My favorite number has always been 11. When I was a kid I would sometimes just sit and wait and stare at the clock until it said 11:11 so I could make a wish.
As it turns out, 2011 seems to be a lucky year for me. Yesterday (June 11th) my name got drawn out of a hat for a spot to race in Kona in October. That will be my 11th Ironman!
They picked 20 Hawaii residents out of a hat or something last night. I think just about every local athlete was refreshing Facebook for hours last night waiting for the list to be published somewhere... It was frustrating knowing that the names had been picked yet no one seemed to be able to tell us anything. I finally gave up and went to bed... but right before I fell asleep I heard a DING on my phone... it was a friend of mine sending me a message of congrats... so then I had to get up and come downstairs to check and see for myself. That's when I saw this list. Holy cow. It was true.
So there you go! Last year, bad luck kept me out of Kona. This year, good luck got me in. Maybe racing the World Championships really is all about luck?
Regardless, I am excited for a lot of reasons. Now I can go race at CdA without any real pressure. Phew. Truth be told, when Nalani got her spot last week I felt this enormous wave of pressure like now I MUST GET IN TO KONA... whereas before that is was just I REALLY WANT TO GET IN TO KONA... And while a lot of it is about the race experience there (it is awesome!) much of it has to do with the fact that I am just not done training for Ironman. And what I mean by that is that I have enjoyed the hell out of this process this year... I love training for Ironman... And now that CdA is only 2 weeks away, well, the training for that is pretty much done. And while I guess I should feel a sense of relief or something, really I am actually kinda bummed. Seriously, I love getting up on Saturday mornings and riding 100 miles by myself in 20mph winds and then running for an hour... I love surviving on Infinit and GU and Liquid Shot and e21. And the 20 mile run the next day? It's become one of my favorite workouts. I swear I am not even kidding.
Now you know why my athletes (fondly, I think?) call me BatShitCrazy.
So good news, my friends... after I recover from CdA, I'll get to start over and do it all again. That totally makes me smile. :)
In other news, this morning I got to do a 40K Team Time Trial with the Pac Velo gals. It dumped rain all night last night so the roads were all wet this morning... and the wind was howling as usual... Not ideal conditions to be riding hard and drafting on your TT bike! Our #1 goal was to finish upright and of course we did that. And we won too, but that wasn't hard to do considering no other team managed to scrounge up 4 women for a team. I have to say though, riding with these strong experienced women was a real pleasure today. We were solid and had no issues whatsoever. See? Check me out... lazy ass just hanging out there on the back.
OK. I wasn't that lazy. Like a good little triathlete, I went running afterward. :)
21 comments:
Woohoo, congratulations!!! I saw all the posts at 4am while walking my dogs pre-race and was so excited to see your name on the list :) And I must be batshitcrazy too because I just keep waiting for the "fun stuff" this year - ie the big volume period!
Too funny, I saw this list on Mags, FB wall, read through and never even made the Michelle Simmons connection. You lucky dawg...how about you qualify at CDA, then write to the organizers saying you would like to donate your second slot to me?
The universe has a way of balancing things out, or some shit like that. I'm so happy for you! Interesting only 3 women on that list. There must have been a ton of men in that lottery.
I would be terrified to draft on a tri bike! That's trust in your fellow cyclists right there. Go you!
woohoo is right, that is AWESOME!! Now go kill it in your AG at CdA like you did at Honu :-)
Congratulations!!! I am sure you are excited.
I also was a lazy ass on a bike on Saturday just hanging out there on the back. But at least I got to stare at some muscular male rears and backs:)
Are you f*ing kidding me? That's awesome - and lucky! No go kick some ass at CdA to prove you don't need no freaking luck.
very happy for ya !!!!
Congrats! That is so awesome! 10 Ironmans so far is so impressive :)
So happy you got the spot. What an awesome year for you! Have a great race at CDA. You are going to kill it.
Awesome!!!
YES!!!!!! great news michelle! cant wait to track you on race day!!
freaking awesome. Now, you and Nalani are both going to give some lucky girl that is chasing you around all day a big fat surprise when your KONA slots roll down to them. Now that is just WAY COOL :-)
Awesome! You must be so pumped. Terrific.
YAY Michelle! You did it-
So excited for you! You will make Hawaii proud!
tn
Wow! That is so exciting. Super happy for you.
That is great news! Congrats! Oh my gosh Michelle I want your sense of motivation and determination. It's so inspiring!
yea!! super excited for you. you will have a kick ass race in CDA and I will get to see you in kona crazy girl!! awesome news for a lucky year!!
oh CONGRATS!!! So exciting!!!!
Congrats! And hope your race at CdA is awesome without the pressure.
OH here is the news!! Congrats again and PERFECT TIMING to still go out and have the race of your life at CDA!
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