This
post was originally posted for Conquista Cycling Club & can be found
here...
A
long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, back when I first started competing
in triathlons, I had the crazy ambition of completing an Ironman distance
triathlon.
That's
a 3.8-kilometer swim, 180-km ride, followed by a marathon, or 42.2-km run. It
is the Tour de France of triathlons and can't be taken lightly. I was working
my way up to it and had completed a half-Ironman distance triathlon when I had
the opportunity to watch a friend race the full distance.
From
the sidelines, an Ironman looks pretty straightforward. Competitors seem to
carry on at their own pace for hours on end. Watching the race fuelled my ambition
to complete one myself. My friend finished in a respectable time, and I decided
to go into the recovery tent to congratulate him. That's when things changed.
Inside
the tent, it was like a makeshift war zone hospital. Competitors were in
wheelchairs with drips, passed out on stretcher beds and laid out on the ground
screaming with cramps. More people staggered in and collapsed, dazed and
confused after crossing the finish line. It was shocking.
After
seeing this, I realised how difficult completing an Ironman can be. It changed
my mind on finishing one. Don't get me wrong; I still wanted to do one . . .
but not yet. Or, as we so eloquently put it in Australia, 'Yeah . . . Nah'.
Just
over two years ago, Team Novo Nordisk received news that we would be competing
in our first ever Tour of California, arguably America’s biggest cycling race.
Everyone on the team was excited and everyone wanted to race, including me. For
the team, the race would be our Tour de France for the year.
Looking
at the stage profiles and the other teams competing, we knew it was going to be
tough. But we were excited. Oblivious and excited.
We
had a trainer working with the team who was very familiar with the race. He sat
each of us down to talk about the race. His opening words were, 'This will be
the hardest race you have ever done.' For me, my desire to do the race became,
'Yeah... Nah'.
In
the end, I was reserve for the Tour of California and fortunately, we didn't
have any issues and I didn't have to race. In 2015, the same thing happened.
This year, I found myself on the reserve list for the third time.
Up
to about a week ago, I was racing at the Tour d'Azerbaijan and then had a
three-week break until my next race. Meanwhile, my teammates would be competing
in the Tour of California, touted as the 'hardest edition ever' with one of the
strongest start lists ever. I was blissfully unaware. 'Yeah . . . Nah'.
Then
I received an email telling me one of our riders was injured and I was getting
the call up to race. I had to fly from Azerbaijan, via Barcelona to grab a few
things, then on to California. Yesterday I looked at the stage profiles. 'Yeah
. . . Nah'.
Now,
I am currently in California preparing for the race that starts in a few days.
I'm excited, but unfortunately, not oblivious.