Remember when I said that I was sticking to short distance racing this year (here)?
And remember I said I wasn’t racing a half ironman this year?
The second wasn’t exactly a lie, I’m not racing a half Ironman this year. Instead I’ll be racing a full distance Ironman (and the first wasn’t a lie at the time, I did believe I was sticking to short distances…)
In a (kind of) last minute decision I have chosen to race Ironman Lake Placid to raise funds for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
I know that I said I didn’t want to race long distance. I know I said I wanted to focus on speed. But I also know that when the stars align and I’m given the chance to raise money for a really great cause I should jump at the chance. So that’s what I did.
What made me take the leap?
It began with an email. I was riding my bike trainer last Thursday morning, fiddling around on my phone to pass the time when I saw an email from Active.com. I don’t always read their emails but this one caught my eye. The subject read: ONLY 50$ To Register For IRONMAN LAKE PLACID & IRONMAN MONT-TREMBLANT. Seeing as though IMLP is a race high on my bucket list I gave the email a look. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ironman events, they often sell out within a few days of registration opening. So Ironman Lake Placid has been sold out since July of 2014. The email was claiming that for 50$ I could register for Ironman Lake Placid if I pledged to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. I’m all about donating to good causes, I know that every little bit counts and can help save lives or better the lives of those suffering from the disease so I thought this was a good opportunity to do 2 things I love: race & give back to a good cause.
I took note of the email but wasn’t really considering signing up as I had told myself I wasn’t going to do any crazy distance events this year; that I was going to focus on speed.
As I was getting ready for work I jokingly told Harrison about the email and his response took me by surprise. He said, “Do it”. Those two little words planted a seed in my head that grew and grew throughout the day. I pondered it as I drove to work that day and went to talk to one of my best friends about it because I knew she would knock some sense into me.
The conversation went something like this:
Me: Talk me out of doing Ironman Lake Placid this year.
Friend: Don’t do it. You don’t want to do it. You want to do short distance races this year.
Me: But… (and I rambled off everything going through my head).
Friend: Do it. It seems right. All the stars are aligned for you this year. This is your year (or something like that).
After bouncing a couple more things off her I walked away from the conversation knowing that in my heart I really wanted to sign up.
The next obstacle for me was the husband. Yes, he told me that morning that I should do it, but he hadn’t actually put much thought into it and what that all meant. Training for an Ironman isn’t an easy feat, it’s a commitment of oneself and really ones family. There are long training days, early bed times, and pre-dawn workouts. It takes a lot of commitment from everyone.
We talked through a lot of things and in the end I had his blessing.
So…. Here we are, I’m signed up to race 140.6 miles on July 26, 2015. Ironman Lake Placid, here I come!
Please help me raise money for this wonderful organization. Every little bit helps fund the research efforts to help better the lives of those living with this disease and hopefully will lead to a cure.
You can donate directly through my personal link. Thank you in advance for helping me along my journey.
http://support.themmrf.org/goto/jbsangster
Offside Roll 