Secret wish, not so secret anymore

At work today, my friend Sara and I were discussing races and triathlons- she did the Longhorn Half Ironman two years ago. She was looking forward to graduating and thinking about her long term goal of completing an Ironman. I said that was my long term goal too and that secretly, I've been planning on doing Ironman Arizona in November 2010. She immediately said let's do it together- which sounds like a blast. All except for the actual training and finishing the Ironman itself. But really, now that I've told another person, I guess it's not a secret. And so now I'm telling everyone else too. I don't think I need a countdown timer- 720 some odd days until Ironman AZ 2010! And if I wasn't going to be working on Sunday, I would be glued to the computer to watch this year's IMAZ. Anyway, maybe it will help my motivation to at least state my intention. My intention is to complete Ironman Arizona 2010. There, it's official.

Of course, there are a couple of details that are in the way. First of course, is the the extra 100 lbs I'm carrying around. I can't do an Ironman with this much extra weight. Second, I've never done a marathon, or even a half Iron triathlon. Third, my run pace is 15 min per mile. Fourth, my bike pace is 12 mph. Fifth, my swim pace is 2:30/100m. Damn- I am slow. And at those paces I wouldn't make it past the swim cutoff- well maybe I could get through the swim, but I would probably get swept off the bike course.

But who am I not to try? The Marianne Williamson quote has been rattling around my brain lately:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

So, see you in Tempe in 2010.