IronMarmie

This post is scheduled to go up late on Saturday night here in North Carolina. But one ocean, several borders, and seven time zones away, it's Sunday morning and my mom has taken to the streets and rivers of Frankfurt, Germany, in a quest to become the world’s first IronMarmie. That's right – today she’s doing an Ironman Triathlon.

I should say that again, so it will sink in properly: My mom is doing an Ironman Triathlon.
Do you know how far that is? In case you don’t, it’s 2.4 miles of swimming.It’s 112 miles of bicycling.And when all that’s completed, it’s followed by running a marathon.

Needless to say, this is not a task for the faint of heart. This would be an incredible feat for anyone – there are young healthy men and women, sponsored professional athletes, who have themselves spent hours and hours training for this. But it’s especially incredible for my mom, because she’s not one of those. I don’t know the official stats, but I would wager to say she’s overcome about as much as anyone to make this happen. This is an underdog story at its finest:

1.) This is her first time in an iron-distance event, and she’s a grandmother. This isn’t something that her body has been prepped for her whole life. I don’t know how many other rookie grandmothers will be out there, but I’m guessing zero.

2.) In 2005, four short years ago, she weighed about twice what she does now. Yes, that’s right; she lost almost half her body weight through diet and exercise. She will cringe at my bringing this up again, but it’s worth mentioning (see before and after pictures here).

3.) She has gone through shoulder surgery, two hip stress fractures, and a broken wrist (also requiring surgery) in the last year or so.

For anyone else, any one of those things would have been enough to justify quitting. But my mom does not quit. That’s why I have no hesitation in writing this post and putting it on the internet, even before I hear back from her with the official “I finished!”... I know she’ll finish. No matter how long it takes, whether she finishes in the regulation 16 (17?) hours or if she walks all night, she will cross that finish line.

And I have never been prouder.

(Or stood to make more money. Seriously, does someone want to help me make a movie of this? I’ll sell you the rights and you can do all the work.)

[Edit, July 5 approox 3pm NC time: She finished! In well under the allowed time, just under 14 hours! She came in second in her age group. I am so proud I could cry. Ok, I am crying. What did your mom do today?]

I love you IronMarmie!