7 stages of grief that Kona is over … and you missed it another year

It’s that time of year again – fall is really setting in and you’ve spent almost two months doing almost no triathlon training. You thought taking in two Ironman world championship events in October would give you a sudden boost in motivation … but now you’re realizing they might not. You still can’t get over the fact that your Ironman race didn’t go according to plan, and you missed your chance to qualify once again. While you might think you’re well on your way to dealing with the many stages of world championship let down, you might not be. What do those look like? Glad you asked:

Hate-watching the Ironman World Championship coverage

This year you had two opportunities to spend an entire day glued to a computer screen as the world’s best long-distance triathletes suffered their way through the Kona winds and heat. Part of you was so happy you weren’t there, but a lot of you was really bummed you weren’t. This year you got to waste away both a Thursday and a Saturday as you took in the women’s and men’s race days!

Telling all your friends you’re quitting triathlon

Watching the coverage just hurt too much. It brought back all those painful memories from your Ironman race from earlier this year – the one that saw a great swim and bike that put you in a perfect position to nail a Kona slot, only to have things fall to pieces on the run. Watching Chelsea Sodaro and Gustav Iden fly through the marathon just hit home even more that you’re never going to run like that. It’s time to move on!

Putting your tri bike up for sale

Just seeing that bike in the basement is enough to make you want to throw it over the back fence. But, no, you’re going to get something for it.

Buying a new gravel bike

Triathlon is done. Everyone else is getting a gravel bike. Time to do the same.

No, you’re not going to sell your bike, after all

You know, the first 20 km of the run at that Ironman went really well. Maybe it was my nutrition. Yeah, that was it. I was 22 km away from earning a Kona slot. How hard can it be to run 22 km?

Signing up for another Ironman next year

The latest issue of Triathlon Magazine has a list of the “easiest” races to qualify for Kona! (How’s that for a Kona Special teaser?) “I’m going to head off to the one with the third highest number of slots – everyone else is going to rush to the first two on the list!” You’ve got this figured out.

Getting a new coach

This is all an easy fix. All we need is a hard-ass coach who will tell us to run 180 km a week and we’ll nail that marathon next year.

Riding the entire Kona course on FulGaz … on Christmas Day!

“Sorry folks. This is my Christmas present to myself! I’m going to be ready for the Kona course next year, and I’m going to start early.” The other upside is you can really go heavy on the turkey and gravy without feeling any guilt!