My Ironman story began in 1984, really the dark ages of triathlons. I was living on the island of Oahu in a little town called Pearl City, Ironman was a very big part of life in Hawaii. Pearl City is located on Pearl Harbor and has an 18 mile bike path. Riding my bike was a daily activity, used for transportation as well as exercise. I would ride to one of the many Olympic swimming pools, swim laps, then ride home. On weekends I would swim at one of the beaches. All of my friends were very fitness oriented, Hawaii is just perfect for all things outside.
After training for a couple of months, I attempted my first race. It was a 10 K – a Susan G. Komen race. There was a big “carb loading” party the night before, I think it was a tradition back then as I ate big plates of spaghetti before every one of my races. The race was fine, I got through it but really hated it! I drank every cup of water handed to me, no backpack with bottles of electrolytes connected by a straw. There were neighborhoods of people cheering us on and spraying us with water. I even drank the 2 Primo beers at the finish line, the 1984 version of recovery nutrition.
I will definitely ride my bike down to Great Marsh, now Gerry Boyle Park to cheer the athletes on this Saturday, praying that the sea nettles have disappeared.
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