23 Hours of Under Achieving
Bliss. Freedom. Relaxation. Carefree.
The feelings of my new post-Ironman goal to Unde Achieve. I had sponsors, endorsers, even coaches and mentors. My Under Achieving Team had lined up activities for me, social hours, coffee time, naps, mornings to sleep in, book clubs, happy hours on the dock....their lists went on and on.
The excitement and anticipation of my new lifestyle began last night at 6:38 Cabo time whe I crossed the finish line, hands and 'Jack' held high, and turned to bid the course and sport adios. On to more relaxing things. It all started about a month ago when a friend introduced me to a client of hers by saying,"This is Condy. She is doing Ironman Los Cabos. She is an over achiever."
Over Achiever. Really? Me? The description grated at me for days. Was I really striving for too much? Was I not content with just being 'enough'? It immediately came to me that after reaching my goal of finishing a other Ironman I would shoot for J der Achievong for the remainder of the year.
And last night at the finish line it began. I loved it today, by Taking SUPs out to The Arch on Los Cabos, paddling the shoreline, watching a whale to one side Nd then having a seal pop up about 19 feet from our boards to the other. Then a mango margarita on the beach. Then off the shower to head to the awards banquet.
But there was a little inkling in me that said to hurry and get to the Ironman World Chanpionship slot allocation prior to the banquet. It is a set time to claim slots and then a small window where they roll down to the next recent of they are not claimed. But who wouldn't claim a spot to the coveted championships in Kona?? They are everyone's aspiration and getting more and more difficult to receive with the introduction of more and more events annually. However, it was this thinking that told me to hurry, just in case the one slot on our age group was not claimed (by some odd reason). So at 5:25 I had Steve drop meat the doors so I could run up and be there in case the first place gal did not claim her spot and it rolled to me.
At 5:28 I run into the room and for kicks double check the allocation list to see the ominous '1' slot for our age group listed. And it wasn't. Since Thursday it had been changed from one to two. Oh my gosh!! I had a slot to Kona...again!! At 5:29 I rushed over and claimed it.
"Congratulations. You are just in time! You have qualified for Kona World Championships" they tell me. "That will be $775 US. Cash."
Seriously? Cash? I had no anticipation of qualifying...or traveling with so much cash. "Is there an ATM machine here?" I ask? "Yes, downstairs there is a bank" Perfect. I think. I am in Mexico. I hope my card (which I have never used for an ATM) works here!
On my way downstairs I run into Jen and Steve, who were looking forward to a night of cerveza sitting by the marina under achieving at the awards banquet. I raised my arms, "I did it, fair and square," I said. They both looked at me blankly. "You mean she took the slot and you fair and square don't have to have remorse about skiing every day?" she is thinking. Steve on the other hand is looking at me with a sick, distressed look of a man about to not have his wife coherent for another 7 months.
"I qualified for Kona!!" I yelled!! And we all hooped and hollered. "Now we need to go get $775 out of the ATM. So we all three run down to the ATM and it takes my card!! Woohoo! It says maximum withdraw $3000. Perfect. So I punch in $800, and out pops $800....pesos. Oopsy. About 1/10 of what we need. Jen and I double over in laughter in the glass fish bowl booth we are in as Steve watches us and shakes his head, but not moving in for the rescue quite yet. Second transaction. $3000. Third transaction. Declined. Reached maximum transaction limit. Jen's generous turn. $3000. Done. Jen's turn again. Declined. Maximum Transactions. Ok. I will try again. $1000 pesos. Accepted. Another $1000. Accepted. In the mean time, Steve is counting all the US cash we can muster, Jen cleans out her wallet and hands us everything she has, she has her calculator out trying to figure the exchange based on the sign on the bank door. We end up with $8800 pesos and $100 US cash. Back up the steps we run to the waiting Mexican Ironman personnel who have it all written out on what they will accept. $775 US or $10,200 pesos. They are using a different exchange rate. Steve wheels and deals for them to accept part US and remainder pesos. We finally come to terms and we get $2 back, just enough to get our car out of the parking garage!
We stealthily slipped into the awards banquet which was an outdoor beautiful setting at the Los Cabos marina. Steve was a bit nervous as we strolled in, but hey, we had just paid our dues upstairs! We were all craving a beer to celebrate, but didn't have enough money left between us to even split one three ways! And in Mexico, you even have to buy water!! But we waited until trophies and podium pics were taken, then made our way to the car, in awe and shock of how the evening had unfolded.
On the way back to San Jose we recapped the events and scenarios that had just taken place. As much as I did not plan or desire to continue training for another full Ironman event, Kona is the godfather of them all, which, as an athlete, is respected and honored. To receive the opportunity to go there is a gift in itself. In my eyes it would be like being awarded a spot to participate in the Olympics and turning it down. I shared this with Jen and Steve and we were all in a agreement that it is something you don't pass up. Then
We then switched gears and started taking about what to do on Jen's last morning here? We could get up and have coffee, watch the sunrise, and under achieve OR we could get up, paddleboard, snorkel, and STILL get Jen to the airport by 10:30. Over achieving it is!!
