The Commitment

On November 19th, 2012, I got up at 4:30am to join several hundred other people already waiting in line in the predawn darkness of  Tempe Beach Park, about 13 miles from my house in Phoenix, AZ.  We were all decked out in our Ironman 2012 Volunteer t-shirts, our guarantee of priority registration for Ironman AZ 2013.  That's right, we all volunteered at the Ironman (many people coming in from other states) to secure the privilege of paying $700 to dedicate a year of our lives to strenuous training, then return to this place one year hence to suffer for up to 17 hours.  I waited in line for 3 hours to register, and there were still hundreds behind me when I left.  Once all the volunteers were registered, it was opened up to those waiting in line for onsite general registration.  Only then was registration opened online.  $700 entry fee.  A huge commitment of time and energy.  Untold sums of money spent on gear, training and travel.  Online registration sold out in 40 seconds.

So, clearly, I am not the only crazy person out there.

I had spent the night before clapping my hands raw and screaming myself hoarse until midnight, cheering on the triumphant finishers of Ironman AZ 2012.  I was in the crowd that went ballistic when, with 30 seconds to the no exceptions midnight cutoff, a woman turned the corner into the finishing chute.  We screamed, we clapped, we pounded the bleachers, we waved our arms in the air; it was as if we believed we could get her to the finish line just through our sheer will.  She crossed the finish line at 11:59:55.  If anyone has seriously considered doing an Ironman, I don't know how it's possible to watch one and not think, I HAVE TO DO THIS.  The energy at an Ironman is almost indescribable to someone who hadn't experienced it.  It is thousands of athletes from all walks of life, pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits, surrounded by awed spectators willing to do just about anything to help them succeed.  I watched the mass swim start in the morning, volunteered in the women's change tent between the swim and bike, then worked at a run aid station, then cheered at the finish line till the bitter end.  My decision to do Ironman was made months ago.  (Though it seems less like a decision than a realization of the inevitable course my life was taking.)  But my experience as spectator and volunteer confirmed it beyond any doubt.  There was no should I or shouldn't I?  There was no can I afford it?  (I can't, and never could.)  There was no can I commit the time and energy for this?  At 5 seconds to midnight on November 18, 2012 I knew there was no way I was not doing this race.