Iron Man

If you're reading this and it is still Saturday, May 5th, I am somewhere in the St. George area competing in the St. George Ironman.  The race starts at 7 a.m.  The competitors all have 17 hours to swim 2.4 miles in Sand Hollow Reservoir (mind the quagga mussels!); bike 112 miles; and then run a marathon (26.2 miles) for good measure.  140.6 miles in one day.

Every competitor that finishes by midnight will hear the announcer say: "John Doe, you are an Iron Man!"  That's what I hope to hear, even if I'm the last person to cross that finish line at 11:59 p.m.

I have a game plan.  My game plan is to finish in less than 17 hours.  I think I can do it, but I'm honestly not sure.  My thesis is that we are all stronger than we think we are.  Certainly many people have endured far more for greater periods of time.

I look forward to the challenge.  And it will be a challenge.  Someone reminded recently me of the scene from Gattaca where the two brothers are swimming:

Anton (the genetically superior brother) begins to flounder in the lake and wants to turn back.  But Vincent urges him to keep going and says that the secret to completing the swim is to never save anything for the swim back.  I guarantee that if I'm able to finish, I won't have saved anything for the "swim" back.  I anticipate that this race will require everything that I have.  Let's hope it's enough.

I'm not going to kid myself into believing that I am prepared.  But I am ready.  If the semi-substantial registration fee were refundable, I might have pulled out of the race months ago.  They weren't.  I already checked.  But I may not be able to do the race in the future so I'm going to take my shot now.  Once I've done it, no one can take that away from me.

But that's not the only reason to do the race.  My brother and I are doing the race together.  I have a few other friends doing it too.  In addition, I'll probably make a few new friends on the course.  And I think that I'll probably learn a few things about myself in the process.  Thinking about it can be a bit overwhelming, because I really have no idea what to expect.  Maybe that's why I can't hardly wait!