Thursday, December 03, 2009

Ironman Arizona-Highs and Lows

Lows:
Lying in a pool of my own sweat, wide awake, seven hours before race time
Treading cold water for 10 minutes waiting for the race to start
That crippling cramp in my right calf during the swim
That second cramp
Getting out of the water and not being able to sit down to take off my wetsuit
The hypothermia that lead to a 7:20 T1
Mile 20 on the bike, when my right nostril was so plugged I thought there was a Clif Shot Rok wedged in it
Mile 40 on the bike, when an ill-advised shorts adjustment made it feel like someone had stuck my junk in a blender and hit puree
Mile 80-100 on the bike, where there was a lot of drafting
Mile 2 on the run, which was an ill-advised 7:15
Having to stop and pee on the run
Knowing I was way over 10:30

Highs:
Surviving the cramps
Exiting the water
Running past people trying to mount their bikes 1 inch over the mount line.
Getting on my bike
Seeing my family at the turn around
Easy peeing on the bike
Going 38 mph for a while on the bike
Drawing a drafting penalty on a competitor after getting props from the official
Getting off the bike
Running the first two miles in 14:45
Passing the point where I cracked and walked in 2007, not once, not twice, but three times
Running the entire marathon
Sprinting to beat two guys at the finish
Finishing
Steve having a great race
Talking with Kurt Eggers after the race

and
The Grand Canyon trip the day after
Sedona

1 comment:

Don Gustavson said...

i like the part about getting the guy busted for drafting, nicely done