And As If Today’s Lifestyles Aren’t Busy Enough…
I have played different types of sports from a young age, and I kept it up throughout my 17 year Military Career. However, it wasn’t until 2006 that I took up Triathlon (swim, bike, run events). Starting off with Sprint distances, then moving up to Olympic Distances and then in 2008 I competed in and completed my first Half Ironman distance (swim 1.9 km, bike 90km & run 21.1km) Triathlon race in the UK. The longer the distance the more commitment of training is required. I focused on the Half Ironman distance for a number of years before taking the plunge in 2013 to move up to the Full Distance Ironman (swim 3.8km, bike 180km & run 42.2 km). Ironman Mont Tremblant!
Ironman it becomes an Addiction.
It becomes a motivation, a chase, a lot of hard work, determination, time, effort, commitment and a roller coaster of emotions to hear those famous words as you swim, bike and run, walk, crawl your way to cross the finish line at a Full Distance Ironman Race, ‘Jo Fraser! You are an Ironman’ (yes, maybe not very PC, Ironwoman, IronPerson, doesn’t quite have the same ring and meaning to it) those words cause a sudden flow of emotions after several months (6 to be exact) of training, often twice a day, 6 days a week, anywhere from 1 hr to 6 hrs in one day. And of course I am not a Pro-Triathlete this is a hobby, so I fit all this training in and around several jobs and daily living.
The question that is often asked is ‘why?’ I have stood on the beach at the start of the race and asked myself that same question, and again at certain stages throughout the race, but the feeling you get as the crowds cheers lift you as you are closing in on the finish line, and then as you cross the finish line, those words from the Race MC ‘Jo Fraser, You are an Ironman!’ Does make it all worth while. But for me it is also more than those words, it’s about the challenge, being able to push beyond what I think my body is capable of, and I want to keep challenging, those challenges have become my addiction.
This year I am continuing to feed that addiction by training for my 3rd up and coming Full Distance Ironman Los Cabos.
My Name is Jo Fraser and I am an Ironman and I will continue to challenge my body as long as it lets me.
