I spent this past weekend in Coeur d’alene as a coach and spectator.  I had 5 clients race this year and it proved to be the coldest year yet for the race.  The rain held out until halfway through the run for my athletes; always better to run in rain than ride in rain ;) This race regardless of the weather is always great and in a first class location!  The town embraces the athletes and the love for IRONMAN and it can be felt by all!

Saturday morning I headed to the lake for the Gatorade Swim and ran into Justin from Aquasphere.  He was out there outfitting athletes in the new Aquasphere Icon wetsuit http://www.aquasphereswim.com/us/products/im_as_wetsuit_icon.html  to try.  I had brought my Icon with me to swim in and gave Justin some great feedback on how flexible the arms and shoulders are!  This really minimizes arm fatigue in the water.  Fortunately the water this year was warmer than it has been in the past sitting at a balmy 65 degrees.

After showing my athletes the bene’s of the TP kit ( http://www.tptherapy.com/)  at my IMCDA Training Camp in Boulder a month prior to the race, we made a stop by the tent so the athletes could pick up their own kits.  Josh was a big help in getting them hooked up with the right kits and we appreciate it greatly!

It was a great weekend out there seeing our fabulous sponsors including Brian from Sugoi as well as other teamates supporting!  Roger Thompson, Emily Herndon, and Pheodra Cote were out there supporting as well.  As usual, Larry Rosa (photographer) was there and I love how whenever he would spot me in a crowd, I would here is big lungs yell out.. “Hey Timex!” 

The weekend ended on a really good note as after working with Denise Mitchell for over 18 months,  we acheived her goal of qualifing for Kona and placing 2nd in the female 45-49 age group!  Kona… here we come! www.tristafrancis.com