Well that was pretty amazing. I was propped up in bed last night until 3 a.m. watching the live feed on the laptop. Some amazing stories always come out of Kona. A few of these will be highlighted in December when they air the coverage, but mostly you will hear about the pros. You will hear how the top pro female, Chrissy Wellington, pulled out shortly before the start, leaving the woman's race wide open. You will hear about the mens race, where the top 2 pro's ran side by side nearing the end of the run. When one took advantage of the last aid station, the other, Chris MacCormick, aka Macca, did not stop for water and surged ahead for the win. It was a very fast year with many pros finishing in the 8 hour range.
You won't hear as much about the amazing age groupers, and their struggles to get through the day. When we got home from service yesterday morning (for the record, if life halts for guys on Superbowl Sunday, I should get a pass on Ironman Saturday!), we watched as the last swimmer made her way to shore. Behind her, the water looked solid as it was covered with people on boards and in kayaks, yelling for her to push, keep moving, keep going....the last swimmer came out of the water to hear that she missed the cut off by 24 seconds, and her day in Kona was over. Watching the pain on her face as she collapsed and lay there in the water was heartbreaking.
We headed out and got a 20 miler done, came home, and I sat in an ice bath w/the computer across from me on the toilet watching the top female finish, looking so strong. She managed to run a 2:50 something marathon, and increased her speed at the end. Then it was time for the age groupers to take the spotlight. The number of 60 - 80 year olds that finished is staggering to me. You had a young man who had both legs and one arm amputated run across the finish. You had a stage 4 terminal cancer patient, still in treatment finish. He had just gotten out of the hospital in August. He had trained in the hospital, 39 laps around his floor was 1 mile, and he trained pulling his IV with him. You had the original winner from 1978 finish. Brian and I saw one or our favorite trail runner bloggers from right here in the Bay area finish and do a little dance on the finish line. One after another they kept coming across the line, some stayed upright, a lot would start to do the leaning, tipping over shuffle as soon as they stopped moving. The last finisher came across with 45 seconds to spare before the 17 hour cutoff at midnight.
I saw a picture this morning of Clayton Treska, the stage 4 cancer patient. He was running the marathon portion. Underneath, it said, "What are you dying from that wont allow you to try?"
Not try a marathon, or a tri.....what is it that is holding you back? What is it that keeps you from making the changes in you life you know in your heart you need to make? I hear often about people being inspired. They have a list of things they want to change and often talk about goals they want to reach. What is it that is keeping you from following through? Stop talking, stop "being inspired", get out there and get it done. You aren't what you say you want to be, you are what you are. So put in the work, make whatever changes you "want to make" and get it done!
Stop being inspired, and be inspiring! YOU are the only thing stopping you.
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