The Evil Eyebrow

Ironman Conclusion

Written by

Bill Ruhsam

in

,

Today I made a tough decision. I decided to not race in the 2009 Florida Ironman.

On Sunday I pulled some muscles in my back in a truly heroic manner. This particular injury is one I’m familiar with from past experience and I knew on Sunday that it was deal breaker for this race. I held out against the hope that maybe, just maybe, a miracle recovery would occur and I’d be able to race. Alas, it was not to be. Today I’m still not able to stand up straight except for immediately after lying down for a while. We were scheduled to leave tomorrow morning for the race site therefore this was the first of two go/no-go decision points.

No Go.

I could conceivably get better enough in the next two days to race, but I place the likelihood somewhere between “maybe” and “not a chance in hell”. Then there’s the serious prospect that even if I did get “better enough to start” I would re-injure myself during the race. I don’t know about you, but I like walking and would prefer to avoid lying on my back for a couple weeks.

All the factors are lined up against going, only the desire to enjoy what looks to be perfect racing weather is driving me to reconsider.

It’s a tough decision, but the right one for me. There will be other races, possibly other ironman races, to look forward to. I won’t say I’m not depressed about this, but in the grand scheme of things there are worse things that could have happened. This was just exceptionally bad timing for an injury.

Comments

10 responses to “Ironman Conclusion”

  1. Kim Avatar
    Kim

    That totally sucks. I’m sorry, man.

  2. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    This couldn’t have been an easy decision to make. I applaud your wisdom and look forward to your next attempt.

  3. James Cronen Avatar
    James Cronen

    You know what’s best for you. I want you healthy and happy, and whatever you do to ensure that is good enough by me.

    I’m really proud of the work you’ve put in and not racing doesn’t diminish that one bit.

  4. Jenn Avatar
    Jenn

    I’m proud of you. I’m proud you took on such Herculean task, and trained and trained, and then had the strength to decide against racing when injured. You still look most excellent and I’ll be cheering for you at your 5k this year and the Ironman when/if you decide to do it in the future.

  5. Tom Sisson Avatar
    Tom Sisson

    Damn. I know how hard you worked to get to this point. I hope you make a full recovery soon and get back on track for a future Ironman.

  6. Steph Avatar
    Steph

    Ah, that suuuuucks! Sorry man. It’s tough to work that hard only to have such bad luck at the worst possible time. But now you know you have what it takes to get through the training! Best of luck next time!

  7. Bill Ruhsam Avatar
    Bill Ruhsam

    Thanks for all the kind words. I haven’t given up all thought of this Ironman thing, but it won’t be this coming year. We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll blog about it.

  8. JohnS. Avatar
    JohnS.

    I remember how your back has affected you in the past, and I can only imagine how the added weight of the situation could change your response. I’m sorry for what you have to go through; but you’re keeping a very cool head about it and making what I’d consider wise choices. There are now two more reasons I respect you and count myself lucky to have you as a friend. 1, You set out to train for the Ironman and 2, even under a tough situation you be smart and come out ahead in the even longer race.

  9. Mebbie Avatar
    Mebbie

    I am so sorry. I second all the thoughts above – you have truly put forth an amazing effort over the past many, many, many months. But you are right to make the decision you have made. I applaud you for all your blood, sweat, time, money, etc that you’ve put into this and I applaud you even more for not risking major personal injury by going forward. Feel better soon!

  10. The Evil Eyebrow » Workouts – Back to Basics

    […] I began something that I should probably have been doing all along. It might have averted the little tiny problem I had last fall. That thing is: core workouts every […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts