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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [Eppur si muove] [ In reply to ]
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Another big congrats from a lurker. Fantastic job! Can't wait to read the next chapter!!
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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WX wrote:
amgray13 wrote:
Nice race and awesome first IM, WX! I was the third place, but a fellow poster is correct, I got a a KQ at IMAZ, let him know in the finishing shoot and he seemed relieved. I hope there are three slots or a nice roll down.


Thanks Aaron! (And you mentioning you were passing on your slot saved me from hours of anguish) And to everyone who has been following this thread / today. It has been an incredible journey and I'm in an incredible amount of pain.

A meatier recap to come later, but a few notes from today:
- T1 was due to me being an idiot and grabbing the wrong bike bag. Then had to go all the way back to return it from the changing tent. Yes, I am that dumb.
- The run was the hardest marathon I have ever done. Parts of me I didn't know had muscles were cramping all over the place.
- I heard 3rd place was around 4 minutes up with around 6 miles to go, just went for it... and couldn't quite do it. Props to Aaron for running a great race and for commenting on ST within an hour. That's an amazing combo.
- Did I mention an ironman is frickin difficult? The swim was hard. The bike was hard. The run made me question my love for running. And I really enjoy running.

Will go to the roll down and hope tomorrow. The post around first place passing on his slot was from last year, sadly. Also I heard that M-Dot gives out awards to the top 5 per age group? (Couldn't find any details in the athlete guide so was debating whether or not to attend the awards ceremony tomorrow)


Congrats on the accomplishment!

Now go here ->http://www.gofundme.com/ and set up a Kona trip fund. I'll start the donations with $25.00. I bet a few of us here would donate some money to make your next effort a memorable one.

Post the link back on this thread.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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Great job! Congrats on the KQ!
I have to admit, I was worried after seeing the times and qualifiers for IM Los Cabos. I thought you may have made a mistake and missed out on your chance by not doing that one. But great job on doing what you needed to when it counts.
Now get going on that write-up. We all want to hear the full story.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [ubdawg] [ In reply to ]
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Awesome job. I watched the awards and it was really cool to see you get that roll down slot. Impressive!
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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I was able to find him and catch up with him the day after the race. He seems to be one of the nicest guys out there. He was amazed at the attention this thread garnered. He definitely appears to be very humble and down to earth. I really enjoyed talking with you, Mr. WX. I look forward to following this going forward.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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[/img]

I wanted to just share this picture from a minute or two after allocation. As a guy who has followed this thread from the beginning, I was honored to meet him and watch him grab his first slot to Kona. I sort of wish I would have had Xiao autograph my Kona slot for this year...

It was awesome to meet you man and can't wait to catch up again on the Big Island in October!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [colinlaughery] [ In reply to ]
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colinlaughery wrote:
[/img]

I wanted to just share this picture from a minute or two after allocation. As a guy who has followed this thread from the beginning, I was honored to meet him and watch him grab his first slot to Kona. I sort of wish I would have had Xiao autograph my Kona slot for this year...

It was awesome to meet you man and can't wait to catch up again on the Big Island in October!

Pretty awesome guys...well done!
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [colinlaughery] [ In reply to ]
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colinlaughery wrote:
Dude. No other words than I hope you can do it. Just train your ass off and have fun. Kona is a badass prize if the race goes well!

Colin, I needed to quote what you said within the first 10 posts of the thread.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats man, long time lurker of this thread as well! I have to say this was pretty epic and it's awesome to see the final outcome and see all of the hard work pay off.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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epic thread! saw this over the weekend and had to go back and catch up. congrats!

now when do we get to see the Kona plan?

r
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [raulsan] [ In reply to ]
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Earlier someone posted the idea of creating a fundraising page to support XW. I'm guessing, but don't want to put words in his mouth, that XW would even more appreciate our collective support of his Robin Hood Endurance Team initiative. $5,190 raised to date is weak sauce for a Slowtwitch legend! Make it rain Twitcherati!

https://www.crowdrise.com/RobinHoodTeamEndurance/fundraiser/XiaoWang


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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [raulsan] [ In reply to ]
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raulsan wrote:
epic thread! saw this over the weekend and had to go back and catch up. congrats!

now when do we get to see the Kona plan?

r

This thread will live on past October 11th for sure. I think the positivity of this cool story teeters on doing a short feature on the front page. I know it's not breakthrough, but a cool story about age grouper dreams in the sport.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [ubdawg] [ In reply to ]
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Apologies everyone for the delay. I decided to finally jot down some thoughts about this whole experience...


There's something about the days following an Ironman, or any significant personal achievement for that matter, that is bittersweet. For the months prior to the event, life had a strange, narcissistic purpose. After all, I was training for an Ironman! During the peak training weeks, I was too tired to think about anything else. During the taper period, I had nothing else to think about. But now that it is over, and since my legs hurt too much to move around much, I have had plenty of time to struggle with this concept of purpose. What did the 10 months of my life mean? And perhaps more importantly, what's next?

