Fast forward a few months from my last post (writing has not made it to the top of the priority list recently), and here I am on a plane to Copenhagen, about to test my body’s limits in my first ironman 70.3. Yesterday, my neighbour asked me why I was doing this to myself - she thinks it’s crazy or somehow not healthy. For me, there are several motivations...
Firstly, I firmly believe that in order to grow, you absolutely need to get out of your comfort zone. And I want to grow, I want to grow and learn and make the most of this very short life that I have.
Secondly, there’s something meditative about doing physically demanding tasks. It forces me to forget about work, about the various other stresses in life, and to live in the present moment. That benefits my mental state and consequently, everyone else in my life.
Thirdly, I feel a duty to my husband, to my kids and myself to take responsibility for my health - everything I do these days (outside of work, which is not at all healthy but does fund the healthy stuff I do) has that as a backdrop - at 40, I’m not taking good health for granted. And, it’s not a hardship….I actually feel good when I’m swimming, cycling or running, and even better afterwards- we know that exercise releases endorphins in our system and having done a lot of exercise and sport as a child, I got used to that and I miss it when I don’t get it…in fact, I sink into a lethargic cranky slump. Exercise makes me happy and gives me energy. And for me, there’s a direct correlation between the intensity of the exercise, and the amount of endorphins released. When I climbed Mont Blanc in my 20s, it was bloody hard work, intense and at times, hellish but I felt superhuman afterwards….that’s kind of an addictive feeling. Hence, the half-ironman over a walk around the block.
On the training front…while I would love to say that I’ve been religiously training and sticking to my plan, that everything has gone perfectly and I’m coming into this race fully prepared and ready for the day, unfortunately, it hasn’t been plain sailing. I did try to train every day and to use swimming as recovery for cycling and running, but my body doesn’t recover that well…from running in particular. Once my running distance got up to around 14km, my muscles got so tight that they started pulling on the tendons on the outside of my knees (IT bands) and I had to do a lot of stretching and massage, ice baths and just standing in the sea (for the anti-inflammatory effect) to recover. Eventually, every time I ran I caused myself pain, so for the last 4 weeks or so, I’ve had to stop running altogether, and focus on yoga and strengthening instead, to give myself a chance to recover properly before race day. No idea how the run will go on the day but I do have some anti-inflammatories with me and I’ll take them during the race if I feel the need ;-).
Otherwise, the training has been going pretty well - I could have done more swimming but I have managed to do a few long sea swims, several 90km bike rides and one 100km. Sea swimming is the most rewarding thing ever - I go in from Blackrock in Salthill and there’s a community of sea swimmers there who have created the most positive, encouraging and communal vibe I’ve ever experienced. They may take the mickey out of the wetsuit swimmers but it’s all very good-natured and there’s no competitive element to it at all. Everyone is there for the good of their health, both mental and physical, and we all have the same sense of exhilaration after swimming in the wild atlantic. It’s just amazing - and something you can do until you die really. Some people come along on crutches, struggling to get around on land, but as soon as they get into the sea, they’re free from the pain and off they glide.
I also really love cycling, even with the violent winds we have in the west of Ireland and the many inconsiderate drivers almost knocking me off the road (Connemara is a dangerous place!). There’s nothing like a 4 hour bike ride to clear the head and focus the mind! So I hope I’ll always have swimming and cycling in my life, even if the knee problem causes me to give up running (let’s hope it doesn’t come to that).
Really excited to get to Denmark and experience Copenhagen with my very supportive husband - David spent about two hours last night taking my bike apart to put it into a bike bag for the flight….(this was after the bike shop that was supposed to do it for me closed down last week). No doubt the nerves will hit me on Sunday morning, or maybe Saturday night but for now, I”m going to enjoy the experience - no work, quality time with my husband in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and the small matter of a half-ironman thrown into the mix :-).
One last thing. I have a friend called John. John is a true example of someone who goes beyond existing and living, and truly thrives. He really loves and appreciates his life, his superhuman wife, Edel and his three beautiful kids. John spends a lot of time bringing positivity and inspiration to other people’s lives, through conversation (which he’s very good at), a book that he wrote last year (Headcase, buy it if you want a lesson in life appreciation), another one he wrote this year (6.4²)
and more recently through Facebook posts. John, at 40, has been living and thriving with cancer for about half of his life. He’s had many operations, been through excrutiating rehabilitation, chemotherapy, radiation and various other medical interventions to treat the tumors that he has on his brain and spine. He is currently waiting for a bed in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin to have yet another operation - he’s been in extreme pain while he’s been waiting for this surgery and despite all of that, he has been posting honest, vulnerable, and supportive Facebook posts to his many friends and followers, inspiring us all as usual. He is a lesson to us all to live life to the fullest, let go of any feuds and appreciate how precious our time on earth is.
This race is for him.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all” - Oscar Wilde
p.s. - I haven’t set up a fundraising page but if you are feeling at all supportive, I would appreciate if you could buy John’s book from his website, or amazon , or alternatively, make a donation to the great people at Cancer Care West
