Carried an American Flag Through My First IRONMAN 70.3 and Ugly Cried at the Finish Line
Sup you beautiful idiots.
This weekend I finished my first IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga carrying an American flag for all 13.1 miles of the run in honor of a fallen service member through the IRONMAN Foundation Gold Star program. I also got to hold that same flag during the national anthem before the race, which honestly hit way harder than I expected.
For the non-triathlon people, a 70.3 is:
1.2 mile swim
56 mile bike
13.1 mile run
All back to back because apparently therapy was too straightforward.
About a year ago I was a full time truck driver surviving mostly on gas station food, caffeine, nicotine, and poor decisions. Since starting this whole journey I’ve lost over 100 pounds and somehow convinced myself endurance sports sounded fun.
Sorry Donut, I know you “love” cyclists, but most of my bike training was done inside on a stationary trainer because the less time the public sees me in skin tight spandex, the better.
Race day absolutely beat my ass.
The swim was me getting waterboarded by Tennessee.
The bike course violated several human rights laws.
By the run, every aid station volunteer looked like a biblical angel.
But carrying that flag the entire run changed the whole experience for me. Every time I wanted to slow down or start feeling sorry for myself, I’d look down at it and remember why I was carrying it in the first place.
Crossing the finish line with it was one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever had and my dumbass immediately started ugly crying in front of thousands of people.
Anyway, just wanted to share because the unsub crew genuinely helped get me through a lot of early morning trainer rides and long runs. Listening to the podcast while suffering for hours probably qualifies as psychological warfare under the Geneva Convention.
Now I’m sitting here looking at full IRONMAN races like a completely rational adult.