Ah....race weekend hangover; a little "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"......and "life goes on" all wrapped together with some "that was pretty awesome". After several weeks of a blitzing event organization to throw together OhFar, the (first) incredibly ambitious event that combined cross country racing with a gorgeous farm day on preserved land in a festival atmosphere. It was also the day that on the other side of the earth the 33rd running of another event with incredibly ambitious roots was taking place in Kialua-Kona, Hawaii - Ironman World Championships. At that inaugural race in 1978 there were 15 competitors that whittled its way down to 11 finishers. At OhFar there were 15 elite entrants that whittled its way down to 8 (in addition to 56 "mortal" age groupers) who tested themselves on the course. Humble beginnings.
But, as I imagine US Navy Commander John Collins (the dreamer that came up with the initial Ironman) felt the day after his race-vision came together, I'm super excited about what the OhFar event can become. The feedback was really phenomenal....lots of excitement about the course (although tough), lots of great feedback about the setup and people buzzing about the fun they had. I even had a few people tell me I have a good "announcer voice" (pretty funny)....and so even though my week of training was pretty much turned upside down putting final touches on the event, it was TOTALLY worth the effort.
Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life! - John Collins, USN
But after getting home and tweeting a few "thanks" messages and posting some results from the race, I got on the live stream for the Ironman Kona race to check in on a friend who was running. Sounds like the day was incredibly hot (135 deg on the roads they're reporting) and people were deep in the "pain cave"; but that the course record was broken by a famous Aussie (Craig "crowie" Alexander) in 8:03:56, Chrissie Wellington (Great Britain) won for the women and Mirinda Carfrae (Aus) broke her own run record with a 2:52:09 marathon time. WHAT!
It's pretty intense to think about times like that.....but at the same time so inspiring to know that a 38 year old body (Alexander) and a 34 year old body (Wellington) can perform at such incredible levels. It just shows me how much more and better I can do. No doubt I have some stressors they don't (namely a "real job"), but it says to me it can be done.
So whereas most hangovers are laced with lots of "I'll never do that again", mine is something more akin to "that was so cool.....let's jump on that ride again".
So even though this coming week will be a bit of a test in the workplace, it's definitely time to ramp up my training......dust off the computrainer for another productive winter......keep turning the dial upward on my running mileage (I've abandoned a marathon next weekend in favor for a 12-10 marathon)......and have an amazing fall before taking the second 1/2 of December and the first 1/2 of January off to recover before formal IM NYC training begins in February.
If you're reading this and you're NOT excited about what the close of 2011 and what 2012 will bring I have a simple message......there's way to much good to let the bad get you down.....get your self together b/c there's just too much "extraordinary" still left in the queue for 2011 to coast and if you need a little energy, feel free to let me pull you along....b/c despite being tired.....I'm ALL CHARGED UP.
Go ahead, be amazing this week.
Mike E.
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