Making It Real

Reality is wrong.  Dreams are for real.  -- Tupac Shakur

If I say it out loud, it is real, right?  Well today is the day I'm going to say it out loud.

Seven months from today, I will be doing my first half-iron distance triathlon.

Maybe that isn't strong enough.  In seven months, I will be completing my first HIM.

Now it's real.  Now it's out there.  Before today, I've told a couple of people - people who I needed to get on my side before I made the decision.  The husband, of course.  He's going to need to help with the balance and pick up some of the kid-slack.  A couple of tri friends who will spend a little OWS time with me, either at the planned sessions or up at a life-guarded beach.  A colleague who is willing to keep me company on some of the longer bike rides.

But now it's time to tell some family and friends.  Their initial reaction will undoubtedly at least one of the following words:  nuts, crazy, loco, insane, certifiable, Barry Manilow.  (OK, the last one is an inside joke.)

So call it like you see it - it is a little crazy.  But I'm saying it out loud -- telling you -- because I may need a little support and encouragement, particular as the training drags on through the summer.  Right now I'm just in the build-up.  The honeymoon period after you decide to do a race but well before you get knee-deep in the training.  I'm busy training through the other races I'm committed to (the half marys and the sprint in April), while all the while trying to up my base in my weak sports (swim & bike) so that when official training commences on April 20 (20 weeks out), I am solid.

This is my dream.  I'm changing my reality.  And now that I've named my dream aloud, it's real.