Congratulations to IronSherpa - he finished his first Ironman race and did a really awesome job. I'm super proud of him. That being said, I'm not so proud of me. I've been on kind of a roller coaster this weekend, and the lows have won out on more occasions.
I wasn't planning on going to Maryland to watch Sherpa. I wasn't. I was going to stay home with the IronKids and stalk him on the Internet. But then, halfway up to DC for a soccer game, I got it in my head that I could handle being at the race and cheering for IronSherpa in person. And so we did the unthinkable (for me) - we spontaneously, with no equipment (save for the blankets we brought for soccer) and no plans, we left after the soccer game and went to IM MD. We found the shuttle, figured out he was still on the bike course, and went out to spectate. Unfortunately, the IM tracking website had a few issues, so we actually missed him coming in on the bike and leaving on the run...well, we didn't actually miss him - we were sitting RIGHT THERE and didn't see him. I forgot what he was wearing and because the website was off, we didn't know when to expect him, so he rode right past us and we didn't notice. Ooops. But we were there. And probably a good thing we didn't yell at him when he was on his bike, since he wasn't expecting us, at all, and that may have just made him crash. So we'll call it a good thing. But we were there.
We figured out finally he was on the run, so we went out to cheer for him there and actually caught him on the first of 3 loops (and then subsequent loops and the finish) so that was awesome. He was surprised and we were excited to have surprised him. We watched him finish, I cried, we got him warmed up (it was really freaking cold and windy), and then we went to the village to get him food. And then I got sad. I got sad because it wasn't me. I got sad because I wanted to be an Ironman too. And then I got mad, because -- despite every wonderful thing that I could say about IM Maryland and its organizers, especially with the reschedule -- the food situation for spectators was abysmal. The restaurants in town were over-jammed and the "food truck" for purchasing food in IM village was a joke. An absolute joke. (Stay away from Two Chicks catering & food truck. Dis.Ass.Ter.) I was starving. And cold. And sad. And that's just not a good combination for me. So I was not the best IronWife I could have been...and I do feel bad about that.
Also, there's this whole "I'm not good at spontaneous" thing. I had planned to be home on Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday, not in Maryland and/or driving home Sunday morning in time to make another IronKid soccer game. I had my whole day planned out...and then I changed plans...but I forgot to get my head wrapped around it. I'm not good with changing plans. I'm not good with logistics. And here I managed to screw up my own plans and do so with no thought to logistics. Yeah me. Again, not my best IronWife moment, because I then freaked out about all the un-done stuff at home, etc.
Anyway. Point is. I did something awesome and took IronKids to cheer for IronSherpa. And then I was sad. And mad. And not a very pleasant person - because no matter how high the highs are on the emotional roller coaster -- and I was super high for IronSherpa's finish...the lows are worse.
And so now I'm back in the Death Valley of waiting...and waiting...and waiting. Today we're supposed to hear something about what is available to folks who couldn't make the IMMD reschedule date - but I'm not sure, even at the end of today, if I'll know what lies ahead for me. I know, listening to IronSherpa's story, that IMMD is not really the best option for me at this point..because the course plays to all of my weaknesses (no coasting, lots of wind, potential cold) and none of my strengths (I'm not sure what these even are, but I'm fairly certain a windy, cold, flat course isn't among them). But who knows what the available options will be and when they will become available. I'm ready to schedule for next year, but I have to wait for the details and it's kind of killing me. I'm ready to be an Ironman - and I know I have to wait a year...and that's OK...I want to be in kick-ass shape and 40 pounds lighter, which is totally doable...but I need to have something to look forward to other than an e-mail at the end of today.
In the meantime, I'm going to try to ride IronSherpa's high. He looks pretty awesome in his IM Finisher gear - even if the jacket is ugly this year. :)
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