Onionman 2009

Onionman 2009 is in the history books. It was much anticipated race with the field that was scheduled to be there. There were 4 people there that had won the race before, so I was excited to see how it would all shake out. Last year I won this race, but I was also coming off a build to ITU World Championships and it was my 3rd Olympic race of the season. So I had a pretty good idea where I was. This year, not so much. I was set to race Wildflower in early May, but caught the flu a few days prior and canceled my trip to Wildflower…major disappointment. So after recovering from that, I was able to get healthy for Onionman. It would be an honest test to see where I was, or was not. Not only with the athletes assembled there, but from what I had done the prior year.

Rather than bore you all with the detailed version of my trip down there, what I ate, how many steps I took to T1, I thought I would share some things that I observed, and learned, at this race. Since this is the first major race of the season for this area, it’s the first time that we all get together. Along with this, we all get to hear what everyone has been up to. This normally starts off with some variation of, “I really have not been training all that much,” or, “I have been sick the past 6 months,” or, “I had a heart and lung transplant last week, so I am not too sure how I will do.” I like to think this is all code for, “I have been training my ass off,” or, “my doctor has put me on some meds that would make Lance Armstrong look like a club cyclist,” or, “I have this new PT and massage therapist that has worked wonders on my body.” We all probably do this, just some more than others. I wonder if athletes in all sports do this? Does Tiger Woods walk up to his competition and say, “My swing is quite a bit weaker this year…I will be lucky to get 200 yards out of my drive. I just hope to stay on the PGA this year.” Does Michael Phelps say, “I have not been swimming much. I just hope not to get lapped in the 50.” My guess is we all question what kind of condition we are in as we start the season, and this is just our way of externalizing it. So the next time you walk through a transition area, listen to the conversations going on. Most of them revolve around personal disclaimers. Unfortunately for all of us, they never show up on the results. When you see the results, that asterisk next to your time is not an indicator that you were “training through this race.” It indicates that you got a 2 minute penalty for drafting.

Onionman 2009 was a great race, but I have not been running as much as I should have, and my allergies were kind of acting up a bit, not to mention that I did not get as much sleep the night before because my stomach was upset from eating some food that was undercooked from a party that I was required to be at a couple days prior that I ended up twisting my ankle at after jumping out of a tree after rescuing a rabid cat that ended up biting me. Did I mention that I might have Swine Flu?

Rule 76: No excuses, play like a champion.