Sunday night I had my first Ironman dream. I was running . . . and instead of a race it was more like a scavenger hunt. I remember being very confused about why a) we were starting with the run, and b) why I kept getting lost on the course.
Just barely a mile or so into the dream race, the runners had to cross a hot bed of coals while fans cheered us on from jacuzzis. I skipped the coals by sneaking behind while everyone was laughing and throwing fruity drinks on racers, and feared I was missing a check point.
After the bed of coals was a steep downhill that somehow ended up in a mall. I remember panicking because my time was going to hell and I felt like I was nowhere near the course. There was a very excited young kid trying his best to give me a Cinnabon and I was stressing big time about directions, he responded by handing me a menu.
There was a lot of activity going on, including a Cubs game, and the next thing I know I was in a 5K sign-up line with a bunch of friends who had just started running. They were so excited, and I was for them, but valuable time was ticking away.
Finally, I found a guy wearing an Ironman shirt sitting near one of those side escape doors in the mall. I was relieved and asked him for directions.
“First, I’ll need to see your timing chip.”
Unbelievably, I had a handful of newspapers and the timing chip was lodged between the sports and lifestyle sections.
“Okay, I’m gonna need you to put this in your waste band.”
All I could think was, “Why isn’t this on my ankle?” Then asked him, “How do I get back onto the course?”
He said, “Okay, did you go through the jewelry store back there?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you see a guy dressed like Santa Claus?”
“No!”
“Well, you need to find him, he has your clue.”
I was completely deflated, and that’s the last thing I can remember before I heard the chime from my cell phone with a text message from Mark at 5:47 a.m.
It read, “Happy Easter to the Fab 5 +2. Nice little trainer ride this morning.”
That dream and message from Mark can only mean one thing. I have a long ways to go before I’m ready to navigate Ironman.