BHAG, and letting it all out.

I decided to start a blog.

Really, its a diary, documenting my journey toward a "Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal" (BHAG).  It is also a way for me to "let it out!"

You see this blog is itself a BHAG, but that is another story, and one I may write about.  THE BHAG is the fact that I signed up to compete in an Ironman triathlon.  Yes, that Ironman triathlon.  Well, not "that one", the one you see on TV in Hawaii every November.  You have to qualify for that.  I'm just going to do a regular one.  Same distances--2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, 26.2 mile run--just not in Hawaii, but in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

I turned 50 this year.  This unbelievably obnoxious year of 2020.  This was supposed to be my year!  Big birthday, BHAG, you name it, the world is my oyster, yadda yadda yadda!

So, what happened.  Fucking COVID happened. 

On August 25, 2019 I willingly forked over several hundred dollars and signed up for IM Mont-Tremblant (IMMT).  The race would take place August 23, 2020.  I had several friends that were eager to support me.  I found a coach, and had a long heart to heart with the family, explaining to them that this was no joke. 

I looked into other races to "build out" my race calendar:  1/2 marathon in April, 1/2 Ironman in June,  couple of sprint tris in the summer, then the big one in August. I was running 2-3 times a week with friends prior to all this.  In fact, we were going to run the 1/2 marathon together.  They are younger, fitter and faster.  They are great training partners! My coach and I came up with a plan.  I'd start training with her at the beginning of February.  She had a weekly plan involving swimming, biking and running 2-3 times a week. Everything was awesome...work was great, the boys were doing well in school, and hubby was starting to see his hard work pay off.  Training was going well too.  I was enjoying the time pushing my body, knowing that the time put in now what just "base miles".  This was the easy stuff, but it was also training my mind to put in the work. By mid-March, COVID had hit the States and was starting to reek havoc.  Everything shut down.  Ok, no worries.  Two weeks off was not a problem.  I kept on training, my husband and I took turns watching the boys (I have a retail job, that was considered "essential"), and waited it out. Then races started to be postponed.  The Boston Marathon was postponed until the end of September.  Probably a good idea...who wants to have a COVID laced snot rocket hurled at you while running with a couple thousand "friends".  Then my 1/2 marathon, scheduled for April was postponed til September.  Again, makes sense to me.  Sounds good. School started back up--virtually!  I worked with the boys getting their work done.  The plan was keep them "working" until they could get back in school...hopefully in May. Everything would still be ok.  The races on my schedule were still on for now.  I still trained.  It was good.  Until it wasn't. It is now August.  Nothing is the ok.  And I need an outlet, so, I thought that a blog would be a good way to let it all out. The plan is to come back here and express my frustrations, my concerns, my fears, everything.  I'm sure no one will read it, except maybe my family and some friends.  I will probably talk about my past (how did I get to "let's sign up for an Ironman", and the future ( how is my ASD, ADHD kid going to make it when he grows up?).  There is no goal here to inspire folks, or encourage others.

This is about my journey--50 years in the making and still going strong.  Let's see what happens.