Introduction
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Sales 140.6
INTRODUCTION
“Who wants me to call them an Ironman today?”
Mike Reiley’s voiced boomed over the loudspeaker. The crowd cheered as the 2500 competitors made their way into the water. The scene was surreal. It was like watching lemmings march into the sea except these were real people and the sea was not a sea but was Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin.
The weather conditions were far from ideal. Overcast skies provided cool morning temps that promised to worsen throughout the day as the weather was expected to deteriorate. It didn’t matter though. These people had invested years just to get to this point. They had made a commitment and sacrificed much along the way. Very shortly a canon would fire and the Ironman race would be underway.
Each participant had from 7am until midnight to cover a total of 140.6 miles including a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. By most standards this was considered unthinkable. However, the men and women that were entering the lake were there to prove that in fact, anything is possible.
Finishing a race of this length was certainly not a given under the best conditions and would be complicated today due to the weather. I was concerned about my three friends that were out there racing today. They had put so much time and energy into their training. I desperately wanted all three to finish the race. They had been here before and finished, but today was a completely different day. Today would test the mettle of even the toughest out there.
“One minute to go.”
My nerves were reaching an all time high as I looked on from the Mononna Terrace. The canon sounded and the lake turned into a violent washing machine of bodies as racers sprung into action, swimming over, under and around each other. I thought to myself, next year I am going to be out there.
And then I realized, I was scared to death.
INTRODUCTION
“Who wants me to call them an Ironman today?”
Mike Reiley’s voiced boomed over the loudspeaker. The crowd cheered as the 2500 competitors made their way into the water. The scene was surreal. It was like watching lemmings march into the sea except these were real people and the sea was not a sea but was Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin.
The weather conditions were far from ideal. Overcast skies provided cool morning temps that promised to worsen throughout the day as the weather was expected to deteriorate. It didn’t matter though. These people had invested years just to get to this point. They had made a commitment and sacrificed much along the way. Very shortly a canon would fire and the Ironman race would be underway.
Each participant had from 7am until midnight to cover a total of 140.6 miles including a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. By most standards this was considered unthinkable. However, the men and women that were entering the lake were there to prove that in fact, anything is possible.
Finishing a race of this length was certainly not a given under the best conditions and would be complicated today due to the weather. I was concerned about my three friends that were out there racing today. They had put so much time and energy into their training. I desperately wanted all three to finish the race. They had been here before and finished, but today was a completely different day. Today would test the mettle of even the toughest out there.
“One minute to go.”
My nerves were reaching an all time high as I looked on from the Mononna Terrace. The canon sounded and the lake turned into a violent washing machine of bodies as racers sprung into action, swimming over, under and around each other. I thought to myself, next year I am going to be out there.
And then I realized, I was scared to death.
