So I am taking half day off today to recover. Actually I feel ok, a little sore but not too bad. Just feel a little tired, probably that’s because I didn’t sleep the night before the race, I was too excited and couldn’t really fall asleep.
I am so glad to have signed up for the Ironman last year. This is my first triathlon and when I signed up last year, I was faced with some doubts and negativity. Some people told me I won’t be able to do it and I will DNF. There is also this guy who had done quite a few Ironman races told me that I shouldn’t sign up but the funny thing was I passed him at mile 22 during the run.. :)) If somebody were to ask me if they should do the Ironman, I would say just do it!! It’s an amazing experience and it’ll be worthwhile at the end. If you have the time commitment, you’ll figure it out along the way.
The journey was an interesting one and especially in this case, the journey matters more than the destination. I have learned a lot more about the sports, the gears/equipments required, learned how to swim front crawl, got myself a carbon bike, wetsuit, nutrition, different types of training plan, swam in open water and most importantly met some amazing people along the way….triathletes, bikers, runners and people who are just positive, who provided encouragement and support along the way. Even during the race, I can feel a sense of togetherness, like we are in this together. When I passed someone I felt like patting their back as an encouragement, since I knew how much time, commitment, sweat and even maybe tears everyone put in for the race. I am a part of the Ironman community now..yay! Going through this journey was not an easy one but I can feel a sense of camaraderie with this awesome group of ppl who are able to set goals and can get things done.
So in summary, I really enjoyed the experience and this week I’ll have so much free time!
A nice recap about Pre race and during the race. Pretty inspiring..Check it out!
When I think about the Ironman race, I am still pretty impressed how well organized it was. There were no hiccups, glitches by the organizer. All the volunteers were amazing! Aid stations, opening ceremony, expo, registrations, transition area, ferry to the barges and transitions……everything was done smoothly and seamlessly. But I am sure there are so much planning involved behind the scene.
What Jordan Rapp said during his speech that he wanted to thank everyone, volunteers, athletes, organizers, families, friends…because without the contributions from each individuals, this won’t happened and I won’t be able to get this whole experience. What a great speech,
“On the Shoulders of Giants”
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Opinion/On_The_Shoulders_Of_Giants_2987.html
The Ironman brand is a good example of capitalism. It’s very commercialized and at the expo yesterday, they were selling soft copies of our photos in a thumb drive for $99, but at the same time, it’s so well organized and I was surprised at how nicely taken were all the photos even though there were 2000 participants. Even the Ironman website and the athlete tracking system were so organized and advanced.
I was so pumped up this morning and registered for the 2013 NYIM. Unfortunately, they suspended the registration because of some complaints about pricing and logistics. This is a great Q&A with John Korf, the race director.
An excerpt from the Q&A “On the other hand, Ironman isn’t Prada or someone else who can afford to lose a ton of dough to say they have a concept store on Fifth Avenue. This is triathlon, this is not a multi-billion dollar business. So they have to be smart business people and have to ask what’s good for their brand and good for the consumer. If we’re going to charge X dollars, can we deliver an X-dollar experience?”
