Over the past few days that I’ve had to reflect on last weekend’s Off Road Half Ironman, I’m realizing that this past Saturday is a day that will be seared in my emotional memory for years to come. It was that good. A perfect day in many ways.
When I started losing weight and got hooked on Triathlons in 2010, I knew almost instantly that I’d want to do an Ironman. Off Road. Lot’s of people do them on the road. There are very few who have done one off road. For good reason – it’s really, really, really hard.
I’ve been planning on tackling my “holy grail” of a full off road ironman later this year. But somewhere in the recesses of the under-used logical section of my brain, a little voice said, “Ya know… It would make a lot of sense to try a HALF Off Road Ironman before you try a FULL. Just sayin’.”
So, enter last Saturday. I decided to give the Off Road Half Ironman (1.2 Mile Open Water Swim, 56 Miles of Trail Mountain Biking, and 13.1 Miles of Trail Running) a whirl and see what would happen. What happened is that, in just under 9 hours of swim/bike/running, I rediscovered all over again that I’m capable of more than I think I am. I discovered that trails and open water possess an almost religious quality for me. I discovered that I have utterly amazing family and friends who support what I do (I knew that before, but it never hurts to be reminded).
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