2012 Ironman World Championships - Kona

So this past weekend, October 13, 2012 was the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  I watched it live online and as always, a site to see.  So many athletes, so many dreams about to be realized.  It's still my dream and I have decided once and for all to finally make it a reality.  Too many detours for me so I am going to make this happen, or else! 

It's been a long time coming because I was introduced to triathlon in 1993.  I moved to Charlotte, NC after college to find a job.  I'm from Massachusetts so moving down south was never a 'plan', it was more of a push from a friend who didn't want to be there alone, after her job transferred her there.  So while looking for a job, I needed to be able to workout.  A bit challenging to pay membership fees with no job so I lucked out and got a job at a club which then gave me FREE access to the gym.  The YMCA in Uptown Charlotte, where my triathlon obsession began.  The guy who introduced me to the sport was really good and so were many of his friends.  Serious, hard core athletes.  To say I was intimidated is putting it mildly.  I had a track background, a sprinter and jumper.  I rode my 10 speed tank of a bike all through high school, on what I thought were 'long' rides, 30-40 miles.  Yes, I was in for a surprise.  But a great one really and probably more than I bargained for.  I was welcomed and groomed into 'the frey' and learned all about distance running, and pace, and interval training.  Doing 'two a days', swim in the morning, run/bike in the afternoon.  I was introduced to another triathlete who was a really good collegiate swimmer and he worked with me in the pool to show me the ropes.  I knew enough to know I needed help in the pool.  I could swim, but never like a triathlete trains.  So I took my lesson and did the work and in a very short time realized I had been 'bitten'.  The triathlon bug had got me good and it really has never left me. 

Shortly after that I did my first half-marathon, which was a task as when I was in college I would cringe when my coach would enter me for the 400.  I remember all my friends telling me that if I could do a half- marathon I could definitely run a full.  What the mentality was for that, I don't know, but they all said it and within another year I had completed my first full.  So they were right!  I read a 'tweet' the day of the Ironman that said a guy saw someone wearing a t-shirt that said 'I run marathons', Oohh that's so cute!.  Made me laugh.  But at the time of the marathon, it seemed like a big deal.  It was the first of my 'amazing' athletic experiences and really made me crave more.  Shortly after that I moved to Atlanta where there were many athletes that I met and trained with.  But at the time I was there, it was considered 'Hotlanta'.  Lots of people moving there and I wanted to go somewhere that had not been 'found' yet.  I stayed for three years and then got the gypsy urge to move again.  So I trekked across country to Denver, Colorado and found my home. 

I moved to Colorado in 1998, when even back then, Boulder was a mecca for professional triathletes to live.  Many knew training at altitude was a key factor in fitness and I jumped right in.  Boulder became my place to ride and run.  I trained and raced for about three years after landing in the mile high, did a few marathons, brought some friends along and had lots of fun.  Then a shift occurred.