Holy cow. I done did a du!  Yesterday was the Iron Girl Duathlon  an all women event:  2 mile run, 22 mile bike, 2 mile run. Their mission is to empower women to live a healthy lifestyle.

The Iron Girl had been a 2007 New Year’s resolution of  mine - then I went and got pregnant.  So I forwarded that goal to 2008 and strong-armed encouraged two high school friends to join me. We were all turning 40 this year and thought it would be fun to complete this event together. I also needed an event to train for to keep me on track to post-pregnancy fitness.  Now, more than ever I need strength and endurance to keep up with my two speedy little kids.

My friend Katie e-mailed me this spring to tell me that a wrench had been thrown in her training.  I excitedly, yet warily, e-mailed back ” Is it a really cute wrench?”  “It will be!” she replied.  Hooray! She had been trying a long time to get pregnant and it happened!  That was the best excuse I could hope for.  So, she was off the hook. Then Beth went and tore her ACL (OK I don’t really know what it is but it sounds like it hurts) and she was off the hook too. 

I was on my own for the big day but that was okay

- I made new friends along the way…

Race Day  9-21-08

Sunday morning I was up before the sun and rode my bike in the dark to the starting line.  (I live about 3 miles from the event). Fog was rising up from the wetlands,  v-formations of geese honked above, the sumac was turning bright red and the sun began to rise.  It was really a gorgeous warm-up to an inspirational morning.

When I arrived at the Normandale Lake starting line the energy was palpable.  Like some sort of huge forcefield of positivity eminating from the area. The rockin music was blaring, women were stretching, racking up their bikes, doing warmup runs, hugging, and taking pictures. Some had their game faces on but most had perma-grins going. There were all ages of women from 14 year old high school girls to a 70 year old grandma (with killer legs!) There were many stories among the athletes, one woman had just lost 100 pounds, there were cancer survivors,  women battling diabetes, and a lot of mothers and women like myself who were following through with a goal. 

Even though my dear friends weren’t with me I was not alone. Women would just start conversations, “Is this your first time? I’m kind of nervous.” I made quick friends with a mother named Pam at the starting gate. As we started running I felt comfortable enough to say “After two kids - sometimes I pee a little when I run” the woman behind me yelled ” You’re not alone sister!” Would I have said that truth at a co-ed run? Yeah, probably. I tend to overshare.  But this was definitely a empowering, sisterhood, “you go girl!” kind of event.  I also met up with Julia, a friend of a friend who recognized me from years ago. As it turned out - out of over 800 people our bikes were racked right next to eachother in the transition area. What are the chances?  Julia kept running into eachother during the race. Leap frogging. Oh, and I have a shout out to my new friend Jeannine - she and I leap frogged the entire 22 mile bike ride. Encouraging eachother and chatting along the way. She had a fabulous biking “skirt” on - I’d never seen one of those. She told me she made a fashion risk - but it worked. 

And more support came from Peter. He was up at the pre-crack of dawn with me making coffee, inflating my tires, and getting me organized and calm before I left. Then he was out there cheering me on along the bike route with the kids in a double stroller with their “Go Mommy Go!” signs and even brought our Golden Retriever, Chloe. I hated to whiz by them.  They stayed there for both of my 11 mile loops and cheered on the other Iron Girls.  He was one of so many supportive husbands/boyfriends and kids along the way cheering on their wives and mothers. It was really great to see.

So two 11 mile loops biking a very, very, hilly course then led to a 2 mile run. It was tough. I was moving but my legs felt like redwood trees. My stride was short. But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I knew the 1 mile mark was coming with a water station and a pretty waterfall. Little things to look forward to. I saw Julia again, I had to stop to stretch a little. My hamstrings were tight. She gave me words of encouragement and we ran on. With one mile to go I just kept thinking dig deep, dig deep. And I did think about childbirth, and climbing that mountain like I had mentioned in my previous post. Seeing and hearing the cheers at the finish line in the near distance were motivation. Kind of like seeing the summit within your reach, or hearing the nurse say “there’s the head!” Keep going. Keep going. You can do this.  Then the waves of cheers, the cowbells clanging, the music blaring, the announcer, the energy, hoping to see my husband and kids at the finish line - that’s what kept my feet moving.

Then there was the straightaway to the finish line. My goal was in sight. I sped up. I couldn’t wait to get across. Yeah! I did it! A medal was put around my neck - I got a cool sponge to squeeze over my head. I pumped my arms in the air. I actually finished! All these months of training paid off.

But where were Peter and the kids? They were still parking and making their way over. My fault. I had estimated the time I would be crossing the finish line. But I finished over 15 minutes faster than I thought I would. How did that happen?

Easy.

The energy and support of my fellow Iron Girls. That’s how.

Ok - so now what? Now, I recover and recuperate and support Peter for the Twin Cities Marathon. I’ll be chasing him around Minneapolis and St. Paul with a double stroller and a “Go Daddy Go!” sign in two weeks.  And then….we all collapse in a heap on a couch for awhile. Â

This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Family Life, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.