Yesterday Ironman Hawaii completed 37 years of existence. The first time I heard about this adventure in 1999 I thought: “I would love to do that one day!” At that time I was around 15 years old, and I didn’t swim, bike or run. But I loved the idea of doing all three in Hawaii!
My love for all three sports grew little by little, day by day, and to make a very long story short, on April of 2008, after winning my age group at the Lavaman Triathlon, I won a slot to race the Ironman Hawaii. It was an incredible year of training and getting ready with a lot of friends and with my husband. Race day was an “easy” day! I know it sounds crazy to call an Ironman an easy day, but I was so excited to be there, and every second on that race course was literally a dream coming true. 
I was so happy to check that dream from my wish list!
Then in 2013, after racing, crashing, and winning my age group at 70.3 Japan (a long story in and of its own) I got a slot to race Ironman Kona again. In my second Ironman I had more expectations, because now I had a time (my own time) to beat. The race was perfect! I felt strong all day long, and again I enjoyed every moment of being part of such an incredible adventure. I was also very excited to be the first Brazilian women to cross the finish line!
Last year I raced at Ironman Brasil, for the first time. The race was harder than I expected, but I won the slot while racing in my home country to race in my now home Hawaii. It was special! My third Ironman Kona was the hardest one, I had never been so ready mentally and physically for a race, but the weather conditions were so tough. So it wasn’t my fastest race as I had expected it to be, but it was definitely another one in which I raced with all my heart and soul, and I was able to celebrate every second of it!
Along my journey of racing and competing in Ironmans I learned about pushing and respecting my limits, I learned that the bad days can be just as important as the good days. The most important thing I learned is that Ironman is a sweet adventure when you have wonderful people training with you, cheering for you, and celebrating each time you cross the finish line! To all of you that have been a part of my ironman adventures, a huge THANK YOU!
Ironman Hawaii Happy 37 years!
some dreams are worth sharing…
mariane
