I remember when I was a kid, watching the Ironman Championship on TV with my Grandpa (which was weird because he was a golfer). I sat there watching the people running for miles in the blazing sun and I thought to myself “How crazy do you have to be to do this?”  When I saw a posting for a TT101 program in 2018 I figured it was time to find out. After my first race, I was hooked. Since then I’ve completed a number of Sprint, and one Olympic distance.

Signing up for a race is a good motivator to bump up the training, so I’d better get on it as I just signed up for my first Half Iron-Man. I’ve been increasing my duration for running and on the bike trainer, but I really miss swimming. Lately there have been times during my runs where I’ve wanted to dive into the lake. Luckily the massive chunks of ice were enough to cure me of that notion.

Running has been a good way for me do relieve stress over the last couple years. Mental health is very important, and I should probably get some. COVID has seriously randomized my life (and everyone’s!), but it’s made me focus more on my own and others’ mental health. I’ve been making sure to check in more often with my parents, video chatting with friends and relatives – as an introvert I never really realized how social we are until going out to see people wasn’t an option! Additionally to combat stress I’ve been taking the occasional day off work, karaoke in the car after a long day at work (I’m one of the few still working from the office!) and even chat with a councilor on a regular basis. 

We can make it through this Pandemic. It’s just like running a race, one step at a time.