ready for more

after a pretty grueling hike up mauna kea with buzz 2 days ago (complete with 4:15 AM alpine start) that didn't end until 10 pm, i was feeling pretty low energy when i arrived at ironman bright and early. i couldn't have slept in because there was a medical staff meeting early in the morning that i needed to attend, and i arrived especially early because parking and traffic, usually a huge drag in kona, weren't expected to be easy.

i spent most of the day watching the athletes at the transition areas and just enjoying the energy of the crowd there. people were eager to share their stories while i waited for my 4 pm -9 pm medical tent shift to start. just before i reported for duty, i got to see both the men's and women's first place finishers. the men's race was chris mccormack (AUT) and andreas raelert (GER) battling it out over the last 3 miles.

as expected, we saw plenty of folks in the medical tent. lots of hyponatremia, GI complaints, some syncope and altered mental status.

after my shift, (it was around 10 pm), i wandered over to the finish area. at first, i had thought that i'd just stay for a few moments and then head home, but the excitement was infectious. ended up staying through the end of the night when the last finisher crossed the line at midnight. it reminded me how i feel at the end of a well-run marathon: totally broken but triumphant.

i don't swim, but i'm going to have to work up to an ironman. i'll plan for the kona half this june. i'll throw my name into the hat for the big ironman in kona next year. if i complete the half and if i'm drawn in the lottery, i'll have a lot of training to do over the next year. if not, i'll be working the medical tent again.

here's a great video of gordon haller, the very first winner of ironman (1978), crossing the finish line this year.  i'm guessing he's in his mid to late 60s now.

 

i started this post the day after the race. now, i've just gotten back home today and am still feeling great after my week in hawaii.  will write more tomorrow, but i wanted to get this draft post published before too much time elapsed.