Why I decided to do an Ironman 70.3

Originally published: August 7, 2017

If there was an expression between dipping your toes in the water, and diving in head first, this decision for me would be just that. I am not doing a Sprint Tri nor am I doing the Full Ironman (you can look those distances up if you want). 11 months ago, I decided to set my mind at the Ironman 70.3 Boulder. 70.3 total miles of swimming, biking, and running. I have done a couple triathlons before, but those came when I was in middle school, doing distances no further than what the eye could see. So yes, I have some experience, but no, I don’t have any experience.

This choice came from a lot of different things. I wanted to do something crazy, I wanted to get in the best shape of my life, but most of all, I wanted to prove to myself that whatever I set my mind to, I could truly accomplish it. That is definitely one of a couple cheesy lines you will hear in the article, but it was the truth. Many people I have come across that find out I am training for this reply with “I could never do that”, “That sounds awful” or the classic “Why? You’re crazy.” These were all things that fueled me. I promise, any of you reading this could do something like this. Whether that’s a 5k, half marathon, marathon, etc. you could do it. I have been lucky enough to have people who surround me with encouragement and positivity because this truly is the HARDEST thing I have ever done. EVER.

Being a multi-sport athlete in high school, I participated in the typical sports, that did not include much endurance training. Sure, we ran a couple miles in the off season, but for the most part, they are all what I consider “explosive sports” meaning you are working really hard for 5-15 seconds, and then there is some sort of rest involved. Football, plays take typically 7 seconds, basketball allows you to relax a little bit on both ends of the court, volleyball plays last anywhere from 4-6 seconds on average. All of these sports are “explosive” and require you to have quick short muscle movements to be successful. When I stepped into this decision, it was a brand-new kind of athletic experience for me. I lost a couple inches on my vert, lost some time on my 40, and definitely am not the explosive athlete I once was. But that all didn’t matter to me. The process was more about finding out who I am, what I am made of, and where I could push my mind to go.

Training brought along a lot of challenges that I certainly did not expect at the beginning. Running for 10+ miles a couple times a week, for someone who didn’t do that often before, was painful. Whenever you decide to push your boundaries, it never comes at the snap of your fingers. It takes time and adjustments, but also pain to get there. Never in my life have I worked out as much as I did in the last 11 months. When I first signed up back in September of 2016, I started getting myself in the pool, which I hadn’t been in for 3+ years to actually workout in, going on longer runs than normal, and putting in more time on the bike at the gym than ever before. I cut out almost all lifting and started putting in a lot of miles. Then about 8 months out, I started getting much more serious in my workouts and time dedicated each week to ensure I would be successful come race day. This meant that I was sacrificing time where I could be doing things with friends etc., to be alone and train. “You have to see it when nobody else sees it.” This quote drove me for the past year. Back when I began this journey, August 5th looked so far away. It seemed to be intangible, but this is when the dream had to become work. I had to put the time in now to be successful later. I had to see the dream when it seemed to be so far away. To be successful, I had to let the dream take over. None of this came without sacrifice. It strained relationships, made me focus on where I truly needed to prioritize things in my life and left me exhausted at the end of every day.

However, in lieu of the pain, the time, and the other sacrifices that have come with training, I have experienced some of the brightest times in my life. And I really do mean that. I have been training, by myself, for almost a year which was very hard for me. It made me focus on just myself for a little bit. As an extrovert, I naturally care about others sometimes a little more than I care about myself. I want to make sure others are taken care of and this takes away from taking care of me sometimes. Sure, this may sound a bit selfish, but this experience has forced me to grow more in myself and the type of man the Lord wants me to be than anything else that I have done.

I am lonely when I train. The workouts I have been doing can last anywhere from a half hour, up to 4 ½ hours. This is a load of time to spend alone, and it has allowed me to dive into the aspects of my life that I want to matter to me the most. All of these have been thoughts of mine through workouts and give a little look into what I think while whatever activity that workout includes.

