5 Years, 140.6 Miles - The Journey to Ironman
January, 2014
In 5 months and 1 week, I will face a new challenge in life. This challenge? To prove that I, in fact, CAN work out for 13? 14? plus hours in a row. I will do so while going for a swim (2.4 miles), then biking a Century (+ 12 miles...), and then running a marathon.
Sounds like a lot, right? Nah, I have definitely done each of these elements before.
Swim: Well, maybe I have not swam 2.4 miles. But on the condition I don’t turn completely into one giant wrinkle, or get bored staring into murky green water, no prob!
Bike: Oh yeah, no. I have never sat on my bike for more than 100 miles. Not even a yard farther than this 100 mile stopping point. And when I have partaken in such 100 miles, clearly I stopped at picnic tables and feasted on things such as donut holes every 20 miles or so the entire way. I am not so sure such provisions will be along the CdA route...
Running: Marathons? No prob! I have run 5. Generally I finish and am wishing I can then go for a ride and/or swim for a few hours. True story. (Insert nervous laughter and extreme sarcasm here)
The event: Ironman
The place: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
The date: June 29, 2014
The big questions: Why? Why am I about to endure the fears, discipline, and very good chance of ending in failure and disappointment? What is in it for me, other than the ability to buy an M-Dot hat, jacket, or bumper sticker to prove to the world I am an expert exersizer? I remember the first time the thought of an Ironman went from LUDICROUS to ‘YEAH! I WANT TO DO THAT!’ was in 2009. A few weeks before my bike accident a friend of a friend was signed up to do Vineman, and invited me along. At that point, I thought she was insane. Like, literally, needed to be checked in somewhere. On the 26th of that month, it all nearly ended for me, but as soon as I could start using my brain, I became fixated on an Ironman. At the five year anniversary, I WOULD partake in an Ironman. Keep in mind I told myself this as I walked with a cane and weighed 90 lbs, and still had my mouth wired shut from breaking my jaw. Did it seem easy? Hell no. Did it seem possible? I wasn’t sure. Did I have the guts to make it happen? DEFINITELY. It became that weird beacon when everything seemed so incredibly uncertain. This was a definitive goal to work towards.
CdA will fall on the 5 year, 1 month, and 3 day anniversary of this day. It is a constant reminder to me that in the depths of the suckiness of life, there is hope. Big picture hope. Hope that each day will bring a little more normalacy to what is being endured. What is being survived. And that, ultimately, the days will turn to weeks, the weeks to months, and the months to years. And that, yup, in x number of years, you can transcend all life expectations you had previously set for yourself. Not by throwing lucky pennies into a wish pond, but by working your ass off to achieve it. Recovering from something horrible and training for an Ironman are very similar: set your goals, make an action plan, work your ass off, execute, achieve.
To me, this is true in survivorship of all things in life. Being run over literally or being run over figuratively. We are all survivors of something and it is the big picture hope, goals, and aspirations that help us survive, endure, overcome, and ultimately achieve.
It should be an exciting 5 months and 1 week. There will be doubt, and there will be fear. I am certain that thoughts of giving up and giving in will cross my mind. But more importantly, there will be fun! Good friends, good laughs, and good meals following the long days of training. And when I hear the words “Claire Diepenbrock, Ironman finisher” as I cross the finish line mats, every single moment will be worth it.