My SwimRun Confession: I Signed Up, Got Scared, and Ghosted the Start Line

Here's my confession: I signed up for a SwimRun and ghosted it because it scared me. An IRONMAN finisher scared of a race she didn't know or understand. 

How It Started

Back in 2023, I saw a post by TBF Racing about a six day sale with heavily discounted race entry fees. That year I raced the Dirty Duathlon (relay team "Hot Flashes"), the Lost Trail Half Marathon, Chanoko 30k, and Ice Breaker Triathlon. There was a fifth race, but I didn't do it. Maybe the cheaper entry fee made it easier to walk away from, to pretend I didn't sign up. Whatever the reason, race number five, the Folsom Swim Run, got dropped. Race day morning, I felt a pang of remorse. Maybe a little FOMO. But I stayed home.

Exhibit A: The TBF Racing post that started all this trouble.
Notice the "👍 You and 3 others" —
Yes, I liked it. Yes, I signed up. No, I did not show up.

Maybe I should have signed up for the short course race instead of the long course, but my pride got in the way. I was an IRONMAN for crying out loud, there could be no short course racing for me. 

As they say, pride goeth before a fall — or in my case, before a no-show.

How It's Going

This race has been living rent-free in my head ever since July 2024. I still want to do it. It still scares me. But I am humbled enough after the "no show" to be willing to sign up for the short one. To give myself a chance to figure it out. This is going to be my own little graduation race. 

Follow My Adventure

So here's what's coming. I'm dragging you along for the whole ride...

• What is SwimRun? - Time to do some research and figure things out. I have a basic idea, but it seems to be a whole other subculture of racing.
• The Gear Spiral - This is what really freaked me out...what to bring. Maybe I was just lost without transition or a bike.
• Finding a Partner - You who know me know this was coming...Trisha, James and Emily!
• Training - Time to start thinking about this.
• Race Week - Stay tuned. It's a race a few miles from my house that's only 3.5 miles long... how much drama could there possibly be? 😄
• Race Report - Of course there will be a race report! The payoff. Win, crash, or crawl across the finish line — you'll hear about it.

I still can't believe I ghosted a race just because it scared me. But I'm back, and this time I'm showing up."