It’s been 34 days since I became an IRONMAN. It was truly a journey of self discovery. So after basking in all the fun surrounding the event itself, an amazing vacation to Grand Cayman to recover, and getting back to work, I’m left to think about what’s next.
I know this IRONMAN isn’t an “end.” I believe it’s the beginning of many more adventures to come. I’ve learned I can do things I once thought I couldn’t and to keep my mind open to new possibilities.
My next immediate goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon by running a 3:55 in Omaha on 9-16-18. This will certainly be a stretch and require a lot of hard work. And as I discovered during some interval runs this week, IRONMAN training was long, but marathon training is HARD. Then I will be doing the IRONMAN WACO 70.3 in October and I’d like to have a sub 7 hour race by improving my riding and running. Doing a couple of sprint tris this summer as well (Sylvan Beach 6-10 and Cypress 7-30).
There will certainly be another IRONMAN in my future, most likely in 2019. Weighing my options and will decide by fall. Also thinking I would like to investigate helping guide disabled athletes on triathlons. But feel like I need to be a little better and stronger before I do that.
So what’s next is slowly coming together like my training. Enjoyed a few weeks off, but loving being back running, swimming and biking again. I love being a triathlete and so grateful I discovered that is part of who I am.
ironcheryl2018 