I slept terribly last night. It felt like the night before a race. My mind was zooming and restless about what I was going to do today, however, I am not racing today? Well, I’m up, my dogs are fed, I have a full mug of coffee steaming in front of me, so here it goes... I teased this event a couple of weeks ago, and after accruing some more due diligence, (running), I am ready to let you all know that two months from today, Sunday, November 8th, (if the country has not been burned down from the election), I am going to race my own solo iron distance triathlon.
"Um, what?"
A little backstory, I first came up with this idea while on a bike ride one Friday morning about four weeks ago.
Initially, I was inspired by one of my Biscay Coaching teammates, Cameron Hawkins, sharing more about her own DIY iron race that she planned to compete in at the end of August in Durham, North Carolina. I was impressed not only that she was taking on such an enormous feat, but that it would be her very first iron distance race, ever. Plus, she was raising money for a local community development charity which in my opinion gave much more heft and meaning to her already incredible goal.
Amazing.
July, 2017, before Simone left for Alaskaman.
Earlier that week I said goodbye to my beautiful, fast, and ridiculously sentimental Dimond bike, Simone. I will spare you of the boring details that lead to that decision, but the exciting part is that I grabbed the chance to upgrade my next bike to the Dimond Marquis, which meant I could customize my brand new frame to be any color I wanted. Black is always slick and cool, or blue, maybe? Then early that fateful Friday morning it hit me, the choice was simple, and definite, RED.
Six year old Iron T about to shred on her new ride, Quicksilver.
My very first bike was red. Naturally, I named it Quicksilver. Yet the reason red felt so right for my new bike was not just because of my first bike itself, but who made it memorable by helping me pick it out, my Dad.
One of my favorite memories with my Dad, October, 1997, post Homecoming game ceremony where the wonderful Avery Wong was crowned Queen.
I will not be writing in any brochures for the San Fernando Valley any time soon. Especially not after the crazy hot weekend we just endured, but even though it grates on my nerves to live here most of the time, I absolutely LOVE Southern California, and live to celebrate every nook and cranny of Los Angeles.
I have trained all over our gorgeous golden state, but my absolute favorite spot to ride is the farmland just inland of Pacific Coast Highway in Camarillo.
I have ridden countless miles among the many mustard and kale farms that line the 101 Freeway the last few years, but what makes that area special is that it connects where I live in the valley, and where I want to live, on the coast, serving as the perfect intersection for the valley and the sea.
Last Saturday during a recon ride in Camarillo. I live over the hills in the distance.
While spinning away during that Friday morning brainstorming bike ride, all sorts of what matters to me most factors started falling into place. I wanted to do what I love most, Triathlon, in the place I love most, Southern California, honoring someone who has supported me the most, my dad. BAM! It hit me! I will do a point-to-point solo iron distance event starting from the valley and ending at the sea benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research.
Parkinson’s is our family fight.
My Dad’s older brother, my Godfather and namesake, Uncle Pat, (Taryn Patrick), passed away from Parkinson’s two years ago this week, and my dad was officially diagnosed about a year ago. I am positive many charities have suffered this year with so many races being cancelled, no doubt losing valuable fundraising opportunities, and I want to do something to help bridge that gap. I may not bring in the gazillions needed to help create a cure for Parkinson’s, but I am going to hustle like mad to try.
Next, the idea became a plan.
I could swim at my club, then ride over the Santa Susana Pass and drop down into Moorpark, pedal over to Camarillo, do some laps around the farmland, and then hook up with PCH to ride south ending at 112 miles, (around Temescal Canyon), and then run a marathon to finish at my Dad’s house in Palos Verdes.
I decided to do the event in November because that is my favorite month of the year, and the soonest I could scrape together enough fitness to be ready to go that long.
Obviously, since this is not a sanctioned event, I will be dealing with real world obstacles like an open course, (traffic and stop lights), and minimal daylight, so even though I will be going as fast as I can, I am not aiming for a PR, rather I simply want to enjoy the experience doing what I love, and spreading awareness about Parkinson’s along my favorite scenes in Los Angeles.
On a related note, I’d love for you to join me. Either in person, (COVID rules apply), or virtually swimming, riding, or running ANY distance, (it doesn’t have to be suuuuper-duper long), wherever you are in the world will be an amazing way for us to share this event, and do our part to fight Parkinson’s.
I am four weeks into my prep, training volume has ramped up, route recon missions have commenced, and I've met and strategized with the fine folks at MJFF, so Taryn’s Iron Journey From The Valley to The Sea is officially ON!!
A grainy shot from my HOT and AWESOME second run last Sunday in 106F temps.:)
I can’t wait to share the many details and adventures leading up to the starting line, and across the finish line from now until November 8th, there is still A LOT to do, and I look forward to ALL of it!
The song and video choice this week is an upbeat tune from Kane Brown, Khalid, and Hannah's buddy, Swae Lee, Be like That. Enjoy.:)
P.S. My teammate, and aforementioned inspiration, Cameron, raced her DIY iron(Wo)man on Sunday, August 30th, and finished in a scorching time of 11:30 hours, and raised $12,150 for Communities In Partnership. AMAZING. Congratulations, Cameron, and THANK YOU for inspiring me, and I am sure many others!