The long road to a dream

I grew up in the days of Mark Allen and Dave Scott. I would hear about these men and this crazy race called Ironman. It didn't have much meaning to me until recently. Basically, Ironman is the ultimate triathlon. If you are an Ironman(or woman) their is a certain respect and admiration you get in the triathlon community. See, Ironman isn't JUST a race, it is a life changing event. An experience not quickly forgotten. And it's not a weekend race you show up and just do. You train for years to get there. You take it on as a part-time job. You commit. And, if you are lucky enough, you finish.
After I did a few shorter triathlons, I started watching Ironman on TV. Everyone has a story whether it's cancer, a double amputee, a professional, a nun, or your every day triathlete. Every athlete has a story. And you watch the Ironman and you cry and you see their stories play out. You feel like you know them and you bleed with them as they try so hard to make a dream come true. For some, all the time spent training is enough. For others, they fall short and the dream is gone. They fall on the ground like they have nothing left and they never will. And I cry for them. I still watch and cry for these athletes. I root for them to come back and try again the next year, and I invest in them. I truly want them to cross that finish line. The best sound is when the announcer says, "YOU are an Ironman!"
I want to be an Ironman. I want to be one of those stories. A regular girl, with a regular life wants to acheive the impossible. And so here I am about to start my journey. Ironman isn't a race you just enter and then show up at. You have to really plan for it. I am planning to do Ironman Arizona in 2013. It seems so far away, but it really isn't. I might be in good shape, but I am nowhere near Ironman shape. The training starts now. Slowly and surely I will tackle this and in 2013 the announcer will say, "Denice...YOU are an Ironman!" I will be totally spent after swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and completing a marathon in one day. I might be that person that kisses the ground or falls down due to exhaustion. It's possible that I will cry out with joy and disbelief or jump up and down completely giddy. I don't know how I will react. But I DO know, I will finally be an Ironman.