Train for a marathon, triathlon or Ironman

“I had trained a lot in cold open water in Montana, but the practice swim the day before was the first time I’d ever been in the water with that many people and it gave me a real panic attack. That practice swim ended up being invaluable. On race morning I made a very deliberate choice to swim wide, away from the main pack. I honestly didn’t care about time. My only priority was staying calm and finishing, because I knew if I panicked and had to stop, the whole day would be over. About halfway through the swim the water got exponentially colder and faster. My hands and feet went completely numb. I couldn’t even feel my watch on my wrist. The cold was so intense that my body didn’t want to put my head back under the water after each breath.”

“You’ve probably heard that marathon training is brutal…. and now I can officially confirm that it is! There were absolutely positives, but it was also challenging in SO many ways — physically and mentally! Physically, there were aches, pains, and times of pure exhaustion. Mentally, it was a constant battle of pep talks, repeated mantras, and proving to myself I was strong. I knew if I wanted to have a successful race, then training for the marathon needed my full commitment. This meant sticking to a schedule and making training a priority.”

“The first time I got in a pool I swam one lap and thought, holy shit I am exhausted. How am I supposed to do two point four miles. What did I sign up for.”