I have been invited to compete in the 2017 Ultraman Australia!!
What is Ultraman, you ask? Ultraman is a 3 day stage race consisting of:
Day 1: 10k swim + 91 miles bike
Day 2: 171 miles bike
Day 3: 52.4 miles run
Each stage has a 12 hour time limit, and the race is self supported which means that each athlete brings a crew of 2-4 people who supply aid during the bike/ run legs. Your crew is also allowed to run with you on Day 3. Sound crazy? Yeah. It might be.
Craziness aside, Ultraman is founded on the principles of Ohana (family), Kokua (help), and Aloha (love) and this is what most attracts me to the event. Over the course of the week you become like family with each of the other competitors and teams. It's such a small group of people, and everyone pitches in and helps each other through the weekend. As an athlete, you learn humility and how to lean on others for support. As crew, you embody the meaning of each of those words as you sacrifice your time, and extend physical and emotional support to your athlete as well as each of the other competitors. It was truly a gift to be able to crew in 2014, and it is my goal to make my Ultraman experience as meaningful for my crew as it was for me.
It has been my plan for several years now to apply for Ultraman once my mission of #findingkona was accomplished. I actually have several other big goals I'd like to achieve. I want to run a hundred miler. I want to compete in the SCAR swim challenge. For me, it made sense to apply for Ultraman following the Ironman World Championships because I can build on my triathlon base. As opposed to focusing on trail running for 12-24 months and trying to come back into triathlon after that.
After crewing for Ultraman Canada in 2014, I *knew* this was something I needed to do. I always thought I would go back to Canada, even after they separated from the Ultraman umbrella and formed Ultra 520k Canada.
When I brought it up to Hillary in June as I was contemplating plans for 2017 she asked me, "Are you SURE you don't want to race a qualifier for Ultraman World Championships?" I had never really entertained the idea of applying for the world championship, but when the World Champion herself asked me, I thought I better consider it. The options for qualification included Florida and Australia. After a little back and forth, and a little research on my part, Australia started sounding enticing. Really enticing.
My husband qualified for 70.3 worlds this year. In Australia. But with the timing of the race being so close to Kona, he made the decision not to go because it would be difficult for us to travel to Australia and back and then turn around and head to Hawaii. Not only financially, and time off of work, but also just the toll on the body with a trip half way around the world. It's been a while since I've traveled internationally, but I remember the jet lag. Several of our friends were going to stay in Australia and then head straight to Kona which would have been AMAZING if we could take 6 weeks off of work. Sadly this was not an option for us.
In my research I discovered that Ironman Australia in Port Macquarie is one week before Ultraman Australia. I pitched it to my husband... we fly to Oz. He races Ironman, we head up the coast (approximately an 8 hour drive) to Noosa and tackle Ultraman. We fly home just in time for his daughter's high school graduation. A few days later, after careful consideration on his part, he agreed.
I am so flipping excited. And absolutely terrified. This is way outside of my comfort zone. Which is another reason why I need to do this. I have literally been on the website every day since the middle of June. I've looked at the course maps enough times to know I need to point my bike uphill and do work. I know where the closest grocery store is to our rental apartment. I've researched the process of obtaining visas for myself and my crew. I started a savings account so that I don't touch the funds that I've put away for this trip.
My type A is definitely enjoying the planning part of this. I look forward to the work that will go into training between November and May (omg MAY!!! like, in 9 months!!). And I can't wait to be inducted into the Ultraman family!
No comments:
Post a Comment