Ten Days Later

It has been ten days since I finished my Ironman adventure and truth is I really don't feel any different having completed it.  I'm not saying that I expected to turn into some sort of superhero or for the achievement to bring me to some higher level of enlightenment.  I guess I thought that it would have had a bigger impact on me than it has. 

Once I crossed the finish line I was happy, really happy, but I didn't have that moment that I experienced when I've finished marathons.  The one where I get really emotional and within a split second I see everything that got me to that point and a surge of emotion washes over me leaving me sobbing like a fool.  After Ironman Arizona, I was psyched, elated, and excited to spend the time with my family and to talk about it all with them, but I never shed a tear.

Now as I sit here typing I'm still not sure what I should feel.  I am proud of what I achieved, heck everyone tells me that a 12:07:04 for a "first" Ironman is great.  I think it is pretty great too, but the competitor in me isn't content with that time, I know that I can do better and that I should have done better (and that's not because Skip beat me).  Maybe that's what is driving my inability to accept that it is all over, maybe I don't consider the journey complete yet.  I should state here right now, in case my wonderful and amazing wife happens to read this (which she doesn't do all that often), I have absolutely no intentions of doing an Ironman in 2011.  She made so many sacrifices for me over the past year that it would be completely and utterly selfish of me to ask her to do it again so soon after. 

I guess I will just have to keep the fire burning inside and somewhere down the road, when the time is right, get back out there and try to beat that 12:07:04.  It might be in 2012 or it might be in 2020, who knows, but I don't think I am done with this Ironman thing just yet.

Training
I have finally gotten back in to training  this week.  I went out for an easy 4 miles on Tuesday with my friend Bill.  I felt great, like I could have gone faster and farther.  With that said, on my way home from work, my body sternly told me that it wasn't quite ready for such activity just yet.  My lower back was really sore and on the verge of full on spasms.  Yesterday I felt better and did 3.5 miles with Chris, this time at a bit of a slower pace in a nice rain storm.  My back was a little sore, but not debilitating.  I'm not going to run today, but I might try a short swim after work if time permits.  I can't believe that I haven't been in the water in a week and a half (since IMAZ in Tempe Town Lake).

Ciao!