How did I get here?

It's taper week. So I've got lots of free time.
Time to sit.
Time to think.
Time to obsess.

I've been crafting this narrative in my brain for a while now. How did I go from being a regular dude who wasn't particularly active into a guy who will, in 8 days, attempt to complete an Ironman? Something that in my previous life seemed like this insane theoretical race that only insane theoretical people would ever do. The name alone...Ironman....from far-off Hawaii....always carried a certain intimidating mystique. Now I'm doing one. Doesn't seem right. I feel like there's been some kind of mistake. I'm not an insane theoretical person. How did I get here?

Well, I suppose we have to go back a long ways....back to January 2007. Ashley, a friend of mine from the Sandbar, worked for Adidas at the time, and in a seemingly friendly gesture had acquired a new pair of running shoes for me. How nice of her! A week later, she asks me if I'd like to train for a half marathon with her. Well played, Ashley. I had never run more than 5 miles in my life at this point, but I couldn't say no. So we planned out our training schedule, trained together, and did the race. Turns out I didn't die, and actually really enjoyed the challenge, the experience, and the feeling of accomplishment. Wow....a half marathon!

That summer I found my way back into riding my road bike which had been collecting dust for several years, mostly due to my friend Delaware, who had made the step we all wanted to make, and signed up for the MS 150. A group of us followed suit and soon we were all riding together and getting in shape. That ride was a blast, but I was pretty spent by the end of it.

As far as running, I decided that doing one half marathon every spring would be enough for me, as I wasn't quite a "convert" to the sport.....yet. The following spring, I signed up and did my 2nd half marathon. Please note that I didn't actually train for it this time. Ended up only being 7 minutes slower than the previous year. Again, I enjoyed the race, and proceeded to forget about running for most of the remainder of the year. Did the MS Ride again, feeling much better prepared for it this time around. One thing that did happen though.....that August, my friend Delaware did an Ironman up in Canada. WHAT?!?!? Apparently, he had signed up for it a full year in advance, had trained, done a few smaller races for triathlon experience, and fucking DID it. I remember how vaguely aware I was of what was going on in his life at the time. I was back in school, and he was in KC, so I barely saw him or heard from him. I remember feeling very concerned for him, and like a fool, I was more worried that he would fail than I was excited that he might succeed. I can say without hesitation, that the immense support I have received from my friends and family are a constant reminder of how much I regret the cynical attitude I had at that time in my life. I will never again allow myself to be a naysayer. Never.

Of course, Delaware finished. He had to. One of the Ironman slogans is "You WILL do this." He had to finish, and he did. I watched him cross the finish line via a live internet video feed. I was ecstatic and amazed. My friend.....did an Ironman. My friend isn't an insane theoretical person...he is very much a real and tangible person. I never saw him the same again...he was now a hero to myself and many our friends. He was now on another level. But he was still Delaware.

I had never swam, I had never done a triathlon, I had never run a marathon, I had never ridden more than 100 miles in a day. But the seed of belief was planted. I didn't know how, or when....but I KNEW someday I'd do it too. At the time, this knowledge seemed complete lunacy. At the time, this knowledge seemed a fairytale.

The following January(2009), I was dealing with some issues in my personal life. I needed an outlet of some kind. Something to keep me from sitting around feeling pathetic and obsessing over things that didn't need to be obsessed about. I went for a run. It hurt. Lungs, legs, and body were all complaining, but at least my thoughts were quiet. This could work. Before I knew it, I was racking up a LOT of miles. My yearly half marathon resulted in a PR by about 8 minutes, and my motivation to do other races was growing. I signed up for a half Ironman which was to take place in June. That race became my sole focus aside from school. I won't say the race was a smashing success, but I met my goals and wanted more. A little over a month later, I completed my first marathon in San Francisco. The personal issues compounded that week, and my training was there for me.

