Twenty miles into the bike at Ironman Louisville on August 26, I told myself, “This is it. My body is tired. I don’t want to do another Ironman again this year. I’m done.”

Four weeks later, I am at a different place. I am hungry again.

I walked into the months of August and September in a state of fear and anxiety coupled with purpose and desire - a paradox of hopelessness and purpose. I knew that I would be under a lot of stree because I had committed to organizing the Luray Triathlons in August then back to back to back weekends in September with Reston followed by SavageMan followed by Smallwood. Reston was the only known quantity. SavageMan was a new race at a new venue at a longer distance. Smallwood was two days instead of one. My focus following Vineman shifted from “racing” to “race directing.”

Race directing is a challenge that only another race director can appreciate. I think that if you volunteer at a race you can gain an appreciation for what goes on “behind the scenes” during a race but until you actually organize a race from start to finish, it’s hard to understand what goes on even before the race even begins - the decisions that must be made, the comprises made and the obstacles overcome. As an athlete, I tend to take for granted all the organization and planning that must happen before I even show up for packet pickup. I’m still amazed at how smooth the inaugural Ironman Louisville appeared this year (from an athlete’s perspective) with 2,000+ athletes and 4,000+ volunteers.

After the General Smallwood Triathlons on September 22nd and 23rd, I was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. My body had been in a state of being “on” for more than 6 weeks. I had rarely slept through the night and never slept through the night on the night before a race - too many worries. It has taken me another week to get my body back to feeling “normal” and being able to sleep regularly.

Now, I’m contemplating one more Ironman this year - Silverman on 11/11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. I think what really sold me on the idea of doing another Ironman was watching my friend and training partner, Brady, compete at the ChesapeakeMan Iron-distance race on Saturday. When he took the lead at mile 9 on the run with a chasing runner only a few minutes back, I knew what he was experiencing - what was going on in his mind and with his body. I wanted to be able experience that feeling again - a feeling a total dedication to and absorption in each moment of time - a state of flow.

Photo: Brady crosses the line in first place at ChesapeakeMan!

Tchüss,
David Glover

David

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David B. Glover
Experiential Writer, Elite Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2007 David B. Glover