Epilogue

Travel day Tuesday went smoothly. Drive to Spokane seemed quick, flight was on time, no lost bags. Still, about 11 hours of travel and we all had some achy legs. Happy to get home. Did a short swim on Wednesday that felt pretty good, even though it wasn’t very fast. Kacey gave me a great massage and stretch and by yesterday morning, I was feeling much better. This morning, I was able to walk downstairs (in a straight line without holding onto the handrail) without any ache and I even jogged for a few minutes on the dog-walk. So recovery is going well and I’m starting to look ahead to the Denver marathon in October.

With a little time to reflect, I thought I’d share some of what I believe will become my enduring memories of the week.

I’m very satisfied with my race as a whole and the way I went after my intermediate goals. It’s easy to look back and be critical but I know I left time on the course. I’m still working on being confident as a runner and looking back now I’m pretty sure I could have pushed a bit more on the bike and early run without risking an implosion late in the marathon. Don’t get me wrong, as far as what I was trying to accomplish, there’s really no difference between going 11:33 or 11:43 vs. 11:53. My point is just that I still have areas I can improve on. I definitely didn’t race to my full physical capacity but that’s only part of the game anyhow. I know what I need to work on for next time.

A few images of the race seem to be burned in my mind: My HRM going blank at the swim start, being freaked out by the scuba divers underwater at the swim turnaround, the crowds on Richter and Yellow Lake, and coming across the finish line. I remember coming across the finish line at Silverman in 2005 like it was yesterday. I hope this one sticks with me the same way.

I’m tremendously proud of the first-timers in our group—Bill, John, Mike, and Kay. I know for Bill, there was a lot of doubt about this whole concept (despite everyone’s encouragement). When I saw him as he was on his way out on the run, I checked my watch and did the math—yup, he could practically crawl from that point and still become an Ironman. But he didn’t crawl—he actually came back faster than he went out. And so Mr. I-Don’t-Know-If-I’ll-Be-Able-To-Make-It-By-Midnight came across the finish line 2.5 hours “early.” I was thrilled to see him finish on TV although that’s really about me—I regret not being at the line.

While the week was filled with funny moments, by far the funniest happened as we were approaching the U.S. border on the way home Tuesday morning. We stopped to read a sign about procedures at the border. Mike told John (who was driving) how to respond when asked whether we had anything to declare. “Yes, I have something to declare. I am an IRONMAN!” Could have been the exhaustion, but it still feels like a great moment in travel comedy.

Race pics of me are posted here: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32046&BIB=765
There’s one on the bike of a guy in a silver helmet who’s not me (I suppose I may be somewhere in that pic but it’s more likely just misfiled).

Thanks again to all for the support and for following along. I made some great new friends along the way and of course, could not have accomplished any of this without the support of my saint-of-a-wife, my family, and my friends. I’ll probably keep this blog active going forward, but the frequency will no doubt drop off. So I hope you’ll stop by now and then to see what’s what.

Cheers,
Dave