Triathletes Already Preparing For Ironman ’09

COEUR D’ ALENE — The 2008 Coeur d’Alene Ironman is in the books and while some triathletes are recovering from Sunday’s competition others are already getting ready for 2009.

Even though plenty of triathletes were hobbling around on Monday nursing sore muscles from

2. 4 miles in the water, 112 miles on a bike and running a full marathon, nothing was stopping some of them from walking to the registration tent to sign up for next year’s triathlon.

“My wife is laughing over there,” triathlete Oliver Weber said. “It definitely is an addiction, that’s part of the motivation too.”

Weber finished the race in 11 hours and 13 minutes. He’s looking to shave 45 minutes off his time to qualify for the world championship in Kona, Hawaii next year.

But what about the pain in Weber’s knees and legs the morning after the Ironman?

“I ask myself that during the race,” he said. “What the heck am I doing? I shouldn’t have signed up! I don’t know why I do all this stuff. But as soon as you cross that finish line, there’s this elation of having accomplished something appears impossible but isn’t.”

That elation must be contagious. By 11 a.m. Monday nearly 400 people had signed up for next year’s Ironman competition. One of those that signed up was Carrie Kaze. She volunteered to help out this year; next year she wants to be on the race course instead.

“Then after yesterday, I was like that is it I’m signing up,” she said. “Yeah, my parents think I’m crazy, I said I can do it.”

Carrie has never run a marathon and admits she isn’t a good swimmer but none of that matters. After all she has 12 months to prepare.

“I want to accomplish swimming two hours and I want to make all the cut offs and I just want to finish,” she said.