Desapointement, frustration, mad!!! Dam it!!! Can we redo this race again tomorow? I m so fit, i want to have another shot at it right now, not tomorow, now now now....The ironic part is that this pic is of me crossing the line in 8h48 in 6th place of a ironman. A year ago, i would have been on cloud number nine. But today, i just walk straigh pass the finish line and try to shallow the pills.
The race started well with a good swim. I was on TJ feet and gumbel was setting a good pace. I came out of the water in 5th and got on the bike and rode the first lap so so easy. it was a smart move as pretty much everyone rode the first loop so hard and started to blow up by the second lap of the bike. I was on the same strategy as jordan to increase the effort at each loop and i was so excited to see that i was actually keeping the leader with in 6min and actually gain back on them on the second loop. I was feeling great and only increasing the pace slowly as the ride went on. I also had a short chat with jordan a bit before half way...he was on a good mood and so was i!
Close to the end of the second loop, as i was coming back to the hot corner, a police motorcycle coming in the opposite way decided to cross the cone line and come face to face with me. I had no choice but to take a hard right on the side of the road and hit a huge bump(put hole or a grill??) It hitted really hard and my handlebar moved down. I was now riding with the extension pointing toward the tire. I could also feel a bump on the front wheel and was really hoping i didnt break my zipp 808. Nop, it was broken, i had a flat! I jumped off the bike to repair as quickly as possible but made a stupid mistake of now opening the valve of the spare so when i plugged the co2 cartridge, nothing went in.... I then had to run to the ''hot corner'' on my bike shoes were i SCREAMED at Paul Huddle where i could find a new wheel!!! He pointed me towards a mechanic tent and sended someone to help me out. before getting to the tent, i had to cross the most busy intersection of the race with tons of athlete coming by on both side. I was simply going crazy... this was a total nigthmare.... finaly made it to the tent and the mechanic took my wheel and proced to change the tube. I right away asked politely if he could just put a brand new aero wheel on my bike... I M ON A HURRY! he did... i was now outfitted with a flash point 60. I then took a allen key and proceded to repositionnate the aerobar to his normal position and make sure it stays like this.
and then, i was back out of the course about 8 minutes later after a freaking police motorcycle did think that it could be kind of dangerous to ride in opposite direction from traffic with bike coming at 30mph.....
i was simply broke down mentaly... i even stopped on the side of the road to tell paulo i would simply pull out as i was out of contention and didnt see the point of going. He of course started to screem at me and as he looked very mad, i decided to keep riding.
Another thing a noticed later was that i had lose all my bottles and as i race on maltodextrin only, that would now be a challenge to survive with the on course nutrition! I reallised i was facing a lot of adversity at this point and had the choice of feeling sorry for myself about it or just try to pull it off and save the day. I rode the last loop pretty strong and got on the run. Paulo asked me to simply focus and get the work done. He didnt give me any split or position so i know very well i was out of the game. I ran with as much passion as i could find...there wasnt much but i keep on plugging in and made it to the finish line with a 3h marathon. I was happy to make it to the line and got a nice high five from jordan but was of course very down at the same time. I think frustrated is the best word actually. I done the work and was fit and ready to go, But life is life and it happen, nothing can be change and i did learn a little hard piece of HTFU. My wallet will sure notice the difference and i think that it s the part that hurt the most....
To finish, i want to highlight the performance of my friend jordan rapp. WOW... that is smart clever racing! He race like a experience guy and almost pull it off for the win. That is only the beggining and i m really proud of you rappo!!!!! I really hope to get to race you again soon!
jonathan
16 comments:
That SUCKS. Sorry about the bad luck. Some of those guys on the motorbikes are complete idiots. I am surprised there hasn't been more accidents due to their driving. If one of us crosses the line we get disqualified. There needs to be some repercussions for those motorcycles that drive dangerously and break the law like that. Fortunately you were no hurt.
Use this as motivation in your next race to kick some ass.
Like I said before, bro - the fact that it was a f*&%@$ cop who iced your race makes it even worse... but regardless, congrats on bouncing back and salvaging 6th place with a 3hr run! That's pretty damned good...
While your cheque may be smaller, it's still a lot more than they pay for a DNF.
Jonny,
So very sorry to hear about your fustrating race!
You have a lot to be proud of from this day and also with it, comes a lot of lessons. You are a better athlete because of it, for pushing through and salvaging the day.
Congrats on turning a "nightmare" into a very respectable performance!!!
Keep up the positive outlook and hardwork!
YOUR DAY WILL COME!!!!
that really sucks man, but put it in perspective.. A year ago this would have been an awesome time for you.. now its dissapointing!?!?
Good things to come for you my friend!! Use it as motivation for the rest of the year.
If the Ironman is all about overcoming adversity then you surely have triumphed. An amazing and inspirational performance JonnyO.
Just think about how you are going to smoke the competition next time!
Now you're going to be even more hungry for a win, with an even better story for your future awards speeches. You'll be one scary dude lining up at your next IM.
dude, nicely done. i dont need to write in yur blog since i have been with you for a full month now but you did well to keep going, Sh$t happens, (look at me :() but you went over and kept it together.
we will do better next time :)
I'm disappointed for you, but I know you're too smart of an athlete and too good of a person to let this derail you. The performance of a lifetime is still right there in you, and it's only a matter of time...
I'm so proud of you - as always!
Very sorry but you should be proud of what you've achieved on such a day! And look at the progress made in a year! Impressive. I guess it takes a while for all the stars to be aligned but they are cleary moving in the right direction... They'll be aligned very soon.
Richard
Jonnyo,
Thanks so much for sticking the race out and finishing. I am a beginner age group athlete who frequently reads your blogs and those of the HTFU crew. I admire your discipline and work ethic. Seeing the work that you guys have poured into training over the past months has inspired me to start training again and really "get the work done."
Personally, I think it's lame when pro and elite age groupers DNF because they are having a bad day. Your worst day is still hours faster than the folks coming in with glow sticks. The essence of HTFU is sucking it up and getting the work done - you did that at IMAZ.
You are amazingly fit and I am confident that the rest of your season will be great! Good luck!
Salut,
Je pense que tu t'es prouvé que tu fais parti de la ligue des grands garcons. Il en a que ca leur a pris 6 ans cmme ca avant de gagner "La Course". Lache pas tu ne fas qu'améliorer, donc l te este juste à aller encor eplus vite.
p.s. Paulo avait raison de te botter cul a pas lacher. La pire habitude est de lacher et je pense que dans ce type de course on a toujour sle gout de lacher à un moment ou un autre.
jonnyo, sorry you had a bad race experience. Everyone has moments in life where all the best laid plans don't work out. Disappointment is universal. Your great outlook on life will likely get you through this tough time.
A lot of people were rooting for you to have a good race and I know that doesn't pay your bills but it has to feel good in your soul.
I think you should go out to the night clubs and wear that "don't you wish your boyfriend" t-shirt and show women your shaved legs. That should help you get through this.
Nice work Johnny. A great finish under trying cirucumstances....you will get them next time. We miss you up in Penticton.
Will
I'm sure you want to forget the race, but I found some cool race shots of you if you want to check them out
http://www.kickballracing.com/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=89&pos=81
jonnyo - ce n'est pas ton jour.. but you finished so strong anyway and for that you should be proud. I can't remember how to say that en francais. :) When will you debut the next 7$ shirt design?
As i've already told Sérgio, you guys are so tough you'll come out with a real performance soon.
Next time we'll pill those roads with portuguese cops.... they never show up!
See u soon Jonathan, in an IM podium somewhere out there.
HASTA
Migalhas
Post a Comment