Friday, September 3, 2010

Ironman- Post race report

Now that I've reached my goal and completed the Ironman, everyone wants to know - will I do it again? The answer is - probably not.

I learned a lot on my road to Ironman, and I found new passion in swimming, biking and running and I certainly plan to continue enjoying those at a recreational level. I'm looking forward to joining a swim club this winter to keep me in shape and running has become a favourite past time of mine. Of course, Powered By Noie is coming back strong in 2011 with The Ride to Conquer Cancer and I'm really excited about training with the team (now 6 riders strong in BC and growing). But completing the Ironman has not left me with the feeling of "the end" of my triathlon pursuits, it's left me feeling that a chapter in my life is now complete. I have the feeling that something is now "whole".

I've said so many times over the last few years that triathlon adds so much to my life beyond physical fitness and health. It's a sport that lends itself to your entire life and changes who you are as a person. It has made me stronger and more capable of doing anything I set my sights on. But that trip I took down memory lane, rereading blog posts of the years past also made me realize how long its been that Ironman and triathlon has been a main focus of my life. The training, the goal setting, the schedule and routine. The race planning, the finances, the energy and the commitment. I'm thankful for it all, but I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life and excited about what it will bring.

While swimming, biking and running will still be present in my life, come January it's not likely that I'll be putting together a 2011 race calendar.

If I was to do another Ironman there is probably only one thing I would do differently. I would find a solid training group that I stuck with and trained with. I opted to do most of my training this year solo which worked out for me in the end, but there were many long lonely days where having someone to share the experience with would have made it all that much better.

For now, I'm enjoying some well deserved time off as I expect many other Ironmen are as well. So until the next adventure, I leave you with this:

May your next swim be with a water noodle and a floating beer cozy.
May your bikes be only on a mountain and going downhill.
And should you find yourself running, may it only be to a puddle if your ass is on fire.

Enjoy your recovery Ironmen. We deserve it.

More pictures to come, but for now here are a few that I posted on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=483390&id=641950343&l=a6ac5fe99f

1 comment:

  1. To one of my favourite now-fellow-Ironman triathlete chicks, CONGRATULATIONS! I'm so proud of you!

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