Endurance Events

I can't believe he is over a week old and I haven't made an official announcement celebrating the arrival of Nolan Riley Lingle. The little man was born on Wednesday, March 26th at 1:17pm. What an amazing experience it was to share with my sister. I was an official leg holder so I got to witness the sheer agony and bliss of child birth. Oyyyyy!

While Sarah was in labor I kept thinking… you have to remember this… the girls will want a detailed report, blow by blow. Why should child birth be treated any differently than running a marathon or completing a triathlon? A full detailed race report needed to be completed post baby!

Well, let’s just say that that didn’t happen. I’ve committed what I saw, what I heard and what I smelled to memory (yes, child birth has a very distinct smell)… believe you me. But the feeling of true happiness and joy I felt while holding my nephew made all the other stuff I saw earlier seem insignificant. It was this experience that led me to believe that what comes after the baby arrives far outweighs what a woman goes through during labor.

Call me crazy but there are many things about having a baby that seem pretty similar to what I may experience on IM day.

• Labor can last for hours… so will my Ironman.
• As much as I think I'm going to smell like roses, I know I won't. Labor certainly didn't!
• Both labor and an Ironman take a certain amount of energy leaving one exhausted by the end.
• There will be a certain level of pain and misery followed by great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
• The probability exists that I may say mean things to people I love because the pain is unbearable. Sarah certainly bit her tong.
• After many hours of ShotBloks, Gu's, Gatorade and other endurance sports drinks I will fantasize about my next real meal. All Sarah could talk about was donuts.
• If the going gets tough on event day, I'll tell myself that I will never do another Ironman. However, I know there is a high degree of probability that I will - the same way a women will have another baby!