Yesterday, I finished Oregon Ironman 70.3. Also known as a half Ironman, it’s a triathlon with a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and 13.1-mile run (70.3 miles total). It’s tough. Let me tell you…

The night before, the front tire was flat, so I changed it. It’s not easy. If it happened during the race, I was going to drop out. Guess what, it did.

17-miles into the ride, the front tire went flat. And, I had a stellar start to the ride - Damnit!

Do I stop?! No. At least try to fix it. And I did. But, the new tire wouldn’t inflate. Damnit x 2!!

At this point, I was sure this would end it for me. I didn’t have a patch kit, and after spending 30-45 minutes fixing the first tire, I was afraid I’d hit the mid-point cut-off.

The volunteers were terrific. The race provides repair techs who drive the course and fix issues like a flat tire for free. The risk in a 56-mile route is that they won’t find you in time. But, to my surprise, not five minutes after I asked a volunteer for help, Kelsey (my savior) showed up. In under two minutes, she found the tiny thorn causing the tubes to pop, pulled it, replaced the bike tube, and I was on my way. 

Before the flat, my average speed was ~20 MPH. After the flat, it dropped to ~11 MPH. I had a lot of time to make up. After much pushing, my average hit 15.2 MPH - not bad, considering. 

It’s easy to quit when the motivation to continue isn’t vital. For me, it’s even more manageable when I know family and friend support is unconditional. 

Those first moments of opportunity to give in were alive and well. At its core is imposter syndrome. 

Maybe this race isn’t for me to finish. Perhaps I’m not good enough to fix this issue myself. Maybe I’m meant to fail.

Should I accept I? 

Today will be my day. 

Today, I will try.

(I finished at 7:21:38 over an hour prior to cut-off 🙂)