The day I have been waiting for is finally here! Registration for the 2015 Ironman 70. 3 Raleigh opened today at noon. Last night I couldn't get my mind off of it. My stomach started to hurt in the same way it does when I am nervous about something. I counted down on Facebook, "19 hours before registration!" This morning I woke up feeling a little nauseated but I knew it was a combination of excitement and nervousness. A part of me was fearful that registration would close before I had a chance to sign up. These types of events can fill up quick so you need to have your computer ready and your credit card in hand or you risk losing your spot. At 11:58am I had my iPad and laptop both on the registration page. I hit refresh every 20 seconds or so, wondering if my computer clock was the same as theirs. I wanted to give myself two chances to grab a spot in case a lot of people were online at the same time. Finally 12:00pm hit and I hit refresh. Nothing. Refresh again. The registration page came up. "I'M IN!!!!" I frantically filled out the registration form. I was pretty sure that I must be in since the registration page came up, but you never know and you don't want to chance anything at a time like this. As I filled out the forms, checked all the boxes, and filled in the electronic signature, I kept thinking, "I am really doing this!" After paying the Ironman fee, the processing fee (thanks a lot Active.com) AND buying a one day license for USAT (my current membership ends 12/31/14 and of course I will renew) I thanked Bank of America for making this payment possible. Normal people probably think I am crazy for using a credit card to pay for a race ($277 by the way) but my runner/triathlon friends totally get it. They understand giving up the finer things in life in order to pay for races and new running shoes!
Bela Karolyi So there it is. It's official. I'm in. Challenge accepted. Now I need to get to the book store and start looking more seriously at half iron plans. The next ten months are dedicated to training and performing well. I am thankful for all of my friends who will support this journey, to my boyfriend for having to put up with the training and living with me, and to my family for their moral support and words of encouragement. I don't know that anything surprises my dad anymore. Months ago when I mentioned doing this, I'm pretty sure my dad said something along the lines of, "You can do it" in his Bela Karolyi voice. And when your dad says you can do something, you go out there and prove him RIGHT!
To celebrate making it to the first step of registering, I tried a new recipe for strawberry scones. I said that if they turned out well I was going to call them "Half Ironman Strawberry Scones." After making a batch, I brewed some coffee, sat on the floor with my Half Ironman Strawberry Scone and watched the rain fall outside my back door with Justus by my side. Today has been a good day. . . Bring on the Half Iron!
Half Ironman Strawberry Scone!
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