COEUR d'ALENE - All the memories that are supposed to be there are there, snapshots of 180 school days stacked like in a binder: Homecoming, prom, football games, senior project and the college acceptance letter that landed like a feather when it arrived one day in February.

Teigan Lockwood, 18, even had a spring break in Las Vegas, where she became violently sick while limping from the Venetian back to her hotel room across the Strip.

But that's not what you think, not what you think at all.

"We found out I was gluten intolerant," said Lockwood, who finished a half marathon in Sin City when her stomach turned against the energy bars she ate along the course. "The whole way back I was throwing up and crying. It was horrible."

If the diagnosis was a surprise, finals week was a bear, but Lockwood survived and graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School two weeks ago.

And the college that came calling? The University of Washington.

She plans to start studying biochemistry in the fall, and go on to medical school after that.

All and all, it has been quite the year.

"I did," Lockwood said when asked if she squeezed every last drop out of the last 12 months. "It was a good year."

And sandwiched between it all, Lockwood, who turned 18 in April, carved out enough time to train for Ironman.

Remarkable, because her training started at ground zero: Last year, she didn't own a bike. The farthest she had ever run was around three miles. And, as a kicker, she didn't know how to swim. She could only flail her arms in the water and rock her head back and forth.

But this year, she could be the youngest - at the very least one of the youngest - athletes to line up for the 140.6-mile triathlon on Sunday.

"I think it would be cool," she said of wearing the youngest contestant crown, but otherwise appearing nonchalant about such a distinction. "But you know, I was still 17 for most of it."

Ironman officials couldn't confirm this week if Lockwood would be the youngest, but athletes must be 18 years old to enter, leaving a two-month window for younger contestants to best her.

Birthdays aside, being the youngest didn't have anything to do with why Lockwood entered the race.

Rather, it was her mother, Tia Vesser.

Actually, it was the inspiration Lockwood drew from her mom as Vesser completed half a dozen Ironman races while raising her daughter in Coeur d'Alene. What may seem like a perfect match, a torch passing moment, almost wasn't. When Lockwood, a former softball player, was struck with the motivation and ran to her mom to ask to join the race, Vesser told her to forget about it.

"It's not that I didn't want her to enjoy it, I just knew how much time it takes," said Vesser, whose objection was overturned when Lockwood later asked her father, who granted permission. "It's her senior year, she's turning 18, she's applying for colleges, there's just so much going on, I knew it was going to be a big hit to her school work and her social life."

Which it was.

Anxiety attacks? Yep. Nervous breakdowns? Almost. But besides the added stress during finals week, Lockwood's friends figured out she was training for the Ironman because the senior began ditching social scenes for long runs. She couldn't hide four-hour bike rides either, when others wanted to hang out after class. And, she said, she would prefer to sleep in mornings rather than spend time getting dressed so her regular springtime outfit was yoga pants and her hair pulled back in a scrunchy.

Oh yeah, and she spent her spring break running, which is where she learned of her new diagnosis.

"I have a weak stomach," the future med student classified the condition, which will require her to pack all her food on race day.

But even after dad green-lighted the race, Vesser knew it was up to her to get her daughter ready.

"Nobody else had the experience," she said.

So, they began training side-by-side, whether just the two of them or in triathlon groups. Vesser helped Lockwood swim, bike, eat and manage time. The hardest part, though, was watching her daughter zip down the steep U.S. 95 hills at 30 miles per hour on her bicycle during each practice ride.

"'Please don't go so fast, don't hit a tire, don't hit the hubcap, watch the glass,'" Vesser thought every time she pedaled behind her daughter on those training rides.

"For me," she said. "It's just being that momma bear."

While Vesser's best course time is around 13 hours, she'll stick to her daughter's hip throughout the race on Sunday, too. The goal is to finish together. The two share one nice race day memory already. Eight years ago, just before Vesser finished her first Ironman, she picked up a 10-year-old Lockwood and carried her across the finish line. Kid-carrying is no longer allowed, but the two are planning a similar finale this year.

"We'll finish together twice," Lockwood said. "And it'll be a little different this time."

And another nice memory before Lockwood breaks for Seattle and begins a new chapter in her life come autumn.

"I'm going to just stay with her and enjoy the day," Vesser said. "It's kind of a good going away gift for myself before she leaves. We spent a lot of time together."