Journey to IRONMAN: Tri for the Cure 2014

I am notorious for "eating the whole elephant."  Whether its in school or some other endeavor, I struggle taking it one step at a time, enjoying the journey, not just the destination.  

Well, IRONMAN, is a different thing.  It is just flat so big that there is no other way to approach the goal than one small step, one distance, one event at a time.  It is a BIG goal, swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 and running a marathon is no easy feat.  Yet, its an endurance event I am determined to do.

My first step in the journey to my IRONMAN was to get my bike.....DONE.  The second was to become a triathlete and actually finish an official triathlon.  This TRI for the Cure helped me achieve that next step.  This TRI was a sprint distance, 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.  A great place to start.  I must say a BIG thank you to my girlfriend Carolyn for wanting to do this triathlon.  It gave me the extra nudge to take the plunge into triple event racing.  

Of course, normal people don't do a 200 mile relay race the 2 days prior to their first triathlon, but, what can I say....Im not normal.  Shoot, I want to do an IRONMAN, a race which will potentially take me close to 14 hours to complete (yes in one day).  Not entirely the definition of normal.

We arrived at the start around 6AM last Sunday, got checked in, racked our bikes and settled on the hillside to wait for our 7:30AM wave to start.  I couldn't help but have a sense of pride being a Mom of two doing a triathlon.  Both Carolyn and I had the same thought.  How awesome that our kids, and especially our girls, can see their mothers do this.  Strength is beauty, there is no doubt.

We donned our bright yellow swim caps and found our wave lined up on the ramp to the water.  Oh my nerves were hopping, but I was ready.  Man was I ready.  My nerves however were entirely justified because in all of the swim training that I had done I had NEVER done an open water swim.  I had researched tips and had spoken with many seasoned swimmers on the topic.  Nothing could have prepared me for the experience though.  Totally different ballgame.

A little "where's Waldo" for you

I started the swim in my practiced rhythm and quickly found that I couldn't sustain it.  My heart was racing, I couldn't find my breath, I couldn't touch the bottom, I couldn't see in front of me and I just got kicked in the face.  For a brief second I had a bit of a panic attack.....this is different I thought.  I stopped, did the breast stroke, breathed deep, saw the safety swimmers and realized that I was fine.  Just gonna have to change my rhythm.  It took me until the home stretch of the swim to settle into my normal swimming stroke.  Later I discovered that I swam the distance 4 minutes faster than I ever trained and came in at 18:42.  No wonder I couldn't find my stroke.  I need many more hours of open water training for sure!......Noted.

I hopped out of the water charged up.  The next two events were in the bag.  I felt awesome.....this is fun!

The bike course was super chill and easy to go fast.  I passed well over 60 racers and was only passed by 2 (you don't need to know that one of those was a 50+ woman.....wow, respect!).  My legs were so tired, but I pushed my 12 miles and pulled in at a smooth 37:22.  All that was left was the running.  I can do that in my sleep!

For all of the miles I have run on my legs, it is amazing how unsure you can feel transitioning from the bike to the run.  It took about 20 strides for me to "find my legs," and we had a gradual hill right out of the gate.  Fine with me....lets do this!

I ran an easy 27:31 in the 5k.  Not my best time by far, but a fantastic time on very tired legs.  I was just getting warmed up by the time I cruised around the corner and found the finish line.  I crossed that mat feeling like a million bucks.  Official finish time 1:30:07.

I AM NOW A TRIATHLETE!

I knew that transitioning to a triathlete would go one of two ways either "t's not for me" or "I'm hooked."  Well, I came home and registered for my next one.....in a month, and decided that next June Bob and I are going to tackle the Boulder 70.3 Half IRONMAN.  The journey is well on its way.

I will be IRONMAN!