Chasing down the bad guys
BILL BULEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 13 years, 7 months AGO
<p>Don Ashenbrenner, a detective with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, runs along Rosenberry Drive near North Idaho College. Ashenbrenner is registered in this year's Ironman Coeur d'Alene, his first since competing in the inaugural race in 2003.</p>
Bill Buley covers the city of Coeur d'Alene for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has worked here since January 2020, after spending seven years on Kauai as editor-in-chief of The Garden Island newspaper. He enjoys running. | June 20, 2011 9:00 PM
COEUR d'ALENE - Guess how Don Ashenbrenner got his Trek road bike, the one he'll be using in Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene on Sunday.
Wrong, he didn't buy it. Wrong again, it wasn't a gift.
Nope, he earned it. Really, really earned it.
In 2007, he was hit by a car near Hayden and Atlas while riding to work at the Coeur d'Alene Police Department.
"A westbound car wanted to turn south, didn't see me, hit me, knocked me 55 feet," Ashenbrenner says, then adds with a bit of pride, "I didn't get hurt."
But the bike did. The hit-and-run incident broke the frame.
"The last thing you want to do is hit a cop and run," he says, laughing. "There's like 80 guys looking for you."
They got their man the next day. The driver's insurance company bought Ashenbrenner a new bike.
"That's how I got that new Trek," he says with a smile.
The Coeur d'Alene police detective is returning to Ironman Coeur d'Alene this year. He last did it in 2003, its inaugural year in the Lake City.
The 55-year-old isn't out to break his time of 14 hours, 38 minutes set eight years ago. If you can believe it, he's in this because he thinks it's a fun way to stay in shape. And being in shape, he explains, is necessary for his active lifestyle, and especially in his line of work that sometimes requires he take down the bad guy with his own two hands.
"I've been thrown around by big guys, we've wrestled around - being fit you're able to endure that stuff," he says with another grin. "Being fit, you don't get hurt. I've never missed a day of work from getting hurt."
Ashenbrenner, who has been in law enforcement since 1985 and joined the Coeur d'Alene police force in 1987, brims with youthful energy and enthusiasm when he speaks of his job and Ironman.
"With police work, it's important to be in shape with all the stress and stuff, the gym is one of the best things you can do," he says.
So he leads by example.
He even convinced two officers, Jordan Noble and Nick Knoll, to sign up for Ironman, too.
"It's good to get those other kids in," he says.
The 5-foot-11 Ashenbrenner adds that he weighed 196 pounds when he was first hired on with the police department. When he registered for this year's Ironman, he was 205.
Since then, he's got 7-hour bike rides, 2-mile swims and 15-mile runs under his belt.
"I'm 188 today," he says. "I feel great."
By the way, not surprisingly, the sturdy Ashenbrenner is an outdoors guy as much as possible when it comes to training.
He started biking outside in January when most were staying nice and warm inside on trainers, and he always runs outdoors. Always.
"I don't run on the treadmill. I hate that. It's too boring. I don't care, snow, ice, rain, you run outside," he says.
While everyone is talking about how cold Lake Coeur d'Alene will be on Sunday, Ashenbrenner just shrugs. He's had several practice swims when the lake was in the mid- to low-50s, and says it is what it is.
"Training in that water is difficult. It's cold, it's miserable, I don't like it, it's no fun," he says. "But we're just going to do it. Forget about the cold, just go do it. At 7 a.m. we jump in the lake. It doesn't matter how cold it is."
With three Ironmans to his credit - he completed Ironman Canada in 1996 and '98 - he's confident of finishing the 140.6-mile race. He even offers a prediction of when he'll come in.
"If you want to see me cross the finish line, be there between 14:15 and 15:30 and you might not have to wait too long," he says with another smile. "As long as I beat midnight, that's all I care about."
When this Ironman is behind him, it will be likely another five years before he tries again. That's because he's got too many other hobbies - hunting, fishing, hiking, camping - he intends to enjoy with wife Charlotte, family and friends. He wants to continue working out with his son and playing with his grandchildren.
"I've got all these activities. Being fit enables me to do that," he says.
As Ashenbrenner, wearing shorts and an orange T-shirt, stands to go for a short run, he notes that he'll be retiring in a year and a half.
"Then I'll have some time to train for Ironman," he says.
That should make the bad guys happy.
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