There is no "I" in Team (But there IS in Ironman)

See these two on the left? Cute, right? Yes, they are. Also, they do not give a CRAP that I'm training for an Ironman. Not one little bit. They don't want to hear about my bike splits, my catch and pull, or my transition times. And why should they? At 6 and 3, their Mom is the swing-pusher, juice-box opener, boo-boo-kisser, story-teller, and Candy Land-player. Any outside pursuits that cut into their Mommy-time are suspect. But I need them as my Ironman allies, which means this whole endeavor needs to affect them as little as possible. This is why my alarm goes off earlier and earlier, so that the bulk of my day is spent being Mom.

Likewise, I need to keep my husband on board. Dan has been super-supportive and has pretty much resigned himself to being an Ironman-widower over the next few months. Until now, our family life hasn't been affected too much by this. He is used to getting up with the kids on weekends while I finish my long runs and rides (and I am SOOOO grateful for that!). But things are going to change during the build and peak phases when the workouts get longer and longer. After one week I'm already falling asleep by 8pm. I promised Dan I would stay up one night a week with him, which will be Sundays since Monday is my rest day. I'm trying not to bore him with too much training talk. And also I'm trying to be mindful of the fact that he needs free time too, and give him plenty of time on the weekends to do whatever he wants.

My Iron Team

I realize I'm asking an awful lot of my family, and the asking isn't going to end until Monday, July 23rd. On race-day, my husband will do his own version of the Ironman: shepherding two kids around, who will likely be cranky and overtired, and navigating port-a-potties in a strange town overrun with incredibly fit people. I'd really love for them to be there at the start, mainly because the start of an Ironman is a sight to behold, and maybe it will help them see WHY I wanted to do this so badly. But I know getting them up that early could spell disaster for my husband. And of course I want them to see me cross the finish line, and who knows how long that will take me.

My family will also have an incredibly long, exhausting day as part of my Ironman team. And as my indispensable teammates, a big part of my race-day planning will include making sure they are as prepared as I am. I will never take for granted how lucky I am to be able to do this, and I know I would never even make it to the starting line without the support of my family.