What a fun read! Congratulations on a great race and thanks for all the reminders (good and bad) of "racing" in Kona. We loved watching you all day!! I think you will be back to the Ironman Assclown some day:)
@Mike Roberts Overall many congrats Mike. As said many times above.....fantastic report and thanks for sharing not only the technical side of things however the mental side of it as well. You have put a lot of work into this sport and getting to the big show is very much deserved so continue to enjoy the success of your day. I have often thought to myself (as I still continue to strive to get there)...it must be a kind of love-hate relationship with the place. We all do so much to get there however if it were "just another IM", I don't think anyone would sign up to race is such difficult conditions. It's obviously NOT just another IM which makes it unique. So much to learn from the above on who you are as an athlete and as a person. We can all learn from this.
Super congrats again Mike. I look forward to seeing where you take things next.
@Mike Roberts Great report Mike! I think I am most impressed that you were able to stomach 2.5 bottles of orange GE per hour. I never want to taste that stuff again !
I was tracking you and wondered what happened to your swim. For a second I thought you were giving @Coach P a lead out.
Congrats on getting to the Big Island and breaking your goal of 11:00 on such a hot and windy course!
Very entertaining RR. It was also very helpful to get a real feel for the course and the personal emotions that occur on this course. Racing the past 2 years with goals that don't include KQ as primary for me has been very enjoyable and most successful. Your seeming lack of true enjoyment of the experience has me now questioning whether to keep those goals or whether one big KQ push when I turn 55 is even worthwhile. Congratulations on your great effort and thanks for putting this RR up for us to enjoy and learn from.
Wow, reading your report felt like I was right there watching this unfold....awesome report and way to be honest about all of it!! Congrats on an awesome race.
Super RR Mike ... gritty and truthful. I want to do Kona only because it is the WC, but nothing about it, except finishing, looks fun. I watched most of the race live online and took note of how few spectators were out on most of the run ... contrast that with IMSA that had nearly wall-to-wall crowd support on both sides of the run the entire way. There must be some draw to keep folks going back again and again. Whether you do or not, doesn't really matter because you did it. Congrats!!
@Robert Sabo and @Paul Hough - I'm glad I wrote my RR when I did, when I was still sore, exhausted and mentally battered. Because after three straight nights of solid sleep (16, 14 and 11.5 hours since Tuesday), I've definitely softened up. It's like hearing my wife talk about childbirth and how it "wasn't that bad" (I, on the other hand, still vividly recall the horrible names she screamed at me for hours and her turning my knuckles purple both times). But, sure enough, here on Friday afternoon, last weekend's race somehow doesn't seem that bad.
I went into the race with a vacation/victory lap mentality. But there's a reason we've seen all those famous images of people collapsing and crawling out there, and to think that I could just waltz in and cruise through the course - celebration style - was a little naive. As if the course was just going to hand me a medal as a birthday present. If you go into it physically and mentally prepared, eyes completely wide open to the fact that the run is likely going to test you as fiercely as any course ever has, and have the proper One Things lined up EN-style, you'll be fine.
The other thing I've learned about Kona is that, unlike some races where a "bad" race = 15 seconds slower per mile on the run, when you cross that proverbial "line" in Kona on a hot day, the punishment is severe. The local guy who won my AG at my KQ race with a 3:15 ran a 4:51 in Kona last weekend, and the local ex-pro who just won his AG at Chatt WC and was supposed to compete for podium in Kona went 11:48. Top pro Jesse Thomas, who last week found himself running a 9:54 Mile 21 after running 6's all day, summed it up well:
Paul, one trivia item - a lot of the run course is actually closed to spectators and is sparse by design. This, reportedly occasioned by many years of a certain Swiss athlete being paced and assisted by her partner for a good chunk of the later 16mi of the run.
Whose name rhymes with batashma nadmann, in case there's confusion.
@Dave Tallo - the Punk Window is wide open and should remain in that position indefinitely.
