Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Journey to Kona Day 128: 17 Weeks to Kona, Finding Inspiration

It's real.  While I've got 6 weeks to go before I do the Santa Rosa 70.3, there are now 17 weeks to go before Kona.  When I did my first Ironman in St. George in May of 2009, Kona was already on my mind, it had been for years.  Now, it's just 17 weeks away.  Found out a couple of days ago that it looks like I'll be starting in the absolute back of the race, not by choice, but by the decision of people who clearly don't understand why Kona is an iconic race.  Fortunately, the iconic nature of Kona that lives in our hearts and minds can't be taken away from us.  If I'm to race Kona pretty much alone, than so be it.  On the other hand, maybe this will give me a little more incentive to improve my swim and bike so that I'll actually be racing with some of the age groupers throughout the day.  That's what we do.  We find things to focus on. We find inspiration in the little things.  It's not difficult.

Very few human beings on this planet will race in the Ironman World Championships.  It's an honor to be there, regardless of where we start.  There was a time that there was a lottery, I didn't want to get to Kona through a lottery, but I believe in the Legacy program, as it is consistent with the commitment that many of us have to the sport and to the concepts that ironman is based on.

This week will be about recovering from Ironman Boulder.  I'm proud of my 7th place age group finish.  I pretty much gave it everything I had, and I can still feel that.  Fortunately, the aches and pains are diminishing, but the physiologic impact of an ironman will take a little longer to heal.  I've already starting planning my training.  I want to get stronger for the swim, and I want to put in significant volume on the bike.  I have some 20 mile runs left in me.  There's core training and hot yoga.  That's pretty much it.

17 weeks to Kona.

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