|
| I suppose that if you are going to bonk then the best place to do it is in the finish area. I start to bonk BAD. I am shivering but my smile keeps them from putting me in the med tent. I hate needles and prefer to sit around and drink cola and water. I sit down beside Sherri Trudeau (female pro). She’s bonked and is chundering. However, like me, she has a smile on her face and therefore is staying out of the medical tent as well. Remember this tip if you share our dislike of needles. We chat and she has had a fantastic race following up a Top 10 at IMNZ with another Top 10 at IMOz. Her husband (a fast, built, Canadian dude), Charlie Cooper, comes by and checks her out. Turns out that they both might be racing IMC, and I say that I hope to see them there. My bonk gets a little more serious and I decide to get something warm in me. I head over to the food tent and ask if they have any soup. The answer is "no" and I improvise with a few glasses of hot sugar water (five packs per glass!). After twenty packs of sugar, I start to feel better and have a small amount of solid food. Off to the massage tent, and then back to the food tent for a big plate of food. The finishers medal at this race is very cool. The back of the medal is set-up so you can enter your name, number, splits and overall time. It is one of the many good ideas that the race people have put together. Another one is the polo style finishers shirts and the long sleeved competitor shirts. I will be sure to post a note on the IMC site for them to see. You also get a finishers key chain. Lots of coolstuff. The only thing missing is finish line showers. That would have been great (even if cold).
As you can tell from the tone of this report, the Earth didn’t move last weekend. I learned a lot about racing the distance had PRs in two out of three disciplines and beat my Hawaii time by 35 minutes. Still, in my heart, I know that I was capable of doing better. Like Boris Becker says, "I must train haaardaa". Or maybe, "I must race smaaartaa". Experience counts for a lot on this long course stuff and I am learning fast. I will only be making a few changes for Canada and feel ready for a great race in Penticton. -- Guns ‘n Roses |  The Finish! |