Crazy Ass Fans, it’s go time.
So there’s this race this weekend, and it’s kind of a big deal. Here are the details:
What: 70.3 World Championships (Half Ironman)
Where: Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
When: 8am Eastern this Sunday, September 7th
How to Follow:
- The race
- Ironman 70.3 Worlds Website
- Ironman Live twitter – @ironmanlive
- Ironman Mont Tremblant twitter – @IMMontTremblant
- My race
- My twitter (maybe) – @jessemthomas
- Lauren’s twitter – @laurenfleshman
- Matt’s Dixon’s twitter – @purplepatch
Media Previews:
- My Interview with Lava Magazine
- Slowtwitch Preview
- Triathlete Magazine Preview
No, I didn’t photoshop this myself. Slightly embarrassing, but also awesome – I made the program cover!
A Little Reflection:
I’m going to be honest. I’m feeling a little emotional. There may or may not have been a tiny bit of bike-crying this week as I prepared myself mentally for the race and reflected on what it’s taken to get here. It’s been a crazy 18 months. Here’s the recap my mind goes through:
- I have an incredible start to 2013, 2nd at Oceanside in a sprint, 3rd Wildflower Win, I think this may be my year at World’s.
- I break my foot and have surgery, my year is over.
- Jude is born.
- Mont Tremblant is announced as location for 2014 Worlds, a good course for me, this race becomes my primary goal for the next year.
- I watch from my computer as guys I raced with finish 3rd-6th at Worlds in Vegas.
- I put in hundreds of hours of physical therapy to get my foot ready to run again.
- After 8 weeks of painful running, turns out I need the pin taken out of my foot, I get a second foot surgery and miss the first few races of the year.
- I win Wildflower a 4th time, much to my surprise.
- I separate my shoulder and miss another few weeks for my Worlds qualification.
- I miss a turn at Eagleman, still no Worlds points.
- I win Mont Tremblant!
- I finish 3rd and 6th at Buffalo Springs & Vineman, racing 4 halfs in 5 weeks to get the points I need to qualify for this race. I’m in, but I’m smoked.
- I rest, recuperate, and get ready (train hard) at home in Bend.
Now I’m here. And in a way, I’ve already won. Looking back at that roller coaster, it’s an accomplishment for me to be here and be as ready to race as I am. So in a way, I have to be happy with that, and I am. I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished.
But…I’m not going to let myself off that easy. I also want to do well. In fact, I want to do really well, and I believe it can happen. This is an incredible field, the best field I’ve ever seen in any triathlon ever. I honestly could have a good day and finish 15th (my best is still 20th…), but I could have a great day and podium. I know that it will be very hard, the hardest race of my life, but my mind and body are open to the possibility of doing great things, and that’s all I can ask for.
Regardless, I am happy to be here with my family. I’m excited to go out and express all the work, energy, and support I’ve had over the last year and a half by racing my ass off for four hours. Matt told me today to prepare, act and race as a champion. And if I do that, no matter how it unfolds, I will have my best day. So that’s how I’m going to approach it. I promise you all that regardless of what happens, I’ll race with everything I’ve got because I owe that to myself, my friends, family, sponsors, and crazy ass fans.
Thank you all so much for following along on this roller coaster triathlife! I sincerely appreciate your words of encouragement the last 18 months. I will carry them with me each step of the way.
See you guys on the other side.
Kick some major ass! I can’t wait to watch the race unfold! 🙂
We’ll be there to cheer you on. Give it all you got !
Jesse we are too far away to see the race but you are in Canada!!!.Great events have resulted in wins for you. To have achieved your goal to be racing after 18months of trials,is an enormous accomplishment. I salute your resilience, determination and perseverance. We will be cheering for you and have the race of your life.
Dig deep and go for it. You’ve earned this….
Dig deep, kick ass. Pulling for you! Best of luck! You’ve staged a comeback of epic proportions already, and putting it out there at Worlds is a fine way to celebrate.
Jesse,
I have only been doing Tris for 2 years now and really only started following the pros this past year. I trained through a foot injury to race IMLP last year and then really damaged it racing on race day. I still couldn’t run a step without pain this late spring. I stumbled upon your website one day and was really inspired by your performance at Wildflower this year. Thank you for sharing your story, as it really helped me mentally battle with the low points. I was able to run in late May again after 10 months off and was able to race IMLP again this year. It is so awesome that you take the time to write lots articles directed at Age Groupers such as myself. They are great sources of information and encouragement. I am late to the party, but definitely have become a crazy ass fan. Have fun, enjoy the day, and do your best. If you do those, good things are going to happen. Cannot wait to watch the race online on Sunday.
Can’t wait to watch. Always a fan
“and in a way I’ve already won…” Yes you have. Sending lots of cheers from South Florida…all the best.
No, you have not won. That happens tomorrow. Go get it! Fly! When it gets tough remember your Daddy Power.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You will obviously race like a champion. My question is why did I kind of get choked up while reading this? This is by far the most sappy blog post you’ve dropped. You need to beast up. Feel the flow. Work it.
Always an inspiration. Good luck.
Good luck!!
You are such an inspiration, Jesse. No matter what happens tomorrow know that the young 19-year-old girls of the triathlon world are rooting for you! And in reality, isn’t that all that really matters? Go get ’em.
Have a great experience tomorrow. Hope it all goes well for you, and you rock it. You have many crazy ass fans pulling for you, so enjoy, and kick some ass.
Hugs to Jude and Lauren.
Nice job Jesse finishing 12th. With all you’ve gone through it’s pretty incredible. From an d older friend get the book Peaks and Valleys if you haven’t read it. Less than 100 pages and big print. Same author of the guy that wrote who took my cheese I thinks it’s called. Have recommended it for years and always get rave reviews. Hope I can hook up in Eugene sometime. Coburg is all 100% occupied and getting ready to build a new command center for the Oregon State Police on our site.
Amazing Race!!!! Amazing!!
I live close to Tremblant – next year I want to volunteer at one of the IM events.