Snail mail...

Today was "back to reality". Kona was only three days ago, but it seems like a lifetime ago.

I still can't believe this racing year is over and I'm now able to rest and recover. It's what I've been dreaming about and it will be interesting to see how well I adjust and cope with the reduced training volumes.

The NYC Marathon is upcoming and I decided just to follow the final three weeks of a training plan I found online. It's really only two weeks because the third week is a taper. I was amazed to see how little training there was on the plan for the taper week, it's something I'm not used to.

I'm actually afraid to start running. My hamstring and butt still slightly hurt when I bend down. If I didn't have to train for the marathon, I'd only be running sparingly until it was fully healed.

Rather than run, we invited Jamie and Barb over last night. Jamie brought me one of the best cigars he has in his humidor, it's a Cuban Punch aged 6 years. Not a cheap cigar. We each had one to celebrate my Kona Ironman finish. It was the best cigar I've EVER smoked.

In Kona, I almost thought my cigar smoking days were over. The cigars I bought over there made me ill. The night we were leaving, I had maybe 8 drags from one of the cigars and started "sweating profusely" and "feeling sick to my stomach".

At the time, I thought my body was starting to reject cigar smoking. Little did I know that it was the quality of the cigar. I was probably smoking horse hair or something worse. Tonight I realized my cigar smoking days are not over, the one Jamie brought me was AWESOME!!!

The cigar was so smooth and the consistency was the same at the beginning as it was at the end. There was very little of it wasted and I smoked it to the nub. If I had a "roach clip", I would have used it. Smoking that cigar will go down as just another highlight of my Kona experience.

To remember the moment, I took the band off the cigar and dated and signed it and had Jamie sign it. I then put it behind the bar on the Jamaican man's hat and it's now a constant reminder of that night and that fine cigar.

We had a lot of laughs last night and Jamie wanted to see my new Ironman Wardrobe. It was like a fashion show, except I wasn't wearing it. As one Ironman to another, he was loving it. Him and Barb also really liked my new tattoo. It seems the overall consensus from everyone is I did good with the tattoo. I definitely like it, a lot.

My eating healthy was going so well until just before going to bed at 3:30 am. Jamie and Barb left much earlier and Alice and I stayed up talking and listening to music. Needless to say my willpower was at an all time low and I ate through a box of ice cream, all my Wheaties fuel sample boxes and pepperoni sticks before climbing into bed fully clothed.

Today I've posted Part One of my 2010 Ironman Kona Journey video. Oh and for you TPPF supporters, I just mailed out your Kona Postcards from Canada today. Ran out of time to do it from Hawaii.

No Training - Rest and Recovery

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