Kona 2015 Race Report

Brief race report as explanation (NOT excuses) for my race:

Swim: 1:41. I just kept moving my arms, but they don’t seem to have the oomph they used to, at least in a rough water non-wet suit swim. Explanation: bike accident >> spinal cord injury (central cord syndrome) resulting in, among other things about 20% reduction in strength in my upper extremities. EG, I was able to go 1:12 in Lake Placid, and before the accident I was able to go sub-1:20 in Hawaii IM, and sub 30 for 1500 meters in Maui Xterra race. After, obviously another story. Certainly not a training issue, I’ve done 310,000 meters in the last 12 months @ an average pace of 2.7 km/hour.

Bike: My Garmin says 7:10, with 6 minutes stoppage time for peeing (twice, can’t do it while riding anymore, another residual of that SCI) and SN. I was very satisfied with how I felt on the bike, keeping my energy up, my fluids renewed every 12-15 minutes, and no loss of positive or at least neutral mental attitude.

Run: I stopped my Garmin after 13 miles, as I had shut down the run at that point. If this had been any race except Kona, I might not have even started. I’ve been nursing a moderate-severe high hamstring tendon injury with some fraying and a lot of inflammation there since after Lake Placid. A prudent man would have take 2-3 months off to let it heal. Stubbornly, I tried running 25-28 miles most weeks before the race, with long runs of 2 hrs and 2:20 at a pretty slow pace. But each and every step hurt during training, likewise in the race. I walked up Palani Hill after mile 10. Started running downhill for about half a mile after that, then neither my brain nor my body was up to the task of starting up again. So I walked … and walked.

There was also the little matter of having surgery scheduled in 3 weeks for a growing inguinal hernia. That’s not painful, but it affects my movement, and was certainly on my mind during all this.

The future: this was Ironman finish # 25, Kona #6. I’ve achieved far more than I had ever dreamed of in IM competition: 7 AG wins, 3 AG course records, 9 KQs. To say nothing of 5 IMs in the last 15 months. I’ve concluded that I do not have sufficient motivation to muster either the training or the race-day effort required to keep performing well, so I am taking a sabbatical from IM racing for 2-3 years. Next two years will be SC and ITU LC racing, at the national and world championships. Then I could very well find another IM when I am 70 in order to KQ again. And, for the next 2-3 months, my body needs a break if its going to last as long as the number of heartbeats and brain cells I expect I have left. My resting pulse is 39-40, so I figure that’s not going to give out anytime soon.