The most emotional goal I ever set was signing up for my full first Iron man event in 2017. It had me on the edge from the first day I paid for the very expensive test of endurance and then pretty much every day until I crossed the finish line. Was it a good use of my hard earned money? What if I got injured or just could not make the distance? It would be a lot of time and money down the drain. I think those first emotions definitely helped myself get fired up to train.
I didn't want to tell anyone, just incase I failed but it was hard to keep quiet. People at my triathlon club knew but lots of my other family and friends just would not understand and would think I was crazy. It probably should not have surprised them as I have done a few crazy things before and they must have been getting to it.
The swim worried me the most, I was glad, it was first. I knew the last bit of the bike was going to be a problem too, 180 kilometres is a long way under your own steam.
I will never forget the last section of the bike, it was hard to believe that I had actual made it, I just could not wait to be off the bike, my whole body was just so achy and sore. The elation of finishing the bike leg soon wore off when I started to think about having to try and run a marathon. There was a lot of walking on the run leg and my overall time was a lot slower than what I was hoping, but still a great experience just to get it done.