ironman...

who goes to a triathlon hungover?  i do.  i didn't think i would be that hungover.  but i was.  i carbed up on thursday night...thinking it'd be ok to drink a bit which turned into 2 bottles.  only to be miserable for the commute down to 墾丁 and still feeling slightly woozy saturday morning only to find out the swim had been cancelled due to weather conditions and a 6km run will take its place.  

it had only been finalized 5pm the day before that i would be book ending my relay team because before that, it seemed i might be doing all three events.  as i received a call thursday night "hey can you borrow a bike?"  jon howard, the bearded cowboy came through last minute with his camel pack and mountain riding fitness handle bar thrusting and screaming at the fans...that kind of energy along with his crazy 2h48m 90km bike time prompted me to somehow dig deep and get a respectable 2h41m for the half marathon...and a 38m run for the first 6km run.  

i am not a fast runner.  all my training runs, i had been averaging over a 10min pace and for a lesser distance.  people run much faster than me as i was continually being passed throughout the first 6km.  i had already started walking by the 3km and as i passed through my first water station, i felt like i might not make it through.  i didn't really realize my stride until the 7th km.  and adopted a method of walking every uphill while elongating my stride for the downhill eating up kilometers as much as possible.  slow and steady, with a stop at every single water station proved to level out the playing field by the time i hit the 15th km.  and right as i could hear the finish line, as i could see the fans also walking towards the finish line, that was when i could feel pain running through my legs.  but after running in torrential downpour, crazy heat wave,  humidity, light showers,  wet sneakers the entire way,  the sound of the loudspeaker announcing the finishers seemed so close...it jolted a nice spurt for 2km gunning down the final stretch only to realize runners going in my direction must bypass the finish turn and go straight and turn around at some point not yet visible before coming thru the homestretch.  WHAT A MINDFUCK!  it was the most miserable 2km....it was such a long turn around that they even had a rest stop there...

regardless...i finished.  wearing my new running top and visor....donning a new tan line and a big smile across my face.  running the most i had ever run in my life.  27km for the day.  running is by far my worst discipline.  and even though i say i could have finished the entire thing on my own...im not quite sure how i would have run if i had done the swim and bike.  i might finish...only to add another hour onto my time...

this race started at 6 unlike taidong started at 8.  so by midday we were all done.  we all met up...had beers...got our results and tshirts....got the bikes and had lunch.  and we got back to the hotel by 4.  enough time to rest up before dinner at 7.  which turned into an all out shitshow at 迪迪。。。pretty good food i might add.  and that turned into more drinks at the truck of a bar....

i left early.  some people came back at 730am.  omg...