One day that summer, I was looking around on the Ironman website....looking at full distance Ironman races. I had no intention of signing up for one because in my mind that was still a LONG way off, after all, the half Ironman had hurt so badly. Plus, those races usually fill up really fast....often they are full before they even open up for online registration. In a mere act of curiosity, I was looking at some of the races that had been recently completed. Ironman Coeur d'Alene in Idaho....it was OPEN for registration. I thought about it. Crazy. Insane. Don't even think about it.

But wait....

I talk to my friend Delaware....."Hey this race is open still....what do you think?"

Without a moment's hesitation he says, "Do it."

Really? He goes on to explain to me that I can totally do it. I'd have almost a full year to prepare, and I was already in pretty good shape. He also warns me....if you go down this road, nobody else will understand. They'll support you, but not in the true sense, because people can't really support something they don't understand.

It made sense.....I've gotten so many crazed looks of disbelief since I signed up for this race. Why? How? You're crazy. You're going to die. Others are supportive, but I can tell they don't really "get it" either. Not to say I'm not appreciative of all of this support; I couldn't live without it. It keeps me going when I'm tired and burned out. It reminds me to believe in myself. It reminds me that "I WILL do this." But the point remains....very few people can truly understand what goes through my head on a daily basis when I train, when I think about June 27th, when I wake up sweating in the middle of the night because I had another race nightmare.

Delaware burned some "Oh baby" points with his girlfriend by convincing her to put up with another long season of training and signed up for the race as well. I was thankful to have him along for the ride, and to have somebody to train with.

Training officially began that week, though technically it had never stopped. Another half marathon PR in October, a new marathon PR in December. Took most of December and January off to recover from 10 months of nonstop training and racing. And because it was flipping cold outside. Hit the ground running in February with a plan. Half Marathon in March, Half Iron in April, Olympic tri in May(tune-up/confidence builder). A few small races here and there for motivation, fun, and to add to my ridiculous collection of race bib numbers. Also a long weekend doing the Cottonwood 200, which gave me great confidence in my riding form. I started tapering my run a little earlier than planned because of some worrisome aches and pains in my hip and ankle, but I feel that the rest did them a lot of good.

So here I sit. Tapering. Compared to what I've been doing, tapering feels exactly like "sitting on my ass getting fat". I've heard them referred to as the "Taper Blues". How amazingly appropriate. There is nothing more depressing than staring an enormous challenge in the face and knowing.....knowing that there is nothing else I can do to prepare for it. I compare it to the last 10 minutes before a big test....you want to cram, but you know at this point none of it is going to stick...you know what you know. So instead of obsessing and worrying, I'm writing. And you're(hopefully) reading it. But I'm out of things to write....I answered the question posed in the title of this post.

How DID I get here?

I got a lot of help, that's for sure. Ashley started it all, but since then I've received help/motivation/advice/love from the following people.

Delaware, Jake, Mom, Dad, my brother Chris, Deanna C, Lisa M, Adam L, Jess W, Dustin J, Chris and Karli L, Anna Q, Alan G, Evan R, Sam M, Megan S, Jenny C, Christina H, Carly F, Todd C, Ellie M, Melissa M, Taras Z, Brad M, ALL of my friends and coworkers from The Sandbar, and literally COUNTLESS others. Everyone listed here has, at some point, lifted my spirits in some form or fashion...whether they commented on Facebook, cheered for me at a race, swam/biked/ran with me, or simply told me, "I'm proud of what you're doing." If I were speaking this to all of you out loud, this is the part where I'd get a bit weepy in thanking all of you, because it absolutely means the world to me to know that you all believe in me and unquestioningly believe that I will succeed!

How did I get here?

I got here because of all of these people. And with a little sweat and suffering, but all the accomplishments in the world would mean so little without such a great group of people behind me.

Thank you so much for who you are, what you do, and the huge role you play in my success!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene
June 27th, 2010
7:00 am
2.4 mile swim
112 mile bike
26.2 mile run

The achievement of a lifetime. And hopefully it's just the beginning.


Thank you for reading and letting me take a break from obsessing!

Danny Loental