It's already been 2 weeks since Ironman Wisconsin and much like training all year for a race, life is full of extreme highs and pretty crappy lows.
Qualifying for the Ironman World Championships is exactly what I set out to do. The level of satisfaction of setting a goal, busting my ass for a year and achieveing what I set out for is very hard for me to put into words. The first time I qualified for Kona was at Ironman Louisville '09. It's the absolute last qualifier for the given year, which meant I had exactly 6 weeks to recover from the race and plan for huge trip and the biggest race of my life. It had all come and gone before I even realized it! This year, qualifiing at IMWIS is the polar opposite. It's the first qualifing race for the following year, so now I get to ride this wave of euphoria and plan another trip to the Big Island but I get 13 months to do it! Seriously, when describing this feeling, Cloud 9 isn't even remotely high enough.
I've taken the idea of taking "some time off" to the extreme (see a theme here?) I've been eating like an absolute hog and haven't spent a minute exercising since the race. To achive what I have in this sport, hobby isn't an appropriate word. I developed a lifestyle around eating well and exercising, everyday. The habits I've formed are obsessive and in my opinion it's what's required to competitive. So needless to say, removing myself from this lifestyle has been very tough. I feel like crap when I eat like crap, I feel like crap when I don't exercise and I sleep like crap because frankly, without exercise my body isn't really tired. See this vicious cycle I've built.
So with the high highs come the low lows, and I wish me feeling like garbage was the low I'm describing, but it not, it's way worse. A friend of mine was making her final preparation to race in Kona this year. She was in a horrific bike accident and is now literally fighting for her life. Even though she's from the Metro Detroit area, the first time I met her was in '09 in Kona. She's in this group of "cool" kids that are bad ass enough to race Kona every year, and one of the things I was really looking forward to was hanging out with them again next year!
And then it happened...in the blink of an eye, Amy went from 5x USA Triathlon All American and 5x Kona Qualifier to being the subject of massively organized Power of Prayer session at Henry Ford Hospital. I've been obsessively checking her Facebook page for updates from her sister and boyfriend on her condition. I've been in denial since the accident and have been waiting for the post that says she's feeling great and is thinking about getting back on her bike. Sadly, it's going to be a terribly long road and a victory will be scored by the 1000's of people pulling for her if she can wake up from her coma. This is serious stuff and what scares me most is that it could have happened to any one of us.
We all have mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends and spouses and children that are way more important than this, or any race.
I still have a ton to share but for now my message is a simple one but it's the most important:
Please, please, please be careful out there.
Train SAFE.
Corey
No comments:
Post a Comment