And so I land in Austin, Texas for my last officially planned race of the season.
Tomorrow is the Longhorn Ironman 70.3, a long running event that now hosts over 2500 athletes from all over the world. This is my 3rd Half Ironman race since my less than glamorous showing at Ironman Canada. IMC was an experiment, like all races I suppose, to race without judgment and execute a plan based on my fitness and experience. For whatever reason, I finished up my 19th Ironman proud of a finish but perplexed by my performance, or lack thereof.
With a quick shake of the head and necessary outburst of emotions, I dusted off and decided that my Ironman-distance racing chapter needs to close for a while. Maybe someday I’ll rekindle a desire to race that length again but my sense is it will be a long while. What a relief it is to have clarity in this decision.
The experience of training for Ironman races has instilled in me strength, confidence, sense of purpose and vitalization that would not have been found any other way. I can only hope to transfer these qualities to my everyday life and to the people I love and care about. The experience of traveling to race at Ironman events have opened my life up even more through the people, the places, and the challenge of the start line tension, the diversity of courses, and the finish line ecstasy.
And so I take it all in and be grateful to have had many years of preparing my mind and fitness for the 4km swim, 180km bike and 42km run.
My newest chapter reads HALF IRONMAN in big bold letters. If new to the ironman terminology, a Half Ironman is a 2km swim, 90km bike and 21km run. My body and mind work well at this distance. I don’t know why my experience at this distance is more rewarding but it may be because I race the entire event (instead of surviving as was typical in an Ironman distance race). At the half distance, I race at an intensity that challenges and uses my fitness to its edge. This leaves me with a snapshot of where I must improve upon in my training. It’s a thrill to participate in an event that offers up a true test coupled with a tangible challenge. My mind is free to race, not in anticipation of a melt down as it was in an Ironman. My mind is rooted in moving forward and welcoming the pain that comes from effort, power, and speed all the while knowing how sweet the finish will be. This is why I do this sport…this is why we all do sport.
And so for the next year, this distance will be the title of my chapter. While a few other changes are necessary to compliment this new focus, I have decided to make those changes after tomorrow.
How did I end up in Austin, Texas, home of Live Music, real beef, and the Texas Longhorns? In fact, this major triathlon is only one of many events going on in town this weekend. Livestrong and the Austin International Film Festival are only two of the other events competing for airtime. While I have not spotted Lance himself, I can certainly understand why he lives here. Austin is a beautiful, friendly, clean, quaint (but growing), funky, healthy, active, and temperate city (apparently quite hot summers). This road trip follows on the heels of a recent trip to Augusta, Georgia for the Ironman Augusta 70.3 event on September 25th to which I traveled down with Sara Gross. I finished 9th Pro Female and knocked 8 minutes off my Half Ironman time. Prior to this race was the Subaru Sooke Half Ironman on September 13th. Amazingly, I won this event with Ironman Canada still fresh in my legs. The Longhorn Ironman 70.3 was easily scheduled as my last hurrah in 2009. These races are just setting the scene for my chapter. I plan for an enthralling plot and complex characters.
And so…when I awake tomorrow, I’ll feel nervous and excited for the right reasons. I’ll feel anticipation and eagerness for the starting horn and rapid adrenaline gushing through my veins. I’ll feel focus and certainty. I’ll feel freedom to explore my fitness and search for my tipping point. No judgments, no holding back, no strings attached.
Tomorrow is the Longhorn Ironman 70.3, a long running event that now hosts over 2500 athletes from all over the world. This is my 3rd Half Ironman race since my less than glamorous showing at Ironman Canada. IMC was an experiment, like all races I suppose, to race without judgment and execute a plan based on my fitness and experience. For whatever reason, I finished up my 19th Ironman proud of a finish but perplexed by my performance, or lack thereof.
With a quick shake of the head and necessary outburst of emotions, I dusted off and decided that my Ironman-distance racing chapter needs to close for a while. Maybe someday I’ll rekindle a desire to race that length again but my sense is it will be a long while. What a relief it is to have clarity in this decision.
The experience of training for Ironman races has instilled in me strength, confidence, sense of purpose and vitalization that would not have been found any other way. I can only hope to transfer these qualities to my everyday life and to the people I love and care about. The experience of traveling to race at Ironman events have opened my life up even more through the people, the places, and the challenge of the start line tension, the diversity of courses, and the finish line ecstasy.
And so I take it all in and be grateful to have had many years of preparing my mind and fitness for the 4km swim, 180km bike and 42km run.
My newest chapter reads HALF IRONMAN in big bold letters. If new to the ironman terminology, a Half Ironman is a 2km swim, 90km bike and 21km run. My body and mind work well at this distance. I don’t know why my experience at this distance is more rewarding but it may be because I race the entire event (instead of surviving as was typical in an Ironman distance race). At the half distance, I race at an intensity that challenges and uses my fitness to its edge. This leaves me with a snapshot of where I must improve upon in my training. It’s a thrill to participate in an event that offers up a true test coupled with a tangible challenge. My mind is free to race, not in anticipation of a melt down as it was in an Ironman. My mind is rooted in moving forward and welcoming the pain that comes from effort, power, and speed all the while knowing how sweet the finish will be. This is why I do this sport…this is why we all do sport.
And so for the next year, this distance will be the title of my chapter. While a few other changes are necessary to compliment this new focus, I have decided to make those changes after tomorrow.
How did I end up in Austin, Texas, home of Live Music, real beef, and the Texas Longhorns? In fact, this major triathlon is only one of many events going on in town this weekend. Livestrong and the Austin International Film Festival are only two of the other events competing for airtime. While I have not spotted Lance himself, I can certainly understand why he lives here. Austin is a beautiful, friendly, clean, quaint (but growing), funky, healthy, active, and temperate city (apparently quite hot summers). This road trip follows on the heels of a recent trip to Augusta, Georgia for the Ironman Augusta 70.3 event on September 25th to which I traveled down with Sara Gross. I finished 9th Pro Female and knocked 8 minutes off my Half Ironman time. Prior to this race was the Subaru Sooke Half Ironman on September 13th. Amazingly, I won this event with Ironman Canada still fresh in my legs. The Longhorn Ironman 70.3 was easily scheduled as my last hurrah in 2009. These races are just setting the scene for my chapter. I plan for an enthralling plot and complex characters.
And so…when I awake tomorrow, I’ll feel nervous and excited for the right reasons. I’ll feel anticipation and eagerness for the starting horn and rapid adrenaline gushing through my veins. I’ll feel focus and certainty. I’ll feel freedom to explore my fitness and search for my tipping point. No judgments, no holding back, no strings attached.
