Airmen test their limits

  • Published
  • By Dean Siemon
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  For athletes, swimming 2.4 miles in Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, might sound like enough of a challenge - then add a 112-mile bicycle ride directly after that swim and a few might reconsider signing up. But that's not all. As a finale: a 26.2 mile run. Now even the most pshysically fit athletes might decide the trilogy is too much to handle.

But for two Airmen stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, it's another physical challenge to improve upon their best times at prior Ironman races. The most recent was the Ironman Coeur d'Alene event June 29 that used the city's lake, Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.

Although confident, it was far from an overnight decision for these Airmen to jump into an Ironman race. Both have trained and worked their way up to being able to physically handle the long-distance triathlon.

Captain Tyler Boyd's first Ironman race was in 2008. He had raced in shorter triathlons prior, while part of the Air Force Academy's triathlon, to build up the stamina to complete a full Ironman course.

"It sounds bad, and it is worse when you're out there," Boyd said. "It seems longer than it is."

But the pilot within the 7th Airlift Squadron kept a good pace, finishing the entire course in 14 hours, 19 minutes and 55 seconds. His overall rank was 1,241 out of 1,947 athletes who completed all three segments.

Ryan Neill, an Air Force Chaplain at McChord's Chapel Support Services, finished just before the 17-hour cutoff to be considered an official Ironman with a final time of 16:44:24 (1,904 overall rank).

But as both will explain, it's not about where they finish among the other athletes.

"It's seeing what you can do, and you're looking at your PR (personal record)," Neill said.

Both men agreed that high winds made tackling all three segments difficult for athletes.

Boyd said the wind affected swimming in Lake Coeur d'Alene by making the waves choppier.

"You may be going up and then down into the wave and what was air being breathed in is now water," Boyd said.

It also affected the bicycle portion, especially going up a large hill on the course and wind gusts attempt to push athletes. Neill said he wasn't making excuses, but a lot of times could have been better minus the wind.

Neill mentioned several professional Ironman athletes said who they were affected by the wind, even though some finished the entire race in under nine hours - the fastest time was Andy Potts in 8:25:44.

"I'm sure there weren't a lot of PRs that day," Neill said.

Another hindrance to training is scheduling. The general timeline to begin preparing for an Ironman is six months out. For service members, it can be a challenge to fit time into an already busy schedule.

For example, Boyd was sent to Oklahoma during a temporary duty assignment for training and didn't have access to a pool to practice swimming long distances. Neill said it can be quite the juggling act when balancing training, his work schedule and spending time with his wife Sara and their family.

"There was a sign that said 'If your relationship with your spouse is going well, you didn't train hard enough,'" Neill said.

Despite how exhausted and worn out physically both Airmen were after the event in Coeur d'Alene, they have been signing up for other triathlons and half Ironman events throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The excitement of being able to have the opportunity to beat their recent time usually starts about 24 hours after, when their bodies are beginning to recover.

"I think I've finished every race saying I'm never doing another one," Neill said. "Then the next day, I'm looking for the next one coming up on the calendar."