My Ironman Experience
by Charles @ The long road to Ironman
Canada was a wonderful experience as was Ironteam. I started the season with huge and seemingly unattainable goals and I achieved almost all of them. I achieved all of them except actually crossing the finish line in Canada. Naturally I was disappointed to not finish the race but I managed to keep a pretty good attitude about everything. Well, maybe not right at the moment, but shortly afterwards.
For those of you who don’t know me or know my history, it wasn’t all that long ago that I was just short of 300 lbs and couldn’t even conceive of running a whole mile. The journey for me this season was not just a 10 month journey to Canada and an Ironman finish but another year in a longer journey from who I was to a healthier and happier me. This journey was never going to end in Canada and I think that is why I handled my disappointment in Canada so well. Every year I am healthier and stronger and there will be many more chances to earn my Ironman title before my journey is complete. I learned so much this year about my body, fitness, and what works and does not work for me in training. I also learned a lot by watching my teammates complete their Iron journeys last week. I was so inspired by there courage to face the screaming winds and cold temps to push through the accumulated pain of over 140 miles of swimming, biking, and running to cross the line and claim their Ironman medals.
Add to that the teams fundraising success of over $600,000 and the close relationships formed with my team and it is hard to walk away from Canada with anything less then a positive feeling. Besides, Canada will still be there when I come back J
Thanks to my team, coaches, friends, and family for all of your support and sacrifice this year. Without you, the journey would never have happened!
For those of you who don’t know me or know my history, it wasn’t all that long ago that I was just short of 300 lbs and couldn’t even conceive of running a whole mile. The journey for me this season was not just a 10 month journey to Canada and an Ironman finish but another year in a longer journey from who I was to a healthier and happier me. This journey was never going to end in Canada and I think that is why I handled my disappointment in Canada so well. Every year I am healthier and stronger and there will be many more chances to earn my Ironman title before my journey is complete. I learned so much this year about my body, fitness, and what works and does not work for me in training. I also learned a lot by watching my teammates complete their Iron journeys last week. I was so inspired by there courage to face the screaming winds and cold temps to push through the accumulated pain of over 140 miles of swimming, biking, and running to cross the line and claim their Ironman medals.
Add to that the teams fundraising success of over $600,000 and the close relationships formed with my team and it is hard to walk away from Canada with anything less then a positive feeling. Besides, Canada will still be there when I come back J
Thanks to my team, coaches, friends, and family for all of your support and sacrifice this year. Without you, the journey would never have happened!