It all started with a red bathing suit....

Standing on the shore of Rye NY looking out into the Long Island Sound and asking myself why the heck was I doing a triathlon?!? Every single person around me had a black wetsuit on and to say I stuck out like a sore thumb wouldn’t do it justice. When the gun went off, I just dove in and just swam…. Didn’t care about time, didn’t know how to pace, didn’t understand I wasn’t as buoyant as everyone else in the race…. Then I got on my bike. No fancy clipless pedals, no aerobars, just a cheap road bike and my running shoes. I did put on shorts but not the comfortable padded ones. One flat tire (which I didn’t know how to change, didn’t have a pump or even knew what a CO2 cartridge was) and 25 miles later I was back to transition. Then I ran. It was my first 10k (6.2 miles). Somehow I sprinted to the end and crossed that finish line. It was that day, way back in the fall of 2005 that I became hooked on triathlon.


Now, almost 5 years, 3 half ironmans, 2 marathons, 6 olympics, 2 sprints, 1 memorable relay race across NJ and countless road races later… I’m officially registered for the 2011 Lake Placid Ironman! Now is my time.

For those that don’t speak “tri” the Ironman is the mecca of all triathlons. It’s intense, long and extremely gratifying (well at least for crazies like me). In numbers it breaks down to:
2.4 miles of swimming
112 miles of biking
26.2 miles of running
For a grand total of 140.6 miles…. and I have to complete it in 17 hours.

I had the honor of watching my friend, James Gray, finish his first Ironman up in Placid last weekend and it was the most amazing day. Not only did we get to watch and support our friend do something extraordinary (and in a speedy time) but we witnessed all kinds of people put their body to the test. 70 year old men, overweight women, average age groupers and of course the pro’s pushing their bodies faster and harder with each stroke, pedal and step. We also witnessed people giving it their all on the course just to finish by the midnight cutoff. Words are hard to describe being at the finish line from 1130 to midnight, it’s one spectacular sight.

Now, most people get caught up in the day spectating and decide the next morning they want to sign up and achieve this sense of glory. Not me. I’ve been researching ironmans for almost a year now. Some might call me a blog stalker, or an OCT (obsessive compulsive triathlete) but this distance scares me. You can’t mess with 140.6 miles. I wanted to be 100% prepared to make a decision the morning after without letting all the emotions affect me. So I researched, read people’s race reports, thought about what kind of course I’d want my first experience on, re-read more race reports and I got a chance to experience the course first hand last weekend. I swam, biked and ran the course (not the full thing obviously) and yes, it’s hard. It’s in the freakin’ mountains… but I know I can do it. I know I can train for it. And I feel truly blessed and lucky that I will have a chance to be called an Ironman on July 24th 2011!

I know this is a super long email but I wanted to share this news with my family and friends so you understand how big this is for me. It might seem selfish, since the next year of my life will be based on this race and you must be asking why? Why? Why? Why? All I can say is now is my time. I just know it. I feel it. I knew I made the right decision once I signed that registration form Monday morning.

Let the games begin! I might not be around as often to hang, drink beers or go away for fun weekend trips but please remember that each one of you is very special in my life and I couldn’t even attempt to do this without you.

So with only 360 days to go… I’m actually going to book a house this week! If you would like to come up and join me for the week or weekend (you won’t regret the long drive or experience, I promise), I will be renting a house big enough to accommodate a fan club. Of course, I totally understand if you can’t make it for any reason at all! So mark your calendars for July 24th 2011!!


Xoxo

** this is the emotional email I wrote to my family and great friends after I officially registered for IMLP... I figured this should be the very first post of my journey.  It explains a lot, and I can't wait to get this puppy started!!