It’s here! It’s here! Race week to my first Ironman 70.3 Triathlon is finally here and I can’t even believe it!

I signed up last October while on a rainy trip in Denver, Colorado. I signed up with shaking hands and a thought that perhaps August 21, 2016 would never even arrive. I signed up wondering if I had the courage to try and the will power to even get to the starting line. I signed up despite pushing back feelings of fear, self-doubt and “what ifs” from my mind.

I dived into my training on March 8. Six months worth of training. Twenty-four weeks worth of early mornings, late evenings and everything in between. Twenty-four weeks worth of bike rides in the rain, swims in cold water and running even when I plain ole’ didn’t feel like it. The sacrifices have been endless and the real pain has not even begun yet, but the reward has been great even so far. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to feel like crossing that finish line.

I could sit here and type out how I’m feeling, but if you are reading this and have any inkling to the triathlon world then you probably already know exactly what I’m feeling. I am super nervous. I am insanely excited. I am pushing out the negative and breathing in the positive. And I am ready.

A fellow triathlete blogger shared this poem/tribute in a comment last week and I have reread it multiple times already.

Here is my favorite part:

“Time that used to be filled with never-ending work will now be filling with silent muscles, taking their final, well-earned rest. While this taper is something your body desperately needs, Your mind, cast off to the background for so very long, will start to speak to you. It won’t be pretty. It will bring up thoughts of doubt, pain, hunger, thirst, failure, and loss. It will give you reasons why you aren’t ready. It will try and make one last stand to stop you, because your brain doesn’t know what the body already does. Your body knows the truth: You are ready. Your brain won’t believe it. It will use the taper to convince you that this is foolish – that there is too much that can go wrong…

You are ready.

Finishing an Ironman is never an accident. It’s the result of dedication, focus, hard work, and belief that all the long runs in January, long rides in April, and long swims every damn weekend will be worth it. It comes from getting on the bike, day in, day out. It comes from long, solo runs. From that first long run where you wondered, “How will I ever be ready?” to the last long run where you smiled to yourself with one mile to go…knowing that you’d found the answer.

It is worth it. Now that you’re at the taper, you know it will be worth it. The workload becomes less. The body winds up and prepares, and you just need to quiet your worried mind. Not easy, but you can do it…You are ready.”

See you on the other side!  🙂