Six Hours Later...Becoming 1/2 of an IronMan
Originally written on Monday, May 21, 2007 at 8:48am
"Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!"
— CDR Collins, (1978)
After starting up swimming and cycling as part of my cross-training for marathon running, I really began to enjoy the changes in my workout routines. Instead of just running seven days a week with various workouts, swimming and cycling gave me a break from the monotony and at the same time helped to get me into better shape overall. I never thought I would end up competing in triathlons.
I started swimming and cycling shortly after the Gainesville marathon in the middle of February 2007. Two weeks later, on March 4th, I finished the Sarasota marathon and one week after that I competed in my first triathlon in Clermont, Florida. Despite being exhausted and somewhat depleted from all of the effort involved in sustaining those levels for almost a month, I had such a wonderful experience.
Fast-forward three months and three more sprint triathlons and we reach May 20, 2007. After the Sarasota marathon I wanted to push myself further and see how far I could push myself. When I finished that first triathlon in Clermont on March 11th, I realized I had a new avenue to pursue that goal. Having missed the registration for the St. Anthony's Olympic distance tri (0.93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) I saw the opportunity to compete in this year's Florida 1/2 IronMan in Orlando. So, with about three months of swimming( my longest swim being little over a mile) and cycling(my longest ride being 50 miles) and a lifetime of running under my belt, I decided to make the 1/2 IronMan my next great achievement.
Six hours. What can you do in six hours? I can run a marathon in about three hours. I can drive from Miami to Gainesville in about five hours. Six hours. In six hours I can swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles. Six hours. Non-stop. I never would have dreamed of doing something like this six months ago. I have no idea what I'll be doing six months from now. But today, I'm a 1/2 IronMan.
For those of you who've read my earlier notes you know that my grandmother passed away very quickly after being diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. When I first found out, I thought I would have at least a year to spend with her before the cancer ran its course. Less than two weeks later she was gone. I was never able to tell her goodbye. She always did so much for me and never asked for anything in return. I told myself that I was going to finish the 1/2 IronMan no matter what it cost me in honor of her memory. And so I dedicate my life's greatest achievement-to-date to my grandmother Beatriz Rodrigues, born March 5, 1931 died but never forgotten on August 29, 2006. I hope that she found the happiness she always bestowed upon others returned to her a hundred-fold. Goodbye Bea, I'll always love you.
"Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!"
— CDR Collins, (1978)
After starting up swimming and cycling as part of my cross-training for marathon running, I really began to enjoy the changes in my workout routines. Instead of just running seven days a week with various workouts, swimming and cycling gave me a break from the monotony and at the same time helped to get me into better shape overall. I never thought I would end up competing in triathlons.
I started swimming and cycling shortly after the Gainesville marathon in the middle of February 2007. Two weeks later, on March 4th, I finished the Sarasota marathon and one week after that I competed in my first triathlon in Clermont, Florida. Despite being exhausted and somewhat depleted from all of the effort involved in sustaining those levels for almost a month, I had such a wonderful experience.
Fast-forward three months and three more sprint triathlons and we reach May 20, 2007. After the Sarasota marathon I wanted to push myself further and see how far I could push myself. When I finished that first triathlon in Clermont on March 11th, I realized I had a new avenue to pursue that goal. Having missed the registration for the St. Anthony's Olympic distance tri (0.93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) I saw the opportunity to compete in this year's Florida 1/2 IronMan in Orlando. So, with about three months of swimming( my longest swim being little over a mile) and cycling(my longest ride being 50 miles) and a lifetime of running under my belt, I decided to make the 1/2 IronMan my next great achievement.
Six hours. What can you do in six hours? I can run a marathon in about three hours. I can drive from Miami to Gainesville in about five hours. Six hours. In six hours I can swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles. Six hours. Non-stop. I never would have dreamed of doing something like this six months ago. I have no idea what I'll be doing six months from now. But today, I'm a 1/2 IronMan.
For those of you who've read my earlier notes you know that my grandmother passed away very quickly after being diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. When I first found out, I thought I would have at least a year to spend with her before the cancer ran its course. Less than two weeks later she was gone. I was never able to tell her goodbye. She always did so much for me and never asked for anything in return. I told myself that I was going to finish the 1/2 IronMan no matter what it cost me in honor of her memory. And so I dedicate my life's greatest achievement-to-date to my grandmother Beatriz Rodrigues, born March 5, 1931 died but never forgotten on August 29, 2006. I hope that she found the happiness she always bestowed upon others returned to her a hundred-fold. Goodbye Bea, I'll always love you.
posted by Marcos Redondo - Running For Hope at
8:04 PM
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