh. No way. 

But as George Bernard Shaw wrote, and the late Robert Kennedy said in a 1968 speech, I say, "why not."

I’m thinking that over the next three months if I train well, and they don’t, I might surprise them. Their overconfidence could be their downfall.

But surprises are hard to come by in an event like Ironman. No sneaking through 70.3 miles. 

I've been here before. I’ve had ups and downs with Ironman Coeur d’Alene. 

I completed the full Ironman in 2007 and 2011.  

I faltered in 2006 when a storm kicked up wicked whitecaps on Lake Coeur d’Alene and I failed to complete the swim. Missed again a few years ago when I decided to jump in on eight weeks of training. Not one of my better ideas. Swim was fantastic but two flats on the bike course did me in.

I had no more thoughts of Ironman glory until Jennie and Nick were on board for the half, which for me, seems doable. 

So I will try. A last hurrah. 

If training goes well, you will see me mornings on the North Idaho Centennial Trail, maybe riding or running through Riverstone, near Sanders Beach or climbing Bennett Bay Hill. I hope to be swimming in the lake by late May.

Really, though, the pressure is on my kids. 

For me, it’s win-win. Just being out there will be a victory. If my kids beat me, well, so what. I’m an old man. They should.  

But, if perchance I manage to reach the finish line before they do, if I have a crazy beautiful race and they have crazy ugly races, it would be something special. 

Even better, I would never let them forget it. I could it hold over them for the rest of their lives. 

Really, I would.

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Bill Buley is assistant managing editor of The Press. He can be reached at bbulehy@cdapress.com.