Iron Pol

I remember getting down to the wire at Ironman Louisville.  Most notable was the walk down the steps and up the riverwalk to hit transition.  It was surreal because so much work had gone into getting there.  And I was surrounded by people who had faced the same challenges.

At Ironman Wisconsin, the feeling was the same.  I hit transition a bit earlier than planned.  In fact, support crews were just putting up the lights when I got there just before 4:30.  My goal for the day was to take as many pictures of team mates as possible.  Some of the best shots I got happened there at body marking.  The tension was the same as I had felt in Louisville.  This time, the tension was for others about to embark on the final leg of their most recent IM journey.

Slowly, various members of various teams started arriving.  I was caught in the middle.  While part of the team, I was an outsider.  Intimately familiar with what they were experiencing, I was only an observer.  But I kept clicking away trying to capture the moment.

The time there in transition prior to the race really is the "down to the wire" time.  All the training is done.  All the worrying is over.  Triathletes wander around doing things that must be done, almost on autopilot.  They are quite aware of what is going on and very tuned into the moment.  But they are also focused inward.  The feelings I had in the final hours leading up to the start of IM Louisville were unlike any other race I've ever done.

Now, I find myself facing another wire.  Soon, the voting for the next sponsored member of Team Evotri will be over.  And like Ironman, none of us knows what the final outcome will be.  Are we running the perfect race that will put us near the front of the pack?  Or did our preparation leave us struggling on the course?

We're all in it, together.  That's another similarity to Ironman.  In Wisconsin, as the day wore on, I shifted from photographer to cheerleader to support crew.  Near the end of what turned out to be an extraordinarily long day I found myself running stride for stride with one participant and wondering about so many others.  That's where I find myself, today.  Everyone in this contest is already a part of the team.  We are all running together trying to get to the finish.  And whether we come in "Kona Bound" as one of the top vote getters, or bring up the rear and continue on in a "supporting role," we're all trying to better the team, the sport, and ourselves.

It's getting down to the wire.  And that's when things get exciting and surreal.  Because once the gun goes off, it's all business.

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