Sometime after I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, I said to someone (not sure who…myself?) that I wanted to complete an Ironman triathlon by 30. I can’t quite remember why I decided to set such a goal for myself (or why I chose 30), but I’m sure it was fueled in part by watching Ironman Hawaii on TV (several times over the years) and my constant desire to be challenging myself to the max. Thus with a marathon under my belt, I had to shoot higher, right?

When I set my sights on this goal however, I wasn’t even finished with undergrad (read: I was very poor), so my lofty goal took a back seat and I continued running marathons. Several years passed and with them, a multitude of 26.2 milers, some good, some bad and some downright ugly. After a move back to New York City in 2006, I connected with a group of my favorite people: runners. I also had the extreme pleasure of getting to know the wonderful, the talented, and the crazy runner and Ironman-extraordinaire, Ramon Bermo. I may have mentioned my Ironman goal to him once or twice in the first year I knew him, but I didn’t give serious consideration to it as I was already overwhelmed with full-time work, grad school, helping to mentor a marathon team and maintaining a long-distance relationship.

Then came August 26, 2007. On the same day I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon, Ramon had a thank-you picnic for his marathon team mentors. For reasons I couldn’t recall later, a small group of us stuck around after much of the crowd had left. Little did we know we were all about to be hit by the Ironman bug. After watching video of Ironman Hawaii 2004 (the year Ramon participated in it), he excitedly suggested that we all do an Ironman together the following year. Most of the runners-only group looked around at each other with excitement, but our faces all said the same thing: could we do it?

Then came Ramon’s email a couple days later:

“ok…
I keep seeing your faces as you watched the Hawaii IM on Saturday, so I’ve been thinking (I tend to do that once in a while). Let me just say it: Wouldn’t it be great to do an Ironman in 2008? You all sign up for one, I may do so myself, and I will make sure you cross the finish line, 100% guaranteed!! I offer to coach you and to make sure you both challenge yourselves and have fun doing it…”

Within minutes, Ramon has ‘yes’ responses from everyone and within a few weeks we had added a few more individuals to our soon-to-be-named Tri2B Ironman team.

Thus began my journey into the great unknown world of endurance triathlons. And yes, the following 14 months proved to be one big learning experience. While I won’t torture you with a blow by blow account of all 425 days of my pursuit for Ironman “glory,” I will share a few lessons this runner learned along the way:

1. Triathlons aren’t for the frugal. You need lots of gear and NONE of it is cheap.

2. It’s very humbling to be a “rookie” again. And man, did I feel like a rookie!

3. Training for an Ironman is like a second job. When I wasn’t working my 9-5, I was either A. training in the morning B. training at night C. eating to replenish my stores from training D. sleeping so I could get up and train again the next day. E. going to grad school because I’m nuts.

4. Eating becomes a third job…and a fourth sport. I surprised myself with the amount of food I was able to consume (and needed to consume) during the peak training months. I also encountered the challenge of learning how to eat on the bike. Not easy for someone with a sensitive stomach.

5. Your social life becomes, well, non-existent. For me, this was amplified by the grad work I needed to complete during any downtime I had, but yeah, I pretty much said goodbye to “going out.”

6. Long rides take a lot of patience (and padding). There’s nothing like 6 hours in the saddle. Particularly when cycling is your weakest sport and you struggle to enjoy it.

7. Swimming 175 lengths in the pool (and keeping count of each length!) is mentally painful, but physically awesome. 2.5 miles is a loooong way to swim…particularly within the confines of a 25 yard pool.

8. You’re reminded just how much you love running. Because running is my strong suit, my training was more cycling and swimming-centric. When I was slated to do a run, I rejoiced.

9. Pretty much everyone tells you you’re crazy. It’s true and kind of secretly satisfying.

10. It’s all worth in the end. Crossing the finish line of Ironman Florida 2008 was the coolest, craziest, most exhilarating experience of my life. Every step, every pedal, every stroke, every sacrifice was completely worth it.

On November 1, 2008, I crossed the finish line 12 hours 25 minutes and 21 seconds after I entered the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Mexico. No, I didn’t place as I normally would in a marathon or running event, but I had done it…I was an official Ironman “by 30″…with 18 months to spare. And who knows, maybe I’ll do another one before I’m 30. For now, I’m looking forward to training for just a marathon.

*A big thank you is in order for my wonderful Tri2B teammates: Doug, Kelly, Michele, Peter, Aimee and of course, our wonderful coach and Ironman idol, Ramon. I couldn’t have done it without you guys! Thank you.