Just 10 hours from now I will be on my way in my first ever Ironman competition, also my first ever marathon. Throughout my training block for this race the goal I had in mind was a top-5 placing in this race. This past week as the training has diminished and the idea that I'm actually about to race an Ironman has hit me full force I've sort of had one thought I keep coming back to; you only get one first Ironman. Now I've sort of forgotten about trying to place well, race others, break 9 hours. I'm heading into tomorrow's race just wanting to take in the experience, enjoy myself, and savor every minute no matter how painful. This will be my only first Ironman and marathon, and most likely my last time to move up in distance. I'm absolutely still going to race hard, but I'm not putting any thought into other people or my placing, the focus is solely on myself and taking in this whole experience. I'm confident that I have the fitness to place top-5. But I also realize that Ironman racing has a very steep learning curve and I'm going to be experiencing something I've never experienced and making decisions I've never made before. While reading literature and talking with others can give you guidance towards what decisions you should make in certain situations, my experience is that things are best learnt through trial and error. I hope to execute a good race tomorrow, but almost certainly I'm going to make some mistakes along the way without the experience of a veteran Ironman racer. I just hope those mistakes don't result in me walking 14 minute miles. So while I hope to do well tomorrow and believe I can, really I'm in it for the experience of a first timer. Finishing fast and placing well would be an awesome experience. But you know what, even if I'm walking 5 miles into the run and finish in 11+ hours, finishing an Ironman and a marathon is still a pretty cool thing. Live race coverage tomorrow at www.rev3tri.com, race starts at 6:50am EST. I hope to post a short update Sunday evening about my experience. Very excited for tomorrow, Thanks for reading!
Would also like to mention that tomorrow is also the biggest day of the year for the BretscherMultisport athletes. I have five athletes who are all racing their peak races tomorrow. Two are up north in Canada for the Muskoka 70.3, one is making his Ironman debut with me at Rev 3, another making her IM debut over at IM Wisconsin, and finally another racing his first olympic at the Nation's triathlon in Washington DC. Excited to see how everyone does!
Bike all set to tackle its first 112 mile race
Personalized transition stalls at all Rev 3 events, the crease through my face is a representation of what I'll likely look like at the finish
Began growing the beard on August 1, the day I started Ironman training
All shaved down and ready to take this on!
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