August | 2010 | Roaming Violet

There are 36 more days until my Ironman-distance triathlon. It seems unreal. Time has passed and now, it’s almost here. And although I know I am physically ready for it (well, I hope), mentally, it’s all starting to set in.

Some one once said the training part for such a race is 90% physical and 10% mental. But on race day it’s the reverse: 90% mental and 10% physical. I believe it. Any one telling you otherwise, must be super-human.

There are times in my training where it’s lonely. Hours spent running and biking by myself, now at odd times of the day. To train at the time of day I would be in my race. Sometimes I find myself thinking, what I would be doing in my race at this moment. Usually I deal with it.

But last night I was bothered by this. Even as I was biking with my group, I realized I am kind of alone in this (training, not support-wise). I mean, there are not many women, if any?, training for such an event in our area. I am not sure there are any men either (well one). I’ve had to change my pool for a month, so I miss my girlfriends I would see on those mornings. Sometime just a 5-minute chat can make all the difference.

So looking back over this year, it’s amazing to see how far I’ve come. But the journey has also been a solitary one. Not everyone sets out to do an Ironman. Not many people want to even think of training for one. And from what I’ve heard, the experience of doing it is just amazing. The feeling you have afterwards is unbelievable. So I keep going. Knowing it’s going to be a long race.

And that the finish line is just around the corner.