Living for the burp and the guzzle

I feel my life going from long distance to taper. While talking about my training volume to people they are mostly amazed, especially non-triathletes. People who have toed the line at an ironman give you the knowing smile that reminds you they were at one point right I stand.

Instead of reveling in my distances I am instead humbled by the small things that occur to me during the training. For instance, I am now a lover of the burp. After spending hours on the bike or hours in a run I find that I really crave the satisfaction of drinking a carbonated drink quickly and savoring the belch that will reset my stomach. I have spoke with many ironmen/women who say the same thing, "Thank god for coke on the course!"

The other thing that is very powerful for me, especially after an iron distance ride, is the the ability, NAY THE CHOICE, to guzzle water. After almost seven hours of nipping thousands of liquid calories from the one 28 ounce bottle and sipping a gallon of water out of my aero bottle, it felt so good to finally crack open a full bottle of water and guzzle as much of that cold goodness as I could with no worry of repercusion.

I have often thought lately about how I will feel once my first ironman is completed, either finish or DNF, hopefully finish of course. I have focused on doing this race for so long, thought about the finish line for so long. But I think that something Benny has told me since April is making some sense.

Esenssially what he is telling me is, "Savor your moments before your first ironman, you only get them one time."

Will my ironman finish be as important to me as the training that lead me up to it? I think about the other amazing things I have accomplished in my life and with hindsight what I took from that episode. But instead the first thing I thought of was family.

You reap what you sow. So I think of Mistress and Mo baking a pie. The reaping is the accomplishment and that is the sweetest peice of pie to eat. But Mo helped Mistress with all the mixing and pouring and rolling and they laughed and they clapped and they cheered. To Mistress doing something with her 3 year old was more important than whether the pie turned out good or not.

I think of all the sunrises I have seen from over my aero bars. I remember all the smells from the side of trails I have run. I consider all the lives I have I touched online and within my own community in town. I can not forget the small victory's that lead to hopefully, eventually an ironman finish.

Not sure how I went from burping and guzzling to putting the memories in my heart above finishing Ironman but maybe I am.

Whats that saying, "Its not the destination, its the journey" Maybe thats right...