It has been a long time since I took a college class but I remember classes where the final exam was a huge percentage of your final grade. It almost seemed unfair. You studied hard all year but if you got a question you did not know on the final, it could destroy your grade. The Hawaii Ironman is sort of like that. For the professionals it is definitely that way. You can win in South Africa, Austria, Brazil, Canada or anywhere else, but if you come to Kona and have a bad day it destroys your season. That is all that people will remember. Tell me who won Ironman Canada this year. I bet you can not name the winner. But you do remember the Hawaii Ironman champions, right?
I personally enjoy this sort of thing. When I was in the 4th grade in Colombia our school system gave us a monthly place for the class. There were about 20 kids in my class and I usually ranked 7th, 10th, one month I got 4th. I was kind of a trouble maker and although I knew I could do better I never really tried hard. The kid that almost always got 1st was a goody two shoes. His mom always had him look perfect, not a hair out of place, and the teachers loved him. Ok I said, we will see how he does on the final exam. I literally studied my butt off. I still remember sitting at the park grass memorizing my entire book and notes on all the subjects. What was my ranking for the final exam? No 1! I still have my report card. That is something that has stayed with me for a long time as you can tell.
In school athletics it was a similar thing, we had a huge meet at the end of the year in Cross Country and in Swimming and I almost always did best at the big meet. So this is a long way to say that I am used to this sort of thing and enjoy getting ready for the big day. Another factor that I think enjoy about it is the underdog role. It sort of takes the pressure off. Nothing to lose and a lot to gain is the way I look at it.
You notice this sort of behavior in many sports. How many Football quarterbacks have a great regular season but when it comes to the big game they can not do well. How about Alex Rodriguez in baseball just this past week? The Olympics is perhaps the ultimate pressure cooker. Many people only get one shot at it. There is not even a ‘next year’. At the Olympics you have to wait four years. That can be a lifetime in athletics.
In triathlon I see the same thing. I remember talking to a pro that shows up to local races and destroys the field. Goes to Ironman qualifiers and gets a Kona slot yet he decides not to go to Kona. If you are a professional I think you owe it to yourself to go compete against the best. Don’t cherry pick races so that you can get your name on the paper. I asked him how come he does not want to go to Kona. His reply was because you can not make money in Kona. Once all the expenses are paid you will lose money unless you do extremely well. Money? Better go get a real job if you are doing this for money. I did not tell him that of course. I used to think that professional were better athletes all around. But the reality is that they just have more raw talent and time to train. When it comes to hang ups and mind issues. They are just like age-groupers.
Well, I am under two weeks from my final exam. I had to do a little cramming for the past 8 weeks but I survived. I dodged more injury bullets than a western movie cowboy. I was lucky there. I dodged, plantar, calf, hamstring and back issues. That is quite a bit but for the last 5 weeks my training has been solid.
My swim is in good form, I sort of slacked a little on my swim this year which is a new thing for me. But I had some solid long swims. Then last week I went to Boulder for a masters session with some old friends and I did real well. I hung with my friend Steve. He usually gaps me easily but I hung with him the entire workout. We did some 300’s on 4 min and I was getting solid rest. My swim is in solid shape.
My bike does not seem real fast. Granted some of the people I trained with like Jan and Chad can make most people feel real slow. But I have not ridden this much for a long time. It should pay off. My heart rate is real low. On my speed work I have to work my butt off. That is a good sign. Endurance will not be a problem on the bike. I am just not sure how fast I can go. However, I plan on taking it somewhat easy on the bike and save it for the run.
Oh the run! The run is where I have a wish. I want to be able to run the marathon and enjoy it. Even on the year that I had my Ironman PR in 93. My run was a suffer fest. Having a tough run leaves a real bad taste in the mouth. Almost like it does not matter what the time and place you get is. This year my injuries have impacted my run the most but I did get in all the training for the last 5 weeks and I feel I have my best run shape in a while. I would not say my long runs were a piece of cake. But I have come a long way. Just yesterday on a 1:55 run, I ran a super hilly course from my house that I normally do not do because it is real tough and beats you up. I did it, all aerobically and then went for a 3500 yard swim. I was tired from it for sure but I recovered real fast. Hopefully with the taper and rest I will reach a new high point on my run on race day. It is so fun to be able to run comfortably. I hope I can do it. I am not totally optimistic on this but my aerobic fitness is incredible so I am hoping that will be the trick. In 93 my long runs were incredible and I thought I was going to have the run of my life only to struggle as my long runs were done way to fast. I had no aerobic fitness for the run back then. We will see real soon, I have my number 2 pencil ready.