Mad, stupid, unrealistic or ambitious?

  The weekend away in Snowdon was perfect. I felt a great sense of achievement in all I did especially completing the Snowdonia Slateman comfortably in the time I had wanted. However, it was straight back to reality. On returning home on Sunday evening I was at work again on the Monday doing night shifts (back to zombie mode). It was during my first shift back that I began calculating the cost of my road trip around Europe in June 2014 which incorporated my Ironman debut in Austria. I'm not going to go through the costs exactly but it would mean that Dan and I would need to do some serious saving between now and June. Being young we don't have lifetime savings that we can fall back on as we are only just starting to begin saving together.

  The road trip to Europe was never just about becoming an Ironman, it is something Dan and I have always wanted to do. Therefore, we want to do it properly. Yes we probably could save enough to be able to go but for us that isn't enough. We want to be able to be a little reckless with money. I want to be flexible enough so that I could order an overpriced coffee or glass of champagne in Milan, Monaco and Turin without having to budget for it. If we decided to stay in a bar because we love the location and are enjoying the atmosphere of the country I want to be able to afford to get a hotel for the night. I want our Euro trip to be an experience and the gap year I never had. It could be argued the people who go on gap years don't budget for posh Italian coffee and city centre hotels, but I have a taste for the finest in life and I'll work my arse of to at least savour it when I'm touring the countries and cities I have always wanted to see.

  Therefore, I think you can tell that the Euro trip involving Ironman Austria in June 2014 is not going ahead. This does not mean the end of my Ironman dream, far from it. I did look at still doing Austria and travelling there by plane. However, although flights to countries in Europe can be bought relatively cheaply now it is not just myself and Dan I have to get across, there is also my bike. Transporting bikes abroad is an expensive business. First of all there is a bike box (a bike suitcase) to get it across. To ensure it gets across safely I would have to spend at least £400 on the box alone, then there is the excess cost in extra baggage and weight. I would also have to factor in travel to the hotel, and if the hotel is not in the centre of the Ironman expo (where naturally the hotel cost will be more expensive) then there is the constant travel issues to and from. This could easily add up to the amount of the Euro trip! With all this in mind, Ironman for me is just coming much closer to home. So, as I have mentioned there are two Ironman events in the UK. One is located in Bolton and the other in South Wales. No offence to Bolton, but I would chose Wales over Bolton. If it is not evident from my previous post I have a huge amount of love for Wales. I think the scenery is breathtakingly stunning (and I didn't even get to see it from the top of Snowdon). I know Snowdonia is North Wales but last year Dan and I visited South Wales for a long weekend staying in Cardiff and the Brecon Beacons where we did some walking and caving. Although the weather was miserable we loved the trip and it will always be a destination we would happily return to.
  So the location is closer to home now, but what about the date? Ironman Wales is on the 8th September this year, meaning it will be around that date next year. I can estimate it to be the 7th September 2014. As you can work out that is an even longer wait for me to become an Ironman so you could imagine the excitement I felt when I saw that Ironman Wales is still open for registration for 2013. I asked Dan whether he thought I could do it this year if I did an intense training plan from now until September. He said that I would probably do it but if I waited I would do it better. I really tried to push the idea out of my head but I couldn't. When Dan peered over the laptop to see what I was researching on the internet I think he half expected me to be searching hotels in Tenby, Pembrokeshire for 6-9 September this year. He didn't say anything, he just smiled. He knows me too well. Wales is calling me...
  However, I know that Ironman Wales is not an easy course to take on. In fact it is said to be one of the hardest there is. The unforgiving weather is normally a factor into this. Moreover, an Ironman distance triathlon deserves respect. So, I thought I would pose the question to Chiltern Tri, some of whom are already Ironmen, some who are training for one and others who respect it enough to leave it alone but also understand the desire people like me have. It provided a mixed response. My question was "Honest opinions please...mad, stupid, unrealistic or ambitious for Ironman Wales 2013?". Five out of seven said go for it. I was secretly pleased as this is what I wanted to hear. However, I have still not definitely decided and have not disregarded the sound advice the other two members gave me.

