IMAZ in 16:21:12!

Where do I start? It has been such an amazing week that I now am finding myself thinking of everything as B/IM and A/IM as in before and after the Ironman. But surprisingly not for the reasons that I thought. Yes, I finished the “Ironman” Yes, it was very hard! (more on that in a minute) and yes, I can now say “I am an Ironman”. All of that just seems secondary to the amazing time that I had at the race itself. The energy of all the spectators and the volunteers was so inspiring that the whole experience became less and less about what I was doing and more about the what they were doing and the whole sense of community. As I sit here writing this, the people are what I remember the most. Boy, how unlike me.

I have always been a very motivated person, so much so, that most of the time I have been so focused on my goals that I’ve never stopped to TRULY enjoy the journey. When you do that, you miss out on so much. It is great to be goal oriented, but not to the point of not enjoying how far you’ve come. I’ve always said that I never look at the people that I have passed and feel good, I look at the people in front of me and strive to be better. This can be a good thing, but it can also consume you and rob you of a lot of joy. And if you are not careful, it can also make you bitter and jealous. I have learned so much. My thoughts are a little scattered so bear with me if I jump around a bit.

I went into this race with the intention of “just finishing”. There are so many things that can happen in a race that long, that you need to complete the distance so you can have some kind of bench mark, then learn and adjust for the next time. These things I know but still I usually set an unreasonable goal and am disappointed if I don’t achieve it. I imagine I do this to push myself, but it usually robs me of any happiness from what I have accomplished. I mean how can you happy about where you are if you are always looking forward to where you have to go? Anyway, I digress again. I finished the race in 16:21:12. slower than I would have liked to finish, but I finished and with a HUGE smile on my face, despite the grueling conditions.

Hot and windy! 95° with 23 mph gusts of wind. Was it a tough day out there? To put it in perspective, 18% of the field did not finish the race. That is the 3rd highest DNF rate in Ironman history. It was brutal out there.

I want to write a proper race report, but I am really tired, so I will continue this tomorrow with details of the swim and hopefully some pictures.

Paul