"TitaniumPerson."
"Dad, I love you, but you’re insane." I inform him as I picture the ultra-endurance race consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and then a full 26.2 marathon to finish it off.
"Maybe, but it’s what I want from you." He grunts with the effort of sitting up straighter. It is brutal to see a man who was so full of life and athleticism reduced to a frail, cancer ridden form. "I think you missed the trials because life wanted something more for you. I think you should go and not onlydoTP races, but win them."
"Right. No problem. I’ll just start from zero and then be able to beat everyone else who has been training for years."
"Exactly."
"Dad, c’mon. Are you hallucinating or something?"
"No kiddo. I love you too much to let you give up on something. I’m leaving you three year’s worth of living expenses. You’ll be able to quit your job, buy some gear, and get training. And in three years you’ll be at the top of the sport winning purse money and signing sponsorships and I’ll be cheering you on from the grandstand in the sky."
"Your heaven is a TitaniumPerson finish line grandstand?" I ask skeptically.
"If you’re running the race, absolutely."
Chapter one
Laney
Crazy or not, here I come.
"IwonderhowI’llperform next weekend without the smell of palak paneer enveloping me." I ponder out loud as I load the backpack I wear for deliveries with the container filled with non-melting Indian cheese smothered in a spinach sauce.
My best friend, Dhanya-Sri, affectionately known as Dee, just smiles as she hands over my last delivery of the night.
"You might even race faster without ten pounds of curry in styrofoam on your back!" Dee suggests.
I laugh and hoist the bag up on my shoulders. It's not aerodynamic by any means but I tell myself it serves as a weighted vest which has become all the rage in the training groups. Everything is about trying to max out and optimize your training.
Training is life.
I pull up the delivery destination on my phone. Before I place it in the holder I mounted to my handlebars, I screenshot the directions and then zoom in and out to read them around the spiderweb crack creeping from the bottom left of the screen.
“It’s only like four miles.” Dee says with a nod to my device.
“Nothing compared to one hundred and twelve straight!” I laugh.
“I still think that’s borderline insane.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“Was your dad crazy too?” Dee asks as I clip the shoulder straps together at my chest.
“He was, but I think every TitaniumPerson athlete is, on a certain level.” Insanity is a requirement if you’re going to swim 2.4 miles, ride 112 miles on a bike, andthenrun a full 26.2 mile marathon all in one day. I am insane for trying? Two years of training behind me and I haven’t gotten past the 70.3 half TP distance.
“Training is life.” She says like a guru, complete with touching the tip of her index finger to the tip of her thumb. Summoning patience from the gods no doubt.
“You make fun, but Dee, I need to do this.”
“I know.” She says with a sad smile. We haven’t talked about losing my dad much in the last two and half years. But, it’s the unspoken shadow over us each time I lace up.
Dee was at my side through it all.
And, she knows my deadline is approaching. This is my third year racing and if I don’t qualify for worlds, if I don’t get a sponsorship, I’ll be letting my dad down in epic fashion.
In three years you’ll be at the top of the sport winning purse money and signing sponsorships.
