Post 35: Post-race

...Another DNF. The third Ironman in the past year that Hawaii has been there for me, and the third Ironman in a row that has gone pear-shaped. I just didn't have the top-end performance that I needed today, because of what I've been through in the last 3 weeks and because I'm obviously not fully recovered. 

For the level of effort I was putting in today, I wasn't hitting the speeds I should have been in the swim and on the bike. I ran 10 miles of the marathon and called it a day. I didn't feel terrible and I wasn't sick or anything, I just didn't think there was any point in destroying myself for the full marathon, for no real reason. 

Then I went to get checked out in the medical tent. I got the all-clear, and it could have ended a lot worse today to be honest. I could have soldiered on and finished in a time that many would consider to be pretty good, but I wouldn't have achieved anything other than needing a month to recover if I had done the full marathon. Only running ten miles means my legs won't need much recovery time.  

I have a notion that Ironman Wales in September might be on the radar, so from that point of view, only running ten miles today was sensible. I've seen the results from today and there's no doubt I would have done it if I hadn't had the problems in the last 3 weeks.  I'm sure I'll dissect it in more detail later and put some thought into what I'm going to do in the months and year(s) to come. 

For now, I'm going to bed. I wish I hadn't had that massage.