Let's take for granted that people who do Ironman races regularly are well above what is "recommended" for maintaining physical fitness. So why do we do this? There's a definite thrill in accomplishment, in achievement, in chasing an ever-rising bar. But therein lies the problem: there is always a higher bar. I went into this experience thinking that I have got one shot to meet this target, hopefully grab it, and then sail into the sunset. Yet, I found myself today looking up swim coaches and tri clubs in the Seattle area (where I'm moving in July) and thinking, "well, if over the next few years I could cut 5' off the swim, 2' off transition, 15' off the bike, 10' off the run, I could come close to breaking 9..." before slapping myself in the face.

After all, we are age-groupers - by definition people who do this sport as a hobby, likely ranking tris behind other priorities like family, jobs, etc, and therefore always unable to reach our "true potential". So in that light, having a singular focus on chasing goals is almost an artificially handicapped construct. You can always make decisions that will enable you to train longer and harder, but there is also the rest of life that should matter, and probably more. A semi-pro climber friend of mine wrote that the only way to overcome the depression that kicks in after finally conquering a route is to embrace the journey and not just the destination. I like that. There will always be faster people, higher benchmarks, and I need to learn how to be satisfied, not just in the moment after a milestone, but in the 99% of time I'm not racing. Swimming workouts should be satisfying. Biking should be satisfying. Running should be satisfying. And of course, crushing races will always be satisfying. All this is true, but there was one moment, in the finisher's chute, after finding out the 3rd place finisher was passing on his slot, that I felt such a surge of emotion, of elation, of joy, that made the whole journey... just perfect.

After much delay, here's my initial write-up for IMTX (linking to blog to avoid what could be the world's longest ST post): http://www.xiao-wang.com/...an-texas-race-report

As an epilogue, there are definitely some people who deserve thanks in this thread. In alphabetacle order:
  • Amgray13: great race again and thanks for helping me actually enjoy Saturday night.
  • AngusW: thanks for sharing your own journey. I hope to one day sniff the swim gains you were able to achieve!
  • Bryancd: thanks for your engagement, skepticism, advice, and encouragement all made an impact on me. Thank you for sticking with me on this journey and you were right - despite my lofty ambitions, I couldn't quite beat your best B+R time :)
  • Colinlaughery: thanks for being a supporter since the beginning. Great meeting you in person and we'll definitely grab a few drinks in Hawaii!
  • Desert dude: thanks for chiming in with your wealth of experience and knowledge
  • EricM40-44: thanks for the training advice, overall newbie race guidance, and the Eminem gif (P.S. what happens when you age up - do you change your username?)
  • Fleck: thanks for both your advice and wisdom. Enjoying the journey turned into watching every episode of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and House of Cards while on the trainer all winter
  • GA_TRI_DAWG: truly honored that you'd offer to help with Kona but I'll have to decline - buy me a beer if you're in Hawaii and donate the other $20 to charity :)
  • Hayley0: I think green coffee beans sound delicious.
  • HKoldtimer: thanks for sticking with me along this journey and all of your detailed advice. Good luck with your own race later this year!
  • Irontri: you really put effort into giving out advice to total strangers. And we in the total stranger community should really put effort into thanking you.
  • MDD1997: for actually starting a prediction thread and for your advice, encouragement, and words of support
  • Motoguy128: Also one of those who's been participating since the beginning. Thanks for your words of advice!
  • Racing Yoda: great meeting you in person and for paying attention to me on your own KQ race day!
  • Snackchair: thanks for the detailed assessment/analysis of Lobsterman and advice on cleat position - calf didn't cramp at IMTX! (everything else did though...)
  • Sylvan: thanks for announcing that there were to be 3 slots, for taking the video, for being awesome in general
  • Thread revival team (dooley34, ontheuptick, Joe Public): thanks for being interested and caring about my progress - that really meant a lot to me.
  • Race-day cheer crew (sciguy, tjbingha, lakercr, noofus, blueraider_mike, JimMoss, Furious D, PeteDin206, badgertri, afbadbrad, Staz, BCtriguy1, dreaming~big, IMPBAZ, others too many to name): it's remarkably touching how y'all were engaged in watching the race of someone you've never met. Thank you for just being awesome.
  • All the post finish supporters (way too many to name): every one of your notes means a lot to me
  • All the women who questioned my masculinity due to allowing my wife to tell me what to do... where were all of you 10 years ago? :)

Last edited by: WX: May 22, 14 11:42
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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I'm blaming my missed long run from that day on you... That being said, if you ever want to grab a ride when you reach Seattle I'm happy to take you around and show you some great routes. Also happy to provide info on any questions you have about the area since I grew up here. Feel free to ping me via PM.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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And of course, crushing races will always be satisfying.

And crush it you did. Looking forward to watching the journey to Hawaii.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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I have never been so pleased to be so wrong. Well done my friend and aloha.