You accidentally pointed out another flaw in my approach/plan: instead of planning to celebrate the spot where Macca quit due to heat, my plan should have been to prepare myself to defend against the same feelings that grabbed Macca and forced him out. And, of course, I ended up wanting to quit just like Macca, mere yards from where he did. Lesson learned.
@Mike Roberts I love how we ALWAYS look back and say it just wasnt that bad... That is why I hate to use the words pain and suffering and prefer very uncomfortable... On the other hand that recent sleep schedule is telling you something... Tuesday I took 2x 1hr naps after getting home, 2 out of the last 3 nights were 10hrs , and a solid 1hr nap the last 3 afternoons... So maybe it really was that bad?
@Robert Sabo YES its worth it... I too have been like Mike and completely underwhelmed by the actual KONA race... But you have heard its Not the Destination but the Journey? That definitely applies here . If you are on the cusp you will always want to know if you coulda made it, the KQ answers that question, and to me tastes so much better than the actual WC race... And while the race itself to me anyway, is underwhelming there is still something magical about it and the challenges it requires... If we wanted something easy to do we all would not be here.
@ALL- There is no doubt of the challenges of KONA, I dont think there is another race with more documented failures or near failures within the last mile of the finish line... Its easy to sit back and say wow how can you not finish that close? We have all seen the famous ones on video and past races beginning with Julie Moss.... Heather saw a woman 2years ago within 100yds of the finish turn around and go backwards... Teri Cashmore had a very close call within a mile a few years ago due to severe potasium deficiency, I have never seen someone in real/true pain, what a competitor... And this years story - Stephie Steinberg the female winner at UMFL 2017 , pushed her last 3 miles of the run, collapsed at the bottom of Palani at just over 25.2 miles or less than one mile to the finish line, needing medical attention, and DNF.... That is the allure whether we wanna admit it or not!
@Paul Hough and @Dave Tallo I kinda like the sparseness of the spectators, as it is , its set up for you to over run the first 10 miles along Alii with spectators, I absolutely hate those giant speakers at the top of Palani (need ear plugs there) the barren out and back to the energy lab separates the men from the boys with just enough support at the EL and then again the final 2 miles... Wouldnt care for it if it was Boston Marathon like with spectators the entire course.
@Robert Sabo don't let this sway you at all. Kona is special, and as @tim cronk mentioned...it's special for the very reason that it is equal parts awesome and awful. I think that @Mike Roberts comment's were intended to be dramatic and translate the real feelings during the race which we all had, but I have not talked to a single person that regrets working hard to make it there and ultimately racing there. You are so close...I'd hate to see you not get there and always wonder 'what if'.
As I told a few people...when I raced there I found it helpful to remind myself how hard I had worked for the opportunity to race in these horrible conditions and how there are about 10,000 others that would love to have the chance to be suffering like I am at the moment.
Mike, Congratulations on your race! I enjoyed reading your RR, it felt like I was there watching you. You had many ups and downs but way to hang tough throughout, especially when it got hard! Well done!
Mike, great race report and a great performance. I was following all day and wondered if you and @tim cronk were going to start running together. I'm glad there's someone else out there who's ambivalent about doing that race again. Though I have to admit that as I was following everyone on Saturday I started to think about how I would approach a second attempt.
Mike - great account of an awesome day. I've always had a love/ hate relationship with your brutal, no sugar coating honesty. It forces us (your teammates) to take a hard look within. At the end of the day, it's a great thing. I admire your willingness to hold yourself to the same standard! Congrats on courageous race!
Wow, awesome race report @Mike Roberts ! It was a powerful to hear a teammate who has reached such a high level in the sport (qualifying for & racing Kona) speak so humbly about being pushed so close to their breaking point. I appreciate you being so candid about your moments of doubt. It is awesome that you were able to see teammates out on the course & get a "pick-me-up." During my first 70.3 this past August I really enjoyed exchanging cheers with EN teammates on the course too and look forward to more of this in the 2018 season. Thanks, great work & belated happy birthday!
