In 2006 and 2007, we traveled to Madison to watch the amazing athletes who participate in the IRONMAN. Even as spectators, we were emotionally moved and inspired. 140.6 miles…how could you not? This past year we walked away completely exhausted, and we were just spectators! Granted we had woken up early to see the swim take off as well as stayed up late to watch the last official finisher cross the line. Maybe we got caught up in all of the emotions or maybe we were delusional from a long day of cheering, but we ended up doing something completely insane. We woke up the next morning Monday, September 10th at 4:30am and headed to Minona Terrace to reserve our spots in Ironman Wisconsin 2008. Are we excited? Absolutely. Are we nervous? Even more so.
We are experienced marathoners and grew up swimming competitively. However, our triathlon experience is limited (2 International-distance, 2 Sprint-distance, and 1 International-distance team…all done on mountain bikes). But we have a history of jumping into things unprepared and uninformed!
Such as:
· Marathons: which we began running only after signing up for our first marathon. Prior to that, we had never participated in a race.
· Summitting Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, Africa): reached Kili’s summit of 19,340 meters with a limited hiking background. Our previous hiking experience consisted of a 3-hour day hike on Mt. Rainier, a 90-minute climb up Grouse Mountain, a drive around Mount St. Helens, and weekly runs up Cricket Hill (Chicago).
· Brikham Yoga (this is yoga in a 105ยบ room): our first yoga class. For the first session, we weren’t hydrated and we showed up without a towel or mat. And, after going over a dozen times, we still look like first-timers.
While our decision to sign up for the Ironman was somewhat brash, we are determined to get as prepared as possible. We want to finish within the 17-hour mark! But if we can do it faster, all the better. But more importantly, we want to ENJOY the journey.
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