My first EVER athletic event was a 5k WALK for diabetes. I didn’t think anything of it back then, but seriously, I had a hard time doing that. A few years ago, my friend got me to run around the block a few times with her, and it was hell! It was probably only a mile. Seeing how poorly I ran, I decided to sign up for the Nike Run Hit Remix 5 Miler. The only training I did was on a treadmill. I finished that (with a very bad time), but I wanted something more. So I signed up for the Long Beach Half Marathon. I was semi-dedicated, still treadmill training. When I finished that, I thought to myself, if I could do a half, I could do a full!
That’s when I signed up for TNT and my life changed from there. I’m always setting new goals for myself. The first season was to FINISH. The second was to help others. The third was to break my PR (personoal record). I’ll be back one more year, but I’m contemplating on an even greater challenge for 2010, a triathlon. I don’t know how to swim, I haven’t rode a bike in YEARS.
I guess I understand why people do some of the more extreme endurance events, like the Ironman Triathlon, or the AIDS Life cycle from SF to LA, or even ultra marathons of 50 or 100 miles. They probably started off like me, and just accomplished each goal that they achieve.
Here’s a sport preview of a film called “Indulgence“, following the training of an ultra marathoner Anton (Tony) Krupicka.
So, what do you think ?