The Cat is out of the bag...

I have not been purposefully keeping it a secret.  But, telling people that I am doing an Ironman doesn’t exactly pop up in normal everyday conversations. There are several people that I wanted to share my Ironman news with right away, but there never really seems to be a perfect moment to blurt out the news that  I signed up for an Ironman. During my long run this past Sunday I ran with Ted, and he asked me at about the thirty minute mark if I wanted to push it to Bloomington Street and call it a day. I was hesitant and told him that I might hold our current pace because I was going to be adding on some additional time. Ted prodded a little bit, curious to why I was adding an extra forty minutes to our usual thirty minute jog, but I somehow skirted the topic. I didn’t tell him about the Ironman.   

On Super Bowl Sunday I was hanging out with the alumni crew and stuffing my face with all kinds of finger food deliciousness. I was literally popping open a beer when the President of our University walked in to join the party.  The whole group was having a great time poking fun at the commercials and binge eating on Jon’s homemade guacamole. But, quickly my focus moved away from balancing guacamole on my tortilla chip, to trying to remove myself from the conversation that changed from commercials to triathlons. President Casey asked Doogan and Jon what triathlon’s they were going to do this upcoming spring/summer.  Doogan was the only one at the party who knew I had signed up for the Ironman and when triathlons came up she looked directly at me and smiled.

“Yeah…. I am planning on doing a few races this summer…..”

 “No, I don’t have them all nailed down quite yet, but I do have a few in mind…..”

“Yeah…..  I am kinda training for one big one this summer….”

“No, it is a little longer than an Olympic distance….”

“Actually, I signed up for an Ironman.”

The cat finally came out of the bag. (At least to my main Greencastle crew).

I am nervous to tell people about the Ironman. I am not sure why. Maybe because the more people I tell, the more finalized the race becomes. Maybe I am nervous because I am still working on convincing myself that I actually signed up for an Ironman.  Or maybe, I just want to make sure that the adventure stays personal and doesn’t become some big hoopla.  I just want to try. I want to toe the start line and give it my best effort. Nothing heroic- just make an attempt.

 As nervous as I am to tell people about my goal, I was relieved on Sunday when my Greencastle buds found out I signed up for an Ironman. The Ironman will without a doubt be a personal journey, but my success also depends on the friends and family who surround me.  I am going to need my friends for those long swims, long rides, and long runs.  But, more importantly, I need those friends when I am not swimming, biking, or running and just want to go quacking at the Duck on a Thursday night. I am in a perfect place to train for an Ironman. I have a gym within walking distance. I have country roads out my front door for long bike rides and a nature park in my backyard outfitted with miles of running trails. But, I know the key to my training will be taking advantage of the support that my friends and family are kindly willing to offer me as I try and chase this goal.