Ironman Cozumel 2011

Hi! We're about to become Ironmen! Yay us!

This week, I'm going to talk a lot about exercise and how it fits into my overall health. In planning things out, I realized that the topic of completing the Ironman triathlon with my husband Ron last year is going to come up repeatedly.


Honestly, I'm pretty proud of this achievement- I can work it into just about any conversation.


Example:
Them: "Did you hear Kim Jong Il died? They're installing his son as the new dictator."
Me: "Oh, that's really sad. You know what else is sad? When my toenails all turned black and blue after I finished the Ironman." 

So I admit, the topic is a bit of a tangent, but as I'm introducing myself through this blog I think it's a pretty important part of my perspective and who I am. To that end, I'm reposting here my race report, which I wrote following the race for Team Z, our awesome training team. I'm posting an abridged version- if you'd like to see the whole thing, I originally posted it here. 

Early training ride. Please note my chin strap
buckled over the top of my chin. TOTAL PRO MOVE.

IRONMAN, FINALLY
2011 was  a long year for me, and a serious learning process. Those of you who trained with me know that I didn’t always succeed at maintaining a sense of perspective or gratitude at practice. I think Mike and Megan took the brunt of my grumpiness at swimming; I hope only Ron knew the true depths of my despair during some of those bike rides. 

I kept at it, though, because I know that, fundamentally, I am incredibly lucky to have been able to participate in this. And race day was amazing, and something I’ll never forget, and absolutely worth all of the sacrifice and stress in preparation.

Team Z and Race Day

Massive procrastination on my part means I can’t do a proper race report, which I regret- next time I do my first Ironman I’m totally going to do this closer to the actual race (note: probably not).  I do have a few key take-aways from the day, though. 

Mass swim start. Como se dice "goat rodeo"?

First was how intense every moment of the day was, and how “in the moment” I was for the whole race.

In training, I got through long rides, runs and swims by dissociating- spacing out. In general, in my everyday life, I’m about 50% present in what I’m currently doing, and 50% thinking about something else- work, what we’re having for dinner, what I should have said to that jerk in high school, whether or not Herman Cain is in on the joke (note: probably not).

But on race day, I was 100% there. I was aware of everything: on the swim, how clear and blue the water was, my breath, my stroke; on the bike, my cadence, the breeze, where I was on the island; on the run, our footsteps, the crowd, every step bringing me closer to the goal I’d been working towards all year. And under it all, I was aware of a base beat of “lucky, lucky, lucky” thrumming in my head. 

Smiling while cycling: no longer merely
a theoretical possibility.

Virginia Woolf talked about “moments of being,”  intense sensations that cut through the “cotton wool of daily life.” My Ironman was a 15.5 hr moment of being. 

Secondly, of all the things I expected the day to be, the one thing that never crossed my mind was that the day would be FUN. It was a thrill- even the worst of it was great. 

With a coach like this, you can't help but pedal mas rapido.

Team Z was a huge part of that. The team was EVERYWHERE on the course, between the other racers and the awesome, awesome Z supporters who were there in green sombreros (and sometimes not much else- Alexis) at every turn, keeping my spirits up. 

OMG. Chrissie and I have so much in common now, right?!

Photo: Kevin LaClaire, examiner.co

Chrissie Wellington credits her success to smiling as much as possible. She says, even if you’re not genuinely feeling it initially, just forcing yourself to grin relaxes you, or releases endorphins or something, and all of a sudden, you DO mean it.

Having those supporters around meant I was always smiling- and, turns out, I always meant it. (Note: the people from Cozumel were also amazing- how do you write a thank you note to a whole town?)

In addition to the day-of awesomeness, I can’t say enough about how well-prepared I felt on race day. Ed’s training plan meant I felt physically strong all day; more importantly, I was ready mentally.

Throughout the year, the message about racing your own race, and not worrying about “measuring up” to anyone else, became my mantra. It was hard not to be intimidated as I lined up next to all of those rock-hard physiques, but I knew what I wanted to do, and how to do it, and that I could do it. And that is entirely thanks to the team- I quite literally could not have done this without Team Z.

Team Z! Team Z! Team Z!

Ron

Finally, even though it will probably embarrass him, I have to mention how grateful I am to have had my partner with me throughout this process. It was helpful, of course, to have someone to force me to go to swimming when I didn’t want to go, or to help take care of the dog, or keep my spirits up on long rides. But more than that, I am so grateful that I shared this experience with someone who, for the rest of my life, will “get” what it meant to train for and complete this race. Ron and I trained together almost every day for a year, and ended up side by side for most of race day. We didn’t plan it, but it was fitting, and I was so glad to have him next to me just as he had been all along. Triathlon isn’t a team sport, but Ron’s and my “team of 2” will always be stronger for having completed this together.

A fitting end to an amazing day- after all that training, we finished side by side.

The thing about Ironman is, once you cross that finish line, that’s it, it’s over. It sounds trite, but I learned this year what it means to say that the journey, and the process, and the people you share it with are what make Ironman an unforgettable experience. Thanks to Ron, Team Z, and the fates that aligned to get me across that finish line.