C heC king in aid station right before running back onto the Queen K highway. I dumped a couple of cups of cola down my throat and committed to my plan. I replaced every “Am I slowing?” and “Is he gaining?” with, “Move!” and “Three more miles is nothing!” I looked for a friendly face and an accurate time split, but I knew neither of those mattered. There was no runner’s high or great escape this year. I was alone out there and had to call on everything I had done in training just to get to the finish line. When I crossed the finish line for win No. 2, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I did not know I was capable of this experience until I actually did it. Although nothing I could have visualized could compare with the actual feeling of winning. Pete has told me since then that he probably should not have smiled. I wonder if he practiced that in training.
When your body is not performing as you expect, you have to rely on your mind to compensate.
TURBO WING
W NE
to handle any situation. When someone on the side of the road yells, “Dig!” I dig into my mind to find the answer. So, back to the lava fields in 2002. I was in the lead, but I did not know how far ahead I was. I had been in this same position on several of my training runs back in Boulder. I knew that the only chance I would have to see Pete would be after the turnaround in the Natural Energy Lab. I tried to relax, fuel and be ready for what was coming. I made the turn, checked my watch and waited to see Pete. It didn’t take long. There he was. I did not notice how his running form looked. All I saw was that he was smiling. Pete does not smile at Ironmans. I guess I missed that one in my visualization exercises. I checked my watch and had about 40 seconds on him. I decided to relax until I got out of the energy lab and then give it everything I had for the final 10 kilometers. There was an
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september 2009
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