Remember When...

Lots of hours on the bike means lots of hours to fill my mind with random thoughts.  Last Sunday while riding up and down Hyalite for 102 miles I started remembering different things… here are a few of the thoughts I had: 

1. Remember when the idea of doing a triathlon (any triathlon, not IRONMAN) was just an idea in my head.   I went out for a ride on my road bike.  It was the first time I had been on it in 10 years and I rode 6 miles.  I got home and thought, I have a long way to go if I want to do a triathlon.  It was hard, my butt ached and I was really, really slow.  Today I can ride 100 miles up and down mountains and am having a blast!
2. Remember when I hated the idea of swimming in pools and open water.  Pools are like community bath water and the idea of swimming in one was really gross to me.  And open water scared the crap out of me.  I didn’t know what was in the water, I couldn’t see what was “down” there and I would not even dip my toes in open water.  HATED IT!  But, the desire to do a triathlon outweighed all my “irrational” thoughts and fears and that desire got me through the first few swims.
3. Remember when I decided to start swimming.  I printed out a plan from the internet that would build me up to swim 500 meters.  I still remember my first evening at the Bozeman Swim Center.  I took the “Slow” lane and swam 4 laps (50 meter laps) stopping at the end of each length to catch my breath.  It took about 12 weeks but, I graduated from the 500 meter plan to the 1600 meter plan and was swimming a mile 3 months later.  That first 1 mile swim was a HUGE DEAL to me.  I got home and was so excited to tell Pat “I swam 1 mile”!   Today, I swim 2.5-3 miles every 1-2 weeks.
4. Remember when I decided I wanted to do a triathlon.  Pat and I were spending a month in San Diego (flexible jobs allowed us to do this) so I went to every bike store in the area looking for a triathlon bike (I had not even signed up for a triathlon but, I knew I wanted to get into this sport because I loved running, I loved riding my road bike, and I was learning to swim).  I did my research and knew the basics of what I wanted and knew the price I wanted to pay.  I wasn’t having any luck after 2.5 weeks of shopping and had decided to give up on the idea of a tri bike.  There was one more store and Pat had to do his magic to convince me to check it out… and it was destiny!  The staff was awesome, they understood my budget and they said “of course, you can get a great bike in that price range”.  I had a new bike the next day! 😊
5. Remember when I would never go to a group function by myself where I didn’t know anybody – I am such an introvert.  I reached another milestone when I decided to go to a meeting for the “Women Who Tri” in Bozeman.  I found a great group of like-minded, supportive women to train with, and also met my future coach!
6. Remember when I said to myself I want to do an IRONMAN, I wonder if I can do an IRONMAN.  When I told Pat, his first words were “You can do it, I know you can do it!”  That’s all the encouragement I needed – I signed up for the Louisville IRONMAN!

 And now I am training for my 3^rd IRONMAN!!