-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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WX wrote:
But therein lies the problem: there is always a higher bar. I went into this experience thinking that I have got one shot to meet this target, hopefully grab it, and then sail into the sunset. Yet, I found myself today looking up swim coaches and tri clubs in the Seattle area (where I'm moving in July) and thinking, "well, if over the next few years I could cut 5' off the swim, 2' off transition, 15' off the bike, 10' off the run, I could come close to breaking 9..." before slapping myself in the face

if you think it's bad now, wait until you go to, race, and finish Kona. Some of us get stuck on that hamster wheel for life :)

Look me up when you get to the Seattle area. I'm available for either some coaching/guidance or some useful perspective on why training for an ever faster Kona each year is potentially a bad thing, although it seems like you've got your head screwed on properly already.

Good luck with Kona. Get plenty of down time before reloading on your training. Funny, I just got an email today for a pretty low price for non-stop ticket from SEATAC to Kona in October. Would have liked to buy it but I haven't qualified yet so I passed.

Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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WX - I gotta say I was one of the doubters as well, namely because I've been at this for about 5 years with the dream of Kona for the past 2, and like others have said it takes some serious balls to make such a bold claim, but you did the work and backed it up! Amazing! I also KQ'd at IMTX in M35-39 for the first time (after 8 Ironmans - so yes, it can be done folks if you keep persevering) and it was so cool to see you up there on the podium and then at rolldown. Dreams come true to those who work hard - they did for you and they did for me, and my hat is off to you for doing your homework, putting together a plan, and then nailing that plan. Cant wait to race with you in Kona!
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [ericM40-44] [ In reply to ]
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ericM40-44 wrote:
if you think it's bad now, wait until you go to, race, and finish Kona. Some of us get stuck on that hamster wheel for life :)

aint that true!

PS: WX - fantastic result! I knew you could do it! and I can tell you now for sure you are not done...

____________________________________

Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [Gobux3] [ In reply to ]
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Gobux3 wrote:
Earlier someone posted the idea of creating a fundraising page to support XW. I'm guessing, but don't want to put words in his mouth, that XW would even more appreciate our collective support of his Robin Hood Endurance Team initiative. $5,190 raised to date is weak sauce for a Slowtwitch legend! Make it rain Twitcherati!

https://www.crowdrise.com/RobinHoodTeamEndurance/fundraiser/XiaoWang


$50.00 Donated. :-)


WX wrote:
GA_TRI_DAWG: truly honored that you'd offer to help with Kona but I'll have to decline - buy me a beer if you're in Hawaii and donate the other $20 to charity :)

I won't be in Kona unless I win the lottery (0 for 2 so far). I enjoy my slow/easy/MOP races and get to live vicariously through other's major accomplishments.

Remember to soak it all in and enjoy yourself out there.

Maybe the only useful advice this older, slower Ironman can give you..... Honor your wife by making a big dream of hers come true (after your done with Kona ;-). Balance is the most important part of making a marriage last. And always be humble with your wife. After all, you will always be a bad ass on slowtwitch from now on.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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WX wrote:
After all, we are age-groupers - by definition people who do this sport as a hobby, likely ranking tris behind other priorities like family, jobs, etc, and therefore always unable to reach our "true potential". So in that light, having a singular focus on chasing goals is almost an artificially handicapped construct. You can always make decisions that will enable you to train longer and harder, but there is also the rest of life that should matter, and probably more.

Damn, in addition to putting his money where his mouth is athletically, he is humble in all this and sees the bigger picture. Hats off to you, sir. Talk about leading by example! I may just print that little nugget out for when the narcissism starts to grab too tightly. Awesome job! I'd like to reach your athletic level, but I think striving for your general attitude would be an even better accomplishment!
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [agreif] [ In reply to ]
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agreif wrote:
WX wrote:
After all, we are age-groupers - by definition people who do this sport as a hobby, likely ranking tris behind other priorities like family, jobs, etc, and therefore always unable to reach our "true potential". So in that light, having a singular focus on chasing goals is almost an artificially handicapped construct. You can always make decisions that will enable you to train longer and harder, but there is also the rest of life that should matter, and probably more.


Damn, in addition to putting his money where his mouth is athletically, he is humble in all this and sees the bigger picture. Hats off to you, sir. Talk about leading by example! I may just print that little nugget out for when the narcissism starts to grab too tightly. Awesome job! I'd like to reach your athletic level, but I think striving for your general attitude would be an even better accomplishment!

Absolutely agree with this sentiment. Great job man..and a great frame of mind you have their.
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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You are the asian overachiever my parents never had.

Well done!
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [WX] [ In reply to ]
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I just re-found this thread after the long lay-off and I made the mistake of clicking on the last page so I got the spoiler. I went back and picked up where I'd left off and my heart was pounding through the updates even though I knew how it turned out.

This is indeed an epic thread - congratulations on a great effort and result.

twomarks
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Re: One shot at Kona - here goes! [Chucifer] [ In reply to ]
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Chucifer wrote:
You are the asian overachiever my parents never had.

Well done!

This is hilarious....
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