There's a race report to write, I know. I had every intention of wrapping up Silver Serpent, and it'll come sneaking back in shortly. However, it's one day out from Ironman Des Moines...and my heart is in corn country. So let's keep it here.
This isn't a blog entry about the trip - we can save that for post race, as it's already been a doozy - littered with the funny, crazy, horrific and everything in between. Those are fun stories, and I can't wait to tell them.
But right now...this is about tomorrow. I've gone through quite the journey to toe this line. For those of you that know me well, you know what this race means to me. For those of you that don't or are just tuning in, this post from 2018 explains it pretty well - this was the result of the last time I toed the line at a 140.6. It was an honest assessment from a 13 year tri veteran who...was ready to give it up. And who bowed out in 2018 and waited to see what 2019 brought.
2019....brought everything. And, looking back, I can't even fathom what it ended up being. It started out with an innocent encounter at the Y that threw triathlon right back where it needed to be. It continued with a group of Sunday runners that forced me to actually look at myself as an athlete (the main player being my Ironman partner in crime in tomorrow's race!). It saw massive changes in my swimming, biking, running, and launched my race times into something spectacular but even moreso....I fell in love with it again.
2020 was the year for Ironman... but with the world, it wasn't. For the last two years, epic, amazing experiences have been de rigueur - 70.3s, half marathons, and everything in between. I set mind blowing PR's. I placed overall. Hell, I won a few races. I went to worlds. This is all....absolutely crazy to me, the terrified little triathlete who couldn't.
She can now. And as I go in to tomorrow, it's not about if I can. I KNOW I can. It's about the journey to get here and what it's meant. It's about who's been with me, who I've met along the way, who left...and who came back. And who changed my life forever in the most unexpected ways and through the most unexpected introductions. It taught me to go through life open to new adventure, experiences and people - because you just never, ever know what they will bring. And it's brought me so damned much.
I never thought this would be my life - and as I've pushed through the final round of training, I've gotten downright nostalgic. I think about the people that have helped me get here - some are the ones that have been my cheerleaders forever, like my amazing husband that has ALWAYS believed in me and 100% sees me as the best version of myself. Some are brand new people that have come into my life in the past year or three - and have totally reframed how I see myself. You know who you are, and I absolutely could not do this without you. I appreciate every single one of you - I couldn't even do justice to naming everyone, but every single one of you will be on my mind during the race tomorrow and I love you all so much. Some are people that I knew a decade ago and have come back into my life in a weird twist of fate, and I'm so incredibly grateful that you just never know how life will work out and that I'm lucky enough that you've come back into mine.
So tomorrow...is the big dance. It's about the day, of course. I have some pretty ambitious goals on tap and given the right conditions and execution of the race, it'll happen. I'm open to anything and know that the day will bring so many things - both epic moments and moments that require a solid fix it strategy and strong mental game. The course has its challenges. There have been (many) last minute snafus and nothing will go perfectly.
I'm ready. Baby, this is what I came for. Ironman DSM, let's dance!
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