Why am I doing the Ironman...

During camp last month Paula Newby Fraser talked to us about mental training and one of her key points was understanding at your very core why you are doing the Ironman. There are a million reasons and everyone has a different one so she encouraged us to think about what our reason was.

I could think of many reasons why I wanted to do the Ironman:

Because I'd lost 171.4 lbs
Because I used to get winded walking up a flight of stairs
To prove to all the couch potatoes that anything is possible
To tackle a new challenge and see it through to the end
Because a ton of people thought it'd be impossible for me

The list could go on and on....

Over the weekend I learned that Jon Blais (aka Blazeman) lost his battle with ALS. For those of you who don't know Jon Blais was a hero among men but a lengend in the triathlon community. He finished the Hawaii Ironman in 2005 in spite of having virtually no use of one of his hands due to the effects of the disease. His trademark roll across the finish line became synonomous with courage and a fighting spirit. He returned to Kona in 2006 wheelchair bound but maintaining his positive outlook on life and spreading the message of hope to others.

He did the Ironman to spread a message of hope and to channel his spirit into an amazing challenge.

So why am I doing the Ironman....

While running a 1/2 marathon this weekend a friend and I were chatting about how we got into triathlon and I recalled my very first race. The Danskin Women's Triathlon in 2003. I entered the water on that morning unsure of whether I had what it took to finish the race. Unsure about whether I deserved to be there or call myself a triathlete. I swam, I biked and I walk/jogged my way through that first sprint with a sense of apprehension and a tremendous respect for what I was undertaking.

As I rounded the final corner on my way to the finish chute I saw my husband who'd been my #1 supporter as I prepared to do this event. He'd pumped my tires, encouraged me when I was questioning myself, gone on bike rides with me since I was afraid of being in traffic and a myriad of other things to cheer me on. So here I was jogging towards the finish line having not known whether I'd make it when I started the day and I see him and he's totally choked up which of course chokes me up because of the amazing sense of joy and appreciation I felt that he loved me so much that it would affect him like that to see me finish this thing.

So here I am running a 1/2 marathon after biking 117 miles and running 2.5 the day before in my final weekend of Ironman training and I'm telling this story to my friend and I start to tear up. I actually have to stop talking because I'm getting so emotional talking about seeing my husband as I finished my first ever triathlon.

I started that journey overweight and out of shape and totally lacking self confidence. I didn't know I could finish let alone that I would finish.

Ever since I crossed that finish line of the Danskin back in August of 2003 I knew one day I would do the Ironman. It was a foregone conclusion, something I just had to do. I knew deep down that I would be able to do the training and one day cross the finish line.

So why am I doing the Ironman?

Because 4 years ago an overweight, out of shape girl decided to do some swimming, biking and walking surrounded by others who didn't know what they were capable of doing when they started the journey.

Because people watch from the sidelines and think to themselves "I wish I could do that or be in that good of shape".

Because I have a husband who believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.

So again why am I doing the Ironman?

Because I can!