Mr. Bosma's AMAZING comeback to do Calgary 70.3

As John came down the finishing shoot they listed off his injuries. Simply amazing he did this race. Way to go John!

So yesterday started out with a devotional titled " Keep loving others by maintaining physical health". It said loves knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading to its hope. It can really outlast anything. What an appropriate way to start the day, by focusing on something more important than the race, and taking something along that will get one thru the race.

How did my race go? I will say one thing about the finish, my accident and recovery has taken alot more out of me than I was willing to recognize. I figured an 'athlete' would bounce back pretty quickly, maybe no to a same level as before, but..... I come to realize that maybe I don't bounce as well anymore, or that I am not the athlete I may think I am. Or it just mat be a combination of the both. But in the end, I finished. I crossed the line standing up, I didn't need medical attention, and I was happy to finish. My 'family' was there, and that includes my wife, my friends and my teammates. There was the love I spoke of earlier.

So what kind of day did we have? It was the same for all, pros and non-pros. Nobody had any preferential treatment. Except the pros don't get wetsuit strippers. It was cold and wet and a bit rainy. Oh well, so was the water in the Ghost.The one thing I needed to do was to manage things properly. Last year I started swimming out front, got beat up and ended up at the back of the pack, ready to call it quits. This year i started close to the back, took it easy and stayed out of trouble. I had an average swim that wasn't too taxing on my breathing and came out pleased with my time. T1, I looked at my bag and it had all this stuff in it. It was very confusing to get my thoughts out straight with what to do first. Needless to say I could have ordered out and still had time to spare. Oh well, at least I didn't forget anything.

Out on the bike, at least this year we knew it was 93-94km. Last year I hammered out and tried to maintain thru the race. This time it was hold back and ride comfortably. I could have expended alot of energy passing those that were riding my pace, and then get passed by them. Or I could just sit back 5m or so ride easy. There was no rush really, just stay on the wheels of those I felt I could keep up to. And I rode with about 4-5 guys the whole way. It was a good ride into Calgary, and thankfully for the earlier start, the traffic congestion was a lot less.

Pardon there for the interruption. I was just off giving an interview for a local paper. And then we went off to a photo shoot. Feeling like a rock star.

And then came the run. Getting off my bike and transitioning to run mode went very well. I thought it was going to be a good finish. Wrong thing to do thinking so far ahead. The first half of the run went very well. But the second half became a reality check. That is when I started to finally realize that I am STILL recovering from the accident. Had to modify the walk-run cycle so that the body could recover enough to continue. When I finally got that going steady again, it just became a focus to the finish line.

So all in all the day went very well. I learned alot about my capabilities and how to manage them. I felt i managed the race pretty well, but 4 weeks from now is a much different race that requires much more diligence about race management. I have nothing to be disappointed for. I got out to enjoy myself and the people around me for the day. I have the support from families and friends that what I am doing is the right thing, right now.

Many thanks go out to my family and friends and teammates. I know I would not be here without support and encouragement. This is not a journey someone travels alone. Thanks for all the high 5's and congrats and hugs. We can all make ourselves feel special by being so inclusive. And for the tears, that is hard to see when someone has tears of joy for you. I know where it come from and I have benn known to give them out. But to receive them is still something to behold, not quite understandable or deserving.

In conclusion then, today's devotioal is titled "Keep loving others by recharging emotionally". Sometimes we get tired of loving those around us, so we need to take that time to recharge. Our love for others has an end if we don't take that time to recover, refresh and renew.