Complete an Ironman Triathlon.

“And it turns out the run was the hardest part of the whole race. Although my energy for the run was in a great place, my stomach felt pretty terrible and I kept getting cramps (because of the bike nutrition mishap). I had to stop a number of times and face the Ironman toilets, which allowed me to regain my strides but every 2 to 3 km I would have to stop and try again. It was a marathon course split into three 14 km loops. Luckily my stomach settled down in the final loop and after almost 12 hours of effort my mind was just focused on one thing now: move forward. My lungs felt quite tired and I remember it was getting harder to take full breaths so I was breathing quite rhythmically and forgot to really focus on anything else. The last 1.5 km was one of the best moments of my whole life. It is so hard to put into words. As I realised that I was minutes away from completing this incredible challenge and my dream of four years, I started to listen to all the cheering and chanting. I was trying not to cry yet but my emotions just came pouring out. I saw the red carpet. I got goosebumps. I rang the first timers bell high-fived my mum and sister and friends and a few others along the way. I crossed the finish line.”

“As I stepped my foot into that cold and foggy lake I had strong doubts about getting to the finish line. But… as the start gun went off and I began my Ironman, a sense of complete peace settled in my brain. I was doing this thing and there was no going back. I was okay because I was moving and I knew I could keep going because I had been through worse. I was doing what kept me alive. The lake water was freezing and by the end of the swim both my hands and feet were numb. I completed it faster than expected and that really encouraged me for what was next: the bike ride. The first transition was pretty hard as my hands were too cold to do anything properly. I was trying not to skip steps, but just decided to leave some important nutrition behind to not loose too much time and (ah… what a mistake).”

“When I crashed I tucked my arm in and landed full force on my shoulder skidding several feet. Immediately I knew something was not right. I could not use my right arm to get up. The volunteers blocked me so I could crawl out of the way of the other bikers. When I got to the side of the road I tried to stand up so I could check out my bike and everything went blurry. I fell back to my knees. I did this several times and I continued to feel dizzy and nauseous. It was like an out of body experience. [...] I remember telling the volunteer, “I can’t not finish.” [...] I could not wait to finish, but I have never enjoyed running more in my life then right there on those last couple of miles.When I finished the feeling i had could not be described in words. My family and friends were there to welcome me home. Even though I did not get the time I wanted I finished through tremendous adversity. I learned something about myself that day that I never would have found out otherwise. It made the victory so much sweeter. I was an IRONMAN!”