Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, but what do you call it when ‘13’ is your lucky number, your best friend?
Let me back up, the 2013 season maybe over and I am already be knee-deep in training for 2014, but I feel like I need to give the number 13 the respect it deserves. So instead of another boring IM World Championship race report, let’s talk about the number 13.
My love for the number 13 started many years ago when I was given my first field hockey jersey in school. It was old and used, it belonged to a friend who had a new one. I joined the team late in the season and there were no girls jerseys left, so I played in his as the #13. Quickly I turned into everyone’s triskaidekaphobia. I was a terror on the hockey field and everyone else's unlucky number. Breaking my fingers or ribs by the end of a game where not unheard of. [Opponents’ having broken fingers or ribs by the end of a game was not unheard of.] I was fearless than and just the same stubborn competitor I am today. No pain, just head through the wall no matter what the outcome – always chasing dreams, making them my reality.
Fast forward many years - out of the blue I spoke to said friend yesterday and he pointed out, so kindly, that it had been 20 years since we graduated high school. So even a little longer since I wore that field hockey jersey. It’s now 2013, a year I will not quickly forget and may even look back on one day as one of the best years of my life.
In 2013, when I add my race bib numbers up from Ironman Texas 70.3; Ironman Mont Tremblant; and the Ironman World Championship in Kona they each have consistently added up to ‘13’. When Ironman announced the AG ranking system I ended up placing 13th in the world for my age group. Can this all be just a coincidence?
My dream of crossing the most amazing finish line in the world on Ali Drive at Dig Me beach came true in 2013. Along the way, somewhere in the lava fields, I became an IRONMAN. Yes, I know this was not my first Ironman, and one would assume that I had become and Ironman before toeing the line in Kona. To be honest, everyone warned me before racing my first ever Ironman Lake Placid that my mind may get the better of me, that I would have dig deep to make it. I was fortunate that both my Ironman races before Kona came “easy” to me. Of course I had to dig deep and push through more pain than most would consider reasonable or normal the last 10K of each of those marathons, but what was different is that my head never got in the way. So what I mean by ‘I became and Ironman in Kona’ is that somewhere between mile 13 and 18 of the run my head got the better of me. I found myself running into the Energy Lab with tears of pain and frustration running down my face. I was questioning everything and just thinking about putting one foot in front of the other, forcing myself to do so. I had to talk myself out of just giving up and sitting on the side of the road. My sheer will brought me through it and my will alone made me an Ironman.
I have always said that the best music are the songs that tell the story of our lives. Well, if I look back on Facebook, I said that “Blurred Lines” was the song of the summer of 2013. Who knew that it would also be the song to completely turn around my day on the big Island - it was playing from the top of the hill coming out of the Energy Lab. That song turned my tears into a smile as I remembered that over the summer, every time Patrick and I heard that song we would start dancing – no matter where we were or what we were doing. It had transformed many of our tears into smiles – it was a good reminder of everything I had been through and how far I had come and the guts it took to get there. This was my time, my dream and time to truly become an IRONMAN.
All in all, I could not be happier with the way I completed the Ironman World Championship. 10:23:04 in Kona, 19th in my AG and raking in the top 100 in the world is nothing at all to frown at. I will be back to those lave fields, I want another tango with that race.
As a friend keeps reminding me, you have to DREAM BIG, so it’s time to focus, work harder and to find out which of my dreams I will make come true for myself in 2014.
Here’s hoping 2014 brings me into the single digits; ‘1’ +‘3’ = ‘4’; it’s reasonable logic, right?
2013 would have never been possible with out the unconditional support from my friends, the amazing QT2 team and coaches and our great sponsors Ironman Triathlon Coach | QT2 Systems, NormaTec Recovery Systems, PowerBar.Com, Home – BMC swiss cycling technology – BMC, Bicycles, Bikes, BMC Cycles, BMC Mountainbike, BMC Cycle, On - Swiss performance running shoe powered by the CloudTec® system, TYR Swimwear, Swimsuits, Triathlon Gear, Goggles & Accessories - Free Shipping Available, Home