As usual after such a race, I found I had no appetite but my parents forced a bagel on me anyways. I laughed as I randomly realized I'd probably eaten 6-10 bananas over the last 5+ hours of my Ironman...
My final race time was 14:12:55
We stuck around the finish area for a while, my mother fussing over me... my father beaming and telling me how proud he was of me... and Nicole, omnipresent Nicole, congratulating me over and over again. It was then that I learned how supportive my family had been not just of me, but of all the athletes to race that day.
Another finisher, one I didn't recognize, came over and congratulated me and then turned to thank my folks for their support and said how lucky I was to have such a supportive family. My father in particular had been cheering on every athlete to pass that day. My father is generally a fairly quiet guy, but he can make a lot of noise when he wants to.
We packed up my transition area with little fanfare and headed for the car. I thought about sticking around longer to cheer on the other finishers, but it was almost an hour long drive to my parents' house and I knew both they and I were close to wiped out.
To say I slept well that night would be an understatement. I'd had the sense to put some snacks and water by my bedside before falling asleep, but I slept straight through until 8 or 9 in the morning. I felt better than I had the day after my first marathon (what a hell that had been!) and while my muscles ached, by the end of the day I was climbing stairs and moving around without a problem, a good thing since my flight was the next morning!
I've had no aches or pains since race day, no lingering pain. I was very busy the first week afterwards, showing my best friend Nils around Denver and Boulder (both on foot) and going for short hikes. I started running again a week after the race and have been cycling around a lot as well. No training rides, just commuting so far. I lost two or three pounds on race day but got it back pretty quick. I feel great.
When people ask me about my race, one of the first things they invariably ask afterwards is if I'll do another one. When I did my first marathon, I didn't think about doing another one for months afterwards. When I told my friends and family that I didn't know if I would ever do another, they all seemed to just nod their heads with a knowing smile.
Less than a week later I knew why. They knew what a sick, twisted individual I am. I had done an ironman, one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet... and I had loved every minute of it. I am an Ironman... not by accomplishment, but simply by nature. I don't know when I'll do another one, but it's certainly a question of 'when', not 'if'.
To wrap up, I want to make a point of thanking a few people. Well, a lot of people actually.
First of all, my family, for being there when I needed you most. It meant so much to me to have you there, whether you came from just down the street or from all the way up in Maine. I love you all.
Secondly, my coach, Mark Van Akkeren. Mark knew when to push me, when to back things off and approached the whole process with an infinitely positive attitude and while I might have been able to do it without his coaching, I would not have done it as well and I certainly wouldn't have felt as good at the end.
Thank you to my friends... Priya, Nicole, Nils, Nora, Joe, Hannah, Paula and all the rest for joining me on rides, for lending support, for caring, for not laughing too loudly when you first saw me in a triathlon suit or when I spent late winter evenings riding on my bike trainer in my room.
Thank you to the Boulder Triathlon Club for creating an amazing community where I learned so much and found such great inspiration.
A final thank you to my parents for believing in me for so long, for tolerating my snappishness in the runup to raceday and for inspiring me in turn by quitting smoking. Having you running alongside me that night meant more to me than I will ever be able to express.
1 comment:
Good Job! Inspirational!
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