It all started when I decided to try the Greenwich sprint triathlon 20 years ago. I remember the first time I went out on a hybrid bike and decided to bike to Tod’s Point which was only about 6 miles from my house-- I barely made it there! Put my goggles on and ran into the sound. After swimming about 100 yards I was exhausted!
I trained for about a month and did my first triathlon and felt like a rock star, I then signed up for my first Olympic distance race (a little longer) the Rye New York Olympic Tri. Got myself a used tri bike and a wetsuit and was ready to go.
Since I thought I was a bad ass, I ran in the water with all elite athletes and got the shit kicked out of me. I wasn’t ready for that intense start as everyone runs in the water. I kept trying to swim but my heart rate was so high I couldn’t get it together, not to mention here comes the 2nd wave of people....ah crap! I had to grab on to a safety canoe and that was it for me. I was so pissed at myself that later in the day I went down to Tod’s Point and set up a little transition area with my bike & running gear and did my own mock race. It was the same distance, but I needed to prove to myself that I could do it.
Fast forward to my first Ironman, I was still a newbie but put a lot of training in, which in itself put some strain on my marriage. With two young girls at home I made decisions that I’m not proud of to put training first, I was obsessed. Don't worry, that's not the case anymore.
I got through my first Ironman on CAFFEINE & RAGE to finish no matter what. I threw up violently about 5 times after I finished.
Why am I saying all this?? 6 Ironman races later I’ve been through it all and have learned from my mistakes--I know the sport in an out. From being in the lead on the bike behind the paced motorcycle (which I have always wanted to try) to leading the run. Both short lived though, because I got overtaken. 😩
On one particular race I remember being the lead on the bike, and I missed a turn and went 8 miles the wrong way thinking the course was longer than I thought. SHIT! It was all uphill to get back on course, when I finally started the run the winner was saying, c’mon keep it up you can do it, I wanted to quite but didn’t, I came in last place.
This is why I want to be a part of the community of endurance athletes and to have a platform to post workouts, pics and experiences of mine and motivational quotes. Eventually I want to organize group swims, biking and running workouts, maybe even start a Curciotraining Endurance Team!
