Post race wrap-up

After finishing the race on Sunday I was delirious with shock from how well the race went, along with some dehydration and overall pain from such a long day. Nevertheless I was able to make it until about 10pm before having to crash. I will forever be thankful for the wonderful support I got before, during, and after the race. So for those that came all the way up here to support me, as well as any other fans out on race day, thank you. 

 Now for the good stuff… I’ve had a little secret for a few months now. I decided I was going to propose to Maddy, my beautiful girlfriend of just over 4 years, the day after the race. I awoke Monday morning around 5am. I was sore, and my body was used to getting up early, but I was also extremely nervous for the big morning plans. Sunday night I had our friend Matt sneak the ring into our cabin. Matt is an early riser as well, so around 6:30am we went out on the dock, had some coffee, and discussed the morning plans. Around 7:30am I went into the bedroom to find Maddy just waking up. I sat on the bed next to her and nervously thanked her for all the support she had given me this year. I had to think of some way to get her out on the dock, but in the 2 hours I had lay awake that morning, and the countless hours I had known this was going to be how I proposed, I somehow hadn’t thought of anything good… The best thing I could come up with was telling her that I saw a huge catfish next to the dock. WHAT?? Honestly, it was the best I could come up with – not so smooth under pressure as it turns out. She looked at me as if she couldn’t care less, and even questioned whether or not there were even catfish in Flower Lake. With some persistence I got her out there. Matt stood on the porch inconspicuously with my camera in his pocket. We stood on the dock in the calm morning light. The water was as smooth as glass, and it was quiet. I told Maddy how much I appreciated her, and how I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Then, I got down on a knee and busted out the ring. She said yes. Matt got some great photos, but they will remain private. A little while later we went over to my parents’ place where everyone who came to support me now waited to congratulate us. It was a wonderful morning.

 The excitement didn’t stop there though. Because of the pretty good race time I had put down on Sunday, I was going to be close to getting one of the ever-illusive Kona slots. I looked at the official results Sunday night, and there were going to be 4 slots in the 25-29 years old age group. I was 7^th, however, I knew that at least one of the guys who beat me had already qualified. There could also be another slot added, and with roll down, anything could happen. Anyway, we couldn’t just spend out morning celebrating, we had to head back to ironman central to wait for the results.

I’ll cut right to it. I didn’t get the slot. It rolled down to 5^th place, but no further. Watching people get the slots to Kona through rolldown was an awesome thing to watch. The sheer joy and excitement as people realized their dreams of racing on the big island was something I can only imagine.

The rest of the day and week has been spent enjoying life. We’ve been eating and drinking a lot. We rented a paddle board and spent all day on the lake Wednesday, went for a hike and dip in a swimming hole Thursday, and we’re going to be sad to have this week come to an end tomorrow. 

My Dad on the paddle board

Big tree falls hard

 One more post to wrap things up is coming. I’m trying not to stay connected too much; after all I am on vacation. Stay tuned…