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December 23,
2006: So
it’s December and I still haven’t put in my
lottery application for a Kona spot. I’d like
to say it’s because I can’t afford the $35 bucks
but if I take back all my empties I’d have it
covered so that’s no excuse. No, the reason I
haven’t entered yet goes much deeper than an
empty wallet. It’s all about pain and my life
long desire to avoid it.
In
2002 I spent ten days in Kona with the champ as
he prepped for the race that year. Most of my
time you’d find me at Lava Java with my laptop.
Pete was putting in big miles. I wasn’t putting
in big miles. In fact, I never put in big
miles. I averaged less than nine hours a week
of training for both of my Ironman efforts and
the end result was a lot of pain – the thing I
was trying to avoid. One afternoon Pete
announced he had a surprise for me. I like
surprises and usually when Pete says something
like that it means I’ll be sporting new Oakley's
soon. Oh, how wrong I was. He’d manage to come
up with a bike for me to join him on his ride
the next day. I’d intentionally left my bike in
Victoria, again – pain avoidance! His plan was
to drive out 30K from Havi, park the car then
bike to Havi and back for a nice 60K spin. I
figured since I’d never do the race, maybe going
for a ride on the course might be a nice way to
experience it in a small way. I agreed to go.
Half way through the ride Pete rolls up beside
me with a dumb ass grin on his face – “So you
gonna sign up for next year?” He couldn’t hear
my answer over the howling wind but it’s
probably better he didn’t. There were a lot of
expletives but to summarize I stated in
unequivocal language that I would never be
racing in Kona – ever.
Never say never again. It’s more than a bad
Bond film.
I
drink too much and I don’t train enough but my
memory isn’t too bad. I remember that ride and
I would not look forward to being back out there
on my bike again but the facts remain – Pete and
I agreed, if I do Kona, he’ll do it. I promised
then that I’d do everything I could to find
myself on the start line. I know the race will
be a hell fest but I’m hoping the journey there
would be something I’d remember in a good way.
First I have to get past the Lottery hurdle and
to do that I have to enter the lottery.
I’m starring at the
app. I just can’t seem to bring myself to
hitting the send button. The odds are against
me getting in. Most don’t. The problem is, if
I don’t make the cut then I’ll be in a position
where I’ll have to look at qualifying and the
likelihood of that happening is slimmer than
Paris Hilton. |