  The first response said I was mad and ambitious but that I should go for it. The next was from the fastest swimmer in the club who like me is on an Ironman journey. His journey has lasted 20 months and will end in 6 weeks, his argument is why rush it? Ironman is going nowhere. This was his response, "I started training in triathlon around 2011 October and did a sprint tri early in 2012 (which I won, don't let anyone tell you any different ;)!). Anyway then I did an Olympic in June then half IM July then again in September. This was all preparation for the full ironman. So basically 20 months and I'm doing one in 6 weeks. So I think what's the rush. Why jump into it so quickly, ironman is not going anywhere! It's a different training and its long very long. You sound like your enjoying triathlon but seriously I think can soon hate it if you rush too soon! But only you can make that decision". This is a very valid argument which made me stop in my tracks. Am I rushing it if I did it on September? Another agreed with him.
  The main difference in our journey however, is that although he may be quicker I have been involved in triathlons for longer and competed in more. I have been wanting to step the distances up since I started triathlon. My reply to this was, "I've been doing triathlons for 3 years now, doing sprints and Olympic distances. All of this was with the long term intention of doing an Ironman. To be honest I'm never going to win them or be anywhere near I just like the atmosphere of them. I'm doing my first half in 3 weeks and although it seems like I'm rushing doing the full I'm also getting impatient - I am a woman ;). I have got Ironman in my head and think ill go stir crazy if I have to wait over a year to do a full as well as struggle to keep the intense training up. My quandary is whether to go full out on an intense programme till September this year, see if I still have the bug to do it again bigger and better the year after but at least be an Ironman and then if I then hate it I'll continue with the Olympic distances and improve my speed on them. The other option is to continue slogging (and it does feel like a slog) away until September next year and may end up impatient and fed up of tri altogether". When I read this back I go back to agreeing fully with myself.

  I know Ironman is a long distance to attempt, let alone complete but I believe in myself that I can do it with enough training and once I am committed I would make sure I put the training in. Once my mind is set on something I will get it no matter what. My worry is that the journey will go on too long if I wait for 2014. Ironman will never get out of my head. I NEED to become one so much that I was getting impatient for June 2014's arrival. I have been wishing the next year away until I am on that specific day when I become an Ironman. I'm worried the longer it takes me to become one the more demotivated I will become. I think I would struggle to keep momentum going throughout the next year and a half before September 2014 comes around. I don't want to rush it, I want to savour the journey but I also don't want to lose the moment and excitement either.
  The next three posts on the topic were in favour of me doing Ironman Wales this year. One simply said it was a realistic goal, another wrote, "You've already run a marathon this year, and done plenty of tris. I don't see why you shouldn't aim for ironman in September if it will keep you motivated. Wales is a tough one though!". Gill then finished off perfectly with, "For all the reasons you have given - I think you should go for it. I understand the impatience and the desire to get it done. It is still a very very long way and to be treated with respect!". 

  Furthermore, since originally writing this post another comment has been added and one that I believe has to be agreed with. He states, "Hollie, in a years time if you were to sustain an injury from IM training it could jeopardise our Channel Swim project. Additionally when you've got the urge to do the long distance races (many of us have been there) I completely sympathise. But don't underestimate the extra hours you have to put in particularly for a tough race such as Wales. Just go for it and set your target time one hour longer than you think you can do. Rembemr IM slogan, "Anything is possible". This is a statement powerful for me. I truly believe anything is possible and the whole comment resonates with me. I have much to look forward to in 2014 apart from Ironman such as the DW canoe race and the channel swim (something I have also wanted to complete since I was young). With Ironman accomplished I could give these difficult and different challenges the respect and focus they also deserve. 

  Obviously I am not going to jump in and register alone without the true support of Dan and my parents. I need to discuss it fully with them as doing an Ironman on our own soil would mean I will use the extra support as a huge advantage to my performance. I would love it if my brother and sister and their families could also be there for the much needed boost I will need during the day. I hope if Dan and my parents are reading this it may explain that September is doable and that what I have written will support my case to let me do it and moreover, support me doing it. My main argument is why not? What have I got to lose? I am not doing Ironman for a time, I am doing it to be proud, to challenge myself physically and mentally. If I do it in September I will certainly challenge myself through intense training and during the event. At the end of it I will be able to call myself an Ironman regardless of what time I do it in. From there on in I would have completed my goal and if I get the bug for Ironman I can do a longer term training plan to improve my time in 2014. If I decide it is not something I need or want to do again I have challenged and completed what I have always wanted to do and can continue doing smaller distances, focus on another sport and most importantly focus on something other than Ironman and maybe just try and enjoy life as it is. Maybe I have an obsessive personality, but that is who I am and I am becoming increasingly impatient. Although I believe I am not rushing my Ironman journey, the need the complete an Ironman is becoming increasingly more important and urgent. My only plea now is for Dan and my parents to understand and support me. Despite my previous post stating I play my own cards we all need support especially in Ironman so they would be the sole reason I would not compete this year.