I am certifiably insane.
I have committed to participating in a triathlon race in June that covers 70.3 miles.
In. One. Day.
This phenomenon is called a Half Ironman. Personally, I think they should call it an IronPERSON, you know to be more gender inclusive. But, I don't make the rules.
I have succumbed to peer pressure because apparently suffering through 7-8 consecutive hours of torture in the form of physical exercise is the cool thing to do around here. And, I really, really want to be cool.
My running/ swimming/ cycling posse (Sheri, Lori, Liz), committed to this race months ago. I've been dragging my feet, totally unsure if I could stomach the sheer commitment to the thing. I instead decided on a shorter race. I doubted my ability to rise at the crack of dawn to fit the training in and I just couldn't imagine sitting on a bike for longer than 2 hours. The thought of the pelvic bruising alone stopped me dead in my tracks.
But, as daunting as the goal seemed at first, I began to slowly warm up to the idea. I started training for it in a haphazard fashion. An extra swim here, a longer bike ride there. And before I knew it, I started to actually believe I could do it. I have even gotten out of bed in the 5 o'clock hour to train a few times. Shocking, I know. (I must give credit to my husband for hurling my butt out of bed one morning last week. I asked him to the night before and even when I moaned, "I hate you," he fulfilled his promise).
The thing is, races aren't raced without an accumulation of single days of training. You don't begin with a 7 hour workout, you slowly add 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Books aren't written in a day. They are born one painstakingly written sentence at a time. In fact, if you don't go slowly, you end up injured, sidelined, frustrated or incoherent. I'm beginning to wonder what's more important, the process or the product. So, for now, I'm focusing on the workout that needs to be done today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
I have succumbed to peer pressure because apparently suffering through 7-8 consecutive hours of torture in the form of physical exercise is the cool thing to do around here. And, I really, really want to be cool.
My running/ swimming/ cycling posse (Sheri, Lori, Liz), committed to this race months ago. I've been dragging my feet, totally unsure if I could stomach the sheer commitment to the thing. I instead decided on a shorter race. I doubted my ability to rise at the crack of dawn to fit the training in and I just couldn't imagine sitting on a bike for longer than 2 hours. The thought of the pelvic bruising alone stopped me dead in my tracks.
But, as daunting as the goal seemed at first, I began to slowly warm up to the idea. I started training for it in a haphazard fashion. An extra swim here, a longer bike ride there. And before I knew it, I started to actually believe I could do it. I have even gotten out of bed in the 5 o'clock hour to train a few times. Shocking, I know. (I must give credit to my husband for hurling my butt out of bed one morning last week. I asked him to the night before and even when I moaned, "I hate you," he fulfilled his promise).
The thing is, races aren't raced without an accumulation of single days of training. You don't begin with a 7 hour workout, you slowly add 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Books aren't written in a day. They are born one painstakingly written sentence at a time. In fact, if you don't go slowly, you end up injured, sidelined, frustrated or incoherent. I'm beginning to wonder what's more important, the process or the product. So, for now, I'm focusing on the workout that needs to be done today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
Does anyone have a wet suit I can borrow?
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Wow Jodie! I'm impressed! And Jonathan is impressed with Mike because I am clever when I awake and can think of excuses...so I sleep instead of getting up!
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ReplyDeleteJod,
ReplyDeleteHaving come from a similar background of well, let's just say it, HATING any kind of exercise that didn't involve a team, I hope you really hear me when I say this: I AM SO PROUD OF YOU. You have proven to us all that exercise can be done and it can even be fun!