Printed in marker on the back of Kim Cleary’s leg, near her race number, screamed the designation “I. V.” The 31-year-old Louisville resident, an “Iron Virgin,” as those new to the race are called, was greeted by the other triathletes at the Great Floridian Ironman with shouts of, “Go on, Virgin!” and “You having fun?” and “You having a good day?” and “How’s your race going?”
True to her decision to enjoy the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on October 23, 2004, Cleary was having fun. Hoping to forever capture the spirit of the race, Cleary brought along a camera to document herself after each mile of the run, thinking to share her experience with her husband, Ryan, and their three children, Jack, 9; Katie, 3; and Quinn, 1. The photos would also serve as a tangible reminder of her first Ironman, a race she dubs the “Holy Grail” of triathlon. Making a point to smile and chat with everyone who passed her on the bike and to joke with people during the run, her good cheer was reciprocated with the same sense of merriment by everyone around her. In this vein of giving and receiving support, Cleary finished with a time of 15 hours and 23 minutes.
“It [marking one as an “Iron Virgin”] was just the best idea because of the level of camaraderie it brought about, especially since [triathlon] is not a team sport, it’s more individual…but when you’re at the back of the pack, like me, it’s a team environment. It’s very cool [with] people cheering you on…it was really neat,” Cleary says. “I wanted to just enjoy the day, to smile at everyone and look at the trees and the lake and think about what a cool place I was in,” a mindset she partly attributes to an adage of her childhood fri/files/storyimages/and training partner, Steve Krebs.
The good humor and warmth in the salutations of the other triathletes made the day even more special for Cleary, who, when not running road races, competing in swim meets or shorter-distance triathlons, works as a full-time human resources consultant for Aegon and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. She also recently completed a master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology. With the help of Ryan, a Habitat for Humanity board member, stay-at-home dad and musician, Cleary was able to juggle her schedule all year to prepare for the Clermont, Florida-based race.
Cleary stresses the importance of communicating with those closest to you to let them know how much their support is needed. “Enlist the help of your spouse or parent or fri/files/storyimages/or anyone who will help you. Early on make sure your husband [or partner] understands what you’re getting into, make sure he’s OK with it and is going to support you…The biggest thing to do is negotiate, to plan what you’re doing and tell him that you’ll be calling on him for help,” says Cleary.
Cleary also emphasizes the critical need to make time for oneself when attempting to take on a new athletic endeavor.
“As a parent, it’s understood that the kids’ needs come first and then you come later,” says Cleary. “Sometimes there’s nothing left and you don’t have any time for yourself. And that’s OK, it’s normal: you accept it and do what you need to do, but I would say carving out time for yourself is key.”
When she was training for the Ironman, finding time for swimming, cycling and running was challenging, even with the support network of her family and friends. In order to be able to sp/files/storyimages/as much time as she could with her family, Cleary kept her swimming to two or three mornings during the week, practicing with the Lakeside Masters swim team before 6 a.m. She then either ran or rode her bike during her lunch break at work. On Saturdays, her long training runs began at dawn with three training partners from the Fleet Feet running store on Bardstown Road. Sundays were reserved for cycling.
“Sundays were tough because we would go to church, come home, have lunch and then put the kids down for a nap. After that, around 12 or 12:30, I’d go for my training ride. I’d ride for about two hours, but would have that guilt because I was away from [the kids and her husband] all week. While I was with them in the evenings and on Saturdays, I was not there Saturday mornings when they woke up and I was gone Sunday afternoons.”
Sensitive to her tight, hectic schedule, her boss told her to take a day or two off during the week to get in some training so she could see her family on Sunday, which Cleary greatly appreciated. As a further gesture of support, her boss and four people on the human resources team prepared a “care package” for her Ironman – a duffel bag filled with sunscreen, PowerBars, gels, Motrin, Neosporin, Chapstick, lotion, bubblebath, BodyGlide, cameras. They also jokingly requested that she remember to use the sunscreen, referring to the “number tan” she came back with after getting a sunburn on the race number marked on her skin during her half-Ironman in 2002.
A lasting after-effect of the Ironman is the change it brought about in Cleary’s life. “It gave me a different outlook on myself and my abilities, which can be taken across the broad spectrum [of her life]. It showed me that if I really decide to do something, no matter what it is—if I put in the work and the hours, I can do it. If you’ve got that passion…and the motivation to do it…when you [reach that goal], it’s so much fun and so cool.”
Grinning, she adds, “And then when you’re done, it gives you a new appreciation for the time you sp/files/storyimages/with your family.”
Margaret Schauer, a swimmer and aspiring triathlete, is currently completing her master’s of fine arts in writing degree at Spalding University.