Well if you haven’t figured it out by now, I am going to be doing the Try Charleston 70.3 distance triathlon on April 20th, 2013. FYI-EIEIO That means 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and then 13.1 mile run.
It’s true Beebs. Two years ago I weighed over 360 pounds. This year I am going to compete in the biggest physical challenge of my life. Scary. Seriously, I am scared.
So what, you may ask, led me to decide to do such a thing?
Probably uncontrollable bravado. Insuppressible machismo. Unestrogenated testosteroism. Right?
I don’t really know what any of those things are so I am just going to say that I work well when challenged. My bud Jason Trotta from Chucktown Triathletes is the guy who initially challenged me to my first triathlon. Well lo and behold, he is the same guy who challenged me to do this race. When he first said something about it, I was thinking to myself that there WAS NO WAY I could do it. I left it alone.
But over the next couple of weeks I started to think about what my goals for 2013 were going to be. The first thing that came to mind was that I wanted nothing more than to do a race where I got a medal for finishing. I kept seeing all of these fitness folks posting their race bling and I want some.
Seriously I want some race bling. Really.
But of course that is not motivation enough for me to just jump head first into a 70.3 race. It was something more intangible that swayed me. I posted something on Facebook saying that I was thinking about doing the race and I got some good response. I started thinking about it on a regular basis. Then I made my mind up. I WAS going to do this race.
This race signifies something to me that I cannot necessarily explain in writing.
But I will try.
It blows my mind that I have changed so drastically my lifestyle and myself. I know I have come so far from where I was, but for some reason I still feel like I have not accomplished anything great. Call me an overachiever. Call me an idiot. You will probably be right in both instances…
I feel that doing this race will prove to me (and maybe to others?) that I have really and truly achieved something incredible. Does that sound stupid? In my head it makes sense. But my head is a scary place and maybe we shouldn’t dwell there too long. I just know that this race means success to me, maybe even more than reaching any weight goal.
This race is not something that I can take lightly and skate through, sort of like what I did with the sprint triathlon I did this past summer. I really DID NOT train very hard or very well for that race and I still did ok. I have actually hired a trainer for this race because I KNOW that I cannot “train” idly and still finish. (I will post more about that later) I am actually scared senseless about this race. But that thrills me to no end. It makes me know that this is something big.
I feel like this entire post is a big ramble…
Have you ever had something in your life that you wanted to accomplish just for yourself? Something that would prove to yourself that you had succeed? Tell me about it if you know what I am talking about.
Twitter: SteveGrayFTW
You cray.
But it’s a good cray.
You know it.
Twitter: AahSteph
I’m thinking about doing my first 70.3 in August. Also terrified!! I can’t wait to hear about your training coach and plan.
Nice! I will keep up with your progress!
I plan to write about my coach and the starting plan on Sunday or Monday.
Twitter: SushiJammies
I so get this. I’ve lost 50 pounds and can now run for five minutes at a time. In my head, it’s nothing. That’s why I committed to a marathon in the fall. It’s the “wrong” way to do it, but I need something big to prove to ME that it’s a big deal.
That is a big leap! I assume you are following some sort of training schedule? Go for it!
Twitter: SushiJammies
I cobbled together a Couch to 5K, a Couch to 10K, and then a beginners marathon program. I’m hoping it works…
Twitter: deannaschober
Having been on a similar journey I got a little choked up at your explanation for why you want to do the race…and inspired too! Maybe I’ll start looking around for one. Man that’s scary!!
🙂 I would seriously suggest checking out a sprint distance if you havent done one before. But I say go for it!
[…] Here is the kicker. I ONLY wanted to lose weight in the beginning. I was not looking to be a runner or a weight lifter or a socka playa. I just wanted to NOT be fat. But as I lost more weight and started looking for more ways to get active, I found that I sort of didn’t mind running. And I really enjoyed racing. So I started doing it more. And I started signing up for races. And then I got talked into doing a sprint triathlon last summer. I loved it. And now I am training for a half ironman. […]