“Alright Kev, on your way. Feeling good. Only a two-hour bike ride today, let’s grind. How is life dude? Are you doing what you want to do? Is this going to be worth it? Dang the finish line is going to be soooooo sweet. You have to put the effort in though Kev, it’s not going to come easy. Let’s get deep with yourself. Who do you care to please? Yourself, or the Creator of the universe? Pray. Where do you want to prioritize your time? Pleasing yourself and society, or serving your King? Pray. What relationships should you prioritize? Pray. How can you better show Love to your friends, family, and random people throughout the day? Pray. What’s for second breakfast? Pray mom bought some berries yesterday. Have you prayed for the people in your life today? Pray. How much further do I have to go? Pray it’s not far.. I guess I have time to pray for that dude who cut me off driving home last night… Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Probably on the couch, because I am tired as heck right now. Keep pushing. Imagine the finish line up there. Go get it. Pictures your friends and fam cheering you on. Don’t give up now, grind it out Kev! Ten more feet come on. There it is. Nice work kid. One step closer to your goal. One step closer to the fridge. Go get some berries and relax. Pray mom is at the store getting more berries because these are going to be gone in like 30 seconds.”

These are all legit things that go through my head, and all though there is some humor in there, I have spent countless hours trying to answer some real tough questions. I learned that working out was a fantastic time to spend in prayer. And after 11 months, I can say my soul has never felt more rest, my heart has never felt so fresh. I am ready to tackle whatever comes next with a head set on following the Lord’s plan, and a heart that wants to serve others.

I highly recommend you do something this year that challenges you and your physical capabilities. Being complacent is one of the biggest things that tears people away from their dreams. This experience has allowed me to not have a choice but to prepare and push towards the dream. In the last couple months, I have physically felt ready for the race, but my mental strength was tested each day of training. I would run 4 miles away from home just so that I couldn’t take the easy way out when doing a loop. This was hard at first, but became more natural as each day forced me to do something more than I thought I was capable of. Endurance training was very hard because of the mental tangents that your brain takes that came up so often. Wanting to quit is a real thing. Being an hour away from home, on a bike that has your butt feeling like it’s been sitting on hot coals and sharp rocks, already having been riding for 2+ hours, is not the most comforting feeling in the world. There were countless times like this that tested me. Was this where I drew the line and called it? It would be easy to just stop and say something came up that weekend and I couldn’t do the race, say my knee hurts and I need to rest it, but no. This is where I learned that the mental battle to be ready may be a bit stronger than the battle to be physically ready. I had to overcome negative thoughts to get to the finish. I will not quit.

As I write this, it is Tuesday of race week. My nerves are slowly creeping up. I am ready for this ride to come to a close, but I know that I need to enjoy the last few days of tapering and then the entire experience of race day. It is going to be unreal. I have some friends coming to watch, I am writing several of my close brother’s prayer requests on my bib number to have to pray for during the race. Nutrition is all set and ready, Dad and I are heading up to Boulder Friday morning and then the race is the next day. The next paragraph is a couple thoughts written after the race has finished! Wish me luck. (If you’ve read this far, no need to wish me luck as the race is already over. I either finished, fingers crossed, or, well you know)

Wow. It is hard to put into words what that experience was like. I never felt as nervous as I thought I would be going into it. I felt surprisingly calm the day before the race and race morning before starting. I think I had finally realized that I had no reason to freak out as the hard work had already been done. This was just going to be the icing on the cake. I only felt pretty tired the last 4 miles on the run. My calves started cramping up every couple hundred years. I definitely did not stick to my nutrition plan for the run very well, but it did not sound appetizing at all to try and put down a thick gel fluid while already parched. I never felt as though I was in severe pain or risking the urge of fainting. Crossing the finish line was the most unreal thing I have experienced. 11 months of finishing runs picturing the people at the finish line cheering, hearing your name called as a first timer, and passing under the finish clock, man I get teary eyed thinking about it now a day after. There were a couple times I thought about it during the race and would start to get emotional, but I kept telling myself “You gotta get there Kev”. But the last 200 yards of the race, my calves are both cramping at this point, I see the finish and literally start getting choked up. It gets hard to breathe because one, the physical exertion gone on the several hours before hand, but two, having pictured this moment for a very long time and it finally happening was unexplainable. I let the emotions overflow and just soaked in every moment of it. It was done. I had finished. I had done what I set out to do, got to experience things I never expected, and had, more importantly, learned more about myself this journey of life than ever before. God blessed me with a great race day. I would love to talk about the actual race with whoever wants to hear.

I want to thank everyone who shot me a text prior to race day, tracked me during the race, or asked me how it went afterward. You all have no clue how much I appreciate your support and thoughtful messages. It is an amazing feeling to have people that care. You all truly mean the world to me. Thanks Chris, Trav, Dad, Mom and cousin Mia for coming to the race. It was the best feeling to see familiar faces cheering me on throughout the day.

God is so good and I am so thankful to have been allowed the opportunity to take on this challenge. ALL the glory goes to him. It’s not me.