What. An. Experience.
To start off, it was the first time away from the family since Gavin was born. I have to tell you that was very very hard. Far harder than I ever expected. But also...very very good. That topic however is better left for another post.
This post is all about the Ironman, my friends, and just plain "awesomeness" (yes, we watch Kung Fu Panda a bit in our household. And for those of you still wondering what the heck I'm talking about, turn it on and watch the first 10 minutes).
Friends. Friends. Friends. Where can I even begin. You all have listened to me rave endlessly about my friends over the past year and half on this blog and while it may get tiring to hear, I never get tired of saying it....my friends are the best....the most amazing....the most inspiring.....the most courageous group of woman; each in their own special way. This trip I got some girl time with Karen, Kim, Hillary, and Erin. [For the sake of full disclosure, Eric was also there, and boy did he do an awesome job putting up with the estrogen - and we love him too!] But, no offense to Eric, this post is about the women in my life.
The weekend was filled with cooking, eating, yoga, running, wine sipping by the lake, reading by the fire (yes,it was cold enough for a fire), and one 20 hour day of endless cheering, a lot of laughing, a little crying, and overwhelming pride and amazement.
This was the most inspiring thing I have witnessed. 2500 men and women from all over the world, having trained an average of 7mos, all for this day; all for the title Ironman. You may be picturing crowds of insanely fit looking people in their 20s and 30s with no family, but the truth was quite the opposite. The span of ages was incredible, high school to 70s; as was the span of body types. And let me tell you, the fan base was jaw dropping. You had kids, parents, grandparents, grand-kids, co-workers, friends, spouses, uncles, aunts, siblings....you name it...they were all there dedicated to rallying and cheering their participants to the completion of their goal. Makes me tear up just thinking about it.
Now, our participant was the one and only Ms. Karen O'Hagan. And as it never fails to be true... she rocked it! Watching her throughout the day we could see when her mental toughness prevailed when her body needed it the most. The peaks and valleys of the race were evident in the smiles and grimaces on her face. But nothing beats her grin from cheek to cheek when she hit the shoot, skipping by, slapping hands, and the announcement was heard...."Karen O'Hagan....YOU. ARE. AN. IRONMAN."
Pure Awesomeness.
I won't bore you with my rendition of how I balled watching the last few swimmers make it to the shore only to be told their Ironman ended there; or how their families stood on the beach cheering them in; or how the crowd stayed and cheered every last one in, commending their training, their dedication, their will and their effort. Hormones aside, I was a little bit of a mess - I love this stuff.
And so, this experience lends itself to only one question........
Do I have what it takes to be an Ironman???
Stay tuned, only time will tell.
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