Sunday, October 12, 2008

Aloha

In an unprecedented move, I thought I'd post a super-quick race report, only... 28 hours after the fact.  My intent is to post the full blow-by-blow in a day or two, after letting all the ins and outs sort themselves out in my post-race brain.

Yesterday was my ninth Hawaii Ironman, I started with race number nine, and holding with the theme, I finished ninth.  For those of you who followed online, you may have noticed that I crossed the line in tenth place, but due to a disqualification of one of the fellows ahead of me, I got bumped up a notch to hold my niners intact.  

Later on, I'll let my gory ups and downs more thoroughly paint the picture, but in the meantime allow me to summarize as follows:

My swim was the best I've ever done in Hawaii.  I swam aggressively enough to be in the group for about a mile and a half at which time I was dumped off, and left to swim the final mile alone.  

For fifty miles of the bike, I was in position to run my way to a top five finish.  My legs were very strong, very fresh, and very patient (due to my brain convincing them to bide their time). From mile 51 to approximately 85, I suffered more than I've ever suffered here.  My goal became finishing the race at (hopefully) a jogging/ walking pace.   

Finishing the ride strong (for the final 22 miles), I regained the confidence that I could still pull off a strong marathon.

My run was better executed than any previous IM marathon.  I patiently ran my way back into contention, with only a set of gnarly cramps slowing my charge to gain the top American slot.   

I am very satisfied with my placing, my effort, and my determination to turn things around.   

And I thank each and every one of my family members, friends, and fans, for cheering and supporting me every step of the way.

Please tune in for a three-day crescendo of a race report... where I'll share the whole nitty and the gritty.

Aloha

16 comments:

Alberto said...

Michael that was a great race. I followed the race online all afternoon (EST) and it was amazing. It's incredible how things change as the day progresses.

Congratulations on a very strong and good finish.

Lisa said...

wooohoo, another top 10 finish!!! congratulations michael!

CoachLiz said...

Wow!

9 is your lucky number! Rest up and have a fish taco for me. I am eagerly awaiting the nitty and the gritty.

Congratulations again!

Bigun said...

Happy for your rise to 9th, and FIRST AMERICAN! Way to hang in there and represent. Looking forward to the details.

fal7 said...

Way to go!!! First American to boot

BreeWee said...

you were incredible! It was so much fun cheering for you and watching the day unfold! To see you move up on the run had us all on the edge of our seats!! man, that patience you had, gotta learn me some of that!

Happy recovery!

Mer! said...

MICHAEL!!! AWESOME!!! Dave and I were so so excited for you! You seriously killed it out there---you're always impressive with your stamina and guts but we had heard it was hotter/uglier out there than usual so for you to dig deeper than ever...WOW!!!

We knew you'd kick some ass!! WAY TO GO!! Enjoy your rest!!

skoshi said...

REALLY impressed and happy for you. I actually checked in because I was going to write and thank you for the mention of Barton Springs some time back--which led me to seek it out when I was in Austin last weekend.
I found your blog because Cody says so many nice things about you, and I'm one of his tri team mates.
Great top ten finish. Great lesson to be learned with that patience. You must be proud, grateful and relieved (as well as just a wee bit sore in the muscles.. :)
Congrats. Enjoy the festivities and some well deserved down time.

Ja-Rod said...

Dude,
You know I'm proud of ya!!!!

Skeese Greets said...

Congrats, Michael! We're all really happy for you.

Stephen said...

Way to go! Great job!

Anonymous said...

Michael,

Great way to represent Albuquerque! Look who you finished in front of (Normann Stadler & Faris Al Sultan); that's bad ass! When you come back to Albuquerque to visit, El Pinto is on me!

dpc said...

Very impressive, Michael. Congrats on 9th! Cool beans, dude! dc

Unknown said...

Congrat's you put together a wonderful day. Sad to see you didn't wear the sparkly star speedo, but women and men alike would have crashed at the sight ;-)
cheers,
Tracy

Athletic Wannabee said...

exhilarating. can't wait to see the details. thanks for letting us follow along.

Gordo Byrn said...

Michael,

It was fun watching you online -- you've been speedy for a very long time.

Respect!

gordo