Current mood:

hopeful

IronMan
I don't know what happened while I was in Thailand, but not long before I left IMAZ was run, and right after I came back I was able to follow IM MOO online. Both events were exciting, and I got a real kick out of reading the race reports, and seeing montages (especially of the AZ course where there was a stretch of marathon completely lined with posterboard signs).

But there was something else too.

I actually got into triathlon knowing that some day I wanted to attempt an IronMan race. Sure, it was also useful crosstraining for a runner who was always injured or on the verge of injured. But in the back of my head with every workout was the spectre of the IronMan.

Every triathlon distance is hard, and to excel at any of them you're pushing yourself to the extreme. But to the general population, and even to some extent among triathletes, there is a special awe reserved just for the long course. It's an event where just finishing is the first goal. I've heard IronMan champions admit to that. And there's something special to that.

I worked hard on the day after IM MOO to resist the urge to sign up. And I was successful. It's a committment I can't make. Not now. There's too much riding on next year. It was smart not to sign up....

wasn't it?

I've heard, and I fully believe, that you can never really be ready for an IronMan. Not just the race, but the journey to the starting line will tax every part of your life. Just look at IronWill (www.throughth3wall.com) and her journey. Maybe it's not that I've got too much going on. Maybe I'm just not ready for that committment to have my life overturned and shredded.

And I'm OK with that.

This year won't be my year, and probably next year won't either. But the struggle not to sign up, the regret at not making the leap, and the excitement I get from hearing about other people's races all reassure me. One day I will be an IronMan.