Race day at IM70.3 Augusta is a core memory. It’s time to head back. This time, I’ll race for change.
Endurance racing can feel selfish as hell.
(It’s not, but it feels that way when you are deep into a peak phase! I think. It’s been a while.)
One thing I know about myself is that my favorite days of the year are race days. I don’t know that I have ever had one really go according to plan, but for those hours, I feel more alive than I do in any other circumstance. The volunteers, the music, the sea of people just all around you doing something impressive, the feeling of accomplishment, the physical..eh…pain, the runner’s high…it’s just unlike anything else.
It has been too long. I’ve been too stressed. I stayed too far.
luckily, there is no such thing as straying too far
Training has come back into my life for real races that are definitely happening, and it’s like I can see in color again after too many months of black and white. I knew I was sad. I knew I was busy. I just don’t think I quite understood how far from myself I strayed.
I gained weight. A lot of it. Which only matters because I felt like I couldn’t do the things I would normally do, you know? As anyone who has ever been on this roller coaster knows, once you start adding on the pounds and the work feels harder, it becomes easier and easier to excuse yourself from doing it. Which, of course, only leads to additional weight stress. It’s miserable.
I’ve gotten over the hump. I’m back into regular training. Thanks to some race registrations, a print out of the trusty Hal Higdon Marathon Plan that has never let me down, and some amazing Peloton instructors making me feel invincible, I’m back. I’m right in the middle of it all. It feels better than it ever has.
So as I was looking at my calendar and deciding where I should lean in and where I should pull back, I remembered: everything is too different now. It’s damn hard to do anything in 2022 without thinking about why and how I can do it, but not everyone can. Sometimes I wish I could put on a blindfold and earmuffs and just live my own little life. But I can’t. Too much has happened. We have all learned that we might all be in the same storm, but different boats. Some of us don’t even have space on some floating door to escape the freezing waters. (You’re trash, Rose. TRASH! There was plenty of space for Jack!)
I have been given this family that I have in this place where I have it at this time for a reason. That reason is to serve.
So, knowing that I can’t fix everything in the whole world, I had to pick something where I can do a little bit of good with what I have to offer.
I decided to head back to my favorite race of all time, Ironman70.3 Augusta. This time, as a member of Team Ironman Foundation.
The Ironman Foundation creates positive, tangible change in race communities through grant funding and volunteerism. That sounds pretty great to me, but not specific enough. Check out some of their projects from 2021.
So this is the first step in an eight month journey. We never know how it will end up, but the restless sagittarius in me is pretty excited for the experience of it all. I know that IM70.3 Augusta is an incredible day.
But for the journey there, I have some questions.
Who will I meet?
How will this force me out of my comfort zone?
Will I see the direct (hopefully positive) impact of my work on someone else?
Will my whole family grow from it?
Who will I be at the end?
I have no idea what the answers will be, but I’m ready to find out!
If you are interested in supporting me, you can follow this link to donate to my Team IMF fundraiser for IM70.3 Augusta. If financial support isn’t your thing right now, you could share the link, which would be so helpful! Also, I am going to have several fun ways to support the mission over the coming months. I’d love for you to be a part of all of it!
I’m not quite ready to commit to a publishing schedule, but I’ll definitely be updating for anyone who is interested.