The feelings of my new post-Ironman goal to Unde Achieve. I had sponsors, endorsers, even coaches and mentors. My Under Achieving Team had lined up activities for me, social hours, coffee time, naps, mornings to sleep in, book clubs, happy hours on the dock....their lists went on and on.
The excitement and anticipation of my new lifestyle began last night at 6:38 Cabo time whe I crossed the finish line, hands and 'Jack' held high, and turned to bid the course and sport adios. On to more relaxing things. It all started about a month ago when a friend introduced me to a client of hers by saying,"This is Condy. She is doing Ironman Los Cabos. She is an over achiever."
Over Achiever. Really? Me? The description grated at me for days. Was I really striving for too much? Was I not content with just being 'enough'? It immediately came to me that after reaching my goal of finishing a other Ironman I would shoot for J der Achievong for the remainder of the year.
And last night at the finish line it began. I loved it today, by Taking SUPs out to The Arch on Los Cabos, paddling the shoreline, watching a whale to one side Nd then having a seal pop up about 19 feet from our boards to the other. Then a mango margarita on the beach. Then off the shower to head to the awards banquet.
But there was a little inkling in me that said to hurry and get to the Ironman World Chanpionship slot allocation prior to the banquet. It is a set time to claim slots and then a small window where they roll down to the next recent of they are not claimed. But who wouldn't claim a spot to the coveted championships in Kona?? They are everyone's aspiration and getting more and more difficult to receive with the introduction of more and more events annually. However, it was this thinking that told me to hurry, just in case the one slot on our age group was not claimed (by some odd reason). So at 5:25 I had Steve drop meat the doors so I could run up and be there in case the first place gal did not claim her spot and it rolled to me.
At 5:28 I run into the room and for kicks double check the allocation list to see the ominous '1' slot for our age group listed. And it wasn't. Since Thursday it had been changed from one to two. Oh my gosh!! I had a slot to Kona...again!! At 5:29 I rushed over and claimed it.
"Congratulations. You are just in time! You have qualified for Kona World Championships" they tell me. "That will be $775 US. Cash."
Seriously? Cash? I had no anticipation of qualifying...or traveling with so much cash. "Is there an ATM machine here?" I ask? "Yes, downstairs there is a bank" Perfect. I think. I am in Mexico. I hope my card (which I have never used for an ATM) works here!
On my way downstairs I run into Jen and Steve, who were looking forward to a night of cerveza sitting by the marina under achieving at the awards banquet. I raised my arms, "I did it, fair and square," I said. They both looked at me blankly. "You mean she took the slot and you fair and square don't have to have remorse about skiing every day?" she is thinking. Steve on the other hand is looking at me with a sick, distressed look of a man about to not have his wife coherent for another 7 months.
"I qualified for Kona!!" I yelled!! And we all hooped and hollered. "Now we need to go get $775 out of the ATM. So we all three run down to the ATM and it takes my card!! Woohoo! It says maximum withdraw $3000. Perfect. So I punch in $800, and out pops $800....pesos. Oopsy. About 1/10 of what we need. Jen and I double over in laughter in the glass fish bowl booth we are in as Steve watches us and shakes his head, but not moving in for the rescue quite yet. Second transaction. $3000. Third transaction. Declined. Reached maximum transaction limit. Jen's generous turn. $3000. Done. Jen's turn again. Declined. Maximum Transactions. Ok. I will try again. $1000 pesos. Accepted. Another $1000. Accepted. In the mean time, Steve is counting all the US cash we can muster, Jen cleans out her wallet and hands us everything she has, she has her calculator out trying to figure the exchange based on the sign on the bank door. We end up with $8800 pesos and $100 US cash. Back up the steps we run to the waiting Mexican Ironman personnel who have it all written out on what they will accept. $775 US or $10,200 pesos. They are using a different exchange rate. Steve wheels and deals for them to accept part US and remainder pesos. We finally come to terms and we get $2 back, just enough to get our car out of the parking garage!
We stealthily slipped into the awards banquet which was an outdoor beautiful setting at the Los Cabos marina. Steve was a bit nervous as we strolled in, but hey, we had just paid our dues upstairs! We were all craving a beer to celebrate, but didn't have enough money left between us to even split one three ways! And in Mexico, you even have to buy water!! But we waited until trophies and podium pics were taken, then made our way to the car, in awe and shock of how the evening had unfolded.
On the way back to San Jose we recapped the events and scenarios that had just taken place. As much as I did not plan or desire to continue training for another full Ironman event, Kona is the godfather of them all, which, as an athlete, is respected and honored. To receive the opportunity to go there is a gift in itself. In my eyes it would be like being awarded a spot to participate in the Olympics and turning it down. I shared this with Jen and Steve and we were all in a agreement that it is something you don't pass up. Then
We then switched gears and started taking about what to do on Jen's last morning here? We could get up and have coffee, watch the sunrise, and under achieve OR we could get up, paddleboard, snorkel, and STILL get Jen to the airport by 10:30. Over achieving it is!!
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