In the days leading up to August 3rd, Dave and I drove to Ottawa so that I could participate in Ironman Ottawa. Doing an Ironman has been a lifelong dream of mine and, in the past 5 years, I have made some changes and adjustments in my life so that I could achieve this goal.

An Ironman is a test of endurance but it also challenges your sense of commitment and mental toughness. Luckily for me, I had the complete support and encouragement from Dave and my two adult sons. Not once did I hear any negativity. And if I was ever having a mental block, lack of motivation (yes, it happens) or even a rough time trying to fit in time to train, my youngest would turn around my mindset immediately by asking “How bad do you want it?” Last Sunday’s race was as much their race as it was mine. (And, for the record, it always drove me crazy that he said “how bad” instead of “how badly” but his heart was in the right place. I never corrected him.)

The Ironman begins with a 3800 metre swim, followed by a 180 km bike ride and, finally, finishes with a marathon (42.2 km). Each event has a time limit, which is the same for everyone despite your age or gender. This means that I have the same amount of time to complete the race as everyone else, whether they are a 35 year old male, a 50 year old female or 75 years old.

Each athlete has 2 hours 20 minutes to finish the swim. Then, they have 10 hours 30 minutes from the time they started their swim to finish the bike portion. The total time allowed to complete the swim, bike and run is 17 hours from the time they started. Start times are fluid as approximately 5 swimmers start every 5 seconds. When I started my swim on Sunday, the race itself started at 6:00 a.m. but I didn’t get into the water until 6:47:33 a.m.

If you are a faster swimmer or cyclist, the extra time that you have can be “banked” towards finishing other events in the Ironman; you still have a total of 17 hours to complete everything. However, if you miss the swim cut-off, your race is over. This makes the swim one of the most important events.

It is no secret that I am not a strong swimmer. While I have the stamina and endurance, I am lacking in speed. I was always a slow swimmer growing up as I basically just took lessons so that I could survive if I were to ever end up in the water – pool or otherwise. During swim classes in high school, I was always the slowest. I completely stopped swimming after Grade 10 with the exception of a brief period when I decided to take my bronze medallion. After that, though, I only got in the water so that I could play with my kids. Five years ago, when I set my Ironman Plan in action, I couldn’t swim more than 15 metres without needing to stop. I was at the start of my Ironman journey, though, and I was not about to quit.

Five years later, I finished the 3800 metre swim and my Ironman dream came true.