In fact, just 10 days after Kona, I ran my fastest 1-mile repeats since spring 2015. So I was clearly recovered from Kona, and also in potentially the best shape of my life.
- First, Ryan was STILL sick. In fact, he’s still constantly blowing his nose, but it’s gotten much better than what he experienced in Kona.
- Second, we didn’t know if I’d be pregnant. Full disclosure, I did discuss this all with my OBGYN ahead of time and a plan in place for if I did or did not get pregnant (I didn’t even book my flight until I knew I wasn’t pregnant).
- And third, it would be kind of nice to just have a low-pressure race. After doing 5 Ironman World Championships in a row, I have now started to realize that there are expectations for us when we race. I totally get it, but definitely didn’t want to have that, “OMG you’re doing another Ironman, you better qualify for Kona” thought looming over my head. We simply wanted to end the year with a GOOD, empty-the-tank kind of race. We never once mentioned Kona 2018 as that simply wasn't the goal for this race (which is super weird to say, since that has been the goal for the past 5 years!)
Up next, the race report!