Reliving the Hawaii Ironman
Diane McCary, 76 and her husband Pat, 78, used to live in
Kona, Hawaii. Now they live in the Colorado mountains, but they have never
forgotten the years they spent running, biking and swimming on the Big Island.
They worked too, she as a high school math teacher and he as a psychologist.
Whenever they could, they indulged their athleticism, so much so that it became
contagious. Their daughter Kristen and son Mike became triathletes as well.
In October 1998 the McCary family did the Hawaii Ironman
together. They each swam 2.4 miles in the ocean, biked 100 miles and followed
up with a full marathon-- 26.2-miles.
In October 2018 Diane and Pat will be back in Hawaii to
watch this year’s Ironman. And while they are there, they will do their own
event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their milestone family
accomplishment. They’ve given themselves a week to do the above distances at
their own pace. Because of work and family obligations, the kids won’t be there
in person to join their parents but they will be cheering them on.
Here’s how the McCarys are preparing. They work out 45
minutes to an hour and 15 minutes every day, increasing their running, walking
and swimming as the time draws closer. Pat spends hours on the stationery bike.
Diane bikes weekly. In June they did a two-day mountain biking trip together.
They also work out regularly in the pool.
Pat has had prostate surgery, a hip replacement and lives
with bone-on-bone in his ankle. Diane says, “I function with a lot of worn out
parts. We do the best we can with what we have left.” She quoted her
father-in-law who said “I’d rather wear out than rust out.”
Stay tuned. I plan to report on their week in Hawaii in
October.
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