Mike great report and race. Amazing how similar my feelings were as I raced as I read your report! you were fast and should be proud of the accomplishment!
Comments
Overall many congrats Mike. As said many times above.....fantastic report and thanks for sharing not only the technical side of things however the mental side of it as well. You have put a lot of work into this sport and getting to the big show is very much deserved so continue to enjoy the success of your day. I have often thought to myself (as I still continue to strive to get there)...it must be a kind of love-hate relationship with the place. We all do so much to get there however if it were "just another IM", I don't think anyone would sign up to race is such difficult conditions. It's obviously NOT just another IM which makes it unique. So much to learn from the above on who you are as an athlete and as a person. We can all learn from this.
Super congrats again Mike. I look forward to seeing where you take things next.
I was tracking you and wondered what happened to your swim. For a second I thought you were giving @Coach P a lead out.
Congrats on getting to the Big Island and breaking your goal of 11:00 on such a hot and windy course!
Also, Happy Birthday!
I went into the race with a vacation/victory lap mentality. But there's a reason we've seen all those famous images of people collapsing and crawling out there, and to think that I could just waltz in and cruise through the course - celebration style - was a little naive. As if the course was just going to hand me a medal as a birthday present. If you go into it physically and mentally prepared, eyes completely wide open to the fact that the run is likely going to test you as fiercely as any course ever has, and have the proper One Things lined up EN-style, you'll be fine.
The other thing I've learned about Kona is that, unlike some races where a "bad" race = 15 seconds slower per mile on the run, when you cross that proverbial "line" in Kona on a hot day, the punishment is severe. The local guy who won my AG at my KQ race with a 3:15 ran a 4:51 in Kona last weekend, and the local ex-pro who just won his AG at Chatt WC and was supposed to compete for podium in Kona went 11:48. Top pro Jesse Thomas, who last week found himself running a 9:54 Mile 21 after running 6's all day, summed it up well:
Whose name rhymes with batashma nadmann, in case there's confusion.
You accidentally pointed out another flaw in my approach/plan: instead of planning to celebrate the spot where Macca quit due to heat, my plan should have been to prepare myself to defend against the same feelings that grabbed Macca and forced him out. And, of course, I ended up wanting to quit just like Macca, mere yards from where he did. Lesson learned.
@Robert Sabo YES its worth it... I too have been like Mike and completely underwhelmed by the actual KONA race... But you have heard its Not the Destination but the Journey? That definitely applies here . If you are on the cusp you will always want to know if you coulda made it, the KQ answers that question, and to me tastes so much better than the actual WC race... And while the race itself to me anyway, is underwhelming there is still something magical about it and the challenges it requires... If we wanted something easy to do we all would not be here.
@ALL- There is no doubt of the challenges of KONA, I dont think there is another race with more documented failures or near failures within the last mile of the finish line... Its easy to sit back and say wow how can you not finish that close? We have all seen the famous ones on video and past races beginning with Julie Moss.... Heather saw a woman 2years ago within 100yds of the finish turn around and go backwards... Teri Cashmore had a very close call within a mile a few years ago due to severe potasium deficiency, I have never seen someone in real/true pain, what a competitor... And this years story - Stephie Steinberg the female winner at UMFL 2017 , pushed her last 3 miles of the run, collapsed at the bottom of Palani at just over 25.2 miles or less than one mile to the finish line, needing medical attention, and DNF.... That is the allure whether we wanna admit it or not!
As I told a few people...when I raced there I found it helpful to remind myself how hard I had worked for the opportunity to race in these horrible conditions and how there are about 10,000 others that would love to have the chance to be suffering like I am at the moment.
It's the pinnacle. It's not supposed to be fun.
Rest up. The 50's are waiting for you.