Ten days.  It hardly seems possible that eight months has went by since my wife and I toyed with the idea of doing a half Ironman, or Ironman 70.3. We were excited and nervous, but knew it was so far away, that we had plenty of time, so no need to panic. 

Ten days. Thanks to my friend and now teammate Chris Matthews, I made contact with and signed up with the most amazing coach, Jennifer Jageman Keil and her team at E11even Athletics. I knew we would need proper guidance to make this work, and Jennifer has been awesome, even when I was frustrated (which in the beginning was often).

Ten days. We started training in October, and training by heart rate. This lead to my most frustrating moments, and Jenni calmly talked me “off the ledge” as I grew irritated by my run times. I had never ran so slow in my life! It felt like I was going in reverse, but Jenni was the calm in the storm I was creating by letting frustration get to me. 

Ten days. One morning my workout said “Run for an hour. Not too hard but at a pace that makes you happy”.  Now I’m supposed to watch my heart rate so it doesn’t go over its maximum aerobic function (for me: 130), but she didn’t say to watch it, so I decided I’d run a great clip and watch her freak out over the HR. After an hour I had covered 6.5 miles. Proud of myself for jacking up the HR, I finally looked at the average: 131. I got a text shortly after from Jenni, it was a smiley face. 

Ten days. From freaking out over having to swim 1500 yards, then 2000, then 3000, then 3500, to calmly telling someone “I only have to do 2000 today”.  From being sore from sitting on the trainer for an hour, to going 2.5 hours and feeling fine. 

Ten days. We have leaned out but weigh the same. We found muscles we never knew we had. We discovered our endurance can continue to grow, and that never giving up, especially in yourself, reaps big rewards. 

Ten days. In ten days we will step into a lake in Raleigh, North Carolina and embark on a journey of 70.3 miles. If all goes well, we will cross the finish line with smiles on our faces. But if something happens where we do not finish, we will learn from it and try again. We already know we have the drive and dedication to do this. Now all that’s left is to wait ten more days. 

Before we start this adventure, I want to thank some people for everything they have done. To my wife, who is joining me on this crazy journey, we make a great team, even when we go off in different directions at the gym. To my coach Jenni, who is totally amazing. To the Des Moines Triathlon Club for their support and training. To Chris Matthews, aka Awesome Girl, for connecting Jenni and I, and for all the advice and support she has given. To Kelly Hill, for her constant support and encouragement. Glad to have you on the team! To Mel Cortez, Karen Smith, Jodie Dunker, and everyone that supported this crazy dream. If I forgot someone, my apologies, but I’d be typing all day. 

Ten days. The culmination of eight months of blood, sweat, and tears is down to ten days. I’ll try to post more as the day gets closer, but if not, keep Julie and me in your prayers. Look at the beautiful charms we will be carrying on the bike and the run. Thanks again Jodie!! Hopefully when we meet up again, I’ll have another title: Ironman 70.3. 

Live healthy, be happy!

Travis