My IRONMAN 70.3!

It has been a loooonnnggg 7 months of training. 7 months of getting up at 5:30 am after going to bed late at my personal training seminars, 7 months of leaving social events early to get enough rest to get up early and train.

Heading in early from the slopes and training out of breath AND at altitude! 7 months of working out on my family vacation to Florida. And then, in March, my race day in Puerto Rico had arrived. I finished 6 miles short as a bike malfunction added over 30 min to my time, rendering me to miss the cutoff. I was devastated.

That morning I thought my biggest hurdle would be overcoming the sheer terror of open water swimming.

But if there is one thing that I have learned in life, it is the true joy of being in the ring- competing, fighting, and failing. I have probably failed more than I have won- but I have taken on that very tenacious attitude- “NEVER GIVE UP.”

And so, on this May 5, with my parents there to support me, I successfully completed my first Ironman 70.3. The forecasters said, 80% chance of thunderstorms all day. It was muddy, it rained, but it certainly did not stop any of us.

I can’t describe the joy. Enough to start those first sparks of curiosity about taking on the full distance…! What is that thing you have always wanted to take on in YOUR life?

Dr Dipa Patel running in Ironman race in VirginiaDr Dipa Patel running in IronmanDr Dipa Patel biking in Ironman