Well I think today is the day that I close the book on IM Wisconsin. The official end of any of my big races is the day I cut off my wristband and start to think about whats next. This will be more emotional than you might think for me because I really don't want to say goodbye yet. I had such a great time training for and racing this race. Although it was in the top three of hardest races/events I have participated in, it really feels like it is the hardest to say goodbye to.
However, all good things must come to an end so I am cutting the wristband off and I am starting to think about my next two races. The first is the Columbus Marathon where I am going to take a run at qualifying for Boston. I have already raced two marathons this year and missed by 1 minute in the first and 7 minutes in the second but I feel really good about this one. This could be the one!!! The second big race I have coming up is the Ragnar Relay in Feb. 2009 in Arizona. I am really excited about this one as I will be joining some old friends who I have not seen for about 10 years. It should be a blast.
Moving forward I will be recapping my weekly training and giving updates on any new adventures that may come my way.
That's all for now
Showing posts with label ironman wisconsin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ironman wisconsin. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
2008 Ironman Wisconsin
This past weekend I competed in Ironman Wisconsin. It took place in Madison, WI which is an incredible town that I am sorry to say I have never been to before. This was my fourth ironman and as was the case in the others it was a tough day but an overall great experience that really tests your limits.
Instead of doing a regular race report like most bloggers do going into great detail about everything that happened during the course of the day I am going to talk about what I hope to remember from this race. It actually has nothing to do with me but has left me inspired, motivated and somewhat emotional since it happened.
The greatest thing you can ever see in a sporting event, bar none, is the finish line of an ironman from 9pm until the final cutoff time of 12am. It is awesome and if you ever have the chance to see it I highly recommend you do so. Every time I have been at the finish line during this time slot (this was the fifth time I have been at the finish line, one time I just went to watch and didn't compete) I have seen the most incredible things. I am talking about people from all walks of life who have been slugging it out through weather and terrain and mechanicals and blisters and sprains and aches...well you get the picture it is one hell of a hard day. In any event at this past weekends race there was 15 minutes left until the 17 hrs was up and whoever wasn't finished was disqualified. The finish line announcer, whose name is Mike Reilly, got on the loud speaker to tell everyone who was there that the last runner had one mile left to go and would have to run it in 15 mins. or she wouldn't make it. He said there was a spotter with her who was trying to keep her moving so she could realize her goal. The crowd rallied behind this unknown runner and even though she could not hear us yet the cheers started. Literally everyone there wanted this person to make it in the worst way. With 7:30 secs left Mike got back on the loud speaker to tell us that he had just talked to the spotter to tell him he needed to keep her moving there wasn't much time left and he repeated that the spotter told him he only needed five minutes and he could get her there. Well the reality was that he needed a little more than five minutes but with only 4 secs to spare this woman crossed the line realizing her dream in front of hundreds of wildly cheering people. Call me crazy but that feat, and the crowd support, overshadowed (by a long shot) anything I accomplished that day and I will carry it with me for a long time to come. Congrats unknown lady who accomplished with only 4 secs to spare what most people can't even dream of accomplishing....you rock.
Thats all for now.
Instead of doing a regular race report like most bloggers do going into great detail about everything that happened during the course of the day I am going to talk about what I hope to remember from this race. It actually has nothing to do with me but has left me inspired, motivated and somewhat emotional since it happened.
The greatest thing you can ever see in a sporting event, bar none, is the finish line of an ironman from 9pm until the final cutoff time of 12am. It is awesome and if you ever have the chance to see it I highly recommend you do so. Every time I have been at the finish line during this time slot (this was the fifth time I have been at the finish line, one time I just went to watch and didn't compete) I have seen the most incredible things. I am talking about people from all walks of life who have been slugging it out through weather and terrain and mechanicals and blisters and sprains and aches...well you get the picture it is one hell of a hard day. In any event at this past weekends race there was 15 minutes left until the 17 hrs was up and whoever wasn't finished was disqualified. The finish line announcer, whose name is Mike Reilly, got on the loud speaker to tell everyone who was there that the last runner had one mile left to go and would have to run it in 15 mins. or she wouldn't make it. He said there was a spotter with her who was trying to keep her moving so she could realize her goal. The crowd rallied behind this unknown runner and even though she could not hear us yet the cheers started. Literally everyone there wanted this person to make it in the worst way. With 7:30 secs left Mike got back on the loud speaker to tell us that he had just talked to the spotter to tell him he needed to keep her moving there wasn't much time left and he repeated that the spotter told him he only needed five minutes and he could get her there. Well the reality was that he needed a little more than five minutes but with only 4 secs to spare this woman crossed the line realizing her dream in front of hundreds of wildly cheering people. Call me crazy but that feat, and the crowd support, overshadowed (by a long shot) anything I accomplished that day and I will carry it with me for a long time to come. Congrats unknown lady who accomplished with only 4 secs to spare what most people can't even dream of accomplishing....you rock.
Thats all for now.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Weekend Recap
This weekend was one of those unbelievable Northeast, Ohio weekends. If you don't know what I mean, it was one of those weekends made up of days when everyone always proclaims that if "I could just have weather like this all the time I would give up the seasons". It was beautiful!! Sunny - lots of blue sky, not to hot, not to humid with nights where you open the windows and even the toughest insomniacs sleep like babies.
Anyways, I had a great weekend starting with dinner with family and friends at a new restaurant on Friday night called The Blue Fig. It was really nice and it had Great Lakes beer on tap so you couldn't go wrong.
Saturday, started out with a great ride with Tim, John and my son Jerry. Hard to have a bad ride with great weather like this. Next up was a photo shoot for a magazine article that is being done on the company I work for. I am not very comfortable with that type of thing but my friend and marketing guru CB, who billed it as the fun stuff, made it happen anyways. The rest of the day Sat. was spent running errands and grilling out. Perfect day
Sunday and Monday (labor day) were nearly identical days which started with really hard rides in the morning and finished with relaxing, picnicking, grilling out, playing cornhole and enjoying a few cold beers with family and friends. Could not ask for better times.
On a sad note a friend, who I ride with sometimes, died on Saturday of a heart attack. He was just finishing up a ride and he went down and was never revived. Darryl you will be missed and I will never forget how you could pound that big gear up Everett Road.
Up next, I will be participating in Ironman Wisconsin next weekend. I feel like I am really ready for this and it should be a great time. I wish I would have started this earlier so I could have a record of my progress. Oh well, spilled milk!!!
Anyways, I had a great weekend starting with dinner with family and friends at a new restaurant on Friday night called The Blue Fig. It was really nice and it had Great Lakes beer on tap so you couldn't go wrong.
Saturday, started out with a great ride with Tim, John and my son Jerry. Hard to have a bad ride with great weather like this. Next up was a photo shoot for a magazine article that is being done on the company I work for. I am not very comfortable with that type of thing but my friend and marketing guru CB, who billed it as the fun stuff, made it happen anyways. The rest of the day Sat. was spent running errands and grilling out. Perfect day
Sunday and Monday (labor day) were nearly identical days which started with really hard rides in the morning and finished with relaxing, picnicking, grilling out, playing cornhole and enjoying a few cold beers with family and friends. Could not ask for better times.
On a sad note a friend, who I ride with sometimes, died on Saturday of a heart attack. He was just finishing up a ride and he went down and was never revived. Darryl you will be missed and I will never forget how you could pound that big gear up Everett Road.
Up next, I will be participating in Ironman Wisconsin next weekend. I feel like I am really ready for this and it should be a great time. I wish I would have started this earlier so I could have a record of my progress. Oh well, spilled milk